German-Jewish Thought Between Religion and Politics

German-Jewish Thought Between Religion and Politics
Author: Christian Wiese
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Total Pages: 468
Release: 2012-03-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 3110247755

Since the Enlightenment period, German-Jewish intellectuals have been prominent voices in the multi-facetted discourse on the reinterpretation of Jewish tradition in light of modern thinking. Paul Mendes-Flohr, one of the towering figures of current scholarship on German-Jewish intellectual history, has made invaluable contributions to a better understanding of the religious, cultural and political dimensions of these thinkers’ encounter with German and European culture, including the tension between their loyalty to Judaism and the often competing claims of non-Jewish society and culture. This volume assembles essays by internationally acknowledged scholars in the field who intend to honor Mendes-Flohr’s work by portraying the abundance of religious, philosophical, aesthetical and political aspects dominating the thinking of those famous thinkers populating German Jewry's rich and complex intellectual world in the modern period. It also provides a fresh theoretical outlook on trends in Jewish intellectual history, raising new questions concerning the dialectics of assimilation. In addition to that, the volume sheds light on thinkers and debates that hitherto have not been accorded full scholarly attention.

Beyond Theodicy

Beyond Theodicy
Author: Sarah K. Pinnock
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2012-02-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0791487806

Beyond Theodicy analyzes the rising tide of objections to explanations and justifications for why God permits evil and suffering in the world. In response to the Holocaust, striking parallels have emerged between major Jewish and Christian thinkers centering on practical faith approaches that offer meaning within suffering. Author Sarah K. Pinnock focuses on Jewish thinkers Martin Buber and Ernst Bloch and Christian thinkers Gabriel Marcel and Johann Baptist Metz to present two diverse rejections of theodicy, one existential, represented by Buber and Marcel, and one political, represented by Bloch and Metz. Pinnock interweaves the disciplines of philosophy of religion, post-Holocaust thought, and liberation theology to formulate a dynamic vision of religious hope and resistance.

Introduction to the History of Christianity

Introduction to the History of Christianity
Author: George Herring
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 399
Release: 2006-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0814737005

Christianity is the world’s largest religion, and has had a profound impact on the course of civilization. Introduction to the History of Christianity is a beautifully crafted and clearly written introduction to Christianity over its 2000 year history. The broad underlying theme of the book is the interaction between Christianity and the secular world, exploring how one has shaped and been shaped by the other. The volume does not attempt to cover the whole of Christian history in detail. It focuses on three key chronological periods pivotal in the development of Christianity: Christ and Caesar, Christianity circa 300–500; Expansion and Order, Latin Christendom, circa 1050–1250; and Grace and Authority, Western Christianity, circa 1450–1650, as well as a concluding section on Christianity in the modern world, providing illustrative snapshots of the tradition over the course of its long development. In addition, the volume includes maps, timelines, quotations from primary source material, a glossary, and a further reading section. No staid, laborious introduction to its subject, Introduction to the History of Christianity offers an inviting and informative overview of this rich religious tradition.