Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Judaism and Christianity in the Age of Constantine: History, Messiah, Israel, and the Initial Confrontation
    Judaism and Christianity in the Age of Constantine: History, Messiah, Israel, and the Initial Confrontation
    Judaism and Christianity in the Age of Constantine: History, Messiah, Israel, and the Initial Confrontation
    Ebook226 pages7 hours

    Judaism and Christianity in the Age of Constantine: History, Messiah, Israel, and the Initial Confrontation

    By Jacob Neusner

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    With the conversion of Constantine in 312, Christianity began a period of political and cultural dominance that it would enjoy until the twentieth century. Jacob Neusner contradicts the prevailing view that following Christianity's ascendancy, Judaism continued to evolve in isolation. He argues that because of the political need to defend its claims to religious authenticity, Judaism was forced to review itself in the context of a triumphant Christianity. The definition of issues long discussed in Judaism—the meaning of history, the coming of the Messiah, and the political identity of Israel—became of immediate and urgent concern to both parties. What emerged was a polemical dialogue between Christian and Jewish teachers that was unprecedented.

    In a close analysis of texts by the Christian theologians Eusebius, Aphrahat, and Chrysostom on one hand, and of the central Jewish works the Talmud of the Land of Israel, the Genesis Rabbah, and the Leviticus Rabbah on the other, Neusner finds that both religious groups turned to the same corpus of Hebrew scripture to examine the same fundamental issues. Eusebius and Genesis Rabbah both address the issue of history, Chrysostom and the Talmud the issue of the Messiah, and Aphrahat and Leviticus Rabbah the issue of Israel. As Neusner demonstrates, the conclusions drawn shaped the dialogue between the two religions for the rest of their shared history in the West.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press
    Release dateSep 15, 2008
    ISBN9780226576473
    Judaism and Christianity in the Age of Constantine: History, Messiah, Israel, and the Initial Confrontation
    Author

    Jacob Neusner

    Jacob Neusner is Distinguished Service Professor of the History and Theology of Judaism; Senior Fellow, Institute of Advanced Theology, Bard College, in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.

    Read more from Jacob Neusner

    Related to Judaism and Christianity in the Age of Constantine

    Titles in the series (2)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Religion & Spirituality For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      History’s Mysteries

      Jul 25, 2020

      History’s Mysteries
      1 min read

    • Article

      The Hidden God: One man’s path to knowing less about God.

      Jun 13, 2013

      David Friedman moved from Denver to the Israeli city of Safed in 1979 to live as a Haredi, or ultra Orthodox Jew. At 29, he and his wife Miriam already had four children. He enrolled at a yeshiva where he drew a salary to study Talmud. It seemed like

      11 min read

    • Article

      Museum's Collection Of Purported Dead Sea Scroll Fragments Are Fakes, Experts Say

      Mar 17, 2020

      Using advanced techniques such as scanning electron microscopes, a team of researchers concluded that all 16 scroll fragments at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., are modern forgeries.

      2 min read

    • Article

      True Believer

      Mar 26, 2019

      True Believer
      5 min read

    • Article

      Sectarian Scrolls?

      Apr 7, 2023

      Sectarian Scrolls?
      7 min read

    • Article

      Rosicrucianism

      Feb 28, 2020

      Europe in the early 17th century was not a happy place. It was a continent marked by religious divisions and political strife which would escalate into the bloody Thirty Years’ War that led to eight million lives being lost. At the same time, it was

      5 min read

    • Article

      Ignorance of JEWS & CHURCH HISTORY

      Mar 8, 2024

      Encountering our own ignorance can be a transformative journey, requiring courage and vulnerability. As a Christian with a deep love for Israel, I found myself delving into church history amid the recent surge in anti-Semitism. This exploration aimed

      2 min read

    • Article

      Count Down!

      Jul 10, 2023

      Count Down!
      16 min read

    • Article

      Constantine Had Not Converted To Christianity?

      Jul 15, 2021

      INTERVIEW WITH HOWARD DRAKE Dr Drake is professor emeritus at the University of Santa Barbara and specialises in Ancient Rome, with particular emphasis on the fourth century CE and the life of Emperor Constantine. When Constantine became emperor of t

      6 min read

    • Article

      Count Down!

      Jul 10, 2023

      Count Down!
      16 min read

    • Article

      Differing Worldviews

      Jun 15, 2023

      Nicholas Spencer One World 2023 Hb, 528pp, £25, ISBN 9780861544615 Many people today share the view of the distinguished American scientist Stephen Jay Gould that science and religion are two “non-overlapping Magisteria”. In other words, two entirely

      3 min read

    • Article

      'The Chosen Wars' Tells How Judaism Redefined Itself In America

      Aug 21, 2018

      Today’s Jewish community continues to be divided over issues related to assimilation and secularization.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Revealed: The Ancient Propaganda War That Led To The Triumph Of Christianity

      Apr 16, 2021

      New historical research is shedding fresh light on the birth of Christianity as a major religion. Although Christianity had existed since the mid-first century AD, it didn’t become the Roman empire’s main religion until more than 250 years later. Now

      5 min read

    • Article

      Goodbye, Columbus

      Oct 13, 2023

      Goodbye, Columbus
      3 min read

    • Article

      Michael Wood On…

      Sep 1, 2022

      In my job, travelling the world making films on history and culture, I’ve spent a lot of time exploring religion in its many manifestations. Religion, after all, is a gift for the camera: full of colour, action and often moving rituals. It’s also a c

      3 min read

    • Article

      Kabbalah

      Feb 28, 2020

      Think of the mystical religion Kabbalah, and many will immediately picture the singer Madonna. As one of a number of celebrities to embrace its ancient wisdom in recent years, she has sought to study and understand Kabbalah’s deep teachings, often in

      5 min read

    • Article

      Not Always Brotherly On The Square

      Feb 25, 2021

      TO SEND REVIEW COPIES, CONTACT THE BOOK REVIEWS EDITOR AT DVBARRETT@FORTEANTIMES.COM How Freemasons Made the Modern World John Dickie Hodder & Stoughton 2020 Hb, 454pp, £25, ISBN 9781473658196 Masons, Mysteries and the Founding of America (2nd edn) P

      11 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Judaism and Christianity in the Age of Constantine

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Judaism and Christianity in the Age of Constantine - Jacob Neusner

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1