Opening The Covenant: A Jewish Theology Of Christianity
by Michael S. Kogan /
2007 / English / PDF
3.3 MB Download
The Vatican II Council of 1965 signaled a new era in the
relationship of the Jewish and Christian faiths. Determined to free
the Church of the anti-Jewish polemic which led to such widespread
suffering of the innocent, Catholic authorities completely revised
their conceptions of Jews and Judaism. Soon, many mainstream
Protestant churches also issued a series of official statements
that affirm the eternal nature of God's ancient covenant with
Israel. An entirely new category of theology emerged as part of the
developing Jewish-Christian dialogue, and gradually Jewish
theologians began to respond.
The Vatican II Council of 1965 signaled a new era in the
relationship of the Jewish and Christian faiths. Determined to free
the Church of the anti-Jewish polemic which led to such widespread
suffering of the innocent, Catholic authorities completely revised
their conceptions of Jews and Judaism. Soon, many mainstream
Protestant churches also issued a series of official statements
that affirm the eternal nature of God's ancient covenant with
Israel. An entirely new category of theology emerged as part of the
developing Jewish-Christian dialogue, and gradually Jewish
theologians began to respond.Opening the Covenant
Opening the Covenant represents a significant advance in
Jewish thinking about Christianity. Michael Kogan delves deep into
the theologies of the two faiths to locate precise points of
difference and convergence. He sees Christianity as the breaking
open of the original Covenant to include Gentile peoples. God has
brought this about, says Kogan, through the work of Jesus and his
interpreters. If Christianity is a divinely inspired movement, then
Judaism must reevaluate its truth-claims. This will in no way
compromise the truth of Judaism itself but will cause Jews to
understand their own faith more fully by locating it in the larger
context of God's universal redemptive plan.
represents a significant advance in
Jewish thinking about Christianity. Michael Kogan delves deep into
the theologies of the two faiths to locate precise points of
difference and convergence. He sees Christianity as the breaking
open of the original Covenant to include Gentile peoples. God has
brought this about, says Kogan, through the work of Jesus and his
interpreters. If Christianity is a divinely inspired movement, then
Judaism must reevaluate its truth-claims. This will in no way
compromise the truth of Judaism itself but will cause Jews to
understand their own faith more fully by locating it in the larger
context of God's universal redemptive plan.
Kogan calls for each tradition to receive the wisdom of the other
as a means of self-understanding. Once each faith is freed to find
God's purpose in the other, the way will be open to a liberating
pluralism in which Jews and Christians come to see each other as
Israelite siblings sharing a universal role as God's witnesses, the
builders of God's Kingdom on Earth. Neither faith can do this
world-redemptive work alone.
Kogan calls for each tradition to receive the wisdom of the other
as a means of self-understanding. Once each faith is freed to find
God's purpose in the other, the way will be open to a liberating
pluralism in which Jews and Christians come to see each other as
Israelite siblings sharing a universal role as God's witnesses, the
builders of God's Kingdom on Earth. Neither faith can do this
world-redemptive work alone.
Kogan argues that an affirmation of one's own religion can still
provide space for the truth of the "other," and presents a theory
of multiple revelations of truth flowing from the one God of all.
Kogan argues that an affirmation of one's own religion can still
provide space for the truth of the "other," and presents a theory
of multiple revelations of truth flowing from the one God of all.
