Modern Jewish Theologians in Conversation with Christianity
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Intersecting Pathways: Modern Jewish Theologians in Conversation with Christianity MARC A. KRELL OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS Intersecting Pathways AMERICAN ACADEMY OF RELIGION CULTURAL CRITICISM SERIES SERIES EDITOR Bjom Krondorfer, St. Mary’s College of Maryland A Publication Series of The American Academy of Religion and Oxford University Press ANTI-JUDAISM IN FEMINIST IMAG(IN)ING OTHERNESS RELIGIOUS WRITINGS Filmic Visions of Living Together Katharina von Kellenbach Edited by S. Brent Plate and David Jasper THE GREAT WHITE FLOOD Racism in Australia PARABLES FOR OUR TIME Anne Pattel-Gray Rereading New Testament Scholarship After the Holocaust ON DECONSTRUCTING Tania Oldenhage LIFE-WORLDS Buddhism, Christianity, Culture MOSES IN AMERICA Robert Magliola The Cultural Uses of Biblical Narrative Melanie Jane Wright CULTURAL OTHERNESS Correspondence with Richard Rorty, INTERSECTING PATHWAYS Second Edition Modern Jewish Theologians in Conversation Anindita Niyogi Balslev with Christianity Marc A. Krell CROSS CULTURAL CONVERSATION (Initiation) Edited by Anindita Niyogi Balslev Intersecting Pathways Modern Jewish Theologians in Conversation with Christianity marc a. krell 1 2003 3 Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi São Paulo Shanghai Taipei Tokyo Toronto Copyright © 2003 by The American Academy of Religion Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York, 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Krell, Marc A. (Marc Aaron), 1967– Intersecting pathways : modern Jewish theologians in conversation with Christianity / Marc A. Krell. p. cm.—(American Academy of Religion cultural criticism series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-19-515935-7 1. Judaism—Relations—Christianity. 2. Christianity and other religions—Judaism. 3. Jews—Identity. 4. Judaism—Doctrines—Comparative studies. 5. Theology, Doctrinal—Comparative studies. I. Title. II. Series. BM535 .K74 2003 296.3'96—dc21 2002008643 987654321 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper To Julie This page intentionally left blank 1 Acknowledgments The following journals have allowed me to reprint material from my published articles: brief selections from the introduction and epilogue were published in “Decentering Judaism and Christianity: Using Feminist Theory to Construct a Postmodern Jewish-Christian Theology,” Cross Currents 50, no. 4 (winter 2000–2001): 474–87; portions of chapters 1 and 2 in this book were published in “Schoeps vs. Rosenzweig: Transcending Religious Borders,” Zeitschrift für Religions-und Geistesgeschichte 52, no. 1 (2000): 25–37; a brief selec- tion from chapter 3 was published in “Eliezer Berkovits’s Post- Holocaust Theology: A Dialectic Between Polemics and Reception,” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 37, no. 1 (winter 2000): 28–45. In completing this book, I owe many thanks to the following people: George Griener, Elliot Dorff, Claude Welch, Gary Lease, and Stephan Kienberger. In particular, I want to acknowledge Arnold Eisen and David Biale, who supervised the writing of this manu- script in its original form as a dissertation. Professor Eisen was instrumental in helping me to shape my argument in a concise, clear fashion that showcases my own contribution to the field. I have been profoundly influenced by the historiography of David Biale, whose pointed comments enabled me to focus on my overall argument without arguing against those whom I discuss. In addition, my personal discussion with Richard Rubenstein provided me with valuable insight into his work. I would also like to express my special appreciation for the recent guidance of my colleagues J. Edward Wright, Lawrence Baron, Randi Rashkover, James Moore, and Zachary Braiterman, who have viii acknowledgments helped me transform the dissertation into a book. Their suggestions regarding both content and structure led me to tighten this work considerably and weave it together much more smoothly. I especially wish to thank Zachary Braiterman for his comprehensive chapter-by-chapter commentary. His critical remarks forced me to be more consistent in my portrayal of the fluid boundaries between Judaism and Christianity, by encouraging me to focus more on the conversa- tion between Jewish theologians and Christian figures rather than on who was influenced by whom. On a personal note, I would like to thank my mother, Florie Krell, for her ongoing emotional support and friendship. Finally, I want to thank my part- time editor, best friend and wife, Julie Schaefer Krell, who has been my stron- gest supporter and source of inspiration. Through her companionship and love, she has made me realize what is truly important in life. Together, we brought into the world our greatest sources of joy, our sons Alexander Micah and Jonah Evan. 1 Contents Introduction: Uncovering Jewish-Christian Dialectic in History, 3 1. From the Outside Looking In: Franz Rosenzweig’s Construction of a Jewish Theology in Light of His Ambivalent Encounter with Christianity, 23 2. Hans Joachim Schoeps’s “Critical-Protestant” Theology: A Jewish-Christian Amalgamation, 43 3. Beyond Borders: Richard Rubenstein’s Critique of Judaism in Relation to Christianity after the Holocaust, 69 4. Between Dialectic and Dialogue: Irving Greenberg’s Organic Model of the Jewish-Christian Relationship, 103 Epilogue: Jewish-Christian Relations in a Multicultural Society, 131 Notes, 137 Bibliography, 179 Index, 193 This page intentionally left blank Intersecting Pathways This page intentionally left blank 1 Introduction Uncovering Jewish-Christian Dialectic in History When speaking at his >rst political rally as the United States Demo- cratic candidate for vice president in 2000, Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut stated, “There are some people who might actually call Al Gore’s selection of me an act of chutzpah!”1 Regardless of the eventual election outcome, Vice President Gore clearly made a bold decision to break down religious and cultural barriers that had prevented American Jews from seeking the highest public o;ces in a Christian-dominated country. In fact, rather than focusing on Lieberman’s centrist political positions as a reason for his choice, Gore seized the moment to showcase Lieberman’s religious a;liation and to emphasize the fact that Lieberman was the >rst Jew to be the vice presidential candidate of any major party, comparing it to the election of the >rst Catholic president in 1960, John F. Kennedy. Moreover, Lieberman himself invoked the African American political and religious leader the Reverend Jesse Jackson, who said upon hearing of the choice that when one cultural barrier is lifted, the walls fall down for everyone in American society. It is ironic, however, that while Jackson praised the choice of Lieberman as a vice presidential candidate, other members of the African American community began to question Lieberman’s loyalty to them and his willingness to >ght for their rights. At issue was his supposed support for California Proposition 309, which would outlaw a;rmative action as discriminatory. The growing Jewish opposition to a;rmative action along with the political and eco- nomic gains made by Jews like Lieberman provide African Ameri- cans with evidence of the increasingly insider status of the Jews in 4 intersecting pathways American society.2 While numerically a minority, American Jews are now per- ceived as part of the Judeo-Christian majority by African Americans as well as by underprivileged Chicano and Latino groups.3 In light of the terrorist attacks against the United States on 11 September 2001 and the ongoing Palestinian- Israeli con?ict, an increasing number of Americans perceive the Jews as hav- ing too much political and economic power in the United States today. More speci>cally, in a post September 11th survey of one thousand people of di=er- ent ethnic, religious, age, and regional backgrounds, the most antisemitic Americans were four times as likely as those holding no antisemitic views to believe that American Jewish leaders have too much in?uence over United States foreign policy. While 35 percent of the African American respondents to the survey possessed these strongly antisemitic views, an even more alarming 44 percent of foreign born Hispanic Americans voiced similar opinions.4 Ultimately, this cultural ambiguity has produced a contradictory American Jewish self-consciousness, wherein Jews’ identi>cation and integration with the Christian majority directly con?ict with their equal desire to preserve their mi- nority status as outsiders in relation to a hegemonic Christian culture.5 This ambivalence between security and vulnerability that Jews possess was most clearly evident in their somewhat mixed reaction to the choice of Joseph Lieberman as a vice presidential candidate. His candidacy appeared to be a trans- parent symbol of the simultaneity of Jewish insider and outsider status in a predominantly Christian America, and it is a symbol with which some Jews are uncomfortable. The culturally ambiguous status of contemporary American Jewry in relation to