Description of Judaism - Book Report/Review Example

? A Book Review Paul and Palestinian Judaism: A Comparison of Patterns of Religion by E. P. Sanders Introduction E. P. Sanders is a Religious Studiesprofessor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. He has written several books on Christianity and Judaism, with particular interest in the thought of Apostle Paul and its relationship to Judaism. Besides Paul and Palestinian Judaism, these include: Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People, Paul: A Very Short Introduction, Paul: A Brief Insight, Jewish Law from Jesus to the Mishnah: Five Studies, The Tendencies of the Synoptic Tradition, etc. The critics consider Paul and Palestinian Judaism a controversial and encyclopedic work, which represents not only the most understandable account of Rabbinic Judaism, ever undertaken by a non-Jew1, but also an insight into the thought of Paul as related to Judaism. Thus, the book is viewed as “one of the few truly creative, exciting works on the subject”2, as well as a study of the utmost importance for both Christians and Jews. Summary In his preface, Sanders sets forth the chief aims of the book, namely “to argue a case concerning Palestinian Judaism” and “carry out a comparison of Paul and Palestinian Judaism”, while different bodies of literature are dealt with, including the early Rabbinic literature, the Dead Sea Scrolls, apocryphal and pseudepigraphical works, Paul’s letters, etc.; thus inter alia establishing a different view of Rabbinic Judaism, as well as a certain understanding of Apostle Paul3. The author has focused his attention on the basic relationship between Paul’s religion and the various forms of Palestinian Judaism as revealed in Palestinian Jewish literature from about 200 BC – 200 AD, discussing various views and publications on the issue, including Thackeray’s work, The Relation of St Paul to Contemporary Jewish Thought (based on Weber’s systematic theology of Rabbinic Judaism), Bultmann (influenced by Bousset) and Schrenk’s description of Judaism, Montefiore’s thesis, as well as the works of Schechter, Parkes, G. F. Moore, W. D. Davies, Schoeps, etc.4 Sanders agrees – to a degree or another – with Davies’s judgment that Paul and Rabbinic Judaism are not merely antithetical, but nevertheless deepens the comparison of important aspects of Judaism and Paul’s thought in order to better clarify the entire state of the question of Paul’s fundamental relationship with Palestinian Judaism5. In doing so, Sanders draws three major positions on the issue; having started with the majority view that Paul’s religion is basically antithetical to Palestinian Judaism, through the opinion that Paul should be seen as a Rabbi who believed that the Messiah had come (according to Davies), to Sandmel’s conclusion that Paul had very little relationship, if any, to Palestinian Judaism6. Insofar as Paul’s polemical statements about Judaism are concerned, Sanders points out three major positions as well: from being discounted as the polemics of the very moment (according to Davies), through being explained as referring to some other form of Judaism, apart from Rabbinic sources, and/or arising from immediate apologetic needs, to being to the point as the basic antithesis of Judaism (the majority view)7. According to Sanders, once again, the state of question needs greater clarity, namely whether the analysis takes account of both the agreements and disagreements, reflecting the discrepancies between Paul’s depiction of Judaism and Judaism as found in Jewish sources8. Thus, Sanders arrives at a method, which he describes as the holistic comparison of patterns of religion. In part one of the book, named Palestinian Judaism, the author inter alia examines and discusses key concepts in Judaism, like the validity of the covenantal promises, God’s commandments and blessing, atonement, both the requirement and burden of obedience, the disobedience as sin and guilt, as well as the related to obedience and disobedience themes of punishment and reward. Sanders argues that the view about Rabbinic religion considering it a religion of “legalistic works-righteousness” in which one would be saved by fulfilling more commandments than he perpetrated transgressions9, is wrong, proceeding from wrong premises, and misconstrued10. Moreover, he emphasizes that the Rabbinic Judaism’s collective-individual pattern of religion, or a very similar mix of group-membership and individual religion, was being adopted by Christianity11. In part II, Paul, Sanders scrutinizes the understanding of Paul as developed mainly by Schweitzer, i.e. the concept of “righteousness by faith”, and the issue of one’s salvation – righteousness by faith and being in Christ, respectively12, as well as some of the traditional ways of discussing Paul’s theology, chosen by Bultmann, Conzelmann, and Bornkamm13. Insofar as the modus operandi of salvation is concerned, Sanders argues in favor of “salvation through participation”, actually a view much closer to that of Whiteley14. In regard to the central Pauline soteriological conviction that Jesus came to save all, both Jew and Gentile, Sanders disagrees with Davies and more or less bridges Paul’s view and the theme of obedience in the Jewish law15. Two aspects of Paul’s thought, namely the judgment by works and salvation by grace, are especially taken into consideration. Finally, Sanders comes to the conclusion that Paul’s pattern of religion is basically different from anything known from Palestinian Judaism16. Reflection Sanders’s book, Paul and Palestinian Judaism, is highly informative and presents an intriguing insight into both Rabbinic Judaism and Pauline theology. In considering the nature of Judaism at the time of Christ, as well as the understanding of Apostle Paul’s thought, Sanders not only sheds light on crucial issues, like the problem of faith versus works, the understanding of atonement and forgiveness, etc., but also – having explored as many motifs as possible – embarks upon a holistic approach to, or method of comparison of these two different, even apparently antithetic religions. According to Sanders himself, this approach renders the possibility “to compare Paul on his own terms with Judaism on its own terms”17, which eventually produces a comparison of a “whole religion with a whole religion” – a more adequate category of comparison, rather than “one-line essences or separate motifs”18. While such an approach would appear more or less remedial with regard to the general need for methodological improvement in the comparative study of religion19, it could be considered rather controversial, even revolutionary, from a theologian’s point of view. This impression is not only reinforced by the fact that Sanders bridges the prima facie gap between Pauline theology and that of the Rabbinic Judaism (or at least certain themes within the Jewish law), thus creating a fundamentally different perspective, but also, and perhaps more importantly, by the result of establishing a radically different image of Judaism at the time of Jesus as a religion of a much greater stature than it is usually considered by the majority of modern-day New Testament scholarship. Thus, the author has generally succeeded in achieving the major goals as stated in the very beginning of the book, i.e. to consider methodologically how to compare these two related but essentially different religions, to establish a different view of Rabbinic Judaism, to argue for a certain understanding of Paul, and finally, to carry out a comparison between Paul and Palestinian Judaism20. Bibliography Sanders, E. P., Paul and Palestinian Judaism: A Comparison of Patterns of Religion. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1977. Word count: 1273 Read More