Broadening the New Perspective on Paul: Paul and the Ethnographical Debate of His Time—The Criticism of Jewish and Pagan Ancestral Customs (1 Thess 2:13-16)

George H. van Kooten, “Broadening the New Perspective on Paul: Paul and the Ethnographical Debate of His Time—The Criticism of Jewish and Pagan Ancestral Customs (1 Thess 2:13-16),” in Abraham, the Nations, and the Hagarites: Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Perspectives on Kinship with Abraham (ed. Martin Goodman, George H. van Kooten, and Jacques T.A.G.M. van Ruiten; Themes in Biblical Narrative 13; Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2010), 319-344.

“Flee from the Worship of Idols”: Becoming Christian in Roman Corinth

The religious contexts in which early Christian communities grew were important factors in the first-century development of Christianity, affecting what it meant to become a Christian either as a convert from a background in Judaism or as a convert from a background in Greek, Roman, or Egyptian cults. Surrounding religions and cultural norms strongly influenced the first Christian communities in urban environments throughout the Roman Empire because the first generation of Christian converts came directly from other religious constructs. As the early Christians distinguished themselves from the Diaspora Jewish communities in which they originated and actively pursued Gentile converts, the fusion of believers with differing religious backgrounds caused uncertainty and conflict over acceptable beliefs and practices within Christian communities. Much of the historiography of early Christianity dwells on Christianity’s relationship to Judaism. The tendency to highlight the Christian-Jewish relationship is natural since Christianity originated in Israel as a Jewish sect. The conflict throughout the New Testament between the “Judaizers” and Paul lends itself to questions about Christianity’s relationship to the Jewish religion and culture: how members of Christian communities were different from those remaining in Jewish communities, when the differentiation occurred, and the extent to which Judaism was monolithic. Answering these questions has occupied volumes upon volumes, and writers such as Judith Lieu continue to address them, especially in Neither Jew nor Greek?, her collection of essays

Auto-da-fe in Lwów in 1728 : the Jan Filipowicz trial and Jewish re-conversion to Judaism in the early modern Poland

This article discusses the question of neophytes’ return to Judaism, especially the case of Jan Filipowicz, who was condemned to death for this crime in 1728 in Lwów. The return of Jewish converts to their religion of origin was a relatively frequent occurrence in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, but those charged with this crime, especially Jews from Lwów accused of persuading the neophytes to return, were not usually treated as harshly as Filipowicz. The exceptionally harsh sentence given to the rabbis responsible for the return of Filipowicz to Judaism resulted from the judges’ belief in the existence of a ritual of dechristianization, a special blasphemy against Christianity. The relationship of the courts and the Church in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to the problem of apostasy among converts from Judaism is addressed. The penitential practices described in the court documents are similar to those described by the inquisitor Bernard Gui in the fourteenth century and to the ritual of dechristianization described by Jan Serafinowicz, the most famous eighteenth century convert

Menorah Review (No. 28, Spring, 1993)

Counterpart Communities -- Peace and Existenz -- The Meaning is in the Meeting -- Judenthum As the Quintessential Other -- Focusing -- Book Briefing

“Aurelie Werner”: Intersections Between Hysteria and the Jewish Woman’s Assessment of Jewishness in the late 19th Century

Aurelie Werner is a story written by Sara Hirsch Guggenheim, a prominent neo-Orthodox writer in late 19th century Germany. This article analyzes the portrayal of Jewish women during this period, and the ways in which women responded to and coped with exclusion and prejudice. Specifically, Aurelie Werner portrays a young woman\u27s experience of anxiety and uncontrolled emotion as she discerns her place in society as a Jew and as a woman. In the early 20th century, these symptoms would be designated as \u27hysteric\u27 in nature, and would often be used to describe the demeanor of Jewish women as they grappled with Jewish identity in a largely antisemitic society. Aurelie\u27s hysteria is representative of the Jewish woman\u27s lack of control, which is grounded in not having the power or status to control one\u27s own identity

Religious conversion : historical aspects and modern perspective

Religious conversion has become a dangerous social and individual problem. In Latin America, a traditional Catholic area, Protestant sects are successfully con-verting more and more Catholics into their own communities. Therefore the Pope demands a strict control of these activities. In India e.g., the Catholic hierarchy is critizising the Indian governments which have forbidden conversion on non-spiritual reasons. Hindu organizations have started even very successfully to re-convert Indian Christians particularly of Dalit and tribal background. Buddhists are very successful in indirect and even direct conversion of many Westerners. Wah-habit missionaries spread their Neo-Islam in the Muslim societies and get more and more even non-Muslim converts. We should add the forcible and sometimes ex-tremely cruel conversions the atheistic states had executed since the last century. ..

Menorah Review (No. 10, Spring, 1987)

Jews by Birth and Jews by Choice: Conversion in Jewish History -- Modernization Theory and Contemporary Jewish History -- The Language of Extermination -- The Predicate Theology of Judaism -- Streams of Depth -- Noah and Universalis