Published in Open Access with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation Historical criticism of the Bible emerged in the context of protestant theology and is confronted in every aspect of its study with otherness: the Jewish people and their writings. However, despite some important exceptions, there has been little sustained reflection on the ways in which scholarship has engaged, and continues to engage, its most significant Other. This volume offers reflections on anti-Semitism, philo-Semitism and anti-Judaism in biblical scholarship from the 19th century to the present. The essays in this volume reflect on the past and prepare a pathway for future scholarship that is mindful of its susceptibility to violence and hatred.

Noting that a traditional understanding of Paul as “convert� from Judaism has fueled false and often dangerous stereotypes of Judaism, and that the so-called “new perspective on Paul� has not completely escaped these stereotypes, František �bel has gathered leading international scholars to test the hypotheses of the more recent “Paul within Judaism� movement. Though hardly monolithic in their approach, these scholars’ explorations of specific topics concerning Second Temple Judaism and Paul’s message and theology allow a contextually more nuanced understanding of the apostle’s thought, one free from particular biases rooted in unacknowledged ideologies and traditional interpretations transmitted by particular church traditions. Contributors include František �bel, Michael Bachmann, Daniel Boyarin, William S. Campbell, Kathy Ehrensperger, Paula Fredriksen, Jörg Frey, Joshua Garroway, Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr, Isaac W. Oliver, Shayna Sheinfeld, and J. Brian Tucker.

Ancient Christians invoked sin to account for an astonishing range of things, from the death of God's son to the politics of the Roman Empire that worshipped him. In this book, award-winning historian of religion Paula Fredriksen tells the surprising story of early Christian concepts of sin, exploring the ways that sin came to shape ideas about God no less than about humanity.

Long before Christianity, of course, cultures had articulated the idea that human wrongdoing violated relations with the divine. But "Sin" tells how, in the fevered atmosphere of the four centuries between Jesus and Augustine, singular new Christian ideas about sin emerged in rapid and vigorous variety, including the momentous shift from the belief that sin is something one does to something that one is born into. As the original defining circumstances of their movement quickly collapsed, early Christians were left to debate the causes, manifestations, and remedies of sin. This is a powerful and original account of the early history of an idea that has centrally shaped Christianity and left a deep impression on the secular world as well.

Ancient Christians invoked sin to account for an astonishing range of things, from the death of God's son to the politics of the Roman Empire that worshipped him. In this book, award-winning historian of religion Paula Fredriksen tells the surprising story of early Christian concepts of sin, exploring the ways that sin came to shape ideas about God no less than about humanity.

Long before Christianity, of course, cultures had articulated the idea that human wrongdoing violated relations with the divine. But "Sin" tells how, in the fevered atmosphere of the four centuries between Jesus and Augustine, singular new Christian ideas about sin emerged in rapid and vigorous variety, including the momentous shift from the belief that sin is something one does to something that one is born into. As the original defining circumstances of their movement quickly collapsed, early Christians were left to debate the causes, manifestations, and remedies of sin. This is a powerful and original account of the early history of an idea that has centrally shaped Christianity and left a deep impression on the secular world as well.

Current scholarship in the study of ancient Christianity is now available to nonspecialists through this collection of essays on anti-Judaism in the New Testament and in New Testament interpretation. While academic writing can be obscure and popular writing can be uncritical, this group of experts has striven to write as simply and clearly as possible on topics that have been hotly contested. The essays are arranged around the historical figures and canonical texts that matter most to Christian communities and whose interpretation has fed the negative characterizations of Jews and Judaism. A select annotated bibliography also gives suggestions for further reading. This book should be an excellent resource for academic courses as well as adult study groups.

A groundbreaking new portrait of the apostle Paul, from one of today's leading historians of antiquity Often seen as the author of timeless Christian theology, Paul himself heatedly maintained that he lived and worked in history's closing hours. His letters propel his readers into two ancient worlds, one Jewish, one pagan. The first was incandescent with apocalyptic hopes, expecting God through his messiah to fulfill his ancient promises of redemption to Israel. The second teemed with ancient actors, not only human but also divine: angry superhuman forces, jealous demons, and hostile cosmic gods. Both worlds are Paul's, and his convictions about the first shaped his actions in the second. Only by situating Paul within this charged social context of gods and humans, pagans and Jews, cities, synagogues, and competing Christ-following assemblies can we begin to understand his mission and message. This original and provocative book offers a dramatically new perspective on one of history's seminal figures.

The Passion of the Christ, directed by Mel Gibson, was a commercial success of astonishing proportions, ranking as one of the highest grossing films of all time. It also unleashed a torrent of controversy and debate, provoking passionate responses, both negative and positive, from people of widely divergent backgrounds and beliefs. Exposing fundamental differences of opinion about everything from the historical reliability of gospel stories to the political power of Hollywood, the film continues to stir up accusations of anti-Semitism, gratuitous violence, and gross misrepresentation of the Bible. This book--whose contributors include theologians, journalists, academics, and clergy from Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish traditions--provides a wide spectrum of views and backgrounds. The essays consider the historical and ethical conundrums presented by the New Testament in general and by The Passion of the Christ in particular. The contributors' discussions range from the film's theological and historical underpinnings, to its cinematic and cultural implications, to the issues surrounding the millennia-long question "Who really killed Jesus?"

Paula Fredriksen, renowned historian and author of From Christ to Jesus, begins this inquiry into the historic Jesus with a fact that may be the only undisputed thing we know about him: his crucifixion.

Rome reserved this means of execution particularly for political insurrectionists; and the Roman charge posted at the head of the cross indicted Jesus for claiming to be King of the Jews. To reconstruct the Jesus who provoked this punishment, Fredriksen takes us into the religious worlds, Jewish and pagan, of Mediterranean antiquity, through the labyrinth of Galilean and Judean politics, and on into the ancient narratives of Paul's letters, the gospels, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Josephus' histories. The result is a profound contribution both to our understanding of the social and religious contexts within which Jesus of Nazareth moved, and to our appreciation of the mission and message that ended in the proclamation of Jesus as Messiah.

Noting that a traditional understanding of Paul as "convert" from Judaism has fueled false and often dangerous stereotypes of Judaism, and that the so-called "new perspective on Paul" has not completely escaped these stereotypes, Frantisek Abel has gathered leading international scholars to test the hypotheses of the more recent "Paul within Judaism" movement. Though hardly monolithic in their approach, these scholars' explorations of specific topics concerning Second Temple Judaism and Paul's message and theology allow a more contextually nuanced understanding of the apostle's thought, one free from particular biases rooted in unacknowledged ideologies and traditional interpretations transmitted by particular church traditions. Contributors include Frantisek Abel, Michael Bachmann, Daniel Boyarin, William S. Campbell, Kathy Ehrensperger, Paula Fredriksen, Joerg Frey, Joshua Garroway, Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr, Isaac W. Oliver, Shayna Sheinfeld, and J. Brian Tucker.

Augustine and World Religions examines Augustine's thought for how it can inform modern inter-religious dialogue. Despite Augustine's reputation as the father of Christian intolerance, one finds in his thought the surprising claim that within non-Christian writings there are 'some truths in regard even to the worship of the One God'. This, it seems, hints at a deeper level of respect and dialogue between religions, because one engages in such dialogue in order to better understand and worship God. The essays here uncover provocative points of comparison and similarity between Christianity and other religions to further such an Augustinian dialogue.