For the Sake of Heaven and Earth: The New Encounter Between Judaism and Christianity

by Irving Greenberg

Rabbi Greenberg’s book makes an invaluable contribution to interfaith conversation. He calls for Christians and Jews to come together in their continuously evolving partnership with God—dual covenants that demand “openness to each other, learning from each other, and a respect for the distinctiveness of the ongoing validity of each other.” Now, when the resurgence of anti-Semitism poses a threat to Jews here and around the world, this powerful book presents a new opportunity to heed the call first put forward by Rabbi Greenberg nearly four decades a call for people of all faiths and cultures to work together to create a world in which everyone can live with dignity and equality—the deserved inheritance of a humanity created in the image of God.   In the first half of his book, Rabbi Greenberg takes us on his personal journey to a rethinking of Christianity, which ultimately gave rise to his belief that Christianity, Judaism (and every religion that works to repair the world and advance the triumph of life) are valid expressions of the pact between God and humankind.   In Part 2 he brings together for the first time his seven most important essays on the new encounters between Judaism and Christianity. Ideal for study groups and course adoption, the book contains a study guide as well as endnotes, an index, and thought-provoking responsive essays by leading Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish commentators, including James Carroll, Krister Stendahl, and Michael Novak. Readers, students, and scholars of Judaism, Christianity, and comparative religions will find this to be one of the most important books of our time on the Christian—Jewish relationship.

Genres: Judaism, Nonfiction

360 pages, Paperback

First published July 31, 2004

Reviews

[Roger Bailey · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was not what I was expecting. I was expecting a sociological study of the interaction between Jewish and Christian cultures. What did I get? I got theology. I agree with Richard Dawkins when he said that theology is a complete non subject. I will add that it is utterly absurd. It is so absurd that when someone speaks to me with the assumption that I accept religious doctrine I feel like my intelligence is being insulted. Well, this book was written by a Jew for the consumption of Jews and I am not a Jew, so it could be said that it was the intelligence of Jews that was being insulted. However, I happened to read it. As a reader I could not help to feel like my intelligence was being insulted even if I was not the target audience. If there is anything that comes close to redeeming the book it is that the religion I most often have pushed on me is Christianity and at least this was not Christianity. The difference is very small though. The author seems to be trying his best to reconcile the theology of Judaism with the theology of Christianity, but they both seem to be so similar to me that it is like reconciling black with black with an almost unnoticeable bit of gray in it. I may have a bit of OCD in that when I start a book I feel compelled to finish it and I did finish this one, but I was certainly glad when I was through with it.