Reluctant Witnesses: Jews and the Christian Imagination

by Stephen R. Haynes

In this thought provoking book, Stephen Haynes takes a hard look at contemporary Christian theology as he explores the pervasive Christian "witness-people" myth that dominates much Christian thinking about the Jews in both Christian and Jewish minds. This myth, an ancient theological construct that has put Jews in the role of living symbols of God's dealings with the world, has for centuries, according to Haynes, created ambivalence toward the Jews in the Christian mind with often disastrous results.

221 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Stephen R. Haynes is Professor of Religious Studies, Albert Bruce Curry Professor of Religious Studies at Rhodes College. Dr. Haynes holds a Ph.D. in Religion and Literature from Emory University, the M. Div. from Columbia Theological Seminary, an M. A. from Florida State University, and a B. A. from Vanderbilt University. Professor Haynes has been at Rhodes since 1989 and offers courses on the Holocaust, the Bible and its reception, religion and reconciliation, and religion and addiction. In addition to these subjects, he has research interests in Jewish-Christian relations, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and the biblical justifications for slavery and segregation. Dr. Haynes was ODK Untenured Teacher of the Year at Rhodes in 1993 and SGA Outstanding Faculty Member in 1995. In 1997 he received the Clarence Day Award for Outstanding Research and in 2001 was awarded the Clarence Day Award for Outstanding Teaching. He is also a graduate of Leadership Memphis. Since 2016 he has directed the Rhodes Liberal Arts in Prison Program at West Tennessee State Penitentiary.