Jewish-Christian Dialogue: A Jewish Justification

Rating:
Summary: Theologic-Philosophical Discourse
Review: Professor Novak's book is an attempt to bridge the gap between the Jewish and Christian religion from a Jewish point of view. The fact that he called it a Jewish Justification in the subtitle is telling because it implies that such a dialogue is not looked upon with favor by his co-religionists. The discussions range from the Noahide laws, of which Christians unless they are Mormons or theologians, tend to be unaware of, through medieval views including those of Maimonedes to modernity. Novak also devotes a chapter of what he calls "The Quest for the Jewish Jesus," which attempts to find common ground where none can exist in orthodox Judaism.
It is furthermore of interest that the only real dialogue the author presents is that between two friends Rosenzweig and Rosenstock both of whom were born into the Jewish religion but Rosenstock had converted to Christianity. The fact that their correspondence took place during World War I and was published in the nineteenthirties reduces its relevance for today.
In "A New Theology of Jewish-Christian Dialogue" Novak emphasizes the primacy of listening to God's voice. "Scripture is concerned with removing the thought that God can be seen, but encourages the thought that God can be heard." Unfortunately in human life those who actually hear, rather than think about, God's voice tend to be in the vast majority mentally unbalanced. Hearing voices is a rather reliable hallmark of mental illness. This is not to deny that a few individuals throughout history have had this genuine religious experience but it cannot be expected from the majority.
The book represents the author's personal philosophy and as an individual steeped in the physical sciences I found it somewhat difficult to read.