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Most major contemporary religions have been absolved of the charge of idolatry. What remains of "idolatry" once it no longer serves as a tool for evaluating other faiths? Does the category continue to have theological appeal? A cadre of Jewish scholars and thought leaders explore in this volume what the continuing relevance of "idolatry" is.
List of contents
Preface and Acknowledgements
Alon Goshen-Gottstein
Introduction: Idolatry-Revisiting a Fundamental Concept: Project Description
Alon Goshen-Gottstein
Understanding Idolatry: An Invitation to a Contemporary Conversation
Alon Goshen-Gottstein
The Theology and Politics of Idolatry
Reuven Kimelman
Monotheism and Idolatry: Theological Challenges and Considerations
Michael Fishbane
Idolatry on the Other Side of Modernity
Shaul Magid
Jewish Feminist Liberation Theology and the Modern Criticism of Idols
Melissa Raphael
Idolatry as Dehumanization
Rivon Krygier
Contemporary Idolatry and a Path to Freedom
Eilon Shamir
The Idolatry of Humankind
Jonathan Wittenberg
"We Live as Did the Ancients:" Reflections on the Ambiguous Role of Idolatry in Contemporary Jewish Thought
Arnold Eisen
Idolatry
Haviva Pedaya
On Petrification
Michael Marmur
The Idolatry of the Written Word
Paul Mendes-Flohr
The Concept of Idolatry in Current Times
Hanoch Ben-Pazi
The Line between True Religion and Idolatry
Warren Zev Harvey
Thinking Idolatry with/against Maimonides: The Case of Christianity
Menachem Kellner
Return of the Gods: A Jeux d'Esprit on Idolatry in Judaism
Norman Solomon
The Value of Idolatry
Menachem Fisch
Concluding Observations: The Discourse on Idolatry
Alon Goshen-Gottstein
Index
About the author
Rabbi Dr. Alon Goshen-Gottstein is acknowledged as one of the world's leading figures in interreligious dialogue. He is founder and director of the Elijah Interfaith Institute since 1997. His work bridges the theological and academic dimension with a variety of practical initiatives, especially involving world religious leadership. His academic work is divided between contributions to early rabbinic thought, Jewish spirituality, interfaith theory and Jewish theology of religions. He has held academic posts at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University, and has served as director of the Center for the Study of Rabbinic Thought, Beit Morasha College, Jerusalem. The present volume continues his ground-breaking work in the field of Jewish theology of religions by convening conversations among Jewish thought leaders on seminal issues, complementing his earlier work J
udaism's Challenge: Election, Divine Love and Human Enmity (2020, Academic Studies Press).
Summary
Idolatry, or its Hebrew equivalent Avodah Zarah¸ is a fundamental feature of a Jewish view of other religions. All religions must pass the test of whether they are compliant with a Jewish view of religions as being free from the worship of another God. With the advance in interfaith relations, positions have been affirmed that clear most major contemporary religions from the charge of idolatry. What remains of “idolatry” once it no longer serves as a tool for evaluating other faiths? Does the category continue to have theological appeal? What are its internal uses? A cadre of Jewish scholars and thought leaders explore in this volume what the continuing relevance of “idolatry” is and how it might continue to inform our religious horizons, allowing us to distinguish between good and bad religion, both within Judaism and beyond.
