Common Ground: A Priest and a Rabbi Read Scripture Together

by Andrew Greeley

Overview

Judaism and Christianity meet in scripture, which they share and about which they contend. In Common Ground Father Andrew Greeley and Rabbi Jacob Neusner present their characteristically candid - and often provocative - interpretations of the history, context, and meaning of scripture. Written in alternating chapters, Common Ground reveals how a rabbi understands Christ, Mary, and St Paul, and how a priest views creation, Abraham and Sarah, and the prophets. Neusner calls upon the ancient Rabbinic approach to scripture - the conversational dialogue of "Midrash" - while Greeley creatively renews the narrative tradition of Christianity. Together they show that differences in responses to scripture enrich the possibilities of biblical renewal.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780773577428
Publisher:	McGill-Queens University Press
Publication date:	08/18/2008
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	354
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Andrew M. Greeley is a priest, distinguished sociologist, journalist, and best-selling author. He is also professor of sociology at the University of Arizona and a research associate with the National Opinion Research Center (NORC), University of Chicago.

Editorial Reviews

What happens when two of the most prolific religion scholars in America sit down and, together, read sacred texts (some of which they have in common) of their different religions? Will they engage in a genuine dialogue? Or will their readings devolve into a kind of one-upsmanship in which each scholar shows off his own intellectual capacities in defending his traditions? In Common Ground, a revised and updated edition of their The Bible And Us (Warner, 1990), Catholic sociologist and novelist Greeley and Jewish rabbinical scholar Neusner do a little of both. The book is structured like a conversation in which one scholar introduces a topic and the other responds to the former's reading. Thus, Greeley explores the life of Jesus through a reflection on His words, deeds, historicity, etc. Neusner then responds by demonstrating the traditional Christian misreadings of Jesus' Jewishness that have fostered anti-Semitism. Greeley's readings, as in his Harold Robbins-like novels, are preoccupied with sexuality, while Neusner's are more balanced and reflect a more sophisticated interpretative mind. While there are moments of significant dialogue here, the overall impression is one of two showmen barking their wares at a religion sideshow. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

What happens when two of the most prolific religion scholars in America sit down and, together, read sacred texts (some of which they have in common) of their different religions? Will they engage in a genuine dialogue? Or will their readings devolve into a kind of one-upsmanship in which each scholar shows off his own intellectual capacities in defending his traditions? In Common Ground, a revised and updated edition of their The Bible And Us (Warner, 1990), Catholic sociologist and novelist Greeley and Jewish rabbinical scholar Neusner do a little of both. The book is structured like a conversation in which one scholar introduces a topic and the other responds to the former's reading. Thus, Greeley explores the life of Jesus through a reflection on His words, deeds, historicity, etc. Neusner then responds by demonstrating the traditional Christian misreadings of Jesus' Jewishness that have fostered anti-Semitism. Greeley's readings, as in his Harold Robbins-like novels, are preoccupied with sexuality, while Neusner's are more balanced and reflect a more sophisticated interpretative mind. While there are moments of significant dialogue here, the overall impression is one of two showmen barking their wares at a religion sideshow.

Publishers Weekly - Cahners\\Publishers_Weekly