Non­fic­tion

Per­se­cu­tion, Polemic, and Dia­logue: Essays in Jew­ish-Chris­t­ian Relations

David Berg­er
  • Review
By – September 1, 2011
Pro­fes­sor David Berg­er is a lead­ing schol­ar in the study of rela­tions between Chris­tians and Jews in the Mid­dle Ages and since. This col­lec­tion of his essays, span­ning sev­er­al decades, address­es a vari­ety of issues, yet pro­vides a coher­ent per­spec­tive that any­one inter­est­ed in this top­ic, spe­cial­ist or not, will find reward­ing to engage. The sen­si­bil­i­ties Berg­er brings to the task evoke con­fi­dence in his judg­ments. Some of the essays address top­ics such as the Cru­sades and Blood Libel charges and expul­sions; oth­ers dis­cuss the image and des­tiny of non-Jews in polem­i­cal lit­er­a­ture or in response to attacks, still oth­ers focus on the mod­ern peri­od and dia­logue on Chris­t­ian-Jew­ish rela­tions includ­ing as this relates to the top­ic of Israel. Through­out, it is not only the pri­ma­ry sources that are eval­u­at­ed, but also the schol­ar­ly dis­cours­es that have devel­oped around those sources and top­ics. Indexes.
Mark D. Nanos, Ph.D., Uni­ver­si­ty of Kansas, is the author of Mys­tery­of Romans, win­ner of the 1996 Nation­al Jew­ish Book Award, Charles H. Revson­Award in Jew­ish-Chris­t­ian Relations.

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