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Idolatry

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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...
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  • 16 May 2023
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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.
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Price: $25.00
Pages: 390
Publisher: Academic Studies Press
Imprint: Academic Studies Press
Series: Jewish Thought, Jewish History
Publication Date: 16 May 2023
Trim Size: 9.21 X 6.14 in
ISBN: 9798887191386
Format: Paperback
BISACs: Philosophy & Religion, Jewish philosophy, Comparative religion, Religious intolerance, persecution and conflict, Judaism, Kabbalah: popular works
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“Jewish philosophy comes alive in these pages and Goshen-Gottenstein succeeds in having a wide-ranging and diverse con- versation about the concept of ‘Idolatry’ in contemporary Jewish thought. The exercise of comprehensively analyzing this term from multiple angles is not a dry academic exercise, but an attempt to add fresh perspectives and new relevance to a concept that was somewhat neglected since ancient and medieval Jewish thought and law.”

— David Tesler, AJL News and Reviews



“Idolatry is a profound, probing yet engaging exploration of human misdirection whose roots are as ancient as human yearning. This book springs from history and scholarship but it speaks to our society and to the individual heart.”

— Rabbi David Wolpe, Max Webb Senior Rabbi, Sinai Temple, Los Angeles

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 Judaism’s Challenge: Election, Divine Love and Human Enmity (2020, Academic Studies Press). 

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