INDEX

Please note that page numbers are not accurate for the e-book edition.

Abbasid rulers, 74, 146–47

‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, 145

Abel, 103, 126

Abelard, Peter, 68, 91, 130, 134, 210n33

abolitionists, 37–38, 65

Abraham (Abram): arguments with God, 13, 38; as chosen, 104, 108, 116, 118–21, 138, 143, 161, 184, 221n43; respect for in the Qur’an, 143, 152

“Abrahamic faiths,” as a term, 9

abrogation (naskh), 80–81, 140, 148, 214n44, 229n4, 231n42

Abu Hafs Nasafi, 75

Abu Ishaq, 147

Abu’l Fadl, 149

Abu Umar, 150

Abu Zayd, Nasr, 76

accommodation (synkatabasis), 10, 55–56, 69–70, 80, 211n36

Acres of Diamonds (Conwell), 181

Acts, book of, 59, 121, 122, 123, 125, 179, 204n5, 210n29, 224n22, 225n30

Adler, Alfred, 21

Adversus Judaeos sermons (Chrysostom), 127–28

afterlife, 24, 95, 111, 120–23, 125, 134, 139, 148, 162, 179, 222n1, 223n13. See also paradise

Akiba, 57–58

Akra, Abraham, 50

Alexander, Michelle, 181

Alexander VI (pope), 134

Ali, Ayaan Hirsi, 166

Ali, Muhammad, 140

Ali ibn Abi Talib, 148

Allah. See God

Ambrose, 132

Amichai, Yehuda, 84

Amos, book of, 106, 157

Anabaptists, 136

Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture series (Oden), 62–63

Anselm of Canterbury, 65

Anselm of Havelberg, 70

anti-Muslim bias, 3, 89, 107, 145, 155, 162, 165–66, 167, 175. See also the other/othering

antisemitism: and anti-Judaism, 43, 116, 127, 168–69; Christian teaching of contempt, 127–28, 130, 132; condemnation of, 159, 167; in contemporary Islam, 161; and hate crimes, 166–67; violence and legal restrictions, 128, 132. See also the other/othering

Aquinas, Thomas, 40, 65, 69–70, 74, 69

Arabia, 71, 74, 141, 144, 154, 161, 241n48

Arkoun, Mohamed, 77

Armenian genocide, 145–46

Asharite theology, 78, 147–48

Athanasius of Alexandria, 61, 187, 226n59

Audi, Robert, 178

Augustine: on the authority of Catholic magisterium, 41; on exegesis, 62, on human limitations of understanding, 65; on Jews and Judaism, 127, 225n34; on just war theory, 132; on learned ignorance concept, 68; on sin, 134, 187; on unconditional election, 126

Avalos, Hector, 30, 195

Avot d’Rabbi Nathan, 49

Aydin, Mahmut, 153

Babylonian Talmud, 40, 55, 114, 128, 186: Avodah Zarah, 111; Bava Metzi’a, 49, 51, 52–53; Bava Qamma, 41, 185, 220n42; Berakhot, 51, 110, 240n29; Eruvin, 49–50; Gittin, 48, 49, 111; Hagigah, 117, 205n21; Hullin, 48, 208n26; Megillah, 117; Menahot, 57–58; Nedarim, 185; Sanhedrin, 111, 117, 219–20n30; Shabbat 49, 240n31; Yoma, 12, 110, 201n12

Baeck, Leo, 116

Banna, Hasan al-, 163, 235n26

Barth, Karl, 135

Basil of Caesarea, 188, 226n59

Bellah, Robert, 203n16

Benin, Stephen, 69

Berkey, Jonathan, 144

Bernard of Clairvaux, 133

Beveridge, Albert Jeremiah, 170

Biale, David, 112

Bible. See New Testament; scripture; Tanakh (Hebrew Bible)

biblical authority, 36–40, 85–91

Bistami, Bayazid, 74

Boeve, Lieven, 65

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, 136

The Book of Religions and Sects (Shahrastani), 150

Boyer, Pascal, 25

Boys, Mary, 168–69

Briggs, Charles Augustus, 64

Brock, Rita, 135, 224n23

Brown, Jonathan, 74–76, 86

Brown, Peter, 135–36

Brown, Warren, 27

Brueggemann, Walter, 115

Cain, 103, 126–27

Calixtus II (pope), 133

Calvin, John, 126

Canaanites, 96, 99, 105, 107–8, 110, 123, 140, 218–19n17

Carter, Stephen, 177

Catholic Church: annulment procedures, 41–42; apostolic authority, 41, 66; changing doctrine, 70; colonizing evangelism, 97; and the concept of original sin, 134; and contradictory exegesis of scripture, 62; doctrine of discovery, 134. See also Christianity/Christian practice; colonialism; conquest

Cavanaugh, William, 5, 202n1

Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, 38

chosenness/election, 95–172: and building of community, identity, purpose 101; and construction of difference, 98–102; and dangers of conquest, 96–98; and nationalism, 11, 170–72; positive and negative potential, 11, 95, 155–56, 172, 195. See also chosenness in Judaism; divine guidance in Islam; election in Christianity

chosenness in Judaism, 103–19: and accusations of racism, 105; and Christian claims of supersession, 95, 121, 123, 126–27, 129–30, 169; and the concept of vocation, 158; and conquest, 107–10, 159–60; and construction difference, 98, 105–8, 110–14, 119, 157–59; contemporary challenges, 157–61; elect, non-elect, and anti-elect, 108; and God’s abiding love, 117–118; God’s covenant with Israel, 104–7, 110, 117, 119; and Islamic claims of supersession, 96, 139–40, 148, 163; and life of Torah, 104–5, 118–19; making place for particularity, 115–17; and moral responsibility, 106, 116; and the need for humility, 107, 157; Paul’s affirmation of, 121; and persecution, 107, 112, 158; and pluralism, 104, 106, 111, 114, 116, 117, 119; and the promise of a homeland, 108–9, 159; and pursuit of holiness, 218n7; and self-critical faith, 95–96, 103, 157–58, 160–61; in Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), 95, 103–8. See also divine guidance in Islam; election in Christianity

Christianity/Christian practice: accommodation (synkatabasis), 69–70; conflict with Islam, 128–29; criticisms of, in Muslim scripture, 141, 168; Crusades, 133–34; development of orthodoxy, 60–64; and dhimmi status, 145; on distributive justice, 186–88; and election, 120–137; emulating Christ, 135–37; and heresy, 61, 64; just war theory, 132; Maimonides’s views on, 114; and marriage annulment, 41–42; multivocality and indeterminacy in, 59–65, 67–70, 86, 209n2; and nature of truth/human authority, 65–67; and the Nicene Creed, 209n9; pacifism in, 131–32; pagan critique of, 131–32; and parting of the ways from Judaism, 122–23; persecution of, 131–32, 135, 36, 145–46; and persecution of non-Christians, 112–13, 129–30, 132, 166–67; salvation, 120–23, 134–35; and self-critical faith, 44, 67–68, 70; supersessionism, 129; sympathetic portrayals of Jews and Muslims, 130; teaching of contempt, 127–28; universal salvation (apokatastasis), 124–25; variations within, 61. See also Catholic Church; election in Christianity; martyrdom; New Testament

Church Fathers, 69, 126–27, 135–36, 187–88

Clement IV (pope), 130

Clement of Alexandria, 62, 125, 134

colonialism, 21, 44, 76, 97, 145, 153, 161, 166, 169–70, 213n26, 228n86, 237n57

Commentary magazine, examination of chosenness (1966), 157–58

community, social purpose of religion, 22–23, 29–30, 194

compassion/empathy, 26, 54, 83, 106, 122, 125, 133, 137, 146, 192, 194

conciliation/mediation, 189–90, 241n48

Cone, James, 136

conquest, 11, 24, 96–98, 107–10, 131–34, 144–50, 158–59, 162–65, 169–71

la convivencia (living together), 147, 162

Conwell, Russell, 181

1 Corinthians, 62, 124–25, 204n5

2 Corinthians, 122

Cott, Jeremy, 96, 107

Cotton, John, 97

Council of Constantinople, 125

Council of Trent, 61, 67, 76

counterhistory, 112–13

Covenant of Umar, 145

criminal justice system, US, 181–83, 190–93. See also reward and punishment

critique, criticism vs., 12

Crusades, 112, 133–34

cultural values, religion as custodian of, 23–24

Cyprian of Carthage, 66, 125

Cyril of Jerusalem, 68

Davis, Ellen, 64–65

Dawkins, Richard, 195

De Dijn, Herman, 66

de Mendieta, Gerónimo, 97

Deuteronomy, 37, 53, 54, 96, 97, 105, 107–8, 114, 117, 179, 183, 204n5

dhimmi, 144–46, 230n20

Diatessaron, 209n5

difference, construction of, 98–102, 110, 123 See also chosenness/election; the other/othering

distributive justice, 183–88

divine guidance in Islam, 138–55: and attitudes toward non-Muslims, 141–42, 144–50; for biblical figures, 138–39, 141; and conquest, 144–47, 163–66; contemporary challenges, 161–66; falah (success), 139; Islam as the natural/true faith, 145, 150–51; and jihad (struggle), 144; in Qur’an, 95–96, 138–43; and pluralism, 143, 148–50, 153; and primordial religion, 152–53; responses to military defeat, 147; and rewarding of the faithful, 142, 162; and shariah, 154–55; and supersession, 139–40; for the ummah (community), 150–51. See also chosenness in Judaism; election in Christianity

Divino afflante Spiritu, 70

Doniger, Wendy, 20

doubt, 10, 45, 50, 55, 66, 68–69, 79–80. See also learned ignorance; self-critical faith

Drash, 47

Dryden, John (“The Hind and the Panther”), 63

Dube, Musa, 98

Duran, Simon b. Tzemach, 113

Durkheim, Émile, 20, 22–23

Eastern Church, concept of sin, 134

Ecclesiastical History (Eusebius), 60–61

Eck, Diana, 197–98

Eckhart, Meister, 27

economic justice, 188

Eleazar ben Arakh, 49

election in Christianity: and access to God, 123, 125–26; and attitudes toward non-Christians, 122–30; binary perspective, 120; and the compassionate Christian life, 137; and concerns about violence, 131–33; and conquest, 131–34, 169; contemporary challenges, 166–69; and the Crusades, 133; emulating Christ, 135–37; God’s initiative of love, 134–35; and intra-faith conflicts, 136; and martyrdom, 135–36; in New Testament, 95, 120–25; and pluralism, 125, 131–32, 167–68; Puritans, 97–98; sin and salvation, 120–21, 123, 134, 168; and supersession, 95, 122–23, 126–28; typological reading of Hebrew Bible, 126; unconditional, 126. See also chosenness in Judaism; divine guidance in Islam

El Fadl, Khaled Abou, 39

Eliade, Mircea, 20

Eliezer b. Hyrcanus, 49, 52–53, 111

Elitzur, Yosef, 158

Ellison, Keith, 89

Engineer, Asghar Ali, 153

the Enlightenment, 43, 195

Ephesians, 121, 123, 125

Epstein, Yehiel, 52

Esack, Farid, 100

Esther, book of, 107

the Eucharist, 29, 63

Eusebius, 60–61, 131

An Evenhanded Elucidation of the Causes of Disagreement (Wali Allah), 74

Evolutionary biology, 25–27

exceptionalism, American, 156, 169–70, 175

Ezra (scribe), 55, 105–6, 208n32, 218n13

falah (success), 139

Faraj, Muhammad Abd al-Salam, 163–64, 235n28

Fatoohi, Looay, 153

Faulkner, William, 198–99

Fee, Gordon, 64

Fiorenza, Elisabeth Schüssler, 43, 86

fiqh (jurisprudence) system, 74–75, 148, 154, 188, 212n16

Firmilian, 209n2

fitra (innate capacity for goodness/understanding), 77–78, 152–53

Foucault, Michel, 181–82

Fraade, Steven, 48–49, 207n12

Francis of Assisi, 133

Frankl, Viktor, 22

Freud, Sigmund, 21

Fuchs-Kreimer, Nancy, 158–59

Full Sails Ahead (Yassine), 164

Gadamer, George, 198

Galatians, 69, 120, 121, 122, 223n4, 223n5, 224n27

Gamaliel II, Rabban, 51, 207n18

Gamble, Harry, 209n7

Gandhi, Mahatma, 85

Gaon, Saadia, 50, 114, 157, 207n15

Geertz, Clifford, 29–30

gendered language, 15

Genesis, book of, 13, 56, 84, 98, 103–4, 108, 134, 183–84, 204n5

Ghazali, al-, 75, 147–48, 231n38

Girard, René, 23–24

Gitlin, Todd, 160–61

Glossa Ordinaria, 62

God: as dangerous religious idea, 4, 7, 91, 96, 100–1; divine love and compassion, 36, 54, 106, 117, 120, 134–35, 148; as judge, 13, 36, 72, 79, 179–81, 230n29; knowledge of, 65, 68, 80, 143, 149; and liberation of the oppressed, 136; omnipotence and free will, 78; and pluralism, 81, 91, 106, 125, 134–35, 143, 148, 153; and primordial religion, 152; in rabbinic texts, 48–53, 56; as redeemer, 19, 22, 60, 65, 109, 114, 115, 135; in relationship with all peoples, 95, 106, 108, 111, 116, 118, 157; and religion, 20, 25, 27; and rivalry for divine favor, 23, 95–96, 103–4, 111, 121–22, 168; and Scripture, 37–40, 43–44, 62, 64, 67, 73, 79, 148; in Sufism, 74, 77. See also reward and punishment

Good Samaritan parable, 186–87

Green, William Scott, 99

Greenberg, Irving, 116–17, 157

Gregory I (pope), 133

Gregory of Nyssa, 125

Guide for the Perplexed (Maimonides), 55

Ha’am, Ahad, 57, 91

haCohen, Eliyahu, 57–58

hadith teachings, 38, 41–42, 71–73, 78, 79, 91, 144, 152, 211n6, 212n15, 213n36, 230n29

hajj, 29, 74, 113, 151

halakhah (rabbinic law/praxis), 28, 54, 56, 109–10, 154

Halbertal, Moshe, 51

HaLevi, Yehuda, 113–14

Hanafi school, empowerment of women, 75

Hascall, Susan, 188–89

Hayes, Christine, 53–54

Hebrew Bible. See Tanakh (Hebrew Bible)

Hebrews, 61, 121, 204n5, 217n1

Heft, James, 68

heHasid, Judah, 55

Hellenistic philosophy, influence of, 40, 95, 116, 225n38

heresy, 4, 61, 64, 76, 199

Hermansen, Marcia, 161

Hervieu-Léger, Danièle, 177

Hillel ben Jacob, 112, 206n9

“The Hind and the Panther” (Dryden), 63

historical-critical approaches, 42–44, 64, 85, 206n30

historical positivism, 66–67, 76

“History of the Indian Church” (de Mendieta), 97

Hitler, Adolf, 30

Hollinger, David, 195

Holy Spirit, 60, 167

homosexuality; see same-sex relationships

hudud crimes and punishments, 82, 188, 214n50

Hughes, Langston, 171–72

human beings: as containing both good and evil, 13–14; and devotion to God, 38; as essentially sinful, 134; inability to know the unknowable, 68, 85; innate spiritual capacity, 77–78, 103–4, 194; as intrinsically good, 13, 152, 181; key aspects of development, 203n16; need for community, 22–23; need for information, 25; need for meaning, 15, 22, 25, 171, 194; will to pleasure, 21–22

humility, epistemological, 54–55, 67–68, 79–80, 85, 91, 143

Hutchinson, Sikivu, 195

Ibn al-Haytham, 77

Ibn Arabi, 73, 148–49, 155

Ibn Daud, Abraham, 53

Ibn Ezra, Abraham, 55–56

Ibn Hazm, 146–47

Ibn Kathir, 155

Ibn Nagrela, Joseph, 147

Ibn Pakuda, Bahya, 56

Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, 148, 155

Ibn Rushd, 40

Ibn Saud, 76

Ibn Tufayl, 40

Ibn Tumart, Muhammad, 75

idolatry, 56, 69, 105, 129, 141–42, 160, 219n30, 221n44

ijtihad (independent reasoning), 74, 78, 82, 164, 213n35

interfaith movement, 7–8, 90, 161, 168

intermarriage, in Tanakh, 105–6

interpretation, significance of, 7–10, 198. See also scripture

intrareligious engagement, 12–13

Iqbal, Muhammad, 78–79

Irenaeus, 60, 134, 209n2, 211n36

Isaiah, 106, 107, 120, 121, 126, 218n5, 218n9, 218n13, 222n59

Ishmael, 104, 108, 122

Islam/Muslim practice: contextual exegesis, 80–82; and dhimmi status, 145; and distributive/restorative justice, 188–89; divine guidance/election, 138–55; doctrine of doubt, 79; Duran’s criticisms, 113; and epistemological humility, 80; exclusivist perspectives, 140, 146–48, 163; interfaith explorations, 161–62; interpretive pluralism, 73–77; Islamic jurisprudence, 74, 154, 164, 188–89, 192; and Islamism, 163–66; justifications for conquest and violence, 96–97, 144–45; la convivencia (living together), 147, 162; Maimonides’s views on, 114; majalis (councils), and respectful dispute, 149–50; nature of truth and human authority, 77–79; and non-violence, 142–43; and othering, 141, 146–47, 161–62; reform movements in, 213n23, 213n35; rejection of by Jews and Christians, 128–29, 141–42; and religious pluralism, 72, 153, 161–62; Renewalists in Southeast Asia, 165; schisms within, 72; scientific and legal development, 73–74; and self-critical faith, 44, 140; Shahrastani’s definition of religion 150; shariah, 154–55; Sufi Islam, 74, 78, 80, 149; supersession arguments, 129, 148; teachings on tolerance, 74, 148; text-critical tools developed within, 206n30; and the transmission of non-revelatory knowledge, 77; ummah (God’s community), 74, 150–51; in the US, 162. See also hadith teachings; Muhammad; Qur’an; sunna

Islamism, 162–65, 234n25

Islamophobia, see anti-Muslim bias

“Israel,” Philo’s definition, 116

Israel, ultranationalism in, 158–60

Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), 158

Jafar bin Mansur al-Yaman, 148

Jakobsen, Janet, 215n14

James the Conqueror, 130

Jami al-bayan (Al-Tabari), 148

Jeeves, Malcolm, 27

Jefferson, Thomas, 89

Jeremiah, book of, 84, 106, 107, 218n9

Jerome, 68, 210–11n34

Jerusalem Council, 59–60

Jesus, 29, 30, 63, 69, 72, 83, 87, 95, 112, 113, 120–26, 128, 130, 134, 141, 168, 187, 192, 216, 220n36, 222n1, 224n27, 225n36, 229n9

Jewish Emancipation, 157

jihad (struggle), 3, 144, 163, 167

jizya (head-tax), 142, 144–45

Job, book of, 13, 38, 84, 192

Jobert, Michel, 164

John, gospel according to, 41, 123, 192–93, 204n5, 209n5

John Chrysostom, 69, 127–28, 135

John of Damascus, 129

Jonah, book of, 106

Jones, Ernest, 116

Joseph, 104, 217n3

Joshua, 109, 111

Joshua (rabbi), 51

Jubilees, book of, 111

Judaism/Jewish practice: anti-Christian polemics, 112–13; attitudes toward in the New Testament, 121–22; attitudes toward in Qur’an, 138–43; canonization of controversy, 46–58; chosenness in, 103–119; Christian and Muslim claims of supersession, 95–96, 122–23, 126–28, 129–30, 139–40, 148, 163; and dhimmi status, 145; efforts to defeat the Romans, 109; and ethics, 13, 41, 56, 111, 116, 183–86; and mediation as an approach to justice, 189; particularism and universalism in, 115–117; Paul’s rejection of, 122; Philo’s definition, 116; and pluralism, 104, 106, 111, 114, 116, 117, 119; prayer shawl (tallit), 29; protection of, by Christian rulers, 133; responses to persecution by Christians, 112–13; reward and punishment, 179, 183–86; and self-critical faith, 49–52, 55, 95–96, 103, 157–58, 160–61; suffering/endurance of, 107, 111–12, 114, 117, 127, 135; as a text-centered tradition, 46. See also rabbinic Judaism; Tanakh (Hebrew Bible); Torah

Juergensmeyer, Mark, 24

Justice: definition and types, 182–83; in New Testament and patristic tradition, 186–88; in Qur’an and Islamic tradition, 188–89; social justice, 176, 184, 190; in Tanakh and rabbinic tradition, 183–86. See also criminal justice system, US; reward and punishment

Justin Martyr, 126, 220n31

Just Mercy (Stevenson), 193

Just Peace paradigm, 7–8

just war theory, 132

Kadivar, Mohsen, 164–65

Kant, Immanuel, 115

Kaplan, Mordecai, 158

Kaveny, Cathleen, 197

Keller, Catherine, 131

Kelsay, John, 145

Keshet uMagen (Bow and Shield) (Duran), 113

Khan, Mohammad Akram, 213n35

Khodr, Georges, 23

Khomeini, Ayatollah, 82

Kierkegaard, Søren, 24, 39, 66, 91

Kimchi, Joseph, 113

Kimhi, David, 55

Kindi, Risâlat al-, 129

King, Richard, 20

Kohler, Kaufmann, 116

Kook, Abraham Isaac, 157

Kraemer, David, 53

Lactantius, 131–32, 187–88

Lazarus-Yafeh, Hava, 206n30

learned ignorance, 68, 85, 91

Lehem Mishneh, 57

Leibowitz, Liel, 160–61, 172

“Let America Be America Again” (Hughes), 171–72

Leviticus, 37 84, 97, 105, 108, 179, 183, 184, 187, 204n5, 218n7, 218n14

liberal democracy, 6

liberation theology, 65, 136

Lincoln, Abraham, 171, 179–80

Locke, John, 181

Loisy, Alfred, 64

Love the Stranger as Yourself? Racism in the Name of Halacha (IRAC), 158

Luke, gospel according to, 120, 122, 128, 186–87, 222n1

Lurianic kabbalah, 119

Luther, Martin, 61, 63, 66–67, 130

Luzzatto, Moshe Chaim, 207n20

Madison, James, 68–69

Maimonides, Moses, 40, 53–56, 114–15, 157, 189

majalis (councils), 149–50

Malcolm X, 151

Malik, ‘Abd al-, 78

Marcion, 6

Mark, gospel according to, 120, 121, 222n1

Marshall, Christopher, 186–87

martyrdom: as evidence of election, 112, 135–36; and redemptive violence, 125

Masuzawa, Tomoko, 20

Matthew, gospel according to: 63, 83, 120, 122–25, 136, 179, 186, 196, 204n5, 222n1, 225n30

McClay, Wilfred, 177

Mealy, Webb, 223n13

meaning, will to, 22

Medina Charter, 189

Meeks, Wayne, 91

Meiri, Menachem, 114

Mendelssohn, Moses, 115–16

Midrash Rabbah: Deuteronomy, 110, 208n32; Exodus, 119; Genesis, 56–57, 217n1, 218n11, 219n27; Lamentations 118; Leviticus, 56, 110; Numbers, 50, 118, 206n5; Ruth 119; Song of Songs 110, 118, 119

Mikra’ot Gedolot, 57, 62

mimetic desire (Girard), 23–24

Mishnah, 40, 47–48, 184–85: Avot, 52, 207n13, 228n1; Bava Qamma 41, 185; Rosh HaShanah, 207n18; Sanhedrin, 111; Yoma, 204n29

Moltmann, Jürgen, 136

Montecroce, Riccoldo da, 130

Moore, Roy, 89

Muhammad, 38, 42, 71, 74, 80, 81, 82, 96, 100, 113, 128, 129, 139, 142, 151, 152, 188, 189, 230n27

Mutazilite Islam, 78, 80

The Myth of Religious Superiority, 85

Nachmanides, 52, 55, 91, 215n11

Nag Hammadi, ancient texts discovered at, 60

naskh (abrogation), 80–81, 140, 214n44

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, 153–54

The Neglected Duty (Faraj), 163

neurotheology, 26–27

new atheists, 195–96

The New Jim Crow (Alexander), 181

New Testament: acceptance of slavery, 37; ambiguity and complexity of, 64–65; debates about the proper limits of, 61; Diatessaron, 209n5; diversity of underlying texts, 59–60, 85; and the four senses, 206n4; as God’s authoritative, infallible word, 38, 64, 66–69, 179; historical context, 122, 124–25; humanizing of transgressors, 187; interpretive pluralism, 62–63; lessons about judgment, 192–93; Martin Luther’s edition, 61; multiple voices in, 59; negative portrayals of Jews in, 100; parables, as teachings about justice, 186–87; redemptive violence in, 125; rhetoric of othering, 123–24; salvation as spiritual rescue, 120–21; supersession arguments, 138; unifying core, 60. See also Christianity/Christian practice; election in Christianity

Nicholas of Cusa, 68, 133–34

Niebuhr, Reinhold, 24

Nietzsche, Frederich, 21

9/11 terrorist attack, 162

Nirenberg, David, 127

Noah, 56, 104, 111, 126, 138, 218n6

Noahide laws, 111

nonviolence, 109, 142–44, 178

O’Brien, Conor Cruise, 171

Ochs, Peter, 198

Oden, Thomas, 62–63

Omar (Umar II), 80

On the Jews and Their Lies (Luther), 130

Oral Torah, 40–41, 46–49, 57, 66. See also rabbinic Judaism; Torah (teaching)

Origen, 61, 68–69, 141, 125, 131, 134–35, 182

the other/othering: of Christians and Jews, by Muslims, 141, 145; of Christians and Muslims, by Jews, 111–13; as a concept, 23, 98; defining difference, 99; and dehumanizing of people who break the law, 187; demonization of the other, 100; and domination, 99; and efforts to foster understanding, 3, 7–8, 116–17, 161–62, 168; of inadequately devout Muslims, 140–41; Islamic theology justifying, 144; of Jews and Muslims, by Christians, 125–30; labeling as, 98; and marginalization, 39–40, 42, 107–8; and need for dominance, power, 99; and obligations to the stranger, 106–7; the Pharisees as, 123; as potential in all religions, 152; and preventing marginalization and abuse, 106–7; problematic scriptural verse on, 204n5; of those who are “too much like us,” 123; and viewing the other as deficient, 146–47; warnings about judging others, 192. See also chosenness/election; divine guidance in Islam

Ottoman Empire, 76, 145–46, 161

paganism, 97, 100, 107, 113, 114, 131–32, 141

Palestinian Talmud, 40: Sanhedrin, 49–50, Shevi’it, 85, 110; Sotah, 109; Yevamot, 49; Yoma, 240n29

paradise, 73, 135, 139, 143, 148; see also afterlife

PaRDeS (acronym) for multi-layered exegesis of Torah, 47, 73

Parker, Rebecca Ann, 135, 224n23

Paul: cautions about arrogance, 124, 192–93; chosenness, link to salvation, 120–21; diverse interpretations of teachings, 60, 121–22; identification as a Jew, 223n7; negative views of Torah, 122–23; on using Hebrew law to lead to Christ, 69; writings as prooftext for family separations and slavery, 89–90

Paulinus of Nola, 132

Pelagius, 134

People of the Book, 142–45, 162

Peshat, meaning, 47

Pharisees, 123–24, 169

the Philippines, US annexation, 170

Philo, 40, 116

piety. See self-critical faith

Plato, 115

pleasure, will to, 21

pluralism: civic, 37, 152, 165, 168, 176, 215n14; in contemporary Christian debate, 167; interpretive, 46–53, 59–65, 68, 71–77, 86–87; in Islam during the Middle Ages, 148–49; in Jewish thought, 104, 106, 111, 114, 116, 117, 119; and learned ignorance, 68; theological, 85, 96, 143, 152–53, 162

power, will to: 21–22, 36, 39, 61, 98, 160

primordial religion, 152–53

prison-industrial complex, 181, 192

procedural justice, 183

prodigal son, story of, 186

Pseudo-Dionysius, 68

public reason (Rawls), 176

public square, political discourse: and the iconic power of scripture, 88; potential positive role of religion, 175–76; religious ideas about justice, 177, 190–92; separation of religion and state, 176–77; and theo-ethical equilibrium, 178; and use of religious symbols, 88–89; use of spiritual arguments and authority, 87–88

public theology, 8, 11–12, 197

Qafisheh, Mutaz, 190

Qaradawi, Yusuf al-, 164

Qur’an: acceptance of slavery, 37; anti-Jewish ayat, historicizing explanations, 100; application of human reason to interpreting, 78; aspirational nature of, 155; authority/ultimacy of, 36–37, 72, 75, 82, 139–40; call for restraint in war, 145; codification and transmission of Muhammad’s sayings and doings of, 41; concepts related to justice, 189, 212–13n22; continuing relevance, 36; denigration of pagans, 100; desecrations following 9/11 terrorist attacks, 89; different historical contexts for, 85; Duran’s criticisms of, 113; as eternal and universal, 72; exclusivist theologians, 148; as a guide, 162; leniency shown unbelievers in earlier passage, 142; and Muslim justice traditions, 179, 188; objections to paganism, 141; Orientalist approaches to studies of, 44; references to conciliation in, 189–90; references to paradise, afterlife, 139, 148; references to conquest and colonialism, 142; rigid interpretations, 75, 79; self-critical faith in, 140; and supersession/perfection of earlier revelation, 38, 72, 138, 141–42, 146–47; and variant approaches to Islam, 71–75, 153–54, 211n6; “verse of the sword” (9:5), 81, 142; warning about judging the other, 192; women in, 42; as the word of the living God, 38, 72, 80–81. See also Islam/Muslim practice

Rabb, Intisar, 79, 91

rabbinic Judaism: approach to factionalism, 50; and assertions of scriptural authority, 40–41, 51; and balancing of diverse perspectives, 49; and commanded vs. discretionary conflicts, 109–10; dialectical engagement as pedagogical tool, 49–50; focus on Torah studies, 46; and focus on values and moral behavior, 54; halakhah, 154; “heart” as the seat of the mind, 48; and interpretations of “eye for an eye,” 41; on meaning as unique and individual, 57, 207n12; Oral Torah, 40–41, 46–48, 57; and pluralism, 50; and polysemy, debate about exegeses, 14, 47, 50–54, 57–58; pragmatism, 53; as predominant form of Judaism, 207n10; questioning of inerrancy of Torah, 50, 55–58; and rabbis as procedural authorities, 52; and recognition of both good and evil in everyone, 13–14; respect for minority opinions, 206n8; proscriptions against Canaanites, 110; and reward and punishment, 185–86; and tension between reason and revelation, 53; and the transformation of the warrior into a scholar, 109; and truth as ambiguous, multi-sided, 50; and understanding abstract ideas, 52–53; willingness to admit error and ignorance, 54. See also chosenness in Judaism; Judaism/Jewish practice; Tanakh; Torah (the law)

Ramadan, Tariq, 153

Rashbam, 57

Rauf, Feisal Abdul, 162

Rawls, John, 175–77

Reagan, Ronald, 88

Reconstructionist Judaism, 158

redemption. See salvation/redemption

the Reformation, 66–67

religion: and abstract, nonrational thinking, 21, 26, 52–53, 23n22; authoritarian nature of, 40–41; as basis for morality, 85; built-in flaws, 6; and the claim to ultimacy, 18; dangerous ideas fundamental to, 3–8, 10, 17–19, 23–25, 35–36, 151–52, 194, 196–99, 204n5; defining, challenges, 20–21; as essential for human experience, 17, 21, 194–95; fire metaphor for, 17–18; as an imagining of an ideal world, 26; influence on culture, 23–25, 29–30; multidisciplinary toolbox for studying, 20–21; and narrative, 25; prayer, spoken ritual, 29; and the primordial religion, 152; as provisional, noneternal, 70; reductionist arguments, warnings about, 160; religious pluralism, 14, 143; and separation of church and state, 176–77; social function, 22–23; as source of focus, 25; as a term, 9; as trigger for action, 25, 28–30. See also Christianity/Christian practice; Islam/Muslim practice; Judaism/Jewish practice; scripture

Remez, meaning, 47

restorative justice, 182, 184–90

retributive justice, 182–84

Reumann, John, 60

reward and punishment: assuming a divine hand in, 180; and the development of human community, 181; and finding the unexpected good, 187; as a foundational human need, 195; and God-given prosperity and suffering, 179–81; humanization of transgressors, 187–88; and human survival, 181; law and order construct, 181; problematic scriptural verse on, 204n5; religious ideas about, need for critical examination and praxis, 191–92; Talmudic interpretations, 185–86.

Rhodes, Jerusha, 128, 162

Ricoeur, Paul, 87

Riswold, Caryn, 168

Ritschl, Albrecht, 135

ritual, 21–24, 26, 29, 194

Roetzel, Calvin, 125

Roman Empire, 49, 51, 69, 90, 109, 123–25, 127, 131–32

Romans, book of, 60, 121, 135, 141, 168

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 171

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 98–99

Rubenstein, Jeffrey, 49

Ruether, Rosemary Radford, 124

Rumi, Jalal ad-Din Muhammad, 149, 153

Rundi, al-, 147

Russell, Letty, 169

Ruth, book of, 106

Ruthard of Mainz, 133

Rutilius Namatianus, 19

Sachedina, Abdulaziz, 78, 143, 162

Sacks, Jonathan, 115

Sacra Pagina, 67

salvation/redemption: communal focus, 135, 137; and faithful observance, 143; as a foundational human need, 195; and the gift of eternal life, 120–21, 134; and God’s forgiveness, 134–36; historically assigned meanings,12, 125; Origen’s view of, 69; in the Qur’an, similarity to Tanakh, 139, 142; redemptive readings of scripture, 101–2; redemptive violence, myth of, 24. See also chosenness/election; Christianity/Christian practice; Judaism/Jewish practice; Islam/Muslim practice

same-sex relationships, 36–37, 39–40, 42, 90, 178, 204n5

2 Samuel, 97

Saudi Arabia, establishment of, 76

Scholem, Gershom, 207n20

Schultz, Charles, 67–68

Schwartz, Regina, 24

scriptural interpretation (exegesis): and argument, 9, 28–29, 35–36, 52, 62–63; and contextual biases, 86; and discovering God’s truth, larger purpose, 57, 65, 198; diversity in, 121–22; and embracing the space-in-between, 199; as instructions on how to behave, 28–29; limits and parameters, 9–10; pluralistic approaches, 86; and politics, 87–91; and the possibility of error, 68–69, 75; prooftexts, 28, 89–91, 140. See also Qur’an; rabbinic Judaism

scripture: adaptive approaches, 54; ambiguity and complexity of, 7–8, 38, 55–56, 62, 64, 66–67, 85, 91, 159; authority/ultimacy/inerrancy of, 10–11, 36–39, 44, 88; Christian resistance to challenges to, 64; community-building role, 194; constructive vs. destructive forces of, 83; continuing relevance, 36; defined, 35; embedded ambiguity, 8, 90–91, 140; healing power, 42–43; historical-critical perspectives, 42; and the human need for meaning, 194; moral/behavioral instructions in, 13, 28, 194–95; personal truths in, 57; and the power to transform, 42–43, 83, 101–2; in the public sphere, 89–90; “Reader’s Digest” versions, 39, 84; relation to politics, 147–47; and ritual, 29; as syllabus for lifelong study, 84–85; teachings on justice, 182–83; text-critical tools for studying, 206n30. See also New Testament; Qur’an; religion; Tanakh (Hebrew Bible)

Second Vatican Council, 67

secularism, 15, 76, 153, 161, 177

Sefer haBerit (The Book of the Covenant) (Kimchi), 113

Selengut, Charles, 30

self-critical faith: and cautions about election, 124–25; and embracing ambiguity in scripture, 7–8, 85, 91, 159; and the examination of chosenness, 11; and humility, 87, 156, 164, 171; and ideas about justice, 190–92; and intolerance, absolutism, 87; and jihad (struggle), 144; and judging the other, 40, 192; and the nature of truth, 65; as a purpose of religion, 6; questions to ask, examples, 196–97; and religion in the public square, 175; and the space-in-between, 199

Seneca, 19

separation of religion and state, 89, 176–77

Sessions, Jeff, 89–90

Severus of Minorca, 132

Shah-Kazemi, Reza, 72, 153, 230n29

Shahrastani, al-, 147–48, 150

Shammai, 206n9

Shapira, Yitzhak, 158

Shar’ani, al-, 81

shariah (the way), 74–75, 154–55, 164

Shaw, George Bernard, 39

Shenoute, 132

Shi’a Islam, 72–74, 78, 80, 82, 203n29, 214n44, 231n42

Shimon bar Yohai, 49

Shlomo bar Shimshon, 112

sin, 4, 108–9, 125, 130, 134, 139, 152, 167, 182, 187

Sivertsev, Alexei, 132

slavery, prooftexts for and against, 37–38, 65, 88, 204n5, 204n8

Smith, Anthony, 170

Smith, Christian, 64

Smith, Wilfred Cantwell, 20, 35

social justice, see justice

Socrates (early church historian), 209n2

Sod, meaning, 47

Soulen, R. Kendall, 117–18, 217n3, 225n36

Southeast Asia, Muslim Renewalists in, 165

the space-in-between, 199

Spinoza, Benedict de, 37, 65–66, 87–88

Steiner, George, 46

Stern, David, 47

Stevenson, Bryan, 193

St. Isaac the Syrian, 125

strangers. See the other/othering

Strasbourg Cathedral statuary, 129

Strong, Josiah, 169

Suchocki, Marjorie, 85–86

suffering, 12, 22, 41, 84, 97, 107, 111–12, 117, 120, 125–27, 130, 135–36, 138, 179–81, 218n9, 225n30. See also martyrdom

Sufism, 74, 77, 80, 148–49

Sulpicius Severus, 132

sunna (sayings and doings of the prophet Muhammad), 41–43, 73–74, 163, 205n24, 213n23

Sunni Islam, 29, 72, 74–76, 78, 81–82, 151, 163, 214n44

supersession (replacement of earlier by later scripture), 38, 72, 96, 120, 126–27, 138–40, 152, 155, 169, 195

Tabari, al-, 140, 148, 212n18, 231n42

Tabarsi, al-, 231n42

tafsir al-muqarin commentary, 73

tahrif (distortion), 129, 139, 146

Talmud, see Babylonian Talmud; Palestinian Talmud.

Tanakh (Hebrew Bible): as challenge to Platonic universalism, 115; challenges to God in, 38; and chosenness, 103–8; concerns about intermarriage, 105–6; and conquest, 107–8; conquest tradition vs. peace tradition, 109; “Diaspora literature,” 107; multivocality, 46–47, 56–58, 85; principles of justice in, 183–84; salvation as physical rescue, 120; slavery in, 37; supersession by later scripture, 120, 138; teachings about freedom and economic equality in, 19, 136; values embodied within, 54. See also Abraham (Abram); Judaism/Jewish practice; Torah (teaching)

Tannaim, 46, 52, 54

Tau, Zvi, 160

Tertullian, 63–64

“That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew” (Luther), 130

Theodosius I (emperor), 61

theo-ethical equilibrium, 178

A Theologico-Political Treatise (Spinoza), 65–66

1 Thessalonians, 120, 124, 192

2 Thessalonians, 123

Tibi, Bassam, 165

1 Timothy, 62, 124, 204n5

2 Timothy, 38

Toledot Yeshu (The Life Story of Jesus), 112

tolerance, religious, 74, 76, 85, 87, 147–50, 209n2

Torah (teaching): and God’s creation of the world, 56–57; meaning of, as unique for each person, 57; definition of, 41; multivocality in, 46–51; Oral Torah, 40–41, 46–48; parallels with shariah, 154; and peace between God and the world, 119; as primary sign of covenant with Israel, 46, 104–5, 118–19; as speaking the language of human beings, 69. See also Judaism/Jewish practice; Tanakh

Umar (caliph), 81–82, 144–45

ummah (community), 74, 150–51

United States: and election, 170–72; family separation policies, 89–90; hate crimes in, 166; and issues of religious freedom, 177–78; Lincoln’s second inaugural address, 179–80; predominance of Christianity in, 88, 90, 169, 177; prison-industrial complex, 181, 192; Reagan’s “Year of the Bible,” 88; separation of religion and state, 89, 176–77

“universal,” meaning of, 203n21

Urban II (pope), 133

violence: against Jews, 128, 132–33, 147, 163; Christian justification of, 130, 132–34; and Islamism, 163–64; and Israeli ultranationalists, 160; redemptive violence, 23–24, 125, 227n74; scriptural justifications for, 81, 96–97, 107–8, 143. See also conquest; Crusades

Vivekananda, Swami, 3, 5

Wadud, Amina, 37, 212n18

Wahhabi Islam, 76–77, 79

Wali Allah, 74

Wall, Robert, 60

Ward, Keith, 6

warfare, as metaphysical, 23–24. See also conquest; violence

Warnke, Georgia, 9

Wesleyan quadrilateral, 66

white supremacy, 99, 150–51, 166–67, 171, 176

William of Auvergne, 69–70

Wilson, David Sloan, 203n22

Wilson, Woodrow, 170

Wink, Walter, 24, 144

Winter, Tim, 162

Wolf, Arnold Jacob, 84

women: in Islamic law, 75, 82; religious restrictions regarding, 19, 36, 43, 62, 75, 165–66, 178, 190, 212n18; in scriptural interpretation, 40, 62, 73, 204n5; role during early Christian history, 62; role in orthodox traditions, 19

World Council of Churches, 167

Yaman, Jafar bin Mansur al-, 148

Yassine, Nadia, 144, 164

Yeshayahu Leibowitz, 13–14, 160

yetzer tov (inclination towards good), 13–14

Zionism, 159–60

the Zohar, 113–14

Zwingli, Ulrich, 63