The Refutation of the Christian Principles

by Hasdai Crescas, Daniel J. Lasker (Translator)

Overview

During the fourteenth century, there was a general demoralization in the Jewish community in Spain. Many Jews were on the brink of conversion. Rabbi Crescas met the Christian challenge by writing this pithy book refuting the principles of the Christian religion. He argued that the basic Christian doctrines, namely, original sin, salvation, trinity, incarnation, virgin birth, transubstantiation, baptism, the messiah, a new covenant, and demons, contradict human reason, thereby calling into question Christianity's claim to be a true religion. The Refutation is an important document of the medieval Jewish-Christian debate and is also especially important for the history of Jewish philosophy in general.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781438400068
Publisher:	State University of New York Press
Publication date:	02/01/2012
Series:	SUNY series in Jewish Philosophy
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	156
File size:	23 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Daniel J. Lasker is Associate Professor of Jewish Thought at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer Sheva, Israel. He is the author of Jewish Philosophical Polemics Against Christianity in the Middle Ages.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Foreword to the English Translation

THE REFUTATION OF THE CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES

Joseph Ben Shem Tov's Introduction
Hasdai Crescas' Preface
1. Concerning the Punishment of Adam's Sin
2. Concerning the Redemption from Adam's Original Sin Called in Their Language "Original"
3. Concerning the Trinity
4. Concerning Incarnation
5. Concerning Virgin Birth
6. Concerning Transubstantiation
7. Concerning Baptism
8. Concerning the Coming of the Messiah
9. Concerning the New Torah
10. Concerning Demons

Notes

Bibliography

Indices

Editorial Reviews

It was the late 14th century, and all over Spain, Jews were converting to Christianity. Crescas, chief rabbi in Saragossa, took pen in 1398 (maybe) and explained that Christianity could not be a true religion because all that mumbo-jumbo about original sin, angels and devils, virgin birth, etc. doesn't make any sense. A decade later, anyone still a Jew was expelled from Spain, but the rabbi's critique remains a strong statement of a viable approach to evaluating religion. Paper edition (unseen), $12.95. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

"The translator is the world's preeminent authority on medieval Jewish philosophical polemics against Christianity. The text is probably the most important sustained work in this genre, particularly in light of Crescas's great importance as a philosopher and the intensification of missionary efforts in late medieval Iberia." — David Berger, Brooklyn College and the Graduate School, City University of New York

"It is a special virtue of Lasker's annotated translation that it makes available to a more general readership a work that would otherwise be known only to a very small group of specialists. At a time when humanistic studies turn more and more in a comparative direction, this is a significant accomplishment." — Arthur Hyman, Distinguished Service Professor, Yeshiva University

"Lasker answers the kinds of questions that scholars would expect of have answered and at the same time provides guidance for the interested non-specialist. He identifies Christian and Jewish sources, refers to the relevant secondary literature and turns to such Christian authors as Augustine, Anselm, and Aquinas for authoritative accounts of the Christian doctrines against which Crescas polemicizes.

From the Publisher