Comparing Spiritualities

There have been many studies of the doctrinal and liturgical differences and similarities between formative Judaism and early Christianity. Many of these studies examine the impact of Hellenistic culture on the development of Judaism and the consequences that such a Hellenized Judaism had for the development of Christianity. Very few books, however, have isolated particular spiritual practices as lenses through which to examine and compare these two religions.

In their book, Chilton and Neusner ask simply, "What are experiences both distinctive to the spiritual life of Torah and Christ, respectively, and also accessible to our common humanity?" Their response is to examine the experiences of "birth in the faith, death by the faith, and bearing witness to the faith." Each writer explores the ways in which classical statements of Christ and Torah represent critical moments in a person's life of faith, and offer a comparison of the spiritual piety that each religion teaches and nurtures.

Chilton and Neusner are the co-authors of The Body of Faith (Trinity) and God in the World (Trinity). Chilton is the author of Jesus' Prayer and Jesus' Eucharist (Trinity). Neusner is the author or editor of over 700 books including The Incarnation of God: The Character of Divinity in Formative Judaism.

For: Clergy; seminarians; graduate students; those interested in formative Judaism and Christianity and in Jewish-Christian relations