Religious Truth: Towards a Jewish Theology of Religions (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781786942289)

Truth informs much of the self-understanding of religious believers. Accordingly, understanding what we mean by 'truth' is a key challenge to interreligious collaboration. The contributors to this volume, all leading scholars, consider what is meant by truth in classical and contemporary Jewish thought, and explore how making the notion of truth more nuanced can enable interfaith dialogue. Their essays take a range of approaches: some focus on philosophy proper, others on the intersection with the history of ideas, while others engage with the history of Jewish mysticism and thought. Together they open up the notion of truth in Jewish religious discourse and suggest ways in which upholding a notion of one's religion as true may be reconciled with an appreciation of other faiths.

By combining philosophical and theological thinking with concrete case studies, and discussion of precedents and textual resources within Judaism, the volume proposes new interpretations of the concept of truth, going beyond traditional exclusivist uses of the term. A key aim is to help Jews seeking dialogue with other religions to do so while remaining true to their own faith tradition: in pursuit of this, the volume concludes with suggestions of how the ideas presented can be applied in practice.


Author: Alon Goshen-Gottstein
ISBN-10: 1786942283
ISBN-13: 9781786942289
Publisher: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization in Ass
Language: English
Published: 04/30/2020
Pages: 224
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.06lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.40w x 0.90d

About the Author

Rabbi Dr Alon Goshen-Gottstein is founder and director of the Elijah Interfaith Institute, Jerusalem. His work bridges the theological and academic dimension with a variety of practical initiatives, especially involving world religious leadership. He has held academic posts at Tel Aviv University and has served as director of the Center for the Study of Rabbinic Thought, Beit Morasha College, Jerusalem. His publications include The Jewish Encounter with Hinduism: Wisdom, Spirituality Identity and Same God, Other God: Judaism, Hinduism and the Problem of Idolatry.