Get Free Shipping on orders over $89
Erasmus and the Jews : Other Voice in Early Modern Europe Ser. - Shimon Markish

Erasmus and the Jews

By: Shimon Markish

Hardcover | 1 February 1986 | Edition Number 1

Sorry, we are not able to source the book you are looking for right now.

We did a search for other books with a similar title, however there were no matches. You can try selecting from a similar category, click on the author's name, or use the search box above to find your book.

Erasmus of Rotterdam was the greatest Christian humanist scholar of the Northern European Renaissance, a correspondent of Sir Thomas More and many other learned men of his time, known to his contemporaries and to posterity for subtlety of his thought and the depth of his learning. He was also, according to some modern writers, an anti-Semite. In this complete analysis of all of Erasmus' writings on Jews and Judaism, Shimon Markish asserts that the accusation cannot be sustained. For Markish, to ask whether Erasmus was a friend or enemy of the Jews is to ask a modern question of a sixteenth-century man, whose attitude can best be called "asemitism." Erasmus' chief preoccupation was with the future of "the true philosophy of Christ"; he had little interest in the Jewish community of his own time.
"Erasmus and the Jews" discusses Erasmus' critique of Mosaic law and his view of the conflict between "Judaism" as legalistic morality and Jesus' teaching; his judgment on the Pharisees of Jesus' time; his emphasis on the importance of the study of Hebrew; and his opinions of sixteenth-century Jews. This meticulous analysis reveals an Erasmus who defended his vision of true piety by rejecting "Judaizing" Christians more than Jews and who saw the Old Testament as integral to the Christian worldview. As a Christian, he regretted nonbelief and pitied unbelievers, without vicious hostility toward any single people. His theological opposition to a form of religious thought which he identified with Judaism was not translated into crude prejudice against actual Jews. In general, his calm consideration of the strange and the foreign and his willingness to restrict his judgments to the philosophical realm were, Markish argues, early and significant steps toward enlightened toleration.
Markish's discussion of Erasmus is supplemented with an Afterword by theologian and philosopher Arthur A. Cohen, who offers a variant interpretation of Erasmus' writings and attitudes. The juxtaposed arguments of the two scholars make this an especially illuminating work for any student of Erasmus and his influence. "Erasmus and the Jews" also gives a necessary clarity to our understanding of the meaning of anti-Semitism and the history of religious toleration. Markish's profound knowledge of Erasmus allows him to demonstrate the fundamental importance of putting arguments and terminology in the context of a thinker's work and his own time.

More in Religion & Beliefs

HOW TO KILL A WITCH : A Guide For The Patriarchy - Claire Mitchell

RRP $24.99

$21.75

13%
OFF
Coven : Where Witches Gather - Fiona Horne

RRP $39.99

$31.75

21%
OFF
When Words Fail Us : Truth beyond time - Stan Grant

RRP $26.99

$24.75

The Supreme Gift : Love Is the Greatest Thing in the World - Paulo Coelho
Rasputin : And the Downfall of the Romanovs - Antony Beevor

RRP $55.00

$46.99

15%
OFF
Norse-Gaelic Paganism : Viking and Irish Myth and Magic - Annie Cúglas Humphrey
The Great Cosmic Mother : Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth - Monica Sjoo
Companion Planting in Australia - Brenda Little

RRP $22.99

$20.75

10%
OFF
The Jesus Bible [NIV Edition, Pink] : NIV Edition [Pink] - Zondervan

RRP $89.99

$64.99

28%
OFF
NIV Gift And Award Bible Red Letter Edition : Black - Zondervan
Lao Tzu : Tao Te Ching - Ursula K. Le Guin

RRP $37.99

$30.75

19%
OFF
God, the Science, the Evidence - Michel-Yves Bollore

RRP $48.99

$38.75

21%
OFF
NRSV Catholic Bible Gift Edition [Brown] : Holy Bible - Thomas Nelson

RRP $69.99

$52.75

25%
OFF
NRSV Catholic Bible Gift Edition [Teal] : Holy Bible - Thomas Nelson

RRP $69.99

$52.75

25%
OFF
Introduction to Medieval Europe 300-1500 : 4th Edition - Wim Blockmans