International Studies in Formative Christianity and Judaism – serie

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Romans chapters 9-11 has been puzzling readers for centuries. Paul seems to argue that Israel has been supplanted by the Church, but concludes that all Israel will be saved. Using postmodern, reader-response literary methods John G. Lodge analyzes those chapters and shows that the implied author of the text is intentionally 'unreliable,' fostering both anti- and pro-Israel viewpoints only to reject both, and thereby forcing readers to confront their own stance toward Israel. Drawing on the work of Stanley Fish, this book represents the first in-depth application of reader-response methodology to the epistolary genre.

The Messiah is a central concept in the dialogue between Judaism and Christianity. This study examines the history of the concept of the messiah preceeding and within the Jewish and Christian biblical texts. The author identifies the roots of this concept in Near Eastern royal ideology and traces the complex process of its development into a central issue in the Old Testament and in Jewish eschatology of the Second Temple period. New Testament christology then developed in conjunction with Jewish messianic ideas. This fascinating historical 'biography' of the Messiah will engage and inform scholars and students in biblical studies, and clergy and academics interested in Jewish-Christian dialogue.