The politics of scripture: Exile and identity in Jewish and Christian readings of Jeremiah (John Howard Yoder)

This is a dissertation on Jewish-Christian dialogue and concerns the ways in which that dialogue can take place in a post-Holocaust, post-Christendom world. The argument assumes that any attempt at such dialogue requires that the religious convictions of both Jews and Christians be strengthened so that both can witness to the faithfulness of God's promises. The theme of witness or mission is seen as central to an understanding of Christian and Jewish identity as these are discerned through particular scriptural reading practices.; The argument proceeds by weaving a common thread through various narratives in order to make two claims: How the politics of the church cannot be understood by Christians apart from God's promises of redemption to Israel and how Christians cannot understand God's conversation with Israel apart from Jesus.; In order to explicate these claims chapters 2 and 4 look at some of the works of John Howard Yoder (1927–1997) to see the ways in which his account of Jesus informs his reading of Scripture and how out of such readings an identity of the church is discerned that speaks directly to how Christians both have a part in Israel's story and hence should live in relation to Jews. Chapter 3 examines the works of David Weiss Halivni and Michael Wyschogrod on questions of scriptural reading strategies and Jewish identity to see the ways in which their work complements and challenges some of the assumptions in Yoder's accounts of Scripture, Israel and the church.; The fourth chapter deals specifically with the biblical text of Jeremiah to exemplify Yoder's reading strategies and how these are correlative of his understanding of Christian identity, witness, and Christology. I supplement Yoder's interpretation of Jeremiah's story and his particular emphasis on exile with a few Jewish interpretations and uses of Jeremiah and Lamentations, noting again how these both challenge and supplement the Christian convictions that guide Yoder's reading of Jeremiah and his argument for exilic existence.; In the final chapter I will revisit the two initial claims in light of my readings of Yoder and his Jewish interlocutors. I will argue that Yoder's particular Christologically-informed reading strategies lead directly into a politics of identity of the Christian church that are shaped by the practices of confession and mission both to and with the Jews and to the rest of creation. Such practice, because they are shaped by Yoder's radical Christology are themselves witnesses to the non-violent cross of Christ.