Reluctant Parting: How the New Testament's Jewish Writers Created a Christian Book » (REPRINT)

Julie Galambush is an associate professor of religious studies at The College of William and Mary. She holds a Ph.D. in Old Testament studies from Emory University and a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School. Formerly an ordained American Baptist minister, Galambush is a convert to Judaism and a member of Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church, Virginia.

Now in paperback, The Reluctant Parting is a poignant look at the New Testament exploring the forgotten question of intention and identity in Christianity's core writings– How did Jesus's followers stop being Jewish without meaning to?

While other books have demonstrated the "Jewishness" of Jesus, none have grappled with the implications of the New Testament authors' relationship to their own Judaism. The Christian New Testament has led a life never imagined by its Jewish sectarian authors. Through lively and accessible scholarship, Galambush reveals the anguish of the early Christians as they first struggled with, and then left behind, the larger Jewish community. She illuminates the human drama of the split between Jews and Christians, revealing a deep loss at the heart of Christian tradition that continues to cry out for reconciliation between Christianity and the Judaism it so painfully left.

Not just another well–credentialed scholar, Galambush is uniquely positioned as both a convert to Judaism and a former associate pastor to identify what is at stake for Jews as well as for Christians. The book's deeply empathic portrayal of the early Christians' struggle with their Jewish identity will allow it to serve as a resource for Jews and Christians alike.

Publishers Weekly

Christianity did not exist as a self-defined religious movement until well into the second century, when it began to distinguish itself from its Judaic roots. How and why did such an evolution occur? In a study that is by turns fascinating and unoriginal, Galambush, a religion professor at William and Mary, performs a close reading of the texts of the New Testament. From Matthew to Revelation, she shows how their authors-Jews themselves-addressed the conflict between their audience's Judaism and this new movement within Judaism. Thus, for example, Matthew, which was written to Jewish Christians, is the most anti-Jewish of the Synoptic Gospels. At the center of the conflicts in the New Testament is the question about whether and how to allow Gentiles to hear the message of this movement. One of Paul's letters, 1 Thessalonians, has long been interpreted to support the Jews' responsibility for the death of Jesus. Galambush observes, however, that Paul is angry at his fellow Jews for hindering him from speaking to the Gentiles. Galambush demonstrates that the development of the religion that became Christianity was a slow and torturous journey, but her tedious summaries of each of the New Testament writings and her often uninventive readings diminish the promise of this otherwise important book. (Nov.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.