Overview

The Bible is harshly opposed to participation by Israelites in the worship of other nations' gods. Was this strict command to the nation of Israel not to worship other deities extended to other nations? Or was it legitimate and acceptable for other nations to worship their own gods just as Israel worshipped the God of the Covenant? In The Nations That Know Thee Not, Robert Goldenberg takes a historical look at attitudes towards foreign religions that are found in Israel's scriptures and in post-Biblical Judaism, and he traces an ambivalent attitude toward foreign religions as it developed through the history of Judaism. How did Jewish outlooks on gentile religions vary so much over time? As Jewish acceptance of paganism grew under rabbinic leadership, did Christianity become heir to other, harsher biblical attitudes toward other religions? Systematically covering the entire range of Jewish literature of antiquity from the Bible through the rabbinic canons, Goldenberg sheds light on the ways in which ancient Jews understood the religious worlds in which they lived.

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9780814731079

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Reviews

There is a better path, and this book shows us how to find that new direction. - Los Angeles Times , Should be read by the public and used by policy makers. Essential. - Choice , Policy wonks, journalists, elected officials and students of criminal justice will find the arguments and data in this book worth grappling with. - New York Newsday , Downsizing Prisons offers an innovative approach to reducing the strain on America's overcrowded prisons: namely, by fixing the dysfunctional parole systems in states around the country. . . . Jacobson's book comes at exactly the right time. - Mother Jones , Downsizing Prisons explains not only why current incarceration policy is not working, but what we can do about it. Jacobson's blueprint provides an overview of a pragmatic strategy that can reduce the size of our bloated prison system while improving prospects for public safety. -Marc Mauer, author of Race to Incarcerate

Downsizing Prisons offers an innovative approach to reducing the strain on America's overcrowded prisons: namely, by fixing the dysfunctional parole systems in states around the country. . . . Jacobson's book comes at exactly the right time. - Mother Jones ,

<p> Downsizing Prisons offers an innovative approach to reducing the strain on America's overcrowded prisons: namely, by fixing the dysfunctional parole systems in states around the country. . . . Jacobson's book comes at exactly the right time. <br>- Mother Jones ,

Author Information

Robert Goldenberg is Associate Professor of Judaic Studies at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

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