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Carnal Israel: Reading Sex in Talmudic Culture
by
Beginning with a startling endorsement of the patristic view of Judaism—that it was a "carnal" religion, in contrast to the spiritual vision of the Church—Daniel Boyarin argues that rabbinic Judaism was based on a set of assumptions about the human body that were profoundly different from those of Christianity. The body—specifically, the sexualized body—could not be renoun
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Paperback, 272 pages
Published
August 30th 1995
by University of California Press
(first published 1993)
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No doubt I am not in a great position to judge this book, since its topic is well outside my area of expertise, but I nonetheless found it fascinating in parts and dull in others. The fascinating elements of the book were twofold.
The first lies in the book's central thesis, which looks at how the Jewish/Christian strand of thought which borrow from the Greek, platonic tradition led to a privilege of mind over body, whereas the Rabbinical tradition of late antiquity, as both a philosophical and p ...more
The first lies in the book's central thesis, which looks at how the Jewish/Christian strand of thought which borrow from the Greek, platonic tradition led to a privilege of mind over body, whereas the Rabbinical tradition of late antiquity, as both a philosophical and p ...more
So far so good. He doesn't understand key Christian Dogmas at times but it's okay, I wouldnt expect him to entirely, and still welcome many of his great critiques. (Fr Behr, Patricia Jung, Philip LeMasters, Dr Guroian, Thatcher, Richard Davidson, Frederickson and co offer correctives to his writing-off of the Christian Tradition, St Paul and the Incarnation.)
However, there is much good in the Rabbinic Tradition, that we Christians could and should benefit from, as Boyarin shows. This could and s ...more
However, there is much good in the Rabbinic Tradition, that we Christians could and should benefit from, as Boyarin shows. This could and s ...more
Dec 24, 2014
Ghoti
added it
I loved this book. It's densely packed but accessible, with stories to read on a surface level and more information and nuances at a deeper level. As a Christian I find it accessible and filled with new ideas: I imagine Jewish readers will find it more familiar and get a deeper meaning from it.
...more
Dec 18, 2010
Ethan Witkovsky
added it
He is so positive. I really like the way he uses his intellect and I love that he cites students in his footnotes.
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