viction and utter faith in the Tightness ofrnits actions.”rnThe hero’s perspectives on both thernmoral and material deprivations of lifernunder socialism and on the complexitiesrnof the human condition are deepenedrnby a prolonged academic trip tornthe United States (where the authorrnhimself spent a considerable amount ofrntime). Presumably, this visit contributesrnto the insight that “one would never findrnfreedom in this world . . . unless onernfound it in oneself.” Also during thisrnvisit, the judge “realize [s] for the firstrntime that lack of freedom harms peoplernnot only by blocking their path to knowledgernand curtailing what they can sayrnand where they can go, but also by damagingrnthe very core of their being and enslavingrnthem by switching their attentionrnto themselves alone. I realized howmuchrnenergy I had been wasting tryingrnto express in a complicated way andrnthrough allusions something which peoplernthere [in the West] didn’t even botherrnto express as they took it for granted.”rnIt is the interplay between such insights,rnborn from the experience of lifernunder communism and from the recognitionrnof the more universal burdens andrndilemmas of human existence, that thern’.•^,0»V*P»N*G?rn• ‘ • • ” . – . – V v • • ” • • • . -.rn• • = € • • ^ ; – .rnJ ‘ ^ f e . . . . .:-. :•rnLET US KNOWrnBEFORE YOU GO!rnTo assure uninterrupted delivery ofrnCHRONICLES please notify us inrnadvance. Send change of address on thisrnform with the mailing label from yourrnlatest issue of CHRONICLES to:rnSubscription DepartmentrnCHRONICLESrnRO. Box 800rnMount Morris, Illinois 61054rnADDRESSrnSTATErnAmerican reader will find rewarding andrnthought-provoking in this novel.rnPaul Hollander is a professor ofrnsociology at the University ofrnMassachusetts at Amherst and authorrnof Anti-Americanism (Oxford) andrnDecline and Discontent (Transaction),rnboth published m 1992.rnArguing With Jesusrnby Harold O.J. BrownrnA Rabbi Talks With Jesus, AnrnIntermillennial, Interfaith Exchangernby Jacob NeusnerrnNew York: Doubleday; J 54 pp., $21.00rnProfessor Neusner, one of the world’srnmost accomplished scholars in thernfield of religious studies, begins by proclaimingrnthat as a practicing and believingrnJew he says a polite “No” to anotherrnpracticing and believing Jew—but onernwho made extraordinary claims for himselfrn—Jesus of Nazareth. Both the “No”rnand the politeness come out clearly inrnNeusner’s book: indeed, politeness is toornweak a word to express the respect thatrnthe rabbi feels for this enigmatic figurernwho changed the chronology of worldrnhistory and in the process relegated Israelrnto a different and at times more painfulrnkind of marginalization than its peoplernhad experienced during any of the tumultuousrncenturies B.CrnThrough the centuries, there havernbeen a number of books by Jewish authorsrnclaiming to discredit Jesus and thernChurch, some alleging that Jesus was arncharlatan and an imposter, or that hisrndisciples perpetrated a monstrous fraudrnin order not to lose their investment inrnhim, or that, beginning at least withrnPaul, the message of Jesus—Jesus’s ownrnreligion, if we may put it this way was distortedrninto a “Jesus religion.” Indeed,rnnot a few Christian and other Gentilernscholars have contributed to this varietyrnof interpretation, which seeks ultimatelyrnto banish the influence of Jesus from civilization.rnJacob Neusner’s book is altogether different.rnHe does not accept the traditionalrnChristian understandings of Jesus:rnhe could tiot and remain “only” arnpracticing and believing Jew (we mustrnadd the “only” to recognize that therernare Jewish converts to Christianity whorncontend that they continue to be practicingrnand believing Jews but “completed”rnones). How can a Jew seek to refuternJesus without antagonizing Christians?rnThe clue to Neusner’s ability lies in whatrnhe calls “arguing with Jesus.” He pointsrnout that Abraham, Moses, and Job disputedrnwith God—thus e’en those whornconfess the deity of Christ can hardlyrnfault Neusner for imitating those OldrnTestament patriarchs.rnCiting the example of Jews from thernBabylonian Exile to the present, Neusnerrncalls upon Christians to be willing to argue:rn”The really elite of our faith, thernmasters (and now, mistresses too!) spendrnlong hours arguing about the statementsrnof the Torah. . . . This is our highest actionrnin the service of God, once we haverndone our duty to our fellow human beings.rn. . . We regard argument as an exercisernin the use of what we share withrnCod, what makes us like God, which isrnour minds. . . . Argument is a gesture ofrnrespect, not offense.”rnNeusner confronts the paradoxicalrnclaim of Jesus to fulfill the Law (thernTorah) and at the same time to go beyondrnit: the so-called antithesis of thernSermon on the Mount, “Ye have heardrnthat it was said . . . but I say unto yourn…” He gives Jesus great credit for seekingrnout the poor, the meek, the merciful,rnand the peacemakers, but only partialrncredit for his condemnations of thernhypocrisy of the Pharisees, which “containrnboth valid criticism of an excess ofrnpublic piety, but also a rejection of Israel,rnthe community…. If what Jesus meantrnwas that public prayer is improper, thenrnhe has called into question the Torah’srnfundamental premise, which is that Israelrnserves God not one by one but all togetherrnand all at once.” And this bringsrnhim to one of his basic conflicts: thernGospel as Jesus proclaimed it—and certainlyrnas his followers have practiced it—rncreates division between individuals andrnpeoples, and especially between the followersrnof Jesus and the community: “‘Because,’rnI would reply (to the disciples ofrnJesus), ‘when God speaks throughrnMoses, it is to all of Israel, but your masterrnspeaks to you. The rest of us are outsiders.rnAnd God does not know outsidersrnin Israel, only sinners, whom thernTorah teaches to repent.'” He acknowledgesrnJesus as a prophet, but not as an Israelirnprophet. “He talks like an outsider.rn36/CHRONICLESrnrnrn