Interreligious Relations: Biblical Perspectives: Proceedings from the Second Norwegian Summer Academy of Biblical Studies (NSABS), Ansgar University College, Kristiansand, Norway, August 2015

This volume presents international perspectives on interreligious dialogue, with a particular focus on how this can be found or understood within biblical texts. The volume is in four parts covering both the Old and New Testaments (and related Greco Roman texts) as well as the history of reception and issues of hermeneutics. Issues of the relationships between religious cultures are assessed both in antiquity and modernity In Part 1 (Old Testament) contributions range from the discussion of the bible and plurality of theologies in church life (Erhard Gerstenberger) to the challenge of multi-culturalism (Cornelis Van Dam). Part 2 (New Testament and Greco-Roman Texts) considers such things as Pagan, Jewish and Christian historiography (Armin Baum) and the different beliefs it is possible to discern in the Ephesian community (Tor Vegge). Part 3 provides issues from the history of reception - including the role of Jesus in Islam (Craig A. Evans). The volume is completed by a hermeneutical reflection by Jože Krašovec, which draws the threads of dialogue together and questions how we can best examine the bible in a modern, international, multicultural society. Cover -- Half-Title -- Title -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Preface -- Abbreviations -- List of Contributors -- Part I: Old Testament -- Plurality of Theologies in Bible and Church Life -- Yahweh and the Other Gods: Acceptance, Rejection, and Cognitive Care -- Interreligious Relations and the Challenge of Multiculturalism: Some Biblical Principles -- Creation and Covenant: God's Direct Relationship with the Non-Israelite Nations in the Old Testament -- Models of Inclusion and Exclusion in Joshua -- Interreligious Relations in the Future as Described in the Latter Prophets: With a View on the Reception of the Relevant Biblical Texts in Ecclesiastical Documents -- Religious Observance in Space and Time in Ancient Israel and the Ancient Near East -- Part II: New Testament and Greco-Roman Texts -- Interreligious Encounters in the Book of Acts -- Different Beliefs in the Rhetoric of the New Testament Letter to the Ephesians -- Christians, Jews, and Pagans in the Book of Revelation: Persecution, Perseverance, and Purity in the Shadow of the Last Judgment -- Acts of God in History According to Pagan, Jewish, and Christian Historiography: The Contribution of Ancient Historians to the Philosophical and Religious Controversy About Divine Revelation and Its Theological Implications -- Part III: Reception History -- Jonah and the Foreigners: Interreligious Relations in the Reception History of the Book of Jonah -- Hanina ben Dosa Heals from a Distance: A Case of Christian Influences Upon Talmudic Judaism? -- Jesus in Islamic and Rabbinic Traditions -- Part IV: Hermeneutical Reflections -- The Word in Dialogue and Interreligious Relations -- Index of References -- Index of Authors