HEALING the SCHISM

Karl Barth, Franz Rosenzweig, and the New Jewish-Christian Encounter

JENNIFER M. ROSNER

STUDIES IN HISTORICAL AND SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY

Healing the Schism: Karl Barth, Franz Rosenzweig, and the New Jewish-Christian Encounter

Studies in Historical and Systematic Theology

Copyright 2021 Jennifer M. Rosner

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Cover image and page 259: Marc Chagall, “Exodus” © 2021 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris. Page 257: Marc Chagall, “White Crucifixion” © 2021 ARS, New York / ADAGP, Paris. Used by permission.

First edition published by Fortress Press, Minneapolis (2015).

Scripture quotations marked (niv) are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Print ISBN 9781683594932

Digital ISBN 9781-683594949

Library of Congress Control Number 2021933221

Lexham Editorial: Todd Hains, Allisyn Ma, Mandi Newell

Cover Design: Bryan Hintz

To Howard Loewen and Mark Kinzer, who served as faithful guides through

the intellectual and personal journey of writing this book.

Without your wisdom and encouragement, I likely would not have embarked

upon this project in the first place, and I certainly could not have finished it.

CONTENTS

Introduction: The Election of Israel and Christian Theology

1 “Salvation is of the Jews”: Karl Barth’s Doctrine of Israel and the Church

2 “The Sprouting of Our Redemption”: Franz Rosenzweig’s Theology of Judaism and Christianity

3 “Torah Shall Go Forth From Zion”: Reconceiving Christology and Ecclesiology in Light of Israel

4 Hastening Toward the “Day That Is Entirely Shabbat”: Mark Kinzer’s Messianic Jewish Theology

Conclusion: Where Do We Go from Here?

Appendix 1: The Jewish People’s Relationship to Land, Language, and Law in Rosenzweig’s Thought

Appendix 2(a): Marc Chagall’s White Crucifixion

Appendix 2(b): Marc Chagall’s Exodus

Bibliography

Scripture Index

Subject Index

INTRODUCTION

THE ELECTION OF ISRAEL AND CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY

In an article entitled “Salvation Is from the Jews,” the late Richard John Neuhaus wrote the following with regard to Jewish-Christian dialogue: “I suggest that we would not be wrong to believe that this dialogue, so closely linked to the American experience, is an essential part of the unfolding of the story of the world.”1 The rivalrous and troubled tale of these two religious communities has been a constant thread in the history of the West, and the tumultuous events of the twentieth century have yielded a new chapter in the relationship between Christians and Jews. The burgeoning of this new relationship holds great promise for healing, reconciliation and redemptive partnership, and its ...