When wealthy Jewish industrialist David FriedlAnder proposed in 1799 that Berlin's Jews undergo a sham conversion to Christianity in return for full German citizenship, he touched off a political and theological debate that would continue to define the relation between Jewish and German identity for more than a century. In the series of provocative letters collected here, FriedlAnder, Protestant leader Wilhelm Abraham Teller, and young Christian theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher debate FriedlAnder's radical proposal. In so doing, they grapple with many of the thorny problems--such as citizenship, religious tolerance, and assimilation--that continue to vex world political leaders today. Richard Crouter's Introduction provides the cultural, religious, and historical context for this compelling exchange; a postscript by Julie Klassen reveals the ways in which Germany's minorities continue to be marginalized more than two hundred years after FriedlAnder made his passionate appeal for political liberty and human rights.
- ISBN13 9780872207196
- Publish Date 15 September 2004
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Hackett Publishing Co, Inc
- Format Paperback
- Pages 192
- Language English