The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization
1 total work
In the postmodern, relativist world-view with its refutation of a single, objective, and ultimate truth, it has become difficult if not impossible to argue in favour of one's own beliefs as preferable to those of others. Miriam Feldmann Kaye's pioneering study is one of the first English-language books to address Jewish theology from a postmodern perspective, probing the question of how Jewish theology has the potential to survive the postmodern onslaught that some see as heralding the collapse of religion. Basing her arguments on both philosophical and theological scholarship, Feldmann Kaye shows how postmodernism might actually be a resource for rejuvenating religion.
Her response to the conception of theology and
postmodernism as competing systems of thought is based on a close critical
study of Rav Shagar (Shimon Gershon Rosenberg) and Tamar Ross. Rather than
advocating postmodern ideas, she analyses their writings through the lens of
the most radical of continental postmodern philosophers and cultural critics in
order to offer a compelling theology
compatible with that world-view. Whether
the reader considers postmodernism to be inherently problematic or merely
inconsequential, this study demonstrates why reconsidering these preconceptions
is one of the most pressing issues in contemporary Jewish thought.