Overview

"It is commonly asserted that heresy is a Christian invention that emerged in late antiquity as Christianity distinguished itself from Judaism. Heresy, Forgery, Novelty probes ancient Jewish disputes regarding religious innovation and argues that Christianity's heresiological impulse is in fact indebted to Jewish precedents. In this book, Jonathan Klawans demonstrates that ancient Jewish literature displays a profound unease regarding religious innovation. The historian Josephus condemned religious innovation outright, and later rabbis valorize the antiquity of their traditions. The Dead Sea sectarians spoke occasionally-and perhaps secretly-of a ""new covenant,"" but more frequently masked newer ideas in rhetorics of renewal or recovery. Other ancient Jews engaged in pseudepigraphy-the false attribution of recent works to prophets of old. The flourishing of such religious forgeries further underscores the dangers associated with religious innovation. As Christianity emerged, the discourse surrounding religious novelty shifted dramatically. On the one hand, Christians came to believe that Jesus had inaugurated a ""new covenant,"" replacing what came prior. On the other hand, Christian writers followed their Jewish predecessors in condemning heretics as dangerous innovators, and concealing new works in pseudepigraphic garb. In its open, unabashed embrace of new things, Christianity parts from Judaism. Christianity's heresiological condemnation of novelty, however, displays continuity with prior Jewish traditions. Heresy, Forgery, Novelty reconsiders and offers a new interpretation of the dynamics of the split between Judaism and Christianity."

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9780190062507

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It is unusual to find a monograph that is so carefully argued while also being so enjoyable to read. On top of that, Klawans has managed to gather a large amount of evidence for a very appealing thesis. * Brandon R. Grafius, Ecumenical Theological Seminary, Review of Biblical Literature *

...this work aims to shed light on the history and nature of inclinations condemning innovation, thereby revealing an overlooked dynamic common to both ancient Judaism and early Christianity. * New Testament Abstracts * ...an important book which offers a comprehensive, astute, and clear description of a phenomenon... * Ishay Rosen-Zvi, Dead Sea Discoveries * This is a concise book about heresy... * Matthias Henze, The Catholic Biblical Quarterly * It is unusual to find a monograph that is so carefully argued while also being so enjoyable to read. On top of that, Klawans has managed to gather a large amount of evidence for a very appealing thesis. * Brandon R. Grafius, Ecumenical Theological Seminary, Review of Biblical Literature *

Author Information

Jonathan Klawans is Professor of Religion at Boston University. He is the author of Impurity and Sin in Ancient Judaism (OUP 2000), Purity, Sacrifice, and the Temple (OUP 2005), and Josephus and the Theologies of Ancient Judaism (OUP 2012). He is also co-editor of the forthcoming Jewish Annotated Apocrypha.

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