164 - Judaism: Between Yesterday and Tomorrow

Judaism: Between Yesterday and Tomorrow
By Hans Kung
New York, Crossroad, 1992. 753 pp. $39.95.

This massive study is oriented toward the future-that of Judaism, and (anticipating Kung's next two works) of Christianity and Islam as well. It is motivated by the conviction that "there can be no peace among the nations without peace among the religions, no peace among the religions without dialogue between the religions, no dialogue between the religions without investigation of the foundations of the religions." These convictions provide the structure of the book: the past, the present, and possibilities for the future in a postmodern world. Six crucial shifts in Israel's adaptation to historical realities over the centuries are analyzed, as paradigms for discerning what is the continuous center of Judaism and what can and perhaps must change if it is to survive or fulfill its vocation. This is an important work, not only for Jews but for Christians and Muslims as well.

David W.A. Taylor
Consultation on Church Union
Princeton, NJ.