The Jewish People and Their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible, by the Pontifical Biblical Commission (Rome, 2001)

Abstract

In his preface to The Jewish People and Their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible , issued by the Pontifical Biblical Commission (PBC) in 2001, Ratzinger, raises the question whether, in light of the Holocaust, Christians can still claim in good conscience to be the legitimate heirs of Israel's Bible? In the PBC document, the emphasis is on the conviction that the Hebrew Bible is an integral part of the Christian Bible. The PBC is fully aware of the centrality of Torah observance, and, for that reason, the question of the law receives much attention in the document. No document about Jewish-Catholic relations can ignore the momentous contribution of Pope John Paul II to advancing the cause of Jewish-Christian relations. While the importance of the shared Scripture cannot be exaggerated, the difference in the interpretation of the shared Scripture must not be overlooked. This is the topic Levenson addresses himself. Keywords:Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger; Christian Bible; Hebrew; Jews; Jon D. Levenson; Pontifical Biblical Commission (PBC); Pope John Paul II; Scripture; Torah observance