Books by Brian J . Crawford
The Scandal of a Divine Messiah: A Response to Maimonidean and Kabbalistic Challenges to the Incarnation, 2024
In this groundbreaking book, Brian J. Crawford navigates the complex intellectual landscape that ... more In this groundbreaking book, Brian J. Crawford navigates the complex intellectual landscape that has traditionally separated Jews and Christians. His focus is on a scandalous claim: God became a man as Jesus of Nazareth. Since the Middle Ages, Jewish philosophers have said such an idea is impossible and absurd, and Jewish mystics have said the idea is redundant, for all things are inhabited by divine sparks. By critically examining the philosophical underpinnings of the Maimonidean and Kabbalistic thought that has shaped Jewish theology, Crawford constructs a compelling case for the incarnation that is grounded in the Hebrew Scriptures, consistent with history, informed by science, and illuminated by philosophical inquiry. Included within is a deep interaction with Maimonides's Guide to the Perplexed, the Jewish mystical tradition, historical Christian orthodoxy, and Messianic Jewish theology. This landmark study promises to reinvigorate Jewish-Christian discourse on the nature of God, the Jewishness of the Trinity and the incarnation, and the role of philosophy in Judaism and Christianity.
Messiah in the Passover, 2017
In 1 Corinthians, Paul refers or alludes to Passover in three separate places, leading some to la... more In 1 Corinthians, Paul refers or alludes to Passover in three separate places, leading some to label it, "The Passover Epistle." In this book chapter, we will investigate each of these Passover passages and discuss their relevance and connection to the practice of sharing in the Lord's Supper, thereby bringing out the sacrament's rich Jewish Passover background.
Conference Presentations by Brian J . Crawford
As followers of the Jewish Messiah Yeshua, the Messianic Jewish movement has the task of communic... more As followers of the Jewish Messiah Yeshua, the Messianic Jewish movement has the task of communicating the divinity of Messiah to the Jewish world. A popular method for recontextualizing the incarnation as a Jewish concept has been to cite ancient Jewish precedents for the idea. This historical-textual approach, as popularized by Daniel Boyarin and others, has significant benefits. However, it also ignores underlying theological and philosophical issues that make the idea of incarnation nonsensical or redundant in the eyes of religious Jewish people. In order to address the objections of religious Jewish people, the Messianic Jewish movement may need to increase its proficiency in theological and philosophical discourse. This paper outlines a second approach to explaining the deity of Messiah, called the Theological-Philosophical approach.
Although Judaism since the Middle Ages has often turned to allegory as a device to ensure the inc... more Although Judaism since the Middle Ages has often turned to allegory as a device to ensure the incorporeality of God, some rabbis of the Mishnaic and Talmudic eras accepted the idea that God could appear in a physical body, because his normal mode of existence is embodied. This paper will investigate these lesser-known Jewish voices and place them in proper historical and theological context.
Thesis Chapters by Brian J . Crawford
ProQuest, 2021
This project investigates challenges to the New Testament’s presentation of the Incarnation of th... more This project investigates challenges to the New Testament’s presentation of the Incarnation of the Son of God which derive from the theological and philosophical worldviews of Orthodox Judaism, namely those promoted by Maimonides and Kabbalah. Maimonides’s worldview entailed that the interaction of the God of Israel with his creation in any concrete form is impossible, thereby negating any possibility for Jesus to be divine. Kabbalah teaches that the entire cosmos is an emanation of God that is ontologically a part of God, which entails that everything is divine. This worldview makes the Incarnation redundant. After surveying these worldviews, this project provides cosmological, revelatory, theological, rational, and hermeneutical foundations for why the Incarnation ought to be believed over the previously mentioned options. A seminar was devised to determine how familiar the Messianic movement is with the concepts involved, and to see how much progress in comprehension could be made. Analysis of the seminar data shows that the Messianic movement may benefit from increased interaction with Jewish theological and philosophical discourse.
Papers by Brian J . Crawford
Mishkan, 2024
This paper investigates the life of Alexander McCaul (1799-1863), a gentile missionary to the Jew... more This paper investigates the life of Alexander McCaul (1799-1863), a gentile missionary to the Jewish people who wrote apologetic works against Orthodox Judaism. Using the excellent study on McCaul from David Ruderman as a starting point, this paper then summarizes the principal arguments of McCaul's Old Paths and provides an ethical critique.
Mishkan, 2022
Christian antisemitism, while a lamentable and prevalent force in church history, is a unnecessar... more Christian antisemitism, while a lamentable and prevalent force in church history, is a unnecessary foreign contaminant that developed over time, rather than being inherent in the essence of Christianity. This paper traces the historical developments that led to antisemitism becoming entrenched within Christian theology, ethics, church governance, and political structures. It ultimately argues that Christians today must strive to undo these dangerous developments.
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Books by Brian J . Crawford
Conference Presentations by Brian J . Crawford
Thesis Chapters by Brian J . Crawford
Papers by Brian J . Crawford