Dying for God: Martyrdom and the Making of Christianity and Judaism

Rating:
Summary: Discourses of Martyrdom in Early Judaism and Christianity
Review: As a literary analysis of the discourses of martyrdom in early Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity, "Dying for God" is a complete success. Boyarin does a masterful job of exploring and contrasting significant martyr texts from both traditions, showing the various ways in which they deal with the question of whether martyrdom should be avoided, accepted, celebrated or even actively sought out, how they define and talk about martyrdom, how this discourse changes over time (from stoic acceptance of death as preferable to transgressing a commandment, to positive joy at fulfilling a commandment to love God with all one's soul), and the various motifs and themes that are sometimes shared between the two traditions. Boyarin convincingly demonstrates that the two developing orthodoxies were in greater contact with each other during the early centuries of the common era than either would later care to admit.

I found Boyarin's historical/cultural analysis less convincing, at least in part because his goal seems to shift. At some points in the book, he seems to be saying only that nascent Judaism and nascent Christianity were not always in utter opposition to each other, did not always view the other as "heresy," and that in fact they were often quite in sympathy, as they worshipped the same God and refused the hegemony of the pagan Roman state. There may have been (and likely were) "sects" that borrowed from both religions but which both religions would (in their "final" orthodox form) disavow. (As acknowledged in a footnote, the historical evidence for this "middle ground" is barely touched on in this volume, however. (202, n.89)) I have no quarrel with this conclusion, and indeed it is amply demonstrated throughout the book.

At times, however, Boyarin seems to want to go farther, suggesting that through the third (or, at times, even the fourth) century, Judaism and Christianity "were not yet at all clearly differentiated from each other." (17) This does not seem consistent with the fact that he cites texts from the third and even the second century as being peculiarly Christian or peculiarly Jewish, nor with his insistence that while something called "Christianity" was persecuted by the Romans, something called "Judaism" was not (although certain of its practices were forbidden). If Boyarin's point is simply that boundaries between cultural groups are fuzzy, that seems to me to be almost a truism. There are Jews for Jesus today, but that does not mean that Judaism and Christianity are not clearly differentiated.

This is a scholarly work intended for scholars, although it can be read and appreciated by a reasonably well-educated non-scholar with some basic knowledge of late antiquity, early Christianity and early Judaism (like me). Half of the book is endnotes and bibliography, which can be a terrible distraction from the main text (particularly on the many pages with 5 or 6 footnotes). Although I was not persuaded by all of his arguments, Boyarin writes well and clearly and lays out the evidence for the reader to evaluate for himself. Although this is not a history of martyrdom (or even a history of how Christianity and Judaism used their discussions of martyrdom to differentiate themselves), it will be of interest to anyone who wants to know more about this early, formative period of two of the great modern religions.

Rating:
Summary: Discourses of Martyrdom in Early Judaism and Christianity
Review: As a literary analysis of the discourses of martyrdom in early Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity, "Dying for God" is a complete success. Boyarin does a masterful job of exploring and contrasting significant martyr texts from both traditions, showing the various ways in which they deal with the question of whether martyrdom should be avoided, accepted, celebrated or even actively sought out, how they define and talk about martyrdom, how this discourse changes over time (from stoic acceptance of death as preferable to transgressing a commandment, to positive joy at fulfilling a commandment to love God with all one's soul), and the various motifs and themes that are sometimes shared between the two traditions. Boyarin convincingly demonstrates that the two developing orthodoxies were in greater contact with each other during the early centuries of the common era than either would later care to admit.

I found Boyarin's historical/cultural analysis less convincing, at least in part because his goal seems to shift. At some points in the book, he seems to be saying only that nascent Judaism and nascent Christianity were not always in utter opposition to each other, did not always view the other as "heresy," and that in fact they were often quite in sympathy, as they worshipped the same God and refused the hegemony of the pagan Roman state. There may have been (and likely were) "sects" that borrowed from both religions but which both religions would (in their "final" orthodox form) disavow. (As acknowledged in a footnote, the historical evidence for this "middle ground" is barely touched on in this volume, however. (202, n.89)) I have no quarrel with this conclusion, and indeed it is amply demonstrated throughout the book.

At times, however, Boyarin seems to want to go farther, suggesting that through the third (or, at times, even the fourth) century, Judaism and Christianity "were not yet at all clearly differentiated from each other." (17) This does not seem consistent with the fact that he cites texts from the third and even the second century as being peculiarly Christian or peculiarly Jewish, nor with his insistence that while something called "Christianity" was persecuted by the Romans, something called "Judaism" was not (although certain of its practices were forbidden). If Boyarin's point is simply that boundaries between cultural groups are fuzzy, that seems to me to be almost a truism. There are Jews for Jesus today, but that does not mean that Judaism and Christianity are not clearly differentiated.

This is a scholarly work intended for scholars, although it can be read and appreciated by a reasonably well-educated non-scholar with some basic knowledge of late antiquity, early Christianity and early Judaism (like me). Half of the book is endnotes and bibliography, which can be a terrible distraction from the main text (particularly on the many pages with 5 or 6 footnotes). Although I was not persuaded by all of his arguments, Boyarin writes well and clearly and lays out the evidence for the reader to evaluate for himself. Although this is not a history of martyrdom (or even a history of how Christianity and Judaism used their discussions of martyrdom to differentiate themselves), it will be of interest to anyone who wants to know more about this early, formative period of two of the great modern religions.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating thesis in need of support
Review: As background, I am a MA student in Religions of Western Antiquity, and I read this book as part of a class exploring Rabbinic Judaism. In the main, I would agree with the opinions of the reviewer immediately below this, although I would more heavily emphasize the advanced nature of this work. I would say that you need to have at least some exposure to early Christian history and literature as well as Rabbinics before approaching this book, in order to get some meaning out of it. First, I would note that this book is, unfortunately, a collection of thematically related essays rather than a single exposition. In the first chapter, Boyarin argues that we cannot properly speak of "Judaism" and "Christianity," as such, for the first three centuries of the Common Era. He offers, in my opinion, some pretty marginal evidence, although highly interesting. In short, he asserts more than he can sustain. In the following, he employs various en vogue cultural theories to look at virginity and martyrdom in "Christian" and "Jewish" literature, and essentially argues that this genre of literature acts as a liminal space in which these nascent groups can work out their identities. While I found some of his modern feminist cultural theory a bit anachronistic for, say, 3rd century religious texts, on the whole his thesis is interesting, if not totally supportable. This book will get you thinking; he's definitely on to something.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating thesis in need of support
Review: As background, I am a MA student in Religions of Western Antiquity, and I read this book as part of a class exploring Rabbinic Judaism. In the main, I would agree with the opinions of the reviewer immediately below this, although I would more heavily emphasize the advanced nature of this work. I would say that you need to have at least some exposure to early Christian history and literature as well as Rabbinics before approaching this book, in order to get some meaning out of it. First, I would note that this book is, unfortunately, a collection of thematically related essays rather than a single exposition. In the first chapter, Boyarin argues that we cannot properly speak of "Judaism" and "Christianity," as such, for the first three centuries of the Common Era. He offers, in my opinion, some pretty marginal evidence, although highly interesting. In short, he asserts more than he can sustain. In the following, he employs various en vogue cultural theories to look at virginity and martyrdom in "Christian" and "Jewish" literature, and essentially argues that this genre of literature acts as a liminal space in which these nascent groups can work out their identities. While I found some of his modern feminist cultural theory a bit anachronistic for, say, 3rd century religious texts, on the whole his thesis is interesting, if not totally supportable. This book will get you thinking; he's definitely on to something.

Rating:
Summary: Creating religious identities and institutions
Review: It is tempting to project the contemporary boundaries between Judaism and Christianity onto the first century BCE, but Dying for God clearly and convincingly explores the ways in which Judaism and Christianity were not discrete beliefs or practices not only during the life of Jesus but also for the generation after the death of Jesus . Not only was the line not clear between the two so-called sibling religions, each was forming a sense of identity out of a relationship with the other and the stories of martyrs is an especially telling tale of how such suffering and death was invoked and retold to shape communities understandings of themselves, the meaning of life and the meaning of death.

Rating:
Summary: Creating religious identities and institutions
Review: It is tempting to project the contemporary boundaries between Judaism and Christianity onto the first century BCE, but Dying for God clearly and convincingly explores the ways in which Judaism and Christianity were not discrete beliefs or practices not only during the life of Jesus but also for the generation after the death of Jesus . Not only was the line not clear between the two so-called sibling religions, each was forming a sense of identity out of a relationship with the other and the stories of martyrs is an especially telling tale of how such suffering and death was invoked and retold to shape communities understandings of themselves, the meaning of life and the meaning of death.