Border Lines: The Partition of Judaeo-Christianity (Divinations: Rereading Late Ancient Religion) [Paperback]

Daniel Boyarin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 26, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0812219864 | ISBN-13: 978-0812219869

The historical separation between Judaism and Christianity is often figured as a clearly defined break of a single entity into two separate religions. Following this model, there would have been one religion known as Judaism before the birth of Christ, which then took on a hybrid identity. Even before its subsequent division, certain beliefs and practices of this composite would have been identifiable as Christian or Jewish.In Border Lines, however, Daniel Boyarin makes a striking case for a very different way of thinking about the historical development that is the partition of Judaeo-Christianity.

There were no characteristics or features that could be described as uniquely Jewish or Christian in late antiquity, Boyarin argues. Rather, Jesus-following Jews and Jews who did not follow Jesus lived on a cultural map in which beliefs, such as that in a second divine being, and practices, such as keeping kosher or maintaining the Sabbath, were widely and variably distributed. The ultimate distinctions between Judaism and Christianity were imposed from above by "border-makers," heresiologists anxious to construct a discrete identity for Christianity. By defining some beliefs and practices as Christian and others as Jewish or heretical, they moved ideas, behaviors, and people to one side or another of an artificial border—and, Boyarin significantly contends, invented the very notion of religion.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Encourages us to see historic Christianity as but one expression of a universalistic potential in Jewish monotheism. . . . In a fruitful career not yet nearly over, Border Lines, the culmination of many years of work, may well remain Daniel Boyarin's masterpiece."—Jack Miles, Commonweal

"Boyarin's book challenges the ordinary usage of the terms 'Judaism' and 'Christianity' and juxtaposes the formation of orthodoxy as it is formulated within rabbinic tradition and among Christians of the patristic period. His bold thesis will no doubt prove controversial and important."—Elaine Pagels, author of Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas

"Boyarin proposes that by constructing the categories of religious orthodoxy and heresy, second-century Gentile Christians created the concept of religion which pervades the Western world to this day. The work is intensely provocative and innovative and is destined to take its proper place as a modern classic among Boyarin's previous works."—Shofar

About the Author

Daniel Boyarin is the Taubman Professor of Talmudic Culture in the Departments of Near Eastern Studies and Rhetoric at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of Dying for God: Martyrdom and the Making of Christianity, Judaism and A Radical Jew: Paul and the Politics of Identity, and other books.

Product Details

• Paperback: 392 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (October 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812219864
• ISBN-13: 978-0812219869
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #382,760 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Daniel Boyarin, Taubman Professor of Talmudic Culture and rhetoric at the University of California, Berkeley, is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships. His books include A Radical Jew, Border Lines, and Socrates and the Fat Rabbis. He lives in Berkeley, California.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Historical-Theoretical Masterwork April 4, 2008

By Dustin Atlas

Format:Paperback

While I have no doubt that this book has (and will) ruffle a few feathers, it is ultimately a thorough work that engages with contemporary textual analysis and history in order to present a surprising, but compelling, picture of the processes through which Rabbinic Judaism is formed, processes often of a polemic nature. Simply put, the thesis of the text is this: Christianity and (Rabbinic) Judaism are two tendencies that emerge out of the religion of the ancient Israelites at around the same time; these tendencies are consolidated in opposition to each other.

As basic (and obvious) as this thesis may be, it severely undercuts the myth of 'Jews first, Christians after' that guides much religious speculation. As such, it will irritate both Christians who believe they have transcended, or improved Judaism, and Jews who consider themselves to represent a pure, untainted, tradition. Both are, essentially, strands of Hellenic Judaism, even if they proceed in radically different directions.

While there are problems with this work, to consider Boyarin's scholarship "suspect" as another reviewer has, is ridiculous. Like him or not, Boyarin is easily one of the greatest thinker's working in Religious Studies today.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Truly Seminal Work May 9, 2012

By Julian of Norwich

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Border Lines is the richest and most stimulating book I have read in years--and I've read some excellent ones. But this one breaks new ground for me, theologically and intellectually. For the first time, I can really see "Christianity" in its a fully "Jewish" mileau, as a "school" which had much in common with other "schools", especially regarding the Logos and Two Powers in Heaven. It was not just Philo who expounded the Logos: there was a whole context out of which these ideas arose and were shaped and debated and taught. And then, as both "Judaism" and "Christianity" chose normative identities which repudiated the other AS Other, that common ground was lost. To my mind, Boyarin has recaptured it, in all its rich possibilites.

Boyarin's elucidation of the Prologue of John as a midrash almost took my breath away, it was so brilliant and illuminating. I would read it for that alone.

This absolutely stupendous book is a truly seminal contribution to human knowledge and understanding, for both Jews and Christians.

And it bears re-reading, as one pass-through of this very demanding and scholarly book would not be enough to absorb it. But it's my desert island book for sure!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars It comes across as a discussion between college professors September 10, 2012

By Tammy

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

There are many references to a body of knowledge that it is assumed you already have so it is not a light read. Still I really like the book because it contains information I have been looking for for more than a decade. It definitely stretches my vocabulary