An Apostle to the Gentiles
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Abraham Joshua Heschel, though deeply rooted in Jewish tradition, emerged as a transformative figure for post-war Christian theology - a true "shaliah la-goyim" (apostle to the gentiles). Drawing on seven years of personal and professional interaction with Heschel at Union Theological Seminary, this biographical and theological analysis reveals how his works, particularly "God in Search of Man" (1955), revolutionized Christian understanding by demonstrating that divine attributes traditionally associated with Christ were already present in Jewish biblical thought. Heschel's radical reconceptualization of God as the "Most Moved Mover," rather than Plato's "Unmoved Mover," and his characterization of the divine as "the Ultimately Concerned," in contrast to Tillich's "Ultimate Concern," challenged foundational Christian theological assumptions. Through close examination of Heschel's interpretive method, especially his reading of Jeremiah, Sanders uncovers a profound theological insight: the opposite of "sheker" (falsehood) is "emunah" (faith), representing not humanity's faith in God but God's faith in humanity. This analysis reveals Heschel as a figure who embodied "incarnational faith without the Incarnation," offering Christians a revolutionary perspective on divine involvement and concern.

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Published 1973
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J. Sanders