Bradley J. Kramer's guest appearances

Bradley J. Kramer

Latter-day Saint Perspectives

Greg Kofford Books - Authorcast

Joseph Spencer

Joseph M. Spencer

Don Bradley

Michael Austin

Blake T. Ostler

Anthony Sweat

Neylan McBaine

Kate Holbrook

Jenny Oaks Baker

Robert Millet

Michael Goodman

Terryl Givens

Jane Clayson Johnson

Jenny Reeder

Janiece Johnson

OwlTail

Horrified by the Holocaust and fearful that the NewTestament, as it has been traditionally understood, may have contributed tothis tragedy, Christian scholars and ministers of all stripes have, in recentdecades, proposed several, “extra-textual” ways of altering that understanding.Eugene Fisher, for instance, the former director of ecumenical affairs for theU.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, warns against reading the passion accounts,which seem to portray all Jews as guilty of Jesus’s death, from the pulpitwithout “adequate catechesis and preparation.” He also recommends that passagesthat reinforce this charge, such as the Parable of the Marriage Feast inMatthew (22:1–15), should be avoided entirely. Marilyn Salmon, an episcopal priest and writer, similarlycounsels caution when presenting certain incidents in the New Testament,especially in the Gospel of John. She encourages ministers to read from Biblesthat substitute “our people,” “the crowd,” or “the public” for John’sspiritually blind “Jews” and suggests that when they relate stories that appearto accentuate that blindness, such as Nicodemus’ nocturnal visit to see Jesus,that they do so imaginatively, from another, pro-Jewish, viewpoint. Inaddition, both Salmon and Fisher recommend that readers of the New Testament availthemselves of “interpretive tools,” such as study Bibles and scholarlycommentaries, which place the hostility towards Jews present in John and in theother Gospels in a more historically limited, less “everlasting” context.John Shelby Spong, a retired episcopal bishop, offers amore radical and, for many, a less acceptable approach. He views many of theevents in the Gospels as simply “untenable,” primarily because they represent forhim literary, not historical, efforts to portray Christianity as superior toJudaism. As Spong sees it, there were no literal shepherds, no angels, noguiding star, no magi, no flight into Egypt,” no temptation in the Wilderness—noteven a Sermon on the Mount. He therefore urges his readers to look “beyond theliteral and culturally dependent interpretation of the Gospels” and read intothem what he feels is “their true, more modern meaning”—a meaning that not onlyrefutes anti-Semitism but conforms to current political agendas. In this episode of Latter-day Saint PerspectivesPodcast, Laura Harris Hales interviews Bradley J. Kramer about his new book, Gathered in One: How the Book of MormonCounters Anti-Semitism in the New Testament. In this book, Kramer reviews howFisher, Salmon, Spong, as well as other Christian scholars and ministers have attemptedto deal with such anti-Semitic elements as the “blood curse” in Matthew (27:25)and John’s claim that the devil is the father of the Jews (8:44), and he contraststheir efforts with the approach employed by the Book of Mormon.  According to Kramer, the Book of Mormon counters anti-Semiticelements in the New Testament not by avoiding, altering, reimagining, or rejectingits most problematic passages but by joining with the New Testament and by addingto an expanded canon a multitude of pro-Jewish elements. Coming as they do froma scripture of equal stature and status, the many pro-Jewish statements,portrayals, settings, and structuring elements present in the Book of Mormon mixin with their anti-Semitic counterparts in the New Testament and overwhelm themwith their greater power, broader context, wider sweep, and closer connectionsto Judaism as it is practiced today. In this way, the Book of Mormon discouragesanti-Semitic attitudes and behaviors in the same way the New Testament encouragesthem—literarily, and it does so respectfully, without challenging the NewTestament’s text or undermining its religious authority or reliability. AsKramer writes, just as “the Gospels work together, despite their differences,to provide Christians with a more complete and more religiously accuratepicture of Jesus and his teachings,

Horrified by the Holocaust and fearful that the New Testament, as it has been traditionally understood, may have contributed to this tragedy, Christian scholars and ministers of all stripes have, in recent decades, proposed several, “extra-textual” ways of altering that understanding. Eugene Fisher, for instance, the former director of ecumenical affairs for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, warns against reading the passion accounts, which seem to portray all Jews as guilty of Jesus’s death, from the pulpit without “adequate catechesis and preparation.” He also recommends that passages that reinforce this charge, such as the Parable of the Marriage Feast in Matthew (22:1–15), should be avoided entirely. Marilyn Salmon, an episcopal priest and writer, similarly counsels caution when presenting certain incidents in the New Testament, especially in the Gospel of John. She encourages ministers to read from Bibles that substitute “our people,” “the crowd,” or “the public” for John’s spiritually blind “Jews” and suggests that when they relate stories that appear to accentuate that blindness, such as Nicodemus’ nocturnal visit to see Jesus, that they do so imaginatively, from another, pro-Jewish, viewpoint. In addition, both Salmon and Fisher recommend that readers of the New Testament avail themselves of “interpretive tools,” such as study Bibles and scholarly commentaries, which place the hostility towards Jews present in John and in the other Gospels in a more historically limited, less “everlasting” context. John Shelby Spong, a retired episcopal bishop, offers a more radical and, for many, a less acceptable approach. He views many of the events in the Gospels as simply “untenable,” primarily because they represent for him literary, not historical, efforts to portray Christianity as superior to Judaism. As Spong sees it, there were no literal shepherds, no angels, no guiding star, no magi, no flight into Egypt,” no temptation in the Wilderness—not even a Sermon on the Mount. He therefore urges his readers to look “beyond the literal and culturally dependent interpretation of the Gospels” and read into them what he feels is “their true, more modern meaning”—a meaning that not only refutes anti-Semitism but conforms to current political agendas. In this episode of Latter-day Saint Perspectives Podcast, Laura Harris Hales interviews Bradley J. Kramer about his new book, Gathered in One: How the Book of Mormon Counters Anti-Semitism in the New Testament. In this book, Kramer reviews how Fisher, Salmon, Spong, as well as other Christian scholars and ministers have attempted to deal with such anti-Semitic elements as the “blood curse” in Matthew (27:25) and John’s claim that the devil is the father of the Jews (8:44), and he contrasts their efforts with the approach employed by the Book of Mormon.   According to Kramer, the Book of Mormon counters anti-Semitic elements in the New Testament not by avoiding, altering, reimagining, or rejecting its most problematic passages but by joining with the New Testament and by adding to an expanded canon a multitude of pro-Jewish elements. Coming as they do from a scripture of equal stature and status, the many pro-Jewish statements, portrayals, settings, and structuring elements present in the Book of Mormon mix in with their anti-Semitic counterparts in the New Testament and overwhelm them with their greater power, broader context, wider sweep, and closer connections to Judaism as it is practiced today. In this way, the Book of Mormon discourages anti-Semitic attitudes and behaviors in the same way the New Testament encourages them—literarily, and it does so respectfully, without challenging the New Testament’s text or undermining its religious authority or reliability. As Kramer writes, just as “the Gospels work together, despite their differences, to provide Christians with a more complete and more religiously accurate picture of Jesus and his teachings,

Episode 118: Part 2–How the Book of Mormon Counters Anti-Semitism with Bradley J. Kramer

The Book of Mormon contains a multitude of short, impressive statements, which Latter-day Saints often memorize and even “master,” so they can repeat them as the occasion requires. These statements include divine promises such as “Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land” (2 Ne. 1:20); inspiring resolutions such as Nephi’s commitment to “go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded” (1 Ne. 3:7); theological insights such as “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy” (2 Ne. 2:25); as well as ringing assertions such as “wickedness never was happiness” (Alma 41:10) and “charity is the pure love of Christ” (Moro. 7:47).Nevertheless, despite the obvious utility of these statements, Bradley J. Kramer asserts that “the Book of Mormon is simply too much of a book to be approached simply as a source of quotations. It is a sophisticated literary work where ideas do not exist in isolation, but where wording, characterization, setting, description, plot, as well as their placement in the canon relative to other scriptures, must be considered in order to be fully understood and appreciated. The Book of Mormon consequently demands a comprehensive, in-depth literary approach.”In this episode of the Latter-day Saint PerspectivesPodcast, Laura Harris Hales interviews Bradley J. Kramer about his book Beholding the Tree of Life: A RabbinicApproach to the Book of Mormon. In this book, Kramer outlines what he meansby a “comprehensive, in-depth literary approach” and employs many of thetechniques developed by Talmudic and post-Talmudic rabbis in order to show how thisapproach applies to the Book of Mormon.  Kramer makes no claim that Nephi, Jacob, and the otherauthors of the Book of Mormon were personally acquainted with these techniquesor consciously employed them as they wrote. Nonetheless, since this rabbinic approachrepresents what he calls “universal principles” of effective reading that havebeen specifically adapted for scriptural narratives, he feels they are wellsuited to the Book of Mormon.As Kramer asks, “Given that these rabbis took seriously the words of the Hebrew scriptures; assumed that these scriptures formed a coherent, meaningful, and inspired whole; and devoted themselves to scrutinizing every aspect of that whole in order to uncover subtly, sometimes hidden messages from God, why would their approach not work well with other scriptures? And why would it not work especially well with the Book of Mormon, a scripture that, like the Hebrew scriptures, tells a story of how a group of Jews left their homes, journeyed to a far off Promised Land, attempted to create a ‘holy nation,’ sinned under judges as well as kings, received prophetic warnings of destruction if they did not repent, failed to repent, and were ultimately dispersed or destroyed along with their capital city?”Kramer, clearly, thinks it does and includes in hisbook several examples to defend his position. For instance, the Talmudic andpost-Talmudic rabbis taught that the Torah (the Five Books of Moses) has atleast seventy “faces” or meanings (Numbers Rabbah 13:15). They, therefore, encouragedtheir students to read the Torah on multiple levels—something Kramer feels thewriters of the Book of Mormon do as well.As he points out, not only does the Book of Mormon contain at least one highly developed allegory (Zenos’s allegory of the olive tree), but Lehi’s dream demonstrates how simple elements in the Book of Mormon (mocking people in Jerusalem, a river and fruit in the wilderness, darkness in which Nephi creeps to find Laban’s house) can be interpreted allegorically—much as Nephi’s vision and his lecturing of his brothers afterward shows how the meaning of these elements can be expanded sermonically as well as mystically, through direct experience with the divine. These rabbis also advocated that their students study everything

The Book of Mormon contains a multitude of short, impressive statements, which Latter-day Saints often memorize and even “master,” so they can repeat them as the occasion requires. These statements include divine promises such as “Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land” (2 Ne. 1:20); inspiring resolutions such as Nephi’s commitment to “go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded” (1 Ne. 3:7); theological insights such as “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy” (2 Ne. 2:25); as well as ringing assertions such as “wickedness never was happiness” (Alma 41:10) and “charity is the pure love of Christ” (Moro. 7:47). Nevertheless, despite the obvious utility of these statements, Bradley J. Kramer asserts that “the Book of Mormon is simply too much of a book to be approached simply as a source of quotations. It is a sophisticated literary work where ideas do not exist in isolation, but where wording, characterization, setting, description, plot, as well as their placement in the canon relative to other scriptures, must be considered in order to be fully understood and appreciated. The Book of Mormon consequently demands a comprehensive, in-depth literary approach.” In this episode of the Latter-day Saint Perspectives Podcast, Laura Harris Hales interviews Bradley J. Kramer about his book Beholding the Tree of Life: A Rabbinic Approach to the Book of Mormon. In this book, Kramer outlines what he means by a “comprehensive, in-depth literary approach” and employs many of the techniques developed by Talmudic and post-Talmudic rabbis in order to show how this approach applies to the Book of Mormon.   Kramer makes no claim that Nephi, Jacob, and the other authors of the Book of Mormon were personally acquainted with these techniques or consciously employed them as they wrote. Nonetheless, since this rabbinic approach represents what he calls “universal principles” of effective reading that have been specifically adapted for scriptural narratives, he feels they are well suited to the Book of Mormon. As Kramer asks, “Given that these rabbis took seriously the words of the Hebrew scriptures; assumed that these scriptures formed a coherent, meaningful, and inspired whole; and devoted themselves to scrutinizing every aspect of that whole in order to uncover subtly, sometimes hidden messages from God, why would their approach not work well with other scriptures? And why would it not work especially well with the Book of Mormon, a scripture that, like the Hebrew scriptures, tells a story of how a group of Jews left their homes, journeyed to a far off Promised Land, attempted to create a ‘holy nation,’ sinned under judges as well as kings, received prophetic warnings of destruction if they did not repent, failed to repent, and were ultimately dispersed or destroyed along with their capital city?” Kramer, clearly, thinks it does and includes in his book several examples to defend his position. For instance, the Talmudic and post-Talmudic rabbis taught that the Torah (the Five Books of Moses) has at least seventy “faces” or meanings (Numbers Rabbah 13:15). They, therefore, encouraged their students to read the Torah on multiple levels—something Kramer feels the writers of the Book of Mormon do as well. As he points out, not only does the Book of Mormon contain at least one highly developed allegory (Zenos’s allegory of the olive tree), but Lehi’s dream demonstrates how simple elements in the Book of Mormon (mocking people in Jerusalem, a river and fruit in the wilderness, darkness in which Nephi creeps to find Laban’s house) can be interpreted allegorically—much as Nephi’s vision and his lecturing of his brothers afterward shows how the meaning of these elements can be expanded sermonically as well as mystically, through direct experience with the divine. These rabbis also advocated that their students study everything

Episode 117: Part 1–A New Approach to Studying the Book of Mormon with Bradley J. Kramer

Show description: For devotees of Christian scripture, the suggestion that the New Testament contains anti-Semitic rhetoric is challenging. After all, how could the New Testament, largely written by Jewish authors about the Jewish Messiah contain any trace of disdain towards its own people? However, centuries of Christian hatred towards Jews demonstrates its roots in the New Testament portrayals of the Jews as a corrupt, conspiring, and murderous people. Take for example the near absolution of Pontius Pilate regarding the crucifixion of Jesus. The Gospels make clear that the blame for Jesus’s death rests upon the corrupt Jewish leaders and people who handed the Savior over to Roman authorities and, when given the chance to redeem him, shouted: “crucify him!” This New Testament depiction has led to the labeling of Jews as “Christ-killers.” Horrifically, this attitude has inspired pogroms against the Jewish people, the killing of Jews during the Crusades, and, in more recent times, the Jewish Holocaust. We are still dealing today with negative stereotypes of Jews that stem from early Christian attitudes. For author Bradley Kramer, a scholar dedicated to interfaith studies and relations between Jews and Latter-day Saints, the Book of Mormon offers a different, decidedly pro-Jewish take while not undermining the authority of the New Testament. In his book, Gathered in One: How the Book of Mormon Counters Anti-Semitism in the New Testament, Bradley demonstrates how The Book of Mormon contains an intentionally pro-Judaic stance. For example, Bradley argues that the Book of Mormon minimizes Jewish involvement in the crucifixion of Jesus and rejects supersessionist claims by portraying the Jewish people as still being God’s covenant people. Taken together with the New Testament, the Book of Mormon smooths out the sharp edges of anti-Semitic imagery, settings, and language.  Gathered in One: How the Book of Mormon Counters Anti-Semitism in the New TestamentBy Bradley J. Kramer “His thesis is fresh, provocative, and rigorously argued. A signal contribution to Book of Mormon studies.” — Terryl Givens Learn More   Download   Subscribe in Pocket Casts 

Show description: For devotees of Christian scripture, the suggestion that the New Testament contains anti-Semitic rhetoric is challenging. After all, how could the New Testament, largely written by Jewish authors about the Jewish Messiah contain any trace of disdain towards its own people? However, centuries of Christian hatred towards Jews demonstrates its roots in the New Testament portrayals of the Jews as a corrupt, conspiring, and murderous people. Take for example the near absolution of Pontius Pilate regarding the crucifixion of Jesus. The Gospels make clear that the blame for Jesus’s death rests upon the corrupt Jewish leaders and people who handed the Savior over to Roman authorities and, when given the chance to redeem him, shouted: “crucify him!” This New Testament depiction has led to the labeling of Jews as “Christ-killers.” Horrifically, this attitude has inspired pogroms against the Jewish people, the killing of Jews during the Crusades, and, in more recent times, the Jewish Holocaust. We are still dealing today with negative stereotypes of Jews that stem from early Christian attitudes. For author Bradley Kramer, a scholar dedicated to interfaith studies and relations between Jews and Latter-day Saints, the Book of Mormon offers a different, decidedly pro-Jewish take while not undermining the authority of the New Testament. In his book, Gathered in One: How the Book of Mormon Counters Anti-Semitism in the New Testament, Bradley demonstrates how The Book of Mormon contains an intentionally pro-Judaic stance. For example, Bradley argues that the Book of Mormon minimizes Jewish involvement in the crucifixion of Jesus and rejects supersessionist claims by portraying the Jewish people as still being God’s covenant people. Taken together with the New Testament, the Book of Mormon smooths out the sharp edges of anti-Semitic imagery, settings, and language. <a href="https://gregkofford.com/products/gathered-in-one" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://gregkofford.com/products/gathered-in-one" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Gathered in One: How the Book of Mormon Counters Anti-Semitism in the New Testament</a> By Bradley J. Kramer “His thesis is fresh, provocative, and rigorously argued. A signal contribution to Book of Mormon studies.” — Terryl Givens <a href="https://gregkofford.com/products/gathered-in-one" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Learn More</a> <a href="http://files.gregkofford.com/podcast/E110_Kramer_Gathered_092419.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Download</a> <a href="http://pca.st/87KJ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Subscribe in Pocket Casts</a>