Refutation of the Christian Principles

Daniel J. Lasker is Associate Professor of Jewish Thought at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer Sheva, Israel. He is the author of Jewish Philosophical Polemics Against Christianity in the Middle Ages.

• AcknowledgmentsForeword to the English Translation THE REFUTATION OF THE CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES Joseph Ben Shem Tov's IntroductionHasdai Crescas' Preface1. Concerning the Punishment of Adam's Sin2. Concerning the Redemption from Adam's Original Sin Called in Their Language "Original"3. Concerning the Trinity4. Concerning Incarnation5. Concerning Virgin Birth6. Concerning Transubstantiation7. Concerning Baptism8. Concerning the Coming of the Messiah9. Concerning the New Torah10. Concerning Demons Notes Bibliography Indices

"The translator is the world's preeminent authority on medieval Jewish philosophical polemics against Christianity. The text is probably the most important sustained work in this genre, particularly in light of Crescas's great importance as a philosopher and the intensification of missionary efforts in late medieval Iberia." — David Berger, Brooklyn College and the Graduate School, City University of New York"It is a special virtue of Lasker's annotated translation that it makes available to a more general readership a work that would otherwise be known only to a very small group of specialists. At a time when humanistic studies turn more and more in a comparative direction, this is a significant accomplishment." — Arthur Hyman, Distinguished Service Professor, Yeshiva University"Lasker answers the kinds of questions that scholars would expect of have answered and at the same time provides guidance for the interested non-specialist. He identifies Christian and Jewish sources, refers to the relevant secondary literature and turns to such Christian authors as Augustine, Anselm, and Aquinas for authoritative accounts of the Christian doctrines against which Crescas polemicizes.