ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the impact or trace of modern Jewish thought on Christian theology, as its absence, its absence in particular at a juncture where one might have expected to find it. A number of Jewish thinkers over the last few centuries have envisaged some form of fundamental contrast between Judaism and paganism, and many present Christianity either as poised between the some poles, or as aligned with one with Judaism but nevertheless subject to a distinct leaning, a distinct temptation, towards the other as constantly in danger of sliding towards paganism. If a mythicising paganism is no longer an option, then faced with a meaningless world stripped bare, the possibility of acknowledging the transcendence of God is enhanced, rather than diminished. Certainly some of the aspects of Christianity which associated by Jewish thinkers with paganism, such as the incarnation or the link between Christ and salvation, are non-negotiable for most mainstream Christians.
