Jesus—A Life in Dialogue: A Christian Response to Martin Buber’s Identification with the Jewish Jesus

Throughout his life, the person of Jesus held a profound fascination for the twentieth century Jewish philosopher, Martin Buber. Buber wrote prodigiously on Hasidism, the renewal of Judaism, the meaning of personhood, and the crisis of community. However, he was not a conventional systematic philosopher. He saw his role primarily as one who points the way to unrecognized truths on the basis of lived experience. If there is a theme which runs through his writings, it is his concern for the alienation of people from one another and from the “eternal Thou,” the only possible focus of genuine community. Buber found in the life and faith of Jesus, his “great brother,” a true exemplar of all he was striving to communicate regarding the possibility of a personal and continuous relation with the living God. This paper explores how Buber could identify so completely with the faith of the Jewish Jesus and yet reject the essential teachings of Pauline Christianity. While applauding the profound insights which Buber offers to all Christians concerning the life and faith of Jesus, the paper sets out to articulate a reasoned Christian response to his rejection of Christianity; but an inclusive response, which simultaneously acknowledges the importance of Buber’s pointing to the possibility of a richer and more meaningful dialogue with the God, who experienced first-hand the sufferings of humanity.