"We are losing well-educated, reflective, and deeply commit-ted members who once occupied the center of our tradition."

"This erosion of the center leaves our communities vulnerable to two polarizing forces: the pull of religious extremism, and the push of cultural assimilation."

Are these statements made by leaders of Christian churches or Jewish synagogues? It turns out that both Christian and Jew-ish communities are experiencing this phenomenon of the "loss of the center." It may be the single greatest contemporary challenge for the continuation and viability of both traditions.

In response to this modern reality, the Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies (ICJS) has embarked on an ambitious and groundbreaking three-year project. "The Scandal of Par-ticularity: A Jewish-Christian Conversation" provides a forum for Jews and Christians to assist one another in the reexamination of central religious concepts that, when neglected, contribute to this loss of the center. The project brings together invited Jewish and Christian clergy, scholars, educators, community leaders, and seminarians in rigorous study and discussion of central texts of Judaism and Chris-tianity, along with contemporary theological commentary, to explore possible readings for our own time.

Because claims of God's unique presence are often enlisted to fortify extremist positions, this project focuses on claims re-garding the uniqueness of the divine presence in both Judaism and Christianity. It examines the "scandal of particularity" as it is manifest in five central forms in each tradition: revelation, text, people, place, and space. One overarching question will govern this inquiry: "To what extent do the claims of divine particularity present in each of these areas result in polarizing tendencies within the Jewish and Christian traditions as well as with respect to their relationship to one another and the wider public arena?"

The opening session, "The Particularity of Revelation," took place in Atlanta on November 5-7, 2006, and focused on the distinctive ways in which Jews and Christians understand the concept of revelation. In addition to a mix of nineteen Jewish and Christian scholars, clergy, educators, lay leaders, and seminarians, the first session featured Visiting Scholars Eugene B. Borowitz; Sigmund Falk, Distinguished Professor of Educa-tion and Jewish Religious Thought at Hebrew Union College/ Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City; and Douglas F. Ottati, M. E. Pemberton Professor of Theology at Union Theological Seminary/PSCE in Richmond.

On March 11-13, 2007, we gathered in Richmond for the second session, entitled "The Authority of the Text," and con-sidered the questions: On what grounds are our sacred texts considered authoritative? Are some texts more authoritative than others? How does the privileging of certain texts affect each tradition's own internal life as well as its relationship to the other tradition?

Out of these meetings and the four future sessions scheduled from June 2007 to June 2008, we will develop educational resources for use in congregations, seminaries, and with inter-faith groups around the country. These materials promise to demonstrate that Christians and Jews can gain fresh insights into their own traditions, as well as the tradition of the other, when they are willing to step outside of their comfortable enclaves and dare to ponder where Jews and Christians differ. The "Scandal" project is a partnership with The Institute for Reformed Theology at Union Theological Seminary/Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia. This initiative grew out of a series of conversations with The Temple/Hebrew Benevolent Congregations and First Presby-terian Church in Atlanta, Georgia.