An eminent scholar of the history of Judaism, Jacob Neusner shows in
this work how Judaism changed from a philosophy to a religion between
200 and 400 C.E. 'The Transformation of Judaism' is a work both
revolutionary in its method and unprecedented in its results. Comparing
earlier and later sets of Judaic writings, Neusner sets forth how
philosophy - abstract, elegant, orderly, and intellectual - turned into
religion - tangible, down-to-earth, chaotic, and concrete. In the
process, he offers an account of the birth of Judaism that has become
normative. Moreover, Neusner's methodology can be applied to the study
of religions other than Judaism because it examines the underpinnings of
how a society sees the world (philosophy), orders itself (politics), and
sustains itself (economics).