The Jewish Background Of Christianity In God S Plan Of Salvation

Modern Catholics may be dissuaded from reading or studying the Old Testament simply because the stories seem unusual or implausible and the language, foreign and confusing. Still, we must not neglect the inestimable value of God’s self-disclosure and the wealth of wisdom within the Hebrew scriptures, nor the Jewish prayers and traditions contained within, as many of them lie at the core of our faith and worship. In a simple yet enlightening approach to scripture interpretation, Marianne Ivany provides a simplified overview of the major narratives that comprise the story of salvation history while offering appreciation for the role of Israel as God’s chosen nation. Throughout her study, Dr. Ivany invites spiritual seekers to explore the Old Testament, comprehend its continuum within the message of the New Testament, and reflect on its implications for understanding the life and teachings of Christ. By engaging with the text, Catholics will gain a new outlook on the depth of scripture as God’s personal revelation to humanity, enriched by the timelessness and wisdom of His word. In this Catholic study, believers will gain a new appreciation for the Hebrew scriptures of Jesus and the way they serve as the background for the Catholic faith.

Growing up in an ethnic suburb in Cleveland, Aaron Milavec was an impressionable adolescent whose religious and cultural influences made it natural for him to pity, blame, and despise Jews. All of that began to change in 1955 when Mr. Martin, a Jewish merchant, hired Milavec as a stock boy. Milavec's initial anxieties over working for a Jew surprisingly gave way to profound personal admiration. This, in turn, plunged Milavec into a troubling theological dilemma: How could God consign Mr. Martin to eternal hellfire due to his ancestral role in the death of Jesus when it was clear that Mr. Martin would not harm me, a Christian, even in small ways? This book is not for the faint-hearted. Most Christians imagine that the poison of anti-Judaism has been largely eliminated. In contrast, Milavec reveals how this poison has gone underground--disfiguring not only the role of Israel in God's plan of salvation but also horribly twisting the faith, the forgiveness, and the salvation that Christians find through Jesus Christ. This painful realization serves as the necessary first step for our healing. At each step of the way, Milavec's sure hand builds bridges of mutual understanding that enable both Christians and Jews to cross the chasm of distrust and distortion that has infected both church and synagogue over the centuries. In the end, Milavec securely brings his readers to that place where Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity can again be admired as sister religions intimately united to one other in God's drama of salvation.

If Jesus is a Jew, why is there a wedge between Christianity and Judaism? If Jews and Christians both believe in the same God, why is there such division? Why is history littered with deathly accounts of this division, from the early Jewish persecution of Christians to the Crusades' slaughtering of Jews? The Lion of Judah unpacks the roots of this division, showing how jealousy, theology, the law, and the integration of Gentile believers into what was once a predominantly Jewish early church contributed to the schism. It then goes on to reveal how Jesus magnificently fulfilled every word in the Bible. Readers will discover why the Lion of Judah is the rightful Lord and King of all people--Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, atheists, and the rest of creation. This book will help Christians understand the history of Christianity and Judaism, get into greater alignment with God's plan of redemption, be better equipped to share the gospel with Jewish people, and become more sensitive to and appreciative of their Hebraic heritage.

The book traces the role of Judaism and the Jewish people in God's plan for the salvation of mankind, from Abraham through the Second Coming, as revealed by the Catholic faith and by a thoughtful examination of history. It will give Christians a deeper understanding of Judaism, both as a religion in itself and as a central component of Christian salvation. To Jews it reveals the incomprehensible importance, nobility and glory that Judaism most truly has. It examines the unique and central role Judaism plays in the destiny of the world. It documents that throughout history attacks on Jews and Judaism have been rooted not in Christianity, but in the most anti-Christian of forces. Areas addressed include: the Messianic prophecies in Jewish scripture; the anti-Christian roots of Nazi anti-Semitism; the links between Nazism and Arab anti-Semitism; the theological insights of major Jewish converts; and the role of the Jews in the Second Coming. "Perplexed by controversies new and old about the destiny of the Jewish people? Read this book by a Jew who became a Catholic for a well-written, provocative, ground-breaking account. Some of the answers most have never heard before." Ronda Chervin, Ph.D., Hebrew-Catholic

David Baron was raised in a devout Jewish family and studied Hebrew in rabbinical school. After completing his own study of the Scriptures, he converted to Christianity and devoted himself to a twofold ministry: explaining Christianity to the Jews and explaining the Jews to Christianity. These two objectives form the basis for his classic work Israel in the Plan of God. Israel's past and future, from her national election by God to the final judgment of her enemies, is covered in the balanced, biblical study of this astute scholar.

Jesus gave specific and succinct instructions on how to inherit eternal life, yet the Church sets those teachings aside. Amazing right? I will show you exactly how Christian Church doctrine leads people away from Jesus'teachings, and God's instructions for receiving salvation and what to do about it. You will also read here about the great apostasy, the mark of the beast, the seal of God, what laws does God expect us to keep, the means of saving grace, true repentance, the Church of Laodicea, Jesus' style of evangelism, Jesus' atonement, the nature of God, and much more. If you are a Christian or Jew, you salvation weights in the balance of knowing what is in this book.

This volume of essays is an example of something new and exciting that is going on in North America, especially between Jews and Christians. For the first time in almost two thousand years, Jews and Christians can sit down as equals around a table and reflect on their profound sameness and deep differences. In a real way, this book represents another step Christians and Jews have taken together on the new road to deeper understanding.The issues surrounding the Jewish Christian dialogue are legion?the State of Israel, the Holocaust (Shoah), and the Jewishness of Jesus, to mention only a few. Dialogue does not mean proselytizing or conversion; instead, each faith tradition recognizes and respects its own identity. Any notion that Christianity has replaced or superseded the Jewish people in God's plan of salvation is both inadmissible and repulsive to the dialogue.One, if not the central, issue facing serious dialogue between Christians and Jews is Jesus of Nazareth. How can both of these faith communities speak about the itinerant Galilean whose origins and early followers were Jewish and whose subsequent followers broke away from Judaism? This volume attempts to address this question.