When Jews And Christians Meet

When Jews and Christians Meet captures the present state of the Christian-Jewish Dialogue, in which it is taken for granted that good will has been established and that Christians and Jews have a great deal in common. One can now appreciate the basic differences which remain between Judaism and Christianity without fear of giving offense. With this assumption, a number of Jewish and Christian scholars address several questions. For example, they ask what the future goals of Judaeo-Christian studies should be, and how the ecumenical aspirations of leading Christian and Jewish theologians can be translated into practice on a level which can be appreciated by the men and women in the pews of synagogues and churches. In addition to such theoretical considerations, the volume offers illustrations of how Bible study can be undertaken in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament by Jewish and Christian scholars addressing passages, hitherto considered controversial, with both a commitment to objective scholarship and a rootedness in their respective religious traditions. Jeremiahs prophecy about the New Covenant and some of the Apostle Pauls statements about the Jews furnish the material for that joint enterprise.

Examines the deep roots of Christianity in the Hebrew Scriptures and attempts to resolve anti-Judaic interpretations of the New Testament. Discusses the impact on Christian-Jewish relations of the Holocaust, the establishment of the State of Israel, and the growing recognition among Christians that the covenant between God and the Jewish people is eternal. Calls for recognition of the long history of Christian persecution of Jews and the need to repent in order to avoid its repetition.

In the summer of 1996, Yusha Evans went on a passage through the Bible and its four Gospel. He scrutinized more than five different religions in search of God and His message. In 1998, he reverted to Islam. He yearned for the truth in life which is to “Worship God alone as one, obey Him and His Messenger to go to Heaven,” of which he found through Islam.

"In this enormously well researched and gracefully argued book, Ariel develops a nuanced theme: the complexity, ambivalence, and even paradox that has characterized conservative Protestant beliefs regarding Jews and Israel, and the diverse responses among Jews. . . . First-rate scholarship presented in a pleasingly accessible style." —Stephen Spector, author of Evangelicals and Israel: The Story of American Christian Zionism It is generally accepted that Jews and evangelical Christians have little in common. Yet special alliances developed between the two groups in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Evangelicals viewed Jews as both the rightful heirs of Israel and as a group who failed to recognize their true savior. Consequently, they set out to influence the course of Jewish life by attempting to evangelize Jews and to facilitate their return to Palestine. Their double-edged perception caused unprecedented political, cultural, and theological meeting points that have revolutionized Christian-Jewish relationships. An Unusual Relationship explores the beliefs and political agendas that evangelicals have created in order to affect the future of the Jews. This volume offers a fascinating, comprehensive analysis of the roots, manifestations, and consequences of evangelical interest in the Jews, and the alternatives they provide to conventional historical Christian-Jewish interactions. It also provides a compelling understanding of Middle Eastern politics through a new lens. Yaakov Ariel is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His book, Evangelizing the Chosen People, was awarded the Albert C. Outler prize by the American Society of Church History. In the Goldstein-Goren Series in American Jewish History

Despite statements issued by various Churches in the 1960s-80s (e.g. "Nostra Aetate" and "Ecumenical Considerations on Jewish-Christian Dialogue"), some problems still remain between Christianity and Judaism. Analyzes these problems and proposes solutions. The Churches must present interpretations of the New Testament which do not abuse other religions. Christians must admit that Jesus was a devout, practicing Jew, and that Judaism is not a "petrified" religion or a "religion of legalism." They must not regard Christianity as a superior religion, but acknowledge the parity between it and Judaism and cease missionary activities. Special attention is drawn to the Holocaust and the specific guilt of Christianity in regard to it, and to Christian attitudes to the State of Israel.

Fisher has gathered here in one volume significant essays by four of the most important scholar-theologians in the world. These scholors--two Jews and two Christians--critique the dialogue between the Jewish people and the Christian churches in light of 2,000 years of uneasy relations, reassessing all that has gone before in a spirit of renewed hope.

This book records the reflections and dialogue of nine distinguished scholars, who by exploring past and present relationships between Christians and Jews, are enhancing the search for new means of communication and the development of a future in which Jewish-christian bonds are stronger and closer.