Jan. 2, 2009 - What I Wish My Christian Friends Knew About Judaism--A Review
I would recommend reading Robert Schoen's What I Wish My Christian Friends Knew about Judaism if and only if you don't know anyone Jewish. If you don't know anyone Jewish, you should strongly consider broadening your social circle.
Schoen accomplishes in 244 pages what you could in a 15 minute conversation with your Jewish friend. His intended audience definitely targets the layperson. But really, one who notes--without weighing in definitively himself--that scholars think the story behind Purim is pure fiction maybe isn't the best person to be explaining Judaism. And I'm leaving aside the fact that author is a divorced and remarried Jew (hey, he got a get so I guess it's all cool with God, right?) to a divorced and remarried Jew. If this is the state of Judaism today, then the Jews are having as much trouble as most mainline Christian denominations. In short, God help us. All of us.
A far better book for Christians interested in understanding Judaism is Daniel Fuch's Israel's Holy Days in Type and Prophecy. Not only does this book explain the seven major feasts and festivals of the Jewish calendar, but takes the important step of explaining how each of these foreshadows Christ. Sure, it's 95 pages will take you four times as long to read as Schoen's 244, but you'll actually come away with a starting point for conversation about the Messiah with your Jewish friends. That's a far more useful thing for the Christian and very likely, also for the Jew seeking to find common ground.
Schoen's appeal to loving kindness and tolerance will be recognized by all as a necessary step. His broad ecumenism, however, falls far short of the sufficiency demanded by any person of serious faith whether Christian or Jew. New agers will love this book and I don't mean that as a compliment.
Blessings, Holly
