ALA COVID Relief Fund

Includes bibliographical references.

Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Preface to the Second Edition -- Preface to the First Edition -- Pronunciation Key for Transliterated Hebrew Words -- Part 1: A New People: Abraham's Spiritual Children -- 1. The Root and Branches -- "Look to Abraham Your Father" -- Athens or Jerusalem? -- The World of the Bible -- The Olive Root and Branches -- Grafted into Israel -- Understanding Chapter 1 -- 2. Gentiles, Jews, and Jewish Heritage -- A New Spiritual Family -- A Western World with an Eastern Book -- The Problem of Judaizing -- Paul and the Law -- Jewish Heritage and Today's Church -- Understanding Chapter 2 -- Part 2: Church and Synagogue in the Light of History -- 3. The Earliest Church and Judaism -- Jesus and His Followers -- Beginnings: A Jewish Church -- The Hebraists and the Hellenists -- Stephen and the Hellenists -- Outreach to Gentiles -- The Special Calling of Paul -- Further Success among the Gentiles -- The Council of Jerusalem -- Understanding Chapter 3 -- 4. Theological Conflict and Persecution -- Theological Differences -- Persecutions -- Summary -- Understanding Chapter 4 -- 5. "Heretics" and the Synagogue -- The Birkat ha-Minim: Definition -- The Origin of the Benediction -- The Minim and Notzrim -- "Put out of the Synagogue" -- The Nidduy and Ḥerem -- Conclusion -- Understanding Chapter 5 -- 6. The Jewish Revolts and the Parting of the Way -- The First Jewish Revolt (AD 66-73) -- Between Revolts: The Academy at Yavneh -- From Sabbath to Lord's Day -- The Second Jewish Revolt (AD 132-135) -- The Parting of the Way -- Understanding Chapter 6 -- 7. A History of Contempt: Anti-Semitism and the Church -- The "New" Israel Emerges -- From De-Judaizing to Anti-Judaism -- The Early Fathers: Blaming the Victims -- Allegory: An Attempt to Rescue the Jewish Scriptures -- Anti-Semitism in the Middle Ages.

From Luther to the Present -- Understanding Chapter 7 -- Part 3: Understanding Hebrew Thought -- 8. The Old Testament: Hebraic Foundation of the Church -- The Heresy of Marcion -- Neo-Marcionism -- A Neglected Treasure -- The Bible of the Early Church -- Two Parts, Yet One Book -- The Theological Key -- God-Breathed and Useful -- Discovering the Jewish Jesus -- Other Early Jewish Sources -- The Shema: Core Affirmation of Israel's Faith -- Christianity Is Jewish -- The Hebrew Bible and American Beginnings -- Foundational, Not Optional -- Understanding Chapter 8 -- 9. The Contour of Hebrew Thought -- An Energetic People, a Descriptive Language -- The Power of Poetry -- Painting Verbal Pictures -- Block Logic -- A Time for Meditation -- Everything Is Theological -- Religion as a Way of Life -- A Different View of Time and History -- Understanding Chapter 9 -- 10. Where the Church Went Wrong -- Dynamic Unity versus Dualism -- Otherworldliness versus This-Worldliness -- The Individual versus the Community -- Understanding Chapter 10 -- Part 4: Jewish Heritage and the Church: Selected Studies -- 11. Marriage and the Family through Hebrew Eyes -- Current Attitudes -- Biblical Foundations: Genesis and Marriage -- Marriage and Sinai: Two Covenants Compared -- Jewish Insights into Marriage and the Family -- Values within the Home -- Learning about the Family through Fiddler -- Older and Better: Aging through Hebrew Eyes -- Understanding Chapter 11 -- 12. Passover and Last Supper -- The Origin of Passover -- Passover in Old Testament Times -- Passover in New Testament Times -- Jesus's Last Supper -- Passover Today -- Passover and Contemporary Christianity -- Understanding Chapter 12 -- 13. Jews, Christians, and the Land -- Jews and the Land: An Overview -- Christian Approaches to the State of Israel -- Christians and Support of Israel.

Epilogue: Prospects for Peace -- Understanding Chapter 13 -- 14. A Life of Learning: The Heart of Jewish Heritage -- Education in Old Testament Times -- The Hebrew View of Wisdom -- Young Fools and Old Fools -- The Hebrew View of Knowledge -- Education with a Difference -- The Sweetness of Learning -- Hebraic Insights on the Task of Teaching -- Education in New Testament Times -- Everyone a Student -- Teaching Methods and Priorities -- Study as Worship -- "Guard It Well, for It Is Your Life" -- Understanding Chapter 14 -- Part 5: Toward Restoring Jewish Roots -- 15. If Not Now ... When? -- Preliminary Considerations for Christians -- Face-to-Face in Dialogue -- Education and Personal Growth -- Social Action -- "The Greatest of These Is Love" -- Understanding Chapter 15 -- Part 6: In Retrospect: Reflections on Christian-Jewish Relations from Auschwitz to the Present -- 16. The Holocaust and Christian-Jewish Relations -- Keeping the Message Alive -- Contributing Factors -- All Jews Were Victims -- Some Lasting Lessons of the Holocaust -- Jews and Christians after Auschwitz: The Need forConstructive Dialogue -- Understanding Chapter 16 -- 17. My Story: The Odyssey and Reflections of an Evangelical in Interfaith Dialogue -- A Frustrated Search for Jewish Roots -- Fear of the Other and Learning to Listen -- Evangelicals in the Synagogue -- Jews in Churches: An Oxymoron? -- Toward Refining the Dialogue: Quest for a Better Way -- The Road Ahead -- Understanding Chapter 17 -- Selective Bibliography.

Although the roots of Christianity run deep into Hebrew soil, many Christians remain regrettably uninformed about the rich Jewish heritage of the church. Our Father Abraham delineates the vital link between Judaism and Christianity, exemplified by the common ancestry of the two faiths traceable back to Abraham. Marvin Wilson calls Christians to reexamine their Semitic heritage to regain a more authentically biblical understanding of what they believe and practice. Wilson, a trusted voice among both Jews and Christians, speaks to both past and present, first developing a historical perspective on the Jewish origins of the church and then discussing how the church can become more attuned to the Hebraic mindset of Scripture. Drawing from his own extensive experience, he also offers valuable practical guidance for salutary interaction between Christians and Jews. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter make this book especially suitable for use in groups—Christian, Jewish, or interfaith—as readers strive to make sense of their own faith in connection with the other. The second edition of Our Father Abraham features a new preface, an expanded bibliography of recent relevant works, and two new chapters: one that discusses Jewish-Christian relations after the Holocaust and another that reflects on Wilson’s own fifty-plus-year career as an evangelical Christian deeply committed to interfaith dialogue. As Christians and Jews feel a growing need for mutual support in an increasingly secular Western world, Wilson’s widely acclaimed book will offer encouragement and wise guidance toward this worthy end.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2021. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.