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Christianity Is Jewish
Exploring the historical and spiritual significance of the Jewish race, this treatment presents the Bible as a unified document in which God has progressively unfolded the plan of salvation.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
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259 people want to read
About the author
Edith Schaeffer
37 books132 followersEDITH SCHAEFFER is the widow of Francis Schaeffer, and with him co-founder of L'Abri Fellowship. Her many books include A Celebration of Children and The Life of Prayer. She passed away in 2013.
Recognized internationally for his work in Christianity and culture, Francis A. Schaeffer authored more than twenty books, which have been translated into a score of languages and sold millions worldwide. He and his wife, Edith, founded L'Abri Fellowship international study and discipleship centers. Schaeffer passed away in 1984, but his influence and legacy continue worldwide.
children: Susan Schaeffer Macaulay
Recognized internationally for his work in Christianity and culture, Francis A. Schaeffer authored more than twenty books, which have been translated into a score of languages and sold millions worldwide. He and his wife, Edith, founded L'Abri Fellowship international study and discipleship centers. Schaeffer passed away in 1984, but his influence and legacy continue worldwide.
children: Susan Schaeffer Macaulay
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 27, 2016
What a marvelous overview of the Bible from Genesis right through Revelation. And indeed, the thrust of the Scriptures is that the promise of God was given to the Jews, God's chosen people. The Old Testament was the Bible Jesus read and expounded on. And we, the Gentiles (all non-Jews) have by God's grace, been grafted into the Jewish root of faith, and are now all part of the family of God, if we choose to believe. If you are new to faith or know someone who would be interested in a bird's eye view of the entire Bible, this is the book for you. Very readable, Schaeffer touches on and traces the main theme of God's story; redemption of mankind through Christ's death on the cross.
March 15, 2016
This book was a real eye-opener for me.
If you ever thought that Jesus founded a new religion called Christianity - well, this book might help you see things differently!
If you ever thought that Jesus founded a new religion called Christianity - well, this book might help you see things differently!
February 22, 2024
This is a great narration of the whole Bible message, fitting together Old and New Testaments. Some scripture references are mentioned but it is laced with so much more scripture without the references.
110: then, you see, we follow the line of the Lamb all the way from Abel, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and come to stand (in our imaginations) beside the High Priest, in the Holy of Holies to see that the lid of the mercy seat fits perfectly – no cracks! It covers the law, and when the blood of the lamb is sprinkled upon it on the Day of Atonement, the significance is that, for each one who comes believing the law has been covered by the blood of the lamb. The High Priest represents the whole congregation. Coming back to God, in the days of Jeremiah, Nehemiah, Isaiah, meant coming back to the close relationship which was entered into with God on the basis of worshiping Him in the manner He had given, not coming with a list of good works. One could not ever buy one’s way into His presence with any kind of payment – of moral good works or religious good works or huge amounts of material gifts. Everyone needed to come with a reality of something going on inside himself or herself. The way was open to those who were honest and sincere in the areas where only God could see the reality. Belief in the truth of what God made clear in His spoken word, or written word, has been, since the beginning, the necessary ingredient. “Faith” as a mystical kind of fog, descending upon some fortunate people, but not on others, is not with the word of God has ever taught. God‘s own statement about this is, “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing cometh by the word of God.” You have to hear something you can think about in your mind and conclude to be true, in order to believe it.
143: Today, the thing of first importance is to believe in the writings of Moses – really believe that they are true; then, in Jesus’ own teaching, we are prepared to believe His words. Those who say that nothing matters, but Jesus, and think of him as appearing out of nowhere 2000 years ago, as a floating, mystical happening to be followed, like a ghostly gleam, have not listened to Jesus himself when He says, “but if you believe not his writings, how shall you believe my words?”
164: So as they stood gazing up and watching Him disappear, it was with very different feelings than they had had when they watched Him die. The men and women were ready now to tell others that which they were convinced was true, and no amount of persecution was going to stop them. There was a tremendous difference between their behavior right after Christ’s death, and now. Why? Because they had become convinced by the resurrection that it was all true. They were not risking their lives on the basis of mystical, feeling or because of a “new religion,“ but because they were sure now that the Old Testament and the life, death, resurrection, and teaching of Jesus all fit together.
185: what a scene we see… Prisoners and head guard with all his family, now sitting, eating and laughing, rejoicing together over the marvel of truth, and believing together in what God had made so clear to them all. Now prisoner and keeper together, the line of difference wiped out. What a healing thing God has given when He has said we can be “one people” in what Christ came to do!
186: if there is no truth, and there are no lies – if there are no absolutes, and there is no such thing as right and wrong – then there could be no opposition. If everything is relative, and no fixed truth exists, but a fluid situation which is in flux, then how could there be opposition? What would it matter what people believed? What possible difference would it make? It could then make no difference to the people believing something, nor to the people not believing.
201: Paul then goes on to say that in addition to all these things, he had a “thorn in the flesh,” something which was physical, which troubled him. Was he healed? No. He asked the Lord three times to take this away, and the answer that came was this: “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect and weakness.“
There will be marvelous answers to prayer in this life. God is able to do “the impossible” for His children. But there are two kinds of answers! Paul did not have insufficient faith, simply there was a need of an answer of giving him sufficient “grace” to live with that horrible thorn in the flesh, and still love and trust God as a demonstration that that grace was indeed real. The other kind of answer is the supply of what has been asked for – in other words, an affirmative answer to prayer.
202: But while we believers are waiting for that fantastic moment to happen, we are supposed to be not only praying for the others who do not yet know, not only telling others who do not know, but demonstrating something of a reality of now being closer to what man was supposed to be in the first place. With the help of the Holy Spirit, with the help of the intercession of Jesus, with the help of the Father who hears as we cry out to Him, we are meant to be concerned about being “different.” So lying, filthy communication, blasphemy, anger, malice, so Paul says, ought to be put aside, and “Put on the new man,” he says, “which is renewed in the image of him that created him: where there is, neither Greek, nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond or free. Put on therefore, as you are now children of the living, God, some of the qualities that show you are made in His image. The ones mentioned are “mercy, kindness, humbleness, meekness, longsuffering, forgiving one another, and love.” These things are to mark the difference in people who are back in the family of God. In one place we are told that the greatest mark of the difference, is love (Colossians 3:8 - 14).
203: does it mean we don’t care about the atomic bombs? Does it mean that we don’t care about bombs and tunnels and riots in the streets? Does it mean we don’t care about ecological imbalances endangering our food supply? Does it mean we don’t care about depression? No, there are things for us to do now, as we ask God for guidance and help to be used by him in this moment of history. But we are not to panic. We are not to feel that life has no meaning. We are not to feel insignificant in a machine universe. We are not to give up and commit suicide. There is a purpose now, and there is a future coming in which there will be perfection.
110: then, you see, we follow the line of the Lamb all the way from Abel, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and come to stand (in our imaginations) beside the High Priest, in the Holy of Holies to see that the lid of the mercy seat fits perfectly – no cracks! It covers the law, and when the blood of the lamb is sprinkled upon it on the Day of Atonement, the significance is that, for each one who comes believing the law has been covered by the blood of the lamb. The High Priest represents the whole congregation. Coming back to God, in the days of Jeremiah, Nehemiah, Isaiah, meant coming back to the close relationship which was entered into with God on the basis of worshiping Him in the manner He had given, not coming with a list of good works. One could not ever buy one’s way into His presence with any kind of payment – of moral good works or religious good works or huge amounts of material gifts. Everyone needed to come with a reality of something going on inside himself or herself. The way was open to those who were honest and sincere in the areas where only God could see the reality. Belief in the truth of what God made clear in His spoken word, or written word, has been, since the beginning, the necessary ingredient. “Faith” as a mystical kind of fog, descending upon some fortunate people, but not on others, is not with the word of God has ever taught. God‘s own statement about this is, “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing cometh by the word of God.” You have to hear something you can think about in your mind and conclude to be true, in order to believe it.
143: Today, the thing of first importance is to believe in the writings of Moses – really believe that they are true; then, in Jesus’ own teaching, we are prepared to believe His words. Those who say that nothing matters, but Jesus, and think of him as appearing out of nowhere 2000 years ago, as a floating, mystical happening to be followed, like a ghostly gleam, have not listened to Jesus himself when He says, “but if you believe not his writings, how shall you believe my words?”
164: So as they stood gazing up and watching Him disappear, it was with very different feelings than they had had when they watched Him die. The men and women were ready now to tell others that which they were convinced was true, and no amount of persecution was going to stop them. There was a tremendous difference between their behavior right after Christ’s death, and now. Why? Because they had become convinced by the resurrection that it was all true. They were not risking their lives on the basis of mystical, feeling or because of a “new religion,“ but because they were sure now that the Old Testament and the life, death, resurrection, and teaching of Jesus all fit together.
185: what a scene we see… Prisoners and head guard with all his family, now sitting, eating and laughing, rejoicing together over the marvel of truth, and believing together in what God had made so clear to them all. Now prisoner and keeper together, the line of difference wiped out. What a healing thing God has given when He has said we can be “one people” in what Christ came to do!
186: if there is no truth, and there are no lies – if there are no absolutes, and there is no such thing as right and wrong – then there could be no opposition. If everything is relative, and no fixed truth exists, but a fluid situation which is in flux, then how could there be opposition? What would it matter what people believed? What possible difference would it make? It could then make no difference to the people believing something, nor to the people not believing.
201: Paul then goes on to say that in addition to all these things, he had a “thorn in the flesh,” something which was physical, which troubled him. Was he healed? No. He asked the Lord three times to take this away, and the answer that came was this: “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect and weakness.“
There will be marvelous answers to prayer in this life. God is able to do “the impossible” for His children. But there are two kinds of answers! Paul did not have insufficient faith, simply there was a need of an answer of giving him sufficient “grace” to live with that horrible thorn in the flesh, and still love and trust God as a demonstration that that grace was indeed real. The other kind of answer is the supply of what has been asked for – in other words, an affirmative answer to prayer.
202: But while we believers are waiting for that fantastic moment to happen, we are supposed to be not only praying for the others who do not yet know, not only telling others who do not know, but demonstrating something of a reality of now being closer to what man was supposed to be in the first place. With the help of the Holy Spirit, with the help of the intercession of Jesus, with the help of the Father who hears as we cry out to Him, we are meant to be concerned about being “different.” So lying, filthy communication, blasphemy, anger, malice, so Paul says, ought to be put aside, and “Put on the new man,” he says, “which is renewed in the image of him that created him: where there is, neither Greek, nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond or free. Put on therefore, as you are now children of the living, God, some of the qualities that show you are made in His image. The ones mentioned are “mercy, kindness, humbleness, meekness, longsuffering, forgiving one another, and love.” These things are to mark the difference in people who are back in the family of God. In one place we are told that the greatest mark of the difference, is love (Colossians 3:8 - 14).
203: does it mean we don’t care about the atomic bombs? Does it mean that we don’t care about bombs and tunnels and riots in the streets? Does it mean we don’t care about ecological imbalances endangering our food supply? Does it mean we don’t care about depression? No, there are things for us to do now, as we ask God for guidance and help to be used by him in this moment of history. But we are not to panic. We are not to feel that life has no meaning. We are not to feel insignificant in a machine universe. We are not to give up and commit suicide. There is a purpose now, and there is a future coming in which there will be perfection.
August 15, 2015
A great historical overview on how Christianity came to be a world religion. Insightful and cohesive, Ms. Schaeffer has you sitting next to her, by a roaring fire, and you are engulfed in the mystery of what it means to be a soul.
August 17, 2012
I read it as a new believer and found it amazing at the time. It's a good easy read that helps to show that really Christianity is the fulfillment of Judaism.
April 10, 2024
Alternate title: Edith Schaeffer’s Personal Summary of the Bible.
I guess I was expecting more of a historical/informative book about the ties of Jewish people and Christianity. Schaeffer instead wrote a book about her interpretation of the Bible with a central theme of Christ the Lamb and reminds the readers that the characters in the Bible were Jewish. She comes off a bit haughty in the first few chapters by explaining that her Jewish peers said her explanation of the Bible made a lot of sense and was the inspiration for this book.
Personally, I was distracted by her writing style filled with italics, quotation marks, and questions.
I guess I was expecting more of a historical/informative book about the ties of Jewish people and Christianity. Schaeffer instead wrote a book about her interpretation of the Bible with a central theme of Christ the Lamb and reminds the readers that the characters in the Bible were Jewish. She comes off a bit haughty in the first few chapters by explaining that her Jewish peers said her explanation of the Bible made a lot of sense and was the inspiration for this book.
Personally, I was distracted by her writing style filled with italics, quotation marks, and questions.
March 7, 2021
This was a beautifully written summary of the meta narrative of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. We, as Gentile believers in Jesus are graciously grafted into the Jewish tree. The lamb being sacrificed in Exodus points to Jesus on earth and on His throne in Heaven. Edith Schaefer is, as always, brilliant yet accessible.
March 6, 2024
Wow! How do you summarize the Bible? How do you use this summary to witness? This book is strong in Christian doctrine that supports our root stock, the Jewish people. One cannot read the Bible without knowing the Jesus of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible.
May 15, 2019
If I could, I would give this book a 10 star rating!!!
July 1, 2024
A meandering journey through the Jewish story of Jesus.
September 19, 2013
This is a book that takes you from Genesis to Revelation, threading the entire Bible together as one very cohesive narrative that points to Jesus from the very first page of Genesis. Edith Schaeffer is all about 'continuity' and how everything flows together in showing God's redemptive plan and love for us. It is a bit stream of consciousness writing, as The Tapestry was, and a little old fashioned as all her Bible verses are King James. But I enjoyed seeing all the small stories and people of the Bible tied up in one thread and pointing to the same thing.
March 11, 2011
Edith Schaeffer (the wife of L'Abri founder, Francis Schaeffer) presents the Gospel to a Jewish audience in the text of this fascinating work. The writer here lays out what many Christians would do well to recognize as the history of their belief and the root of their Christian religion. The book is an easy read full of biblical stories and accounts. The book is laid out as the story of redemption tailored with a keen eye to the Jewish reader.
November 1, 2010
This is a great book. Explains the Jewish roots of Christianity, the respect we owe to Jews, etc.
How odd of God, to choose the Jew,
but not as odd as those who choose
the Jewish God but hate the Jew.
Edith Schaeffer did a great job writing this book, and I can't wait to read more of her books. Her husband, Francis Schaeffer, has also written several books I've enjoyed.
How odd of God, to choose the Jew,
but not as odd as those who choose
the Jewish God but hate the Jew.
Edith Schaeffer did a great job writing this book, and I can't wait to read more of her books. Her husband, Francis Schaeffer, has also written several books I've enjoyed.
May 17, 2012
If you want to understand more about TYPES and specifically Jesus as the lamb of God, read this book. Jesus is the Lamb of God can only be understood by looking at the old testament and the picture it provides for us.
October 25, 2008
This book shows Christians how their faith is built on a foundation of Old Testament teaching, and it shows Jews how Christianity is really a fulfillment of their religion.
March 5, 2010
Very good. Really interesting, too!
May 13, 2012
This is my second favorite Edith Schaeffer book. The dialogue and questions raised are very thought provoking. This will definately be a book I re-read often.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews