Status Updates From A Rabbi Looks at the Last D...

This book is extremely repetitive.

What this chapter seems to say is, Teach Jews to be Christian with as little reference to the Church as possible... the best advice I can see is (i) to use the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament) more in preaching, and (ii) pray for the Jewish people.

All very interesting, this Jewish preference for the Messiach ben David over the Messiach ben Ioseph.

Again with the anti-semitism thing. It is a deep wound indeed. But he's right: proclamation begins to the Jews.

It is truly encouraging to see Bernis' experience of so many in the Jewish community accepting Christ, and finding baptism. Truly encouraging.

The absurdity of the claim that an isolated Indian tribe near Burma is a descendant of the ancient Jewish clan of Manasses... and to use this to furnish an argument for Aliyah! I commiserate with the Israeli authorities who have to deal with these claims and applicants regularly.

A theme of the book is that 'messianic Jews' don't need the Church, that they can be vaguely Christian (read protestant) without renouncing their Jewish identity, and certainly without baptism. Fair enough. But calling those early Christians and the Apostolic Church simply 'messianic Jews' is insufficient. Their demands were greater.

Bernis' books always seem to begin with this accusation against 'the Church,' that 'the Church' has persecuted Jewish communities for two thousand years. Yet, the examples of persecutors he brings forth include the pagan Roman Emperors, the Crusaders (Christians, yes, but hardly representative), and that old favourite, the Spanish Inquisition. Every example is isolated, and unable to demonstrate an organised attack.

Beware the scholars of the book of Apocalypse (Revelation)... :D

Interesting viewpoint on such things as the Zionist state and the growing popularity of messianism among young Jews.