This fifty-two-page manual opens with concise blueprints for teaching six adult education lessons and four full courses based on Rabbi Michael J. Cook's volume, Modern Jews Engage the New Testament: Enhancing Jewish Well-Being in a Christian Environment.
- The lessons are stand-alone sessions on various topics: questions posed by Christians that Jews find hard to answer; the parting of the ways between Judaism and Christianity; the Jesus of history; the Last Supper and today's church "seders"; the impact of Passion traditions on the Jews; and whether the New Testament is antisemitic.
- The courses address:
- New Testament Basics Jews Should Know (5 sessions)
- How Christian Holy Days Impact the Jews (5 sessions)
- The Four Gospels: A Concern for Jews from Each (4 sessions)
- How Early Christians Applied "Gospel Dynamics" (8 sessions)
- Accommodating calendar needs, the courses can be shortened (omitting sessions); expanded (extending sessions); even combined (by stringing courses together).
- Assigned for each lesson and course session are materials from the main text--which pages to read and which "Figures" to examine. The latter--the distinctive diagrams, pictorials, charts--not only aid comprehension, supply key biblical passages, and reinforce recall, but they also can stimulate group discussion. This explains why the manual reproduces all eighty-four! The idea? First, participants do assignments from the main book at home. Then they bring Companion Figures alone to class--or instructors distribute copies as each session begins.
- With these lessons and courses clearly laid out, time-consuming planning by teachers is already accomplished! And instructors preferring to devise their own courses now have models in the structures which Dr. Cook provides.
About Modern Jews Engage the New Testament:
Enhancing Jewish Well-Being in a Christian Environment
Enhancing Jewish Well-Being in a Christian Environment
An honest, probing look at the dynamics of
the New Testament—in relation to problems that disconcert
Jews and Christians today.
Despite the New Testament’s impact
on Jewish history, virtually all Jews avoid knowledge of its
underlying dynamics. Jewish families and communities thus
remain needlessly stymied when responding to a deeply Christian
culture. Their Christian friends, meanwhile, are left perplexed
as to why Jews are wary of the Gospel’s “good
news.”
This long-awaited volume offers an
unprecedented solution-oriented introduction to Jesus and Paul,
the Gospels and Revelation, leading Jews out of anxieties that
plague them, and clarifying for Christians why Jews draw back
from Christians’ sacred writings.
Accessible to lay people, scholars and
clergy of all faiths, innovative teaching aids make this
valuable resource ideal for rabbis, ministers and other
educators. Topics include:
• The Gospels, Romans and
Revelation—the Key Concerns for Jews
• Misusing the Talmud in Gospel Study
• Jesus’ Trial, the
“Virgin Birth” and Empty Tomb Enigmas
• Millennialist Scenarios and
Missionary Encroachment
• The Last Supper and Church Seders
• Is the New Testament Antisemitic?
While written primarily with Jews in mind,
this groundbreaking volume will also help Christians understand
issues involved in the origin of the New Testament, the
portrayal of Judaism in it, and why for centuries their
“good news” has been a source of fear and mistrust
among Jews.
Praise for Modern Jews Engage the New Testament
“A wonderful resource for Jews who
seek to take on the challenges posed by the New Testament and
for Christians who wish to understand Jews’ relationship
to Christian theology. Whether for individual or group study,
[its] educational value is without measure.”
—Rabbi
Eric H. Yoffie, president, Union
for Reform Judaism
“Superb. Builds on Cook’s
mastery of sound New Testament scholarship with innovative
interpretations and lucid [expression].... Useful for laity,
clergy and scholars, [and] essential for [those] dedicated to
Christian-Jewish dialogue.”
—Joseph
B. Tyson, professor emeritus of
religious studies, Southern Methodist University; author, Marcion and Luke-Acts: A Defining Struggle
“Covers the highlights of the
Gospels and New Testament Christianity and makes [readers new
to the topic] feel more at home. Useful for all engaged in
Jewish and Christian dialogue.”
—Rabbi
Burton L. Visotzky, Appleman
Professor of Midrash and Interreligious Studies, The Jewish
Theological Seminary;
author, A Delightful Compendium of Consolation
author, A Delightful Compendium of Consolation
“Practical, pointed and
provocative.... Points out how and why Jews need to understand
this material. A welcome addition to both New Testament
scholarship and Jewish-Christian relations.”
—Amy-Jill
Levine, E. Rhodes and Leona B.
Carpenter Professor of New Testament Studies, Vanderbilt
University Divinity School
Related Item(s)
| Code | Name | Image |
| 978-1-58023-313-2 | Modern Jews Engage the New Testament: Enhancing Jewish Well-Being in a Christian Environment |
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