Our Father Abraham and Our Father Abraham Workbook
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Our Father Abraham
This is a stunning achievement and a life changing book! Although the roots of Christianity run deep into Hebrew soil, many Christians are regrettably uninformed about the rich Hebrew heritage of the church. This volume delineates the link between Judaism and Christianity, between Old and New Testaments, and calls Christians to examine their Hebrew roots.
Abraham is father of us all, as Paul wrote to the Romans (Rom. 4:16). He is father of believing Jews, and he is father of believing Gentiles (Rom. 4:11, 12). So if we belong to Christ, we are Abraham’s seed (Gal. 3:29). We have that wonderful Abrahamic connection.
To some people it comes as a surprise that the roots of Christianity run so very deep into the soil of Judaism. It seems they believe the Church was invented out of whole cloth. No, it was born in a Jewish cradle in Jerusalem, on a Jewish holiday, and the forebears of our faith were Jews. Our debt as Christians to the Jewish people is immense. Seventy-seven percent of the Bible is the Jewish Scriptures or the Hebrew Bible, and the remaining 23 percent, the New Testament, essentially consists of Hebraic theological concepts in Greek dress. So the theology of the New Testament is deeply rooted in the Hebrew Bible. Indeed Christianity is very, very Jewish.
Since it was first published, Our Father Abraham has reverberated loudly through any Jewish-Christian dialogue that is concerned with developing a better understanding between these two faiths. Christian Century magazine listed Our Father Abraham as an "all-time best seller" in its field. Touching on areas of history, Jewish thought and tradition, this book seeks to help Jews and Christians better understand one another and attempt to build bridges regarding our sizable pool of common belief .
The book is broken down into five parts. They are:
- A New People: Abraham's Spiritual Children
- The Church and Synagogue in the Light of History
- Understanding Hebrew Thought
- Jewish Heritage and the Church: Selected Studies
- Toward Restoring Jewish Roots
Within each of these areas are a variety of sub-points that will enhance your study and understanding of the Bible. Its goal is to help the reader see the strong link between Judaism and Christianity and the Old and New Testaments. By seeing and understanding this link, it is hoped that the reader will be able to develop a more authentically Biblical lifestyle.
Our Father Abraham is highly regarded and highly recommended. Rabbi James Rudin of the American Jewish Committee says the book "...is a stunning achievement. Marvin Wilson's superb scholarship is combined with many concrete suggestions for building a new relationship between the church and the synagogue, between Christians and Jews. Our Father Abraham is a must for educators, clergy and the laity."
Carl E. Armerding of Regent College commends Wilson for "...throwing down a theological gauntlet, challenging Christians of all kinds to reform a 2,000 year history of misunderstanding Jews and misinterpreting our own sources. This book does not pretend to be the last word in the dialogue, but it is a powerful first salvo."
Book Review from Jerusalem Perspective by David Pileggi
Our Father Abraham begins with a useful survey of the Jewish origins of the Church and provides some fresh perspectives on the early relationship between Jews and the Jewish disciples of Jesus. For example, Wilson points out that according to recent historical research from Israel, the bir·kat ha·mi·nim (a first-century prayer against heretics) was not specifically formulated for use against Jewish followers of Jesus, as has often been maintained. The book also clears up a number of popular misconceptions about Judaism. One of the most widespread is the belief that Judaism teaches salvation by works, when in fact Judaism in the time of Jesus, and today, maintains that it is only through the mercy of God that salvation is obtained.
Wilson continues with a review of anti-Semitism, primarily emphasizing the de-Judaization of the Church. This process was completed by the end of the second century and resulted in a tidal wave of Christian anti-Judaism. Wilson focuses on what the twin diseases of anti-Semitism and de-Judaization have cost the Church. Spiritually severed from its Jewish foundations, the Church adopted much of the Platonic thought that prevailed in the Greek world.
Perhaps the best example is the influence of Platonic thought on Christian understanding of sex and marriage. Platonism sees the body as imperfect and a source of evil, while the spirit is viewed as something pure that demands release from the body. Because of this, celibacy came to be considered a holier state for the Christian, with marriage reserved for the spiritually weak and those unable to control their “earthly passions.”
The Hebrew concept of marriage is quite different. From biblical times until today, Jewish teaching has consistently affirmed the goodness of marriage and family. As Wilson notes, “the Song of Songs celebrates sexuality and human love in bold terms. The Hebrews were far from those who displayed an indifference or blandness about life. Though not hedonistic, their life-style was physical and robust.” Except for the Essenes, it was almost unknown in Jewish tradition to remain unmarried. With this in mind, Wilson points out, “it is not surprising that biblical Hebrew has no word for ‘bachelor.’”
The author warns that once the Church strays from its Jewish heritage, distortion is bound to follow. He illustrates this with selected studies on community, family life and discipleship. In each of these areas he shows how the Church has lost sight of the biblical/Jewish ideal.
Wilson offers a number of helpful suggestions that will enable Christians to adopt “a Hebraic orientation toward life and the world.” He suggests three general areas for this: personal interaction, personal education, and personal action or righteous living. As regards the latter, the author states: “Orthodoxy (correct or straight thinking) must lead to orthopraxy (right doing).... Christianity must be careful that it does not allow dogma (the way to believe, prescribed by creed) to overshadow halakhah (the way to walk or live). Both concepts must be held in balance.”
Developing a Hebraic orientation after 1900 years of de-Judaization is not easy. One needs what Wilson calls “a Jewish heart ... a personal living feel for the world of Judaism.” Ultimately this will allow Christians to gain a fuller understanding of what the Bible teaches, and a richer appreciation of life.
Description from The Publisher:
Although the roots of Christianity run deep into Hebrew soil, many Christians are regrettably uninformed about the rich Hebrew heritage of the church. This volume delineates the link between Judaism and Christianity, between the Old and the New Testament, and calls Christians to reexamine their Hebrew roots so as to effect a more authentically biblical life-style.
As an introduction to the world of Hebrew thought, Our Father Abraham is biblical, historical, and cultural in nature. At the same time, the writing is personal and passionate, reflecting Marvin Wilson’s own spiritual pilgrimage and his extensive dialogue with Jews. The book (1) develops a historical perspective on the Jewish origins of the church, (2) sets forth the importance and nature of Hebrew thought, (3) discusses how the church can become more attuned to the Hebraic mind-set of Scripture, and (4) offers practical suggestions for interaction between Jews and Christians.
The study questions at the end of each chapter enhance the book’s usefulness as a text and also make it suitable for Bible-study and discussion groups. All Christians—and Jews too—will profit from Wilson’s sensible treatments of biblical texts, his thorough understanding of both the Christian and the Jewish faith, and his honest historical analysis of the general failure of the Christian church to acknowledge and understand its relation to Judaism.
About the Author
Marvin Wilson is the Harold J. Ockenga Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. A leader in the dialogue between Christians and Jews, he has coedited many books and written numerous articles on Christian-Jewish relations
Our Father Abraham Workbook (Ebook)
The Workbook is designed as a Study Guide for the best-selling book Our Father Abraham: Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith by Marvin Wilson. The format of the new workbook contains True & False, Fill-in-the-Blanks, Multiple Choice and some simple essay questions. Easy to use format. This guide will lead you thorugh Wilson's book chapter by chapter.
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- You can print out Ebooks! Print only the pages that you need for the lessons that day or print the whole book and place in a note book.
- You can print out several copies for each member of your family.
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