A detailed discussion of the history, ideology. theology, and program for Messianic Judaism. Helps Christians understand God's plan for the Jewish people and their relationship in the Body. today.

"A revision of Messianic Jewish manifesto."

The New Testament is a Jewish book, written by Jews, initially for Jews. Its central figure was a Jew. His followers were all Jews; yet no translation--except this one--really communicates its original, essential Jewishness. Uses neutral terms and Hebrew names. Highlights Jewish features and Jewish references. Corrects mistranslations from an anti-Jewish theological basis. Freshly rendered into English using the Greek texts, this is a must for learning about first-century faith.

Translated by David H. Stern Uses neutral terms and Hebrew names Highlights Jewish features and Jewish references Corrects mistranslations from an anti-Jewish theological bias 436 pp.

The historical separation between Judaism and Christianity is often figured as a clearly defined break of a single entity into two separate religions. Following this model, there would have been one religion known as Judaism before the birth of Christ, which then took on a hybrid identity. Even before its subsequent division, certain beliefs and practices of this composite would have been identifiable as Christian or Jewish.In Border Lines, however, Daniel Boyarin makes a striking case for a very different way of thinking about the historical development that is the partition of Judaeo-Christianity. There were no characteristics or features that could be described as uniquely Jewish or Christian in late antiquity, Boyarin argues. Rather, Jesus-following Jews and Jews who did not follow Jesus lived on a cultural map in which beliefs, such as that in a second divine being, and practices, such as keeping kosher or maintaining the Sabbath, were widely and variably distributed. The ultimate distinctions between Judaism and Christianity were imposed from above by "border-makers," heresiologists anxious to construct a discrete identity for Christianity. By defining some beliefs and practices as Christian and others as Jewish or heretical, they moved ideas, behaviors, and people to one side or another of an artificial border—and, Boyarin significantly contends, invented the very notion of religion.

A book the whole Church needs to read! A challenge to conventional Christian ideas! Clear thinking about neglected questions such as: How are both the Jews and the Church God's people? Is there a difference between Jew and Gentile in the body of the Messiah? Will God fulfill all of his promises to the Jews? Does the Law of Moses remain in force today? Surprising answers to these and other crucial questions, along with suggestions for godly action, are given in this exciting and insightful book by an Israeli Messianic Jew, a Jew who trusts Yeshua (Jesus). Book jacket.