So author Susan Renni Anderson reminds her readers in her timely book, aptly titled Christianity’s Jewish Roots: A Study of Judaism for Christians. Despite its relatively short length of less than 200 pages, Anderson’s “Study” is densely packed with both ancient and modern subject matter regarding Judaism and how it relates to its descendant, Christianity. The many questions addressed in this work include but aren’t limited to:“One of the certain facts about Jesus was that He was a Jew. He was a child of Jewish parents, brought up in a Jewish home, and reared among Jewish traditions. Throughout his life, Jesus lived among Jews, and his followers were Jews.”
Were the Pharisees and the “teachers of the law” the same people?
What does “diaspora” mean?
What is the significance of eating kosher?
What is the Shema, and why is it important?
How do modern Jews observe the Torah?
As a Christian and a history nerd, I looked forward to reading Christianity's Jewish Roots, but I did not expect to learn anything new. Happily, I was wrong. It turns out that I was ignorant of much more than I thought, and I appreciate being enlightened. For example, I now understand the distinctions between Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots, and teachers of the law. I especially enjoyed the chapter describing the Jewish holy days, how they began, what each one memorializes or celebrates, and how a modern Jewish family may participate. Anderson's work also overturned a few of my misconceptions about Jewish customs, such as why pious Jews do not write the divine name. Especially enriching was the official list of 613 laws given in the Torah, organized by subject, at the back of the book. Reading them in succession helped to illuminate many of Christ's teachings for me. I also applaud the fact that Anderson did not shy away from tough subjects and included an important chapter on the tragic history of antisemitism.
This is not to say that Christianity's Jewish Roots is faultless. While the editing quality is by no means sloppy, I found enough errors to cost the book a star, including missing closing punctuation, misplaced or missing periods and commas, occasional incomplete sentences, and at least one typo. Of more concern to me, though, were many incorrectly cited biblical quotations. While the quotes were correct, the cited verses often were not exactly right, and some direct quotations had no corresponding citation at all. Especially with regard to a work like Christianity's Jewish Roots, inaccurate or missing citations can undermine the book's credibility. Additionally, while this is not exactly a fault, it's worth noting to prospective readers that Anderson presents many unsubstantiated claims in a matter-of-fact manner. For example, she states the year of the exodus from Egypt as 1451 B.C., although, as of today, we have no conclusive proof for that date. If you're looking for engaging debate on fascinating but inconclusive biblical topics, this isn't the book for you.
Overall, I found Anderson's book informative and written in an approachable - even welcoming - style. I would describe it as a primer on the history of and differences/similarities between Judaism and Christianity, as it briefly covers a broad range of topics and whets the reader's appetite for further study. I recommend it to any reader who is interested in the subject matter, but it would probably offend those who object to the religious claims of either faith tradition. Works like this one are sorely needed, in my opinion. I award Christianity's Jewish Roots, by Susan Renni Anderson, 3 out of 4 stars for its efforts to bridge the unfortunate gap which can develop between modern Christians and Jews, who are essentially estranged members of the same family.
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Christianity's Jewish Roots
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