Salvation is from the Jews (John 4:22): Saving Grace in Judaism and Messianic Hope in ChristianityGrowing up in an ethnic suburb in Cleveland, Aaron Milavec was an impressionable adolescent whose religious and cultural influences made it natural for him to pity, blame, and despise Jews. All of that began to change in 1955 when Mr. Martin, a Jewish merchant, hired Milavec as a stock boy. Milavec's initial anxieties over working for a Jew surprisingly gave way to profound personal admiration. This, in turn, plunged Milavec into a troubling theological dilemma: How could God consign Mr. Martin to eternal hellfire due to his ancestral role in the death of Jesus when it was clear that Mr. Martin would not harm me, a Christian, even in small ways? This book is not for the faint-hearted. Most Christians imagine that the poison of anti-Judaism has been largely eliminated. In contrast, Milavec reveals how this poison has gone underground--disfiguring not only the role of Israel in God's plan of salvation but also horribly twisting the faith, the forgiveness, and the salvation that Christians find through Jesus Christ. This painful realization serves as the necessary first step for our healing. At each step of the way, Milavec's sure hand builds bridges of mutual understanding that enable both Christians and Jews to cross the chasm of distrust and distortion that has infected both church and synagogue over the centuries. In the end, Milavec securely brings his readers to that place where Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity can again be admired as sister religions intimately united to one other in God's drama of salvation. |
From inside the book
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... eds . , Theological Dictio- nary of the New Testament . Trans . Geoffrey W. Bromiley . 10 vols . Grand Rapids : Eerdmans , 1964-76 . Theological Studies Preface The truth that I have come to realize is Abbreviations ix.
... come to realize is that my early Catholic forma- tion tragically prepared me to pity , to blame , and to despise Jews . My conversion began in 1955 at the hands of a single Jew . Thanks to this graced encounter , I have undertaken a ...
... come forward praising God " for salvation is from the Jews " ( John 4:22 ) . How We Got to Where We Are Now Three boundaries are very clear . The first is that Jesus was personally committed to Judaism ; he trained his disciples to ...
... come to them through Jesus and Mary ; seldom , if ever , did these same preachers draw any significant attention to the wisdom and grace that came to them through the children of Abraham and Sarah . Even the Vatican's 1985 Notes on the ...
... come asking for it . " It didn't even occur to me that the money would be mine if no one claimed it or that I might receive a handsome reward if someone did . As for my tests , Mr. Martin passed with flying colors . He was genu- inely ...
Contents
1 | |
23 | |
The Story of Salvation | 57 |
Parting of the Ways | 84 |
Jesus as Messiah | 116 |
The Unsavory Odor of Christian Evangelization | 152 |
Reflections on Covenant and Mission | 173 |
Bibliography | 183 |
Index | 196 |