Reading

Not that I have found a whole great lot of time for reading lately, but I've been perusing Philip Yancey's "Soul Survivor" and a book of simple apologetics by Edith Schaeffer called "Christianity is Jewish." I'm only so far into each, but enjoying both.

Yancey talks about the role models of his life--some of whom shared his faith and some who did not--who helped him keep his relationship with God alive despite the institutions that had developed around that faith. The subtitle of his book is "How My Faith Survived the Church."

Ms. Schaeffer's book recounts several instances in her life when Jewish people questioned her about her faith and challenged her to explain why many Gentiles show either animosity or disdain to Jewish people. The theme--so far; I just began reading last night--is less about converting people than understanding the Judaic origins of Christianity.

It's simple and irrefutable. Everything from Adam to Abraham was a faith without name. Creator and created walked together and spoke with one another. A betrayal of trust fractured the relationship, separating the parties, although descriptions of succeeding generations used words like "righteous" and "walked with God." Then we get to a fellow named Abram, who was renamed Abraham by God when God made a promise to him. Through Abraham, a promise (or covenant) people were created.

The name changing continues. The name of Abraham's grandson, Jacob, was changed by God to Israel. Ah, you see where this is going? If you're following along in your program, we're just leaving Act I, Genesis. And what a perfect verb. Because Act II is Exodus and is all about the convenant people leaving Egypt. You can fast forward through Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. There are bits in there about laws and commandments that are foundational to American society, but no longer allowed to be displayed in public places. But this isn't about that. Next we get to Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, which are not only books of the bible but a Lyle Lovett album title. Probably a result of a breathless Sunday School recitation of the Old Testament books, because there are no commas in his version. A couple of Sams, a couple of King, a couple of Chronicles, then Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. Whoa.

If you ever studied ancient history, you may recall a Persian ruler named Xerxes. You probably didn't hear that he deposed his wife, Vashti. At the suggestion of his counselors, he put out the word that he was looking for beautiful young virgins to be considered for the position of his new bride. Chapter 2, verse 5 of Esther introduces us to "...a Jewish man ... named Moredecai" and verse 7 says that Mordecai "had a very beautiful and lovely young cousin Hadassah, who was also called Esther." The rest of Esther's story is just the universal truth that men who think they are clever should not mess with women who really are. But the important point here is that we now have a people who, in exile, are referred to as Jewish.

Skip ahead a few hundred pages. You'll flit past the Psalms of David--always a personal fave--and Proverbs. You could do much worse than to come back to Proverbs and linger a while. Ecclesiastes and the lyrics to a Bryds song. Speaking of songs, here is Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon), for those who like literary centerfolds. Pomegranates and fawns, indeed. Prophets, major and minor, and now the New Testament.

Matthew 1 starts with a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah. Fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile (which is how Esther's family found themselves hanging out with Xerxes), and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah. While the Messiah-ness of Jesus may be a point of contention to a Jewish person, that family tree is incontestable. It's Jewish. So were the people Jesus lived among and taught. So were the communities that formed the early Church. Jewish people living out their faith, including a new faith in a Messiah that had come.

Schaeffer, in reply to the query why many Gentiles show either animosity or disdain to Jewish people, replied with an unattributed poem,

"How odd of God
to choose the Jew,
But not so odd
as those who choose
the Jewish God
and hate the Jew."

Thanks for taking this quick stroll with me. I'm looking forward to learning more from Yancey and Schaeffer in the coming evenings.