There is a recent comment to the Review Question & New Studies entry from a bit ago that warrants it’s own entry, IMHO. I didn’t think that posting a response in the comment section will gather enough input from other readers and I want to be sure that this is as visible as possible.
Here’s a quote from the comment that Amber left:
I was hoping that you, or really, anyone reading this, would have a recommendation on a book to read for someone who’s never even thought about the roots of Christianity in Judaism, except in the vague, ‘oh, that was the old way, and we don’t have to do it that way anymore’ sort of fashion…
I have a few books with post-it notes on them: #1, #2, #3, #4. I have opted to loan them out in this order when people ask.
- Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus by David Bivin and Roy Blizzard Jr. The link will take you to a review I wrote about it a while ago.
- King of the Jews by Lancaster. I recently finished reading this book and found it quite good, a better first book than Restoration but still not quite what I was looking for when I set out to find an introduction to Hebrew Roots.
- Restoration: Returning the Torah of God to the Disciples of Jesus by Lancaster. The link will take you to a review I wrote of the book a few years ago and in that entry is a link to where you can purchase the book. I have this as #3 because I have loaned Restoration to people who seemed unaware of the Hebrew Roots in the past with mixed results. The ones who already had a grasp of the concept of the Hebrew Roots appreciated the book while others were completely confused as to what the book was saying while the another one was completely bored.
- Mystery of the Gospel, also by Lancaster. Some have said that this is too much like Restoration and King of the Jews to be useful, but others have said that the material is so new to them that it’s worth covering again to reinforce the information. All three books do share a lot of similarity but they are all easy reads – not difficult for even those who do not read too well. Most of our kids have read at least one of the three and some have read all three.
The above 4 books are books I will recommend to anyone but to those who are more avid readers or avid studiers, I will also recommend Fellow Heirs by Tim Hegg and The Letter Writer: Paul’s Background and Torah Perspective by Tim Hegg. The Letter Writer is one of my favorite books. Mr Hegg also has a set of 4 short booklets called It is often said… which are essays that discuss common objections to Torah observance by Christians today. In my sidebar there is another “It is often said…2000 years of Christianity cannot be wrong” by Mr Hegg that has not yet been published in this series.
I asked almost the same question as Amber a bit ago at a few selected places. I’ll share with you all some of the responses I recorded:
- Assumptions That Affect Our Lives by Christian Overman was recommended twice with the comment that “If you are introducing someone to Hebrew and Greek thought and how it affects us today” this would be recommended. Personally, I have not looked into this book yet and do not know anything about it.
- Christianity, New Religion or Sect of Biblical Judaism by Robert and Reme Koch was recommended once but what was said about it is what made me take notice, “It is much like ‘Our Father Abraham’ by Marvin Wilson, but easier to understand.” I really appreciated Our Father Abraham even though he does not hold to a view that honors the Torah and it’s validity in the lives of believers today. I do not know what the Koch’s book says about the Torah, but it might be a good introduction to Hebrew Roots.
- Restoring Our Lost Legacy: Christianity’s Hebrew Heritage by John Garr was recommended with the comment, “If they have an interest and need a quick overview.” Mr Garr’s books are mostly all shorter ones and his focus is completely the Hebrew Roots of the faith. He has a lot of resources available at his website.
I would really love to read any more suggestions from readers. What would you recommend for Amber to look into?
I agree with many of your thoughts Lisa. I forget thay I read Restoration AFTER I had been involved in Hebrew roots for quite awhile. It says everything I would want to say, but it may be overwhelming to a new person. I remember reading Our Father Abraham and the Koch book in the beginning, but we were informed of the 2- track theme they have so were prepared to see it and decide for ourselves. I don’t like to recommend those for that reason, but I forget where I was at then, and I know things can be too much on the brain when you are first researching. My other thoughts would be:
Biblical Holidays by Robin Sampson, especially if you have kids, or just look into the biblical feasts and the connection they have in Messiah.
Tim Heggs booklets: It Is Often Said series
And just poking your nose around websites like FFOZ, Bereans, & Torah Resource. Lots of good short articles to read and bible studies.
*blinks* I get my own post. Now I’m sort of embarrased. *blush* Thank you, both of you. I’ll print this out and start at the beginning.
-Amber
LOL Amber.
Happy book hunting. It’s my absolute favorite kind of hunting.
And yes, “the purple book” The Biblical Holidays book by Robin Sampson is a great resource full of lots of fun ideas.
Not long ago I read Meet the Rabbis: Rabbinic Thought and Literature in the Time of Jesus. I thought that it provided a nice introduction to Christianity’s Jewish Roots.
Happy reading ~
You’re right about the biblical holidays, that is usually an intrigue for the average Christian. I have a book by Grant Luton titled, “Messianic Insights Into the Hebrew Alphabet.” It’s self-published and better for those with some interest in or familiarity with the Hebrew Language. It doesn’t push anything except the significance and purpose of the original text, language, context.
For me just reading Torah and then the book of John was a whammy when it came to realizing the current good friday/rez sunday timeline was wrong and from there I also knew Matthew 5:17-20 meant what it says not what church tradition may want to twist it to mean.
Behold the Man by Dwight Pryor is good and I’ve got Sterns’ Restoring the Jewishness of the Gospels.
how about TorahClass.com for the studies there ((although there were never any “lost” tribes, if G-D can lose things we’re all in trouble LOL))
Lisa, I stopped by to wish you a bright and festive Hanukkah!
Thank you, Acceptance-with-Joy.
This first night of Hanukkah has been wonderful! May your holiday season be blessed too.
Because I grew up Baptist, I think I needed a gentler lead-in at first. There was too much I had grown up “knowing” about Jews that this had to be broken gently for me. I had to see a connection between Christianity and Judaism first, and the book Christianity is Jewish by Edith Schaeffer was what really got my wheels turning and asking those questions which led to further study. Once I saw the connection I thought, “why did she stop there? Isn’t there more?” And that really caused me to seek further. Her book doesn’t focus on torah obedience though.
I’m currently reading Fellow Heirs and it really is very thorough and I would probably recommend this for someone who is more theological than most and already has a “foot in the door”.
Question for Beulah — did the church you grew up in paint Jews in a bad light?
Thanks for all the new reccomendations.
I’m waiting until after the holidays to pick something up. Too much insanity at work to start something I have to think about.
Swylv mentioned just reading the Torah. Is there a translation that ya’ll consider more accurate than others? Just looking online, there’s about a million different versions.
Thanks again,
Amber
Swylv did make an excellent point! Our journey started with simply reading the Bible – together – and discussing what we were reading. I had never noticed words like “forever” before and would have glazed over them once again if the kids hadn’t asked, “Does that still count then? It did say forever.” or “So does that mean us too?” So began a serious dig into what I really believed, and why. Honestly, I think this is the absolute BEST place to start. It has to be a move of the Father in our hearts.
As far as a Bible that I recommend? I have really appreciated the Complete Jewish Bible by David Stern. I appreciate how it is easy to read and easy to follow the thoughts, rather than using words or terms that we don’t use in every day speech. But more than that, I appreciate that he didn’t bother to translate some words since there just isn’t an adequate translation for some words or phrases. It really put the concepts back into a Jewish frame. I know quite a few people who have enjoyed the New Testament Commentary by Stern, too. But as far as word studies and such, this isn’t the Bible you want. It’s a good one to read for concepts and thoughts but for specific words, use the good old KJV if you can’t read the original languages.
Whatever Bible one uses, I recommend that everyone read the preface and the comments from the editors as they can shed a great deal of light on why certain things are done the way they are.
I have really appreciated the suggestions here too! So many new books to add to my wish list!!!
What do yout hink about Eddie Chumney and The 2 houses? I want to be careful with what I read before I am firm in my Hebrew understanding, and sometimes when I’m researching his name comes up?
Laurie – This week I started looking into teachers I’ve heard about over the years but haven’t had the time or energy or internet connection to look into further. Eddie Chumney is one of those teachers I’ve heard of often but know nothing about.
There are several different branches of the Two House movement. Here’s a quote from a message board when this question was asked recently:
“There is much variety within the Two-House movement. But they will probably teach one of two things:
1. All (or most) believing Gentiles are physically descended from the ten northern tribes of Israel (Ephraim).
– or -
2. Believing Gentiles are adopted as Ephraim.
Together with Judah (the Jewish people in their terminology), these two houses will be reunited at the Master’s second coming.
Typically, Two-House proponents are very strong on Torah observance. As Israelites, they see themselves as every bit as much obligated to the Torah as Jews. Yet, their observance of Torah is usually in a non-traditional manner, though not across the board.”
Thanks!