Healing the Christian Rift

Laura Bernstein, a Jewish scholar, is active in interfaith ministry. She has published articles and essays on spiritual practice, led interfaith groups in sacred chant and meditation and spent five years in rabbinical studies at the Hebrew Seminary of the Deaf in Skokie, Illinois.Ron Miller is the chair of the Religion Department at Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Illinois, where he has taught for thirty years, and cofounder of Common Ground, an adult education group for interfaith religious study and dialogue since 1975. Miller is the author of many books and articles, including The Gospel of Thomas: A Guidebook for Spiritual Practice, named one of Spirituality & Health's 50 Best Spiritual Books of the year; The Hidden Gospel of Matthew: Annotated & Explained and Healing the Jewish-Christian Rift: Growing Beyond Our Wounded History (all SkyLight Paths). His website is www.ronmillersworld.org.Dr. Beatrice Bruteau has pioneered the integrated study of science, mathematics, philosophy, and religion. She is the editor and author of many books, including Jesus Through Jewish Eyes and The Holy Thursday Revolution.

• Foreword by Dr. Beatrice Bruteau"All Will Be Well," by Laura BernsteinIntroduction1 What Is a Messiah?2 A Miraculous Birth?3 A Homicidal Jewish King4 A Maverick Mentor5 The Message and the Messenger6 A Program for Jewish Renewal7 A Master of Metaphor8 Continuity and Discontinuity9 Anger, Adultery, and Divorce10 Opposing Evil without Emulating It11 The Most Challenging Practice12 The Lord's Prayer13 True Treasure, True Vision, and True Worth14 A Golden Rule and a Narrow Path15 Teaching with Authority and Healing16 Those Wonderful Romans!17 Redeemer or Reminder?18 Sin as Paralysis19 The Wrong Sort of People20 How New Is This Wine?21 Good News?22 Enemies at the Door23 A Challenging Kind of Peace24 Mixed Messages25 Jeshu the Lawbreaker?26 Those Terrible Pharisees!27 Jews Seek Signs28 What Makes Us Unclean?29 Identity Issues30 Jeshu the Rabble-Rouser?31 Jews as Rotten Tenants32 A Damning Diatribe33 Christianity’s Greatest Lie34 A Final Meal35 The Unbearable Curse36 Worse Than LiarsInvitation to the ReaderNotesSuggestions for Further Reading

"Startling in its innovative approach … shatters the mold of most approaches to Gospel commentary. It imaginatively yokes together historical scholarship, literary freshness and commitment to interreligious dialogue—all with a spiritual energy that is unnervingly evocative for our turbulent times."—Rev. Alan Race, editor in chief, Interreligious Insight: A Journal of Dialogue and Engagement"Excellent and insightful … a fresh and dynamic model for Jewish-Christian collaboration. This book is going to open minds and, more important, change hearts."—Rabbi Rami Shapiro, author of The Divine Feminine in Biblical Wisdom Literature: Selections Annotated & Explained“Offers us sensitive reflections on key religious texts that have produced pain and separation in the past, and shows us a way through these texts to a more wholesome and productive encounter between the two faith communities. A welcome addition to the dialogue on Christian-Jewish relations.”—John T. Pawlikowski, OSM, PhD, director, Catholic-Jewish Studies Program Catholic Theological Union, Chicago; president, International Council of Christians and Jews