| ||||||||||||||||||
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
VITAL Apologetic points NOT TO BE MISSED,
By Leonardo LCH "Lenben" (Cebu, Philippines) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus: New Testament Objections (Paperback)
The stakes are certainly VERY high on this one.
I predict that Michael Brown's four volumes on ANSWERING JEWISH OJECTIONS TO [The Messiahship of] JESUS, will rank as one of the most important apologetic works of this or any century. (and let the fur-fly all you like, I'm convinced of it). Just look at some of the topics covered in this fourth volume in his extensive review of Jewish and Rabbinical objections: 5.3. Matthew 2:23 says that when Jesus moved to the town of Nazareth, this "fulfilled what was said through the prophets: `He will be called a Nazarene.'" There's only one problem. The prophets never said this! Matthew actually made it up. 5.4. Matthew 27:9-10 is totally confused. First Matthew quotes part of a prophecy from Zechariah, then he says it comes from Jeremiah, and then he takes the whole thing totally out of context. What a mess! 5.6. The New Testament is full of historical inaccuracies. 5.7. None of the important historical writers of the period--Roman or Jewish--make mention of Jesus. It's questionable whether he even existed. 5.8. Modern scholars are in complete agreement that the Gospels portray a mythical Jesus. There is very little that we can really know about his life. 5.9. Jesus was not born of a virgin. In fact, we have traditions that actually tell us who Jesus' real father was--and it wasn't Joseph! Anyway, the idea of a god being born to a virgin is just one of several pagan myths that made its way into the New Testament. 5.10. The genealogies of Jesus given by Matthew and Luke are hopelessly contradictory. 5.11. The Messiah is David's son. If Jesus were really born of a virgin, then Joseph was not his father and he is really not a descendant of David, even according to Matthew's genealogy. And if you claim that Luke's genealogy is that of Mary, Jesus still doesn't qualify, since the genealogy in Luke goes through David's son Nathan, whereas the Messianic promises must go through David's son Solomon. Therefore, Jesus cannot be the Messiah. 5.12. Jesus cannot be the Messiah because he is a descendant of King Jehoiachin. God cursed both this king and his offspring, saying that none of his descendants would ever sit on the throne of David. 5.13. Jesus did work some miracles, but they were not by God's power. We have traditions that tell us he learned magical arts in Egypt. 5.14. Jesus didn't fulfill any of the Messianic prophecies. We know that the New Covenant writers actually reconstructed the life of Jesus so as to harmonize it with certain predictions made by the prophets. 5.15. When Jesus failed to fulfill the prophecies, his followers invented the myth of his substitutionary death, his resurrection, and finally, his second coming, which, of course, they completely expected in his lifetime. 5.16. Do you want irrefutable proof that the authors of the New Testament didn't know what they were talking about? Well, look at Matthew 23:35, where Jesus states that the last martyr spoken of in the Hebrew Scriptures was Zechariah son of Berechiah. Actually, that was the name of the biblical prophet (see Zech. 1:1); the last martyr was Zechariah son of Jehoiada (see 2 Chron. 24:20-22). So, either Jesus, your alleged Messiah, didn't know his Bible, or else Matthew (or the final editor of his book) didn't know the Tanakh. Either way, this is a glaring error that cannot be ignored. 5.17. The New Testament is self-contradictory (especially the Gospels)! 5.18. Matthew claims that when Jesus died on the cross, "the tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people" (Matt. 27:52-53). This is obviously complete nonsense, without any hint of historical support. If such an incredible event ever took place--something like "the night of the living dead" in ancient Jerusalem--someone would have recorded it. 5.19. The teachings of Jesus are impossible, dangerous, and un-Jewish ("Hate your mother and father," "Let the dead bury their own dead," "Give to whoever asks you," etc.). There's no way he should be followed. 5.20. The New Covenant is anti-Semitic. It is filled with negative references to the Jewish people, and it blames them for the death of Jesus. .22. Jesus was a false prophet. He claimed that his apostles would live to see his return, a prediction he missed by two thousand years. He also predicted that not one stone in Jerusalem would be left standing when the Romans destroyed it. Well, have you ever heard of the Wailing Wall? 5.23. Jesus was a cruel and undisciplined man. He violated the Torah by cursing--and hence, destroying--a perfectly good fig tree for not bearing figs even though the New Testament writers tell us that it was not the time for figs. So much for your wonderful Messiah! He even called a Gentile woman a dog when she approached him for help. 5.24. Actually, Jesus also taught that salvation came through obeying the Law. Just read Matthew 5:17-20; 7:21; 19:16-30; 25:31-46. This whole "gospel of grace" message is the invention of Paul and the other writers. 5.25. The teachings of the New Testament may have started out Jewish, but before long, they became totally pagan. This was done intentionally, since the Jews rejected Jesus as Messiah and only the pagans would listen to the message. 5.26. Jesus was really all right. He was a good Jew and a fine rabbi. It was Paul who messed everything up and founded Christianity. 5.28. Jesus abolished the Law. 5.29. Paul abolished the Law. 5.30. The Torah is forever, every jot and title, and only traditional Jews keep it. In fact, even the so-called new covenant of Jeremiah 31 says that God will put the Torah in our hearts. Therefore, since Jesus abolished the Torah, he cannot be the Messiah. 5.31. Anyone who changes the Law--no matter what signs or wonders he performs--is a false prophet. That applies to Jesus! 5.32. Observance of the Sabbath has been the hallmark of the Jewish people, separating us from other nations and identifying us with the covenant of God. Since Christianity changed the Sabbath, Christianity is obviously not for the Jewish people. 5.34. If the death of Jesus really inaugurated the new covenant spoken of by Jeremiah the prophet, then why hasn't it been fulfilled? - These are what you call, "THE MAJOR-LEAGUE QUESTIONS AND OBJECTIONS." Dr.Brown answers them (often briefly, yet WITH DEPTH in addressing the problem or objection) by both logic, reason, and historical scholarship and documentation. I highly recommend all four of these books to any serious student of Jewish and Christian relations and the very important reasons for the long-held objections and misunderstandings between both camps.
19 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well-written, detailed and accurate, but pointless,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus: New Testament Objections (Paperback)
This is the fourth volume of a planned 5-volume set. (This review is basically the same as for the previous volumes.) Collectively, the set is a ground-breaking resource of first-rate scholarship. Unfortunately, the subject matter is incredibly arcane.
Dr. Brown is the leading expert on responding to objections to Jesus and Christian theology raised by knowledgeable Orthodox Jews. He has a doctorate in Semitic languages, the books are well-researched and well-written and he covers the material in detail, going into Talmudic interpretations, Rashi, Maimonedes, etc. Although such Jewish theologians are unfamiliar to most Christians, their names are as familiar to knowledgeable Jews as Moody and Scofield are to Christians. Although most purchasers are gentile evangelists, material is arranged essentially as dialogues between an Orthodox Jew and a responding Messianic. Unfortunately, the books are rather pointless. Why? See Evangelism Explosion. If a person is not open to the gospel, no amount of arguments will matter. You can see similar debates in Internet newsgroups between Protestants and Catholics, Protestants and Mormons, Messianics and non-messianic Jews, etc. I took Brown's course on Messianic Apologetics in 2003. He started by having two Messianic Jews try evangelizing him and he responded as an Orthodox Jew would, with arguments from his books. One of the evangelists is an Israeli graduate of the Jewish Studies program at Christ for the Nations and a Messianic rabbi experienced at Jewish evangelism in Israel and the U.S. Responding like a non-messianic Orthodox, Brown "wiped the floor" with both of them, with things like "Are you Jewish?" "Is your mother Jewish?" "Is HER mother Jewish?" "Do you keep kosher?" (Contrary to the Bible, the Israeli Supreme Court says a person only is Jewish if their mother is Jewish. Hence, if the mother's mother wasn't Jewish, the mother isn't Jewish, so he's not Jewish, etc.) It then moved on to, "Numbers 23 says, 'God is not a man'. Since Jesus can't be God, all your so-called 'messianic prophecy proofs' are worthless. Also, they can't be proofs, since Messiah has not come yet. Where do Hebrew Scriptures say Messiah will be God? He will be anointed, but only a man. Where does Isaiah 53 talk about Messiah? It's not a messianic prophecy; it's talking about Israel." One evangelist said, "Since the Temple is destroyed, sacrifices can't be offered. How do you get atonement for your sin?" The response was, "After Solomon's Temple was destroyed there were no sacrifices. How were Daniel's sins forgiven?" For non-Christians reading this review, understand that Brown didn't "wipe the floor" with them because their arguments were wrong. They had never heard arguments from "anti-missionary" experts such as Tovia Singer and were not prepared to respond "off the cuff". Brown's books show that many Orthodox arguments contradict Scripture or historic Jewish interpretations or both. For gentiles considering Jewish evangelism, an argument often raised by Orthodox Jews is, "If you could read Hebrew you would know that's not what it says." Brown studied Semitic languages because he kept getting that argument even though he's Jewish. He said materials written by Christians for Jewish evangelism routinely have Hebrew errors. Brown is also knowledgeable in biblical Greek and often debates "anti-missionaries" about both the Hebrew and Greek texts. Sadly, despite claims to the contrary, what comes across in the 18-hour course and books is the attitude of "I am going to convince THAT person." An informal survey has indicated it is EXTREMELY rare for a Jewish person in the U.S. to accept Jesus unless the person (1) was raised secular or (2) marries a Christian. Such people are willing to listen to and honestly evaluate the beliefs of Christianity. Missiology studies show that 80% of people raised in a religion stay in that religion. Anyone who is Jewish, doesn't believe in Jesus and knows many of the arguments Brown is refuting has already made up their mind and this won't matter. Jesus interacted with religious leaders who disputed him but he did not get into extended debates like those in Brown's books. Also see Matthew 10:14 Although Dr. Brown is VERY active in evangelism, I can't help thinking, "How many HUNDREDS of times MORE people could have been brought to Jesus if time spent researching and writing for a VERY small audience almost TOTALLY RESISTANT to the gospel had been spent reaching out to the MILLIONS of people who are simply indifferent and uninformed but are willing to listen if someone tells them?" If you are a Christian considering Jewish evangelism, review the sample pages, examine the books if you get a chance and visit "anti-missionary" websites, e.g., Tovia Singer. You'll see this is EXTREMELY unproductive SUPER-specialized work requiring responses to arguments you won't hear ANYWHERE elsewhere. But don't let that deter you from GENERAL Jewish evangelism. MANY Jews are quite secular. Their main arguments are "I'm Jewish. Jews don't believe in Jesus." and "What about all the persecution the Church has done against Jews?" They are open to the gospel if you hang in there and honestly address their concerns with sensitivity. And if YOU think Jesus or the apostles CONVERTED from Judaism to Christianity, YOU need to learn about the history of the Church BEFORE 100 A.D. In Acts 15 the apostles created "Christianity" for GENTILES, as a religion PARALLEL to Messianic Judaism. TELL your Jewish friends that JESUS IS JEWISH. He was born Jewish, he was Torah-observant, he died Jewish, came back from the dead Jewish and he's STILL Jewish. Hebrews 4:14 ... WE HAVE A GREAT HIGH PRIEST who has gone through the heavens, JESUS ... THE HIGH PRIEST ISN'T CATHOLIC AND HE ISN'T PROTESTANT--HE'S JEWISH! Check these out: Our Hands Are Stained With Blood-Michael Brown Restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel-David Stern Messianic Jewish Manifesto-David Stern Complete Jewish Bible-David Stern Evangelism Explosion-D. James Kennedy Shalom!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Book,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus: New Testament Objections (Paperback)
This is amazing book. It gave me a lot of information and objective reasons to believe in Jesus Christ. I recommend everybody to read this book. It is a must-read book.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
