Customer Reviews

A Baptist Among the Jews

5 star:		(6)
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3 star:		(1)
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Mary Blye Howe's spiritual memoir offers a snapshot of a remarkable period in the life of the Dallas Jewish community. Long a bastion of southern liberal Judaism, in the 1970s Dallas came close to losing its aging, traditional Jewish community for good. But in the second half of the 1980s, an unprecedented interest in traditional Judaism emerged which in turn fueled a trans-denominational revival of adult Jewish education. Mary Blye Howe found herself a part of the Dallas Jewish community in the second half of the 1990s when the interest in adult Jewish education was in full swing. Thus, her account of attending Jewish study groups and multiple synagogues of every possible affiliation, offers a snapshot of a southern Jewish community in transformation, making it an interesting work for religious historians, too. Her experience would have been very different if she had begun her exploration a mere 10 years earlier.

The Dallas Jewish community is fortunate to have an outside observer and friend like Mary Blye Howe. She comes to the subject with a remarkably open heart and profound curiosity that is as engaging as it is rare. Avoiding even a whiff of pedantry, she is able to conjure up many of the quirky and intriguing personalities she meets, all of whom have lessons that she is eager to understand and experience. She is the embodiment of the Rabbinic maxim: Who is wise? One who learns from everyone.

Mary comes to her work in a Christian spirit informed by a love of Bible, Judaism and the modern discipline of anthropology. But as the title suggests, it will be Christian readers who determine the ultimate merit of the work. For 2000 years, Jews and Christians have endured a weary truce in which Jews have remained content as tolerated, silent partners at best. That Christians are noticing Jews qua Jews again (as they did in the 16th century and again in the 18th century) suggests that we are living in a spiritual space of remarkable possibilities. Mary's attempt to fully appreciate Jewishness from within a commited but curious Christian framework is, I suspect, a part of that larger spiritual movement, one that connects American Jews and Christians and ultimately all of us in a larger network in which serious religious spirits search for the living cores of their respective traditions.

Judaism dwells silently at the heart of Christianity and Mary shows how to tune into it without sacrificing the profundity of her own Christianity. It is this Jews opinion that Jews woulddo well to learn from Mary how to understand the living heart of Christianity, the other religious tradition to which Judaism is most closely and deeply connected.

As the late enlightenment, with its excessive focus on history and impersonal forces, gradually passes away and the search for wisdom, religious and philosophical, comes to occupy a place of honor in the west, a serious spiritual memoir like Mary reveals how we can go about trying to understand one another in serious ways: through encounters that are respectful, joyous, rooted in learning and filled with the possibilities of self-discovery rooted in the search for wisdom. Mary's profound tolerance, curiosity, optimism and capacity for joy make ideal guides.

A Baptist among the Jews is an exuberant, uplifting, and inspiring read for all of us who have found ourselves embarking on a spiritual journey. Mary Howe reveals her excellent grounding in Jewish belief and practice without ever straying far from her own personal experiences. This is one of those rare books that not only engages and absorbs but educates as well. I highly recommend it.

A Baptist Among the Jews is a great starter book for Christians interested in almost all forms of Judaism. The only 'denomination' she leaves out is Reconstructionism, explaining that this is because she had no access to it.

Howe takes the reader through study groups, Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform synagogue services, Torah retreats, and even spends time explaining her experiences with Chabad Jews, who are known for their black coats, fedoras, and their loyalty to a particular rabbi. By the time the reader finishes A Baptist Among the Jews he or she will have a lot of positive, in depth information about modern Jewish thought.

On the other hand (there's always another hand, isn't there?), the title leads one to believe that Howe is a conservative, born-again Christian (The Baptist part of the title) who is transformed through her experiences with some Jewish people. She is actually a pretty liberal Christian who enjoys "re-imagin[ing] scripture."

She attends and lauds a feminine re-imagining of a Passover seder with a Haggadah written from a feminist perpective, and says on page 102, "In my not-so-distant past, I, along with the churches I attended, feared seeing God as feminine, even while we hurried to add that God was not male. Translations of scripture that used feminine - or even inclusive - pronouns angered us because we believed that this was somehow changing God. No one, however, is changing God. We're merely expanding our *images* of God."

I am not saying anything is wrong with this, I am merely saying that the title of the book is disingenuous to portray the author as a Baptist-- The Baptist denomination takes the Bible literally, does not allow women in positions of power over men, they cannot be pastors, and they have spoken out against gender-inclusive languge in the Bible. Howe states several times in the book that she has belonged to several churches, each different from the last, and I did not get the impression that more than one of them was Baptist or even conservative. I could be wrong; that is just the impression I get.


I enjoyed this book - the writing is clear and the author is not overly wordy or bombastic. She writes almost like a reporter, weaving facts in with interesting personal stories. The only pet peeve I have is that she consistently says, "The Jews," rather than "some Jews," or "Jewish group." She says things like, "When I study with the Jews..." "..worshipping with the Jews..." as though there are about 20 of them. Most Jews are secular and do not study Torah or follow halakha, so the term "the Jews" felt weird when I read it every time. I don't think she would have said, "When I studied with the Baptists," or "When I worshiped with the Mormons," since it makes it sound like they are part of some little group that meets in a clubhouse once a week. Anyway, it just struck me as odd.

"A Baptist Among the Jews" is a passionate blueprint for achieving ecumenical understanding and cooperation. The author has managed to transcend the confines of her narrow fundamentalist origins and allow herself to experience other approaches to the Divine. And "experience" is the key issue in this fascinating story of the author's acceptance and inclusion by the Jewish community. Howe isn't overly concerned with doctrine or dogma. She doesn't bring a list of theological preconceptions or doctrinal preconditions to her relationship with reform, conservative, orthodox, and even hasidic Jews. That a person can actually come closer to God in a faith tradition other than her own is perhaps the central lesson of her book and one that more people would do well to emulate.

From the first page to the last, this book captivated me with Ms. Howe's experience among the Jewish religion and culture. This book is a must read for anyone who seeks to understand their own faith, be it Christianity or Judaism.

A very interesting and informative insight into the Jewish people and their religion and traditions.

With the author's excellent vocabulary, her thoughts are clearly written. She was energetic, thorough and tireless in her research by reading, conversations and personal experiences.In reading the book it is obvious that on the journey she met many loving, caring and wonderful individuals...some becoming dear friends. This alone made the writing worthwhile.

Mary Howe allows us to accompany her as she spends years seeking genuine understanding of the Jewish faith. Her writing is an olive branch between two previously divided communities. This is a "Must Read" for anyone seeking good news about religious differences.

With the disarming passion of a neophyte (but without
leaving her own faith behind), Howe plunges into the
rich world of traditional Judaism, emerging with
jewels from which all of us can profit: a profound
sense of God's holiness, an insatiable hunger for and
love of God's Word, and an understanding of the
importance of ritual and community. Howe's friendship
with the Jewish people and her deep spiritual
experiences amidst them bring a whole new dimension to
her Christian faith, and her winsome story encourages
those of us who have yet to embrace our Jewish roots
to enrich our journey by crossing the cultural and emotional barriers that so often separate us from our spiritual kin.
Kristyn Komarnicki, editor of PRISM Magazine (Evangelicals for Social Action)

This book is so filled with spirit and heart. As it unfolds, the reader is drawn into a deep understanding about spirituality with a sense of humor and feeling.
Great reading for everyone.