Customer Reviews

Origins of Our Faith- The Hebrew Roots of Christianity

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

It is, by far, the best book on the subject that I have ever seen. I, in fact, promoted this book. Unfortunately the company I engaged to send emails to an "opt-in" list was less than scrupulous.

The author states that the book's purpose is to explain the 'phenomenon' of Christians from every denomination being drawn to seek out their religion's origins, stripped of the dressings of modern Christian doctrines. And that is what it proceeds to do.

The book gives wonderfully thought out historical-context useful to both Christians seeking a more Hebraic understanding, and other people trying to understand what's going on, or have an interest in Christianity's Hebraic origins. Rick explains why the phenomenon is happening and backs his beliefs with solid scripture and history, not in an effort to preach, but to share with people what he believes is happening.

Even the more controversial topics (and believe me, they are) are solidly covered and shown in a historical light you may not have known was even possible.

I give this book a five for covering exactly what it claims to in a concise and thorough way.

I was very pleased with the book Origins of Our Faith by Rick Richardson. The book is easy to read, simple to check against Scripture and provides profound insight free of a personal agenda that is not always found in current publications. Origins of Our Faith offers a unique opportunity to explore the very basics of faith. The book is certainly worth the time. Sal

I read this book as research for a paper I am writing on the Hebrew Roots Movement. If this is the kind of scholarship the HRM movement has to offer they are in big trouble. Mr. Richardson does alot of cutting and pasting from other sources which seems excessive and redundant. His use of secondary sources is ineffective and in some cases it is dishonest. He often only presents the text that supports his position while intentionally excluding information that would undermine his case. I had a few other issues with this book:

- He avoids difficult texts that would disprove his assertions. He tries to destroy the doctrine of the deity of Christ using the title "Son of God" as the misunderstood designation of deity in the NT. He creates a straw man argument against this designation and thoroughly maligns the title as one denoting deity. The problem is that this title is actually one of the least convincing designations of the deity of Christ, although I believe it does denote this. He avoids the "I AM" passages, "in him the fullness of the Deity Dwells in bodily form," "In the beginning was the Word," Thomas's "My Lord and My God," "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace," And "Son of Man" just to name a few. The references in the scriptures to the deity of Christ are numerous and he ignores all of the truly compelling ones. This is totally dishonest or ignorant. Either way it is not pretty.

- He makes assertions about the Trinity and deity of Christ that are unsubstantiated.

- He focuses on Torah observance and then fails to give a compelling reasons for it. He actually states that gentile believers are not compelled to keep torah. If that's the case why even write the book? I could have just read Galatians and come away with the same conclusion.

- He fails to interact with the biblical text or any real scholarly material. There is no exegesis of Greek or Hebrew just quotations form other sources.

If you are a die hard Hebrew Roots believer you will enjoy this book because it supports many of your beliefs but you would be better off buying a book by Marvin Wilson or Nehemiah Gordon.At least they will challenge you and make you think, even if they are incorrect. This book is poorly written. I would never spend my money on one of his works again.

I was amazed that such a thoroughly researched book could be so easy to read. I couldn't put it down. Mr. Richardson reveals the very essence of the primitive Christian faith and shows how it is even more relevant today. He explains why the Hebrew Roots movement is important and how it relates to the restoration of the Davidic kingdom and the coming of Messiah. He also shows how Jewish tradition is the foundation of many of our Christian beliefs and customs. This book not only gives a clear picture of the past, but also shows how rediscovering the roots of our faith is the first step in finding true salvation.

Being a God loving Christian that is drawn to the Messianic movement I was shocked to find this evil piece of work. At one point in the book the author describes Jews for Jesus tricking Jews into sharing time with them to convince them of Jesus as the Messiah. He says this is a horrible form of trickery, but then writes a whole book with the opposite premise to trick Christians into believing that Jesus was just some ordinary messiah and that Christianity is a false religion. If Rick Richardson was so offended by the Jews for Jesus he should have embraced his faith more and not wrote an entire book of lies blaspheming the Word of God. Shame on you Mr. Richardson and your evil book!

This easy to read book was shipped as promised.
The content of the book is interesting and worth the read. Thought provoking!

There were a lot of historical and theological facts, most of which I had previously read. I was shocked by Richardson's claim that the Trinity is only supported by corrupted Scripture, which I don't believe for a moment. But I was angry at his blithe assertion that Jews, as long as they are of the house of Judah, needn't worry about their salvation. This is just a subtle form of dual covenant theology...anti-Semitism by another name. I most heartily do NOT recommend this book!

I got a spam e-mail advertising this book. This does not inspire me with confidence in the author's credibility.

The promoters of this publication participate in illegal unsolicited email practices (ie. 'spam').

Great way to piss off potential customers.