Anthony Le Donne - Near Christianity: How Journeys along Jewish-Christian Borders Saved My Faith in God

In this account of his journeys along Jewish-Christian borders, Anthony Le Donne provides a set of personal and thoughtful reflections on what is at stake in the theological, historical, and social relationships among Christians and Jews. Through anecdotes, snippets of conversation, and interaction with the work of Jewish and Christian scholars, Le Donne addresses such sensitive issues as the war on Christmas, the Holocaust, dogma, anti-Judaism and anti-semitism, and more optimistic topics such as laughter and love, belief and belonging. Le Donne shows courage by facing directly difficult questions such as the Christian role in paving the way for the Holocaust. Throughout, he shows not only respect for Jews and Judaism but tremendous understanding of Jews in the twenty-first century. He recognizes, for example, that Jewish identity does not depend on religion, faith, or observance. The book is highly readable and engaging, and will be of interest to anyone interested in a down-to-earth and honest approach to Jewish-Christian relations.

A DELE R EINHARTZ, PROFESSOR , C LASSICS AND R ELIGIOUS S TUDIES , U NIVERSITY OF O TTAWA

This extraordinary book is Jewish-Christian dialogue at its very finest. Professor Le Donne lives out what he teaches. As a Christian, he learns about God, forgiveness, faith, and love from his Jewish friends, and the wisdom he gains is to be treasured. In his allowing his friends to ask him the most difficult questions, he shows the heart of a seeker for truthultimately the heart of a teacher on fire for divine friendship made concrete in love of neighbor.

M ATTHEW L EVERING , J AMES N. AND M ARY D. P ERRY J R . C HAIR OF T HEOLOGY , M UNDELEIN S EMINARY

Writing from the borderlines of Christianity and Judaism, Le Donne offers a sympathetic, accessible, and openhearted reflection on the relationship between faith and lived reality. This book is a thoughtful, humorous, and honest response to how we should we live in the presence of neighbors and friends who are both like and unlike us. The Jewish-Christian encounters that Le Donne experiences have served to strengthen his faith; similarly, this book will both educate and enrich the reader.

D R . E D K ESSLER , W OOLF I NSTITUTE , C AMBRIDGE , UK

Argument with Judaism has featured perenniallysometimes violentlyin Christianity. Anthony Le Donne explores the stubborn facts of that conflict by means of a wideranging and reflective discussion of the cultural faultlines that have driven human communities apart. Taking his analysis into his personal experience, he shows that living with an awareness of the culture we live in can redeem us from the sin of oppressing others and stunting our own faith.

B RUCE C HILTON , B ERNARD I DDINGS B ELL P ROFESSOR OF R ELIGION , B ARD C OLLEGE

ZONDERVAN

Near Christianity

Copyright 2016 by Anthony Le Donne

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

ePub Edition August 2016: ISBN 978-0-3105-2297-3

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Le Donne, Anthony, 1975- author.

Title: Near Christianity : how journeys along Jewish-Christian borders saved my faith in God / Anthony Le Donne.

Description: Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016022156 | ISBN 9780310522966 (softcover)

Subjects: LCSH: Christianity and other religions--Judaism. | Judaism--Relations--Christianity.

Classification: LCC BM535 .L3483 2016 | DDC 261.2/6--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016022156

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Cover design: Brian Bobel

Cover photo: iStockphoto.com

Interior design: Denise Froehlich

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For my mother, Patricia, who first taught me about books.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM.