Salvation and the People of Israel – Harmonizing a Soteriological Dilema
When we try to discuss the topic of soteriology and the people of Israel, we are faced with a problem. Soteriology is a Christian concept, discussed in Christian theology and is part of Christian dogma. The word “soteriology” is commonly defined as the study of the doctrine of salvation. It discusses how Messiah’s death provides…
Read MoreThe Condition of Salvation – For Jews and Gentiles in this Age
The purpose of this article is to answer the question, “Exactly what must one do to be saved?” According to the Scriptures, what is it that a person must do to be saved? The key point as emphasized by the Brit Chadashah is that faith is the one and only condition for salvation. In more…
Read MoreThe Essential Need for Salvation through Messiah Yeshua
Written by Avram Aumick, Ralph Finley, Elliot Klayman and Howard Silverman* Sin separates humanity from God and the world to come. The mystery of salvation lies solely with God who has revealed only one way to enjoy right-relationship with God now and in the world to come. That way is personal, conscious faith (in this…
Read MoreDavid Brondos, Fortress Introduction to Salvation and the Cross
(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007.) In Fortress Introduction to Salvation and the Cross, David Brondos, Professor of Theology at the Theological Community of Mexico, surveys soteriological constructs ranging from the book of Isaiah to 21st century theologian Rosemary Radford Reuther. Brondos’ writing style is clear and readable, and while his treatment of biblical voices at times…
Read MoreDavid Berger, The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference
(Portland, Oregon: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2001.) Without a doubt, the central argument of David Berger’s The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference will strike a Messianic Jew differently than your average Orthodox rabbi or layperson, who are presumably Berger’s intended audience. For many of us, a particular line of…
Read MoreGuidelines for Healthy Theological Discussion
When I was asked to speak on the subject of guidelines for healthy theological discussion, the story of Michael Wyschogrod’s meeting with Karl Barth came to mind.* As a little background, Michael Wyschogrod is an Orthodox Jewish theologian who lives in New York City. Karl Barth was a Swiss Reformed theologian and one of the…
Read MorePeterson, Eugene H, The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways that Jesus is the Way
(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007.) I will start with a disclaimer – I’m biased toward Eugene Peterson. The first article I read by him was “The Unbusy Pastor,” back in 1981,[1] and it remains a favorite, even if I am still not as unbusy as Peterson would recommend. The article opens with a classic Peterson…
Read MoreFrom the Editor – Issue 22
This edition of Kesher is a themed issue dedicated to soteriology in the context of Messianic Judaism. The theme of soteriology is timely, since there are two Messianic events that deal with this issue. The first is the Borough Park Symposium (October, 2007) and the second is a Theological Forum on Soteriology hosted by the…
Read MoreReading Romans After Supersessionism: The Continuation of Jewish Covenantal Identity by J. Brian Tucker
Reviewed by Henri Louis Goulet The clarion call of Markus Bockmuehl in 2006 to scholars of the New Covenant Scriptures was to once and for all overcome the de facto de-Judaizing of Yeshua’s person, aims, and teaching— and thus the universalizing abstractionism associated with most conventional and confessional interpretation of those Scriptures.1 The “New Testament…
Read MoreSholem Asch, One Destiny: an Epistle to the Christians
(trans. by Milton Hindus; New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1945, 88 pp.) Sholem Asch was among the most beloved writers in Yiddish literature for the thirty or more years leading up to the Second World War. Encouraged by the great Yiddish writer I.L. Peretz and vigorously promoted by Abraham Cahan in the Forverts, Asch gained…
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