The idea of a Jewish Church has been banned from the Christian horizon for almost two millennia. But things are changing. Since the middle of the 70s the Messianic Jewish movement has strived to build an ecclesial home for all Jewish believers in Christ. This new phenomenon brings to life issues that had disappeared since the first centuries of the Church. What does it mean to be a Jew in the Church? Should there be a distinction between Jews and non-Jews among believers in Christ? Is such a distinction compatible with the unity of the whole Body of Christ so ardently preached by Paul? What lifestyle should this Church promote? In his various works, Mark Kinzer, a prominent Messianic Jewish theologian, has attempted to provide substantial answers to these questions. Antoine Lévy is a Dominican priest. With Kinzer, Lévy has launched the “Helsinki Consultation”, a cross-denominational gathering of Jewish theologians. In Jewish Church: A Catholic Approach to Messianic Judaism, Lévy examines Kinzer’s positions critically, bringing forward an alternative vision of what a “Jewish Church” could and should be. This is only the beginning of what promises to be a fascinating discussion.
The idea of a Jewish Church has been banned from the Christian horizon for almost two millennia. But things are changing. Since the middle of the 70s the Messianic Jewish movement has strived to build an ecclesial home for all Jewish believers in Christ. This new phenomenon brings to life issues that had disappeared since the first centuries of the Church. What does it mean to be a Jew in the Church? Should there be a distinction between Jews and non-Jews among believers in Christ? Is such a distinction compatible with the unity of the whole Body of Christ so ardently preached by Paul? What lifestyle should this Church promote? In his various works, Mark Kinzer, a prominent Messianic Jewish theologian, has attempted to provide substantial answers to these questions. Antoine Lévy is a Dominican priest. With Kinzer, Lévy has launched the “Helsinki Consultation”, a cross-denominational gathering of Jewish theologians. In Jewish Church: A Catholic Approach to Messianic Judaism, Lévy examines Kinzer’s positions critically, bringing forward an alternative vision of what a “Jewish Church” could and should be. This is only the beginning of what promises to be a fascinating discussion.
Foreword by Mark Kinzer
Technical Foreword
Introduction: The Purpose of a Critical Conversation with Mark Kinzer
II. Torah
III. Ekklesia
Conclusion: The Wider Fence
Antoine Lévy is a Dominican priest.
Lévy challenges the accepted Christian tradition of excluding
Gospel-derived eschatology, soteriology, and theology from Jews as
Jews. Lévy asserts this in dialogue with leading messianic Jewish
thinker Mark Kinzer, who provides the foreword and who shares the
conviction of the need of Israel qua Israel presence in the church,
albeit with major differences: i.e., for Kinzer (a messianic Jew)
bilateral ecclesiology, Jewish and non-Jewish; for Lévy (Catholic
Jew) acceptance of a global ecclesia defined by the magisterium of
the Roman Catholic Church, which sees theological significance in
the emergence of a Jewish corporate entity that contributes to the
reconciliation between Yeshua and his people. Lévy respects yet
sees limitation in messianic Judaism that insists that Jewish
believers remain and live Jewishly. Recommended.
*Choice*
Lévy, a Catholic Jew, is facing the most crucial challenge of a
fully catholic Ekklesia head-on: how do the two parts of humanity,
the Jew and the non-Jew, come in the one fully restored catholic
church of Jesus Christ? This book is a timely celebration of the
'coming home” of Jewish believers in the living Body of the
Messiah.
*Benjamin Berger, Shepherd of the Jerusalem Messianic Congregation
“Kehilat ha'Seh al Har Zion”*
Fr. Lévy has written an important book. With his critical analysis
of various positions, he has profoundly and convincingly presented
a case for continued Jewish identity and practice in Jesus. A
challenge to church leaders and to Messianic Jews on the ecclesial
unity of the Church.
*Daniel Juster, Founding President of Tikkun International and the
Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations*
Fr. Lévy enters into a critical conversation with the Messianic
Jewish theology of Mark Kinzer and addresses the ecclesial status
of the Jewish people within the Catholic Church. Lévy’s masterful
presentation puts flesh on the bones of Elias Friedman OCD’s thesis
in his book ‘Jewish identity’ and introduces critical
considerations in the ongoing and vital theological discussions
concerning the Jewish people and the Church.
*David Moss, President, Association of Hebrew Catholics*
Fr. AntoineLévy has written a very important book in which he
engages in an intensive ecumenical dialogue with the ecclesiology
of Mark Kinzer, perhaps the most articulate and profound exponent
of the theology of Messianic Judaism. What makes this dialogue so
fruitful is that Lévy Levy shares the foundational conviction of
Kinzer on the need for a corporate Jewish presence in the Church
that is structurally called from the circumcision and from the
Gentiles. Lévy differs quite substantially, however, on the
ecclesial and liturgical forms that ought to shape this Jewish
dimension of the Church, so that it may remain in a catholic
communion of faith, sacramental life, and hierarchical
governance.
*Lawrence Feingold, Assistant Professor of Theology at Ave Maria
University*
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