Amidst threats of hell and terror on all sides, heaven awaits those who trust in the Lord!

New play records trauma of family break-up.

Giving thanks for the Jews’ most precious gift to us

Just as the modern state of Israel was born out of the ashes of the Holocaust in perfect fulfilment of Ezekiel’s prophecy of dry bones coming back to life, so too did a new love for the Jewish people emerge from the rubble of Germany.

Shocked and devastated by the destruction of their home city of Darmstadt through the RAF bombing of 11 September 1944, which saw 12,000 killed and many more made homeless, Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary founder Basilea Schlink saw it as judgment for her country’s mass murder of the Jews.

But it stirred her heart to repentance and sorrow, as a result of which the movement was dedicated to confessing the sin of her nation and to making restitution with God’s chosen people, chiefly by loving and serving them in whatever way they could.

Now an international organisation with branches all over the world, they continue to bless the Jewish people as, full of the joy of Jesus, they demonstrate unbounding gratitude for their gift of the scriptures and, most of all, of their Messiah.

Solidarity and Reconciliation

My wife Linda and I have just attended the golden anniversary of the UK branch, based in a Hertfordshire village near London, when they looked back with amazement at the reconciling power of the Cross modelled beautifully by the current residents – Sister Thekla from Germany and Sister Glory from England – representing the nations once at war with each other.

Just as the modern state of Israel was born out of the ashes of the Holocaust, so too did a new love for the Jewish people emerge from the rubble of Germany.

A measure of the impact they have made is apparent in the way they have been embraced by the local Jewish community, who have not only accepted invitations to their many events but have also in turn welcomed the sisters into their synagogues!

One of the sisters’ annual 'Israel Day' events included the testimony of the son of a Nazi now reaching out in love to the Jews as part of his role as a disciple of Jesus. Half the audience on that occasion were from the Jewish community, one of whom later wrote: “We were overwhelmed by the event.”

Sister Thekla explained that, in sharing their shame and sorrow for the guilt of the nations, Jewish groups are greatly moved. “The smallest sign that we recognise what they went through touches them deeply.”

Maranatha

Bearing in mind that the name of their UK home is Jesus’ Return, the weekend theme was, appropriately, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’” (Rev 22:17) – a reference to the Second Coming. And as their house name implies, their focus is very much on Jesus himself and his soon return.

Always welcoming, praying, believing and encouraging, their irrepressible joy is impossible to ignore, proving a magnetic draw to the One they adore.

Against the background of Christianity’s guilt towards the Jewish nation, guest speaker Sister Verita (currently based at their Jerusalem branch and originally from New York) challenged us from Romans 11:11: “That is the call of the Church – making the Jews jealous, causing them to ask what is the source of the faith, hope, love and joy that we have in the Messiah” (see Psalm 126).

Above all, the sisters point to Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). But we have lost our way as a nation, and need to rediscover our true destiny.

Always welcoming, praying, believing and encouraging, the sisters’ irrepressible joy is impossible to ignore, proving a magnetic draw to the One they adore.

Jesus is the Way

This was brought home to us when we temporarily got lost after losing our GPS signal en route to the event. Even the road sign we were looking for was covered in foliage, an increasingly common sight across the country, causing Linda to remark: “In a year’s time, no-one will know where to go.”

A prophetic statement indeed for where we are today – lost in a fog of pointless activity as we struggle through a maze of no-through-roads, disconnected from the true source of life and direction while blindly taking wrong turns.

We desperately need to rediscover how to find our way through life, plugged into the Maker’s instructions rather than unreliable Satnavs. Jesus is the way!

Walking in Ancient Paths

We took a lovely walk in the Cotswolds on our journey back, but again got lost temporarily where the once well-worn path was overgrown. We needed to retrace our steps and get back on track.

As Jeremiah wrote, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls’” (Jer 6:16).

Jesus fulfilled that promise when he said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened…and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt 11:28f).

Paul Luckraft reviews three different translations of the ancient text.

If you wish to purchase a copy of the Didache for yourself then here are three very different options that I have come across and can recommend.

I have used all three in my article on the Didache, and readily acknowledge their help in compiling it. Which you would prefer will depend upon the level of analysis and commentary you require, and how much you want to spend!

Owles’ Translation

The simplest option is a translation by R Joseph Owles (2014, 33 pages). Be warned: all you get is an English translation. There is no Greek text to go alongside it or commentary to explain it, though there is a single page of notes at the end.

However, it is well-formatted in a way that makes it easy to read and understand. If that is all you require, then this will suffice and may be the cheapest version you can find.

Owles’s translation is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle forms.

Milavec’s Translation and Commentary

The next alternative is by seminary and university professor Aaron Milavec (2003, 114 pages), which starts with a very informative introduction. After this comes the Greek text with a side-by-side English translation (the Greek being on the left-hand page and the English on the right).

The remaining pages are mainly taken up with what is described as a brief commentary. Apparently, elsewhere, Milavec spent 15 years compiling a 1,000-page commentary, so he apologises that this one is neither exhaustive nor definitive! However, this briefer version (65 pages) will be more than sufficient for most readers.

The book also contains a bibliography and recommended electronic aids for further study of the Didache. Milavec provides several flowcharts showing the progression of various events, such as the key aspects of the Didache training, which might be of interest to some. The final few pages offer some considerations on the dating of the Didache and its dependence upon Matthew’s Gospel.

All in all, this is the edition that will be most suitable for those who want a bit more than just a basic translation, but don’t want to spend hours in further study.

The Milavec edition is available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle forms.

Janicki’s ‘The Way of Life’ Version

If you want a book that will take you much deeper into all that the Didache offers, then The Way of Life by Toby Janicki is worth considering. Published in 2017 by the Vine of David, a publishing arm of Messianic ministry First Fruits of Zion, this is a hardback which will cost you more to obtain, especially as you may need to get it from the US.

This near 600-page volume contains a new translation (again, side-by-side with the Greek) and a very extensive commentary from a Messianic Jewish perspective. Indeed, it is described as the first commentary of this kind. Most Didache studies have been influenced by denominational church interpretations which did not value its Jewish context, so this book is a very worthwhile contribution to the whole Jewish roots movement.

One significant bonus is an appendix containing the Epistle of Barnabas which makes for a fascinating comparison with the Didache. Another appendix features the Oxyrhynchus Papyrus fragments. There is also a very full bibliography for the even-more-serious student!

Janicki’s ‘The Way of Life’ version is available in hardback form from FFOZ or from Amazon.com (both international shipping).

Paul Luckraft reviews ‘What’s a nice Jewish girl like you doing in a church like this?’ by Lynne Bradley (Instant Apostle, 2015).

Paul Luckraft reviews ‘Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus’ by Lois Tverberg (Baker Books, 2017).

This book is the third in a worthy series on how understanding the Jewishness of Jesus can transform your faith. The previous two (Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus) are equally commendable, as the author always puts across important information in an accessible manner.

This third volume, as its title suggests, is more about the Bible that Jesus had, showing us how he would have understood it. The contrast is clearly demonstrated between our Greek/Western understanding and the Hebraic approach that is so necessary if we are to unlock the treasures within God’s word.

Emmaus Road Experience

The author’s aim is to provide us with an experience akin to that of the disciples on the Emmaus Road (Luke 24) when Jesus explained what they were missing by not having a complete picture of their scriptures.

The book is divided into three main sections. Part One is called ‘Repacking our Mental Bags’ and is intended as a starter to help us begin our journey into the Bible as Jesus knew it. Part Two, ‘How the Bible Thinks’, guides us further along the path into Hebraic thinking and how the ‘big picture’ ideas contained within the Bible are essential to an understanding of its message. The third part is entitled ‘Reading about the Messiah’ and aims to show him through Hebrew eyes.

Tverberg contrasts our Greek/Western understanding with the Hebraic approach that is so necessary to unlock the treasures within God’s word.

Although these are useful divisions there is no reason why the book cannot simply be enjoyed chapter by chapter and dipped into according to time available and the desire to learn certain aspects more thoroughly than others.

Going Deeper

Each chapter ends with ‘Tools and Reflections’ and ‘Thoughts for Going Deeper’. The book concludes with three useful appendices, one on the books of the Tanakh (Old Testament), one on Bible translations and, perhaps most helpfully, one containing ‘Thirty Useful Hebrew Words for Bible Study’.

There are good endnotes and recommended resources for further reading. In addition, there is a companion website which has a free PDF sample chapter to download (effectively the first 20 pages of the book).

Although much of this material is available in other books, Tverberg, co-founder of the educational En Gedi Resources Center, has the skill to take us back into the world of Jesus so we can listen afresh to what he said and see anew what he did.

‘Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus: How a Jewish perspective can transform your understanding’ (hardback, 285pp) is available from Amazon for £14.99. Also on Kindle.

Dr Clifford Denton reviews ‘Presenting Jesus the Son of Israel’ by Rivi Litvin (Milestones International Publishers, 2017).

Raised in an Orthodox Jewish community, Rivi Litvin was shocked upon coming to faith in Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah) to discover that many Christians believe that God has now rejected Israel and replaced her with the Church.

With access to sources of Rabbinic Judaism as well as the opportunity to consult with the most prominent scholars, she and her husband Danny began a quest to help others understand Yeshua in the context of God’s purposes for Israel.

After her husband’s sudden death in 1986, Litvin (a third-generation Israeli) continued with this work in Israel before later relocating to the USA, keeping her home in Migdal, Galilee, as a base for teaching.

She now has a worldwide itinerant ministry helping believers to recover the true roots of the Christian faith.

Israeli Rivi Litvin was shocked, upon coming to faith in Jesus, to discover that many Christians believe that God has replaced Israel with the Church.

Multitude of Insights

At last Litvin has found time to put her multitude of insights into a series of books, of which this is the first volume. She could have taken a thematic approach, applying her Hebraic knowledge to topics like the biblical feasts, the Sermon on the Mount and so on – but instead, she has chosen to write a commentary on the Gospels.

Inside this first volume, the reader will discover insights from Hebraic and historical sources that shed new light on what we read in the Gospel accounts, including the answers to questions such as:

• What happened historically that caused the world to see Jesus as a son of Greece instead of an observant Jew?
  
• Who were the mysterious shepherds present at his birth?
  
• Were the wise men really Babylonian sorcerers - and how did they recognise the birth of the King of the Jews?
  
• Why are the Gospels so silent regarding Jesus’ Jewish education?

Divided into two main sections, the first covers the early life of Yeshua, while the second focuses on Yochanan Ha-Matbil (John the Baptist). In addition there are two appendices, one on the Tzadokim (Sadducees) and one on the Perushim (Pharisees).

Litvin’s choice of title is apt. In presenting Jesus specifically as the Son of Israel, extra light is shed on the Gospel accounts. Litvin also includes useful word analyses throughout the book, allowing those with limited knowledge of Greek or Hebrew to understand what is often missed in English translations.

The reader will discover insights from Hebraic and historical sources that shed new light on what we read in the Gospel accounts.

Highly Recommended

I highly recommend this book for those already some way on with their studies of the Hebraic foundations of the faith. For those who are just beginning, it is recommended with some qualifications. Litvin’s breadth of reading and depth of knowledge are welcome – but newcomers to such studies may well be daunted by some of the conclusions she draws. While some are enlightening, others contrast those of other reputable scholars and may not sit well.

She also seems at times to call into question the accuracy of the gospel writers in places where the biblical text is seemingly at odds with other Jewish literature. Her strong desire to consider other rabbinic sources means that a mature and discerning mind on the part of the reader is required.

That said, this book is surely a major resource for the Christian Church to reconnect with the Jewish roots of the faith and the continuity of God’s covenant plan.

‘Presenting Jesus the Son of Israel: A Jewish Commentary on the Gospels, Volume 1’ (paperback, 237pp) is available on Amazon for £12.90. Also on Kindle.

Paul Luckraft interviews author Steve Maltz about his latest book, ‘Shalom’.

Over the years, I have reviewed most of Steve’s books for Prophecy Today and in the past I interviewed him to find out what motivated him to go on writing. “I was born to write, that is my gift” was his reply, and it would seem that with Shalom, his 25^th book, that gift is still in full flow. But a valid question remains: why another book? And why this particular book?

Steve admits to being on a personal journey and that writing books is his way of continuing that journey. As he explains in the preface of Shalom, “every book is a personal odyssey and a time of great learning” (p9). Pressing him further on this, he added that “I always write what is on my heart and each time I finish a book I think the journey may have ended, but so far it hasn’t.”

The journey actually started when he was crossing London Bridge ten years ago and God began to show him how the Church had lost ‘the Way’ by detaching itself from its Hebraic roots. Many books later, Shalom brings that vision into greater focus.

Its theme is an exploration of what Paul in Ephesians calls the ‘One New Man’ (Eph 2:15). If the Church is ever to recover what it lost in the past and achieve God’s shalom, God’s peace, it will need to embrace the truth that Christ has broken down the barrier of hostility between Jew and Gentile and that Gentiles are Gospel heirs together with Israel: members together of one Body, sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus (Eph 3:6). Steve’s argument is that embracing this truth will bring renewal to the Church, individually and corporately.

Searching for Answers

As such, Steve isn’t just writing for his own benefit. He believes others are asking the same questions that God has put on his heart, and seeking the same answers. This was dramatically illustrated just an hour or so before meeting up with me in London.

If the Church is ever to recover God’s shalom, God’s peace, it will need to embrace the truth that Christ has broken down the barrier of hostility between Jew and Gentile.

Prior to our interview, Steve visited a major London bookshop to introduce his new book and drop off a couple of copies. While talking to the staff there one of the customers overheard him explaining the book and suddenly burst into tears! “This is just what I’ve been looking for!” she explained. And then added that she had been on a train on the Underground when God had told her to get off at that station and go to the bookshop there. She had no idea why at the time, but clearly God knew what she needed!

Just like this lady in the bookshop, readers new to Steve’s books can start with Shalom without having to read all that has gone before. Each of his books stands alone and usually contains several quotes or references to previous ones. To this end, the first part of Shalom takes us back over how the Church lost the Way, the Truth and the Life by severing ourselves from Israel and our Hebraic roots. Here, Steve explains the problems in the Church that show our need for God’s shalom, found only in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus).

After a short second part on ‘The Shalom of Salvation’, in the third part we are reminded how the key to recovering the Hebraic nature of the Christian faith is function, not form. In other words, it’s about discovering and developing our roles and callings – who we are and what we do - rather than about offices and structures; it’s about being and doing ‘church’ rather than church as an institution or set of rituals. This is a significant theme in his previous books.

After this comes Part Four, which is devoted to exploring what shalom means when it comes to the Church and the idea of the One New Man. It should be stressed that just because the title is ‘Shalom’, the book is not merely a study on this particular word. Rather, as the subtitle emphasises, here we discover ‘God’s Masterplan’ for oneness or completeness, which Steve unpacks through seven other Hebrew words (simcha, chaim, kadosh, chesed, mishpocha, limmud, berakhot). Through these we can reverse all the Greek thinking that has dominated Church life since the 2^nd Century and undo the unbiblical practices introduced by Constantine and others.

In short, Steve asks the big question: what would the Church look like if there had been no influence from Greek philosophy or Roman emperors? Through these Hebraic concepts the answer starts to emerge. The next big question is, who will be brave enough to try it the Hebraic way?!

Steve believes that others are asking the same questions that God has put on his heart, and seeking the same answers.

Joyous Conclusion

The final part of the book came as a surprise, even to Steve. “Here’s a chapter I never intended to write because it references a series of events that came after the writing of the first draft of this book” (p215). At the ‘Foundations 10’ Hebraic conference in Devon, Steve saw Hebraic church come alive, in practice – ‘it happened in Devon!’ is the joyous conclusion to the book.

Shalom is being launched this weekend at the 'Foundations 11' conference, being held at The Hayes in Swanwick. The conference is appropriately entitled ‘One New Man’ and will continue to explore the theme further through teaching and discussion.

That walk over London Bridge many years ago has certainly borne a lot of fruit. Is the journey reaching a conclusion? I doubt it. The next book, and 'Foundations 12', are already being planned!

‘Shalom’ (234 pages, paperback) is available from Saffron Planet Publishing for £10.

‘He’s not fit to govern’, says ex-colleague of Britain’s Labour leader

Revelations expected to further stoke the fires over Jeremy Corbyn’s handling of anti-Semitism within the Labour Party have been published in the British press.

The Mail on Sunday has dedicated a dozen pages of coverage to initial serialisation of a new book by one of the country’s leading investigative authors.

Tom Bower’s Dangerous Hero (to be published on 21 February by William Collins at £20) is a damning expose of a man ‘not fit to govern’, even in the words of long-time friend and former hard-left MP Reg Race.

“He’s not fit to be leader of the Labour Party, and not fit to be Britain’s Prime Minister,” the man who worked closely with Mr Corbyn over three decades is quoted as saying.¹

Coinciding with the serialisation comes news of vicious racist attacks against Jewish Labour MP Luciana Berger over claims she plans to join a breakaway movement along with several others. This was followed by an admission from the Party’s deputy leader Tom Watson that the Liverpool parliamentarian is indeed being bullied by constituency activists, as claimed.²

In doing so, Mr Watson repeated his call for the Party branch in Liverpool Wavertree to be suspended over its treatment of her.

Ruthless Tactics

Alarmingly, tucked in among the acres of copy on Mr Corbyn straddling the voluminous Sunday paper was the observation that he was ‘insult-proof’.

The culture of intimidation that is shaping today’s Labour Party is a culmination of 40 years of following Lenin’s and Trotsky’s bloody blueprint of seizing power, purging moderates and crushing dissent, Bower concludes.

“And, just like today, the man secretly driving it all swore blind that it had nothing to do with him.”

The culture of intimidation shaping today’s Labour Party is a culmination of 40 years of following Lenin’s and Trotsky’s bloody blueprint, Bower concludes.

Upon his resignation in 1992 as Corbyn’s constituency agent, Keith Veness is quoted as having said: “You’re an anarchic shambles, without any discipline.”

The leader of Her Majesty’s official opposition has famously talked of engaging in “a kinder, gentler politics”, but a very different story of ruthless tactics is emerging.

A relentless campaign to root out moderates classified MPs into five categories in which every Jewish MP was ‘hostile’ or ‘negative’ including former Labour leader Ed Miliband, who represents the Doncaster North constituency in my hometown.

High on the list of targets was Ben Bradshaw, the MP for Exeter in Devon, who denounced Corbyn as a “destructive combination of incompetence, deceit and menace”.

And the intimidation of Ms Berger was not unique. “Many female Labour MPs, particularly Jews, complained of renewed abuse by the Left,” writes Bower.

Denying God

Corbyn was evidently an academic failure who apparently doesn’t read books. This is a shame because, for his 16^th birthday, his mother gave him a collection of George Orwell’s essays. Orwell’s Animal Farm – a classic allegorical tale of the destructive and hypocritical dogmatism of communism – might have proved a useful lighthouse keeping his ship away from the rocks.

The trouble is, he has failed to build his life on the Rock – Jesus, the Jewish Messiah – which ultimately explains his reluctance to deal effectively with gross anti-Semitism within his party.

Opposition to Israel is usually associated with denial of God, for it is the God of Israel whom Christians worship and who forms the basis of our Judeo-Christian civilisation which the likes of Corbyn are so keen to destroy.

Corbyn’s ‘kinder, gentler politics’ has involved a relentless campaign to root out moderates, classifying MPs into categories and labelling every Jewish MP ‘hostile’ or ‘negative’.

In its place, all they have to offer is the prospect of a lifeless, colourless, totalitarian regime that imprisons people into ghettos of misery, poverty and purposelessness.

But the greatest teacher of all time said: “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognise them” (Matt 7:15f).

And then he added: “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

“But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (Matt 7:24-27).

References

1 Mail on Sunday, 10 February 2019.

2 Daily Mail, 11 February 2019.

Paul Luckraft reviews ‘The Jewish Jesus’ by David Hoffbrand (Destiny Image, 2017).

There are now many books on the theme of the Jewishness of Jesus, but it is always interesting to come across another one and see if it provides anything extra to make it a worthwhile investment in time and money.

This relatively new book from David Hoffbrand, a Messianic Jew with a remarkable testimony, certainly does come into that category with a clear and significant contribution in the area of reconnecting Jew and Gentile in what is known as the One New Man (Eph 2:15).

Even though a lot of the content is familiar, Hoffbrand’s book comes across as fresh and incisive. He is a gifted communicator and has constructed his book neatly into three parts each with six chapters. The aim of the three sections is indicated by the subtitle: reconnecting with the truth about Jesus, Israel and the Church. It is in the third part that he provides that extra dimension on implications for the Church.

Changing Our Thinking

Part 1 focuses on Jesus himself and his Jewishness, including chapters on ‘Jesus the Man’, ‘The Ministry of Jesus’, and the Jewish disciples. The author wants us to meet Jesus as he really was, and as he (the author) now knows him. He sets about uncovering what has always been there from the start but which has been lost over the centuries.

Hoffbrand has come up with a neat way of describing what needs to happen when we turn to the Bible. We should REWIRE our brains, by which he means ‘Read Without Religion’ (take the first two letters of each word). This doesn’t mean forsaking sound doctrine, but means we must “read the Bible as if we hadn’t read it before – to remove the lens of our traditions, which causes us to skip past so many passages without seeing the details” (p14).

David Hoffbrand, a Messianic Jew with a remarkable testimony, is a gifted communicator whose writing is fresh and incisive.

Realising that Jesus was Jewish should change the way we think about Jews today and also about Israel. Part 2 tackles this issue, explaining how God has chosen Israel in the past and still loves her today. Church tradition may tell us God has finished with Israel, that he has moved on, but clearly this is not true. Hoffbrand examines the common fallacies that God has no further plans for the Jewish people and that he would rather punish them than restore them.

Practical Questions for the Church

Part 3 is where we learn about what this should all mean for the Church. The author shared with me that this part of the book was born out of his trips to the Ukraine with his friend Piers Arthur-Crow. Hoffbrand is a trustee of The David House that Piers runs and so was invited to go with him and speak to groups of Messianic rabbis and Christian pastors at their conferences. Here, Hoffbrand found that his message started to crystallise.

What had concerned him before was that while teaching on the Jewishness of Jesus was one thing, working it out in practice was quite another. How does it become real? The answer is found when Jew and Gentile come together as One New Man – a new community in Messiah.

In the first chapter in Part 3, Hoffbrand asks three key questions: What should this new community look like? How do the two people groups live together harmoniously? What principles can we learn from this process? He then seeks answers from Paul’s letter to the Romans, establishing five principles: humility, acceptance, identity, unity, service, and taking a chapter on each.

Realising that Jesus was Jewish should change the way we think about Jews today and about Israel – and it should affect the way we live, too.

Five Principles

Humility is a vital starting point. Neither Jew nor Gentile can boast about what they have. God has accepted each through what he has done in Christ, which should humble everyone and lead to mutual acceptance.

For each group to find their identity in the One New Man may be something of a mystery, but one which has now been revealed in Christ and which can be worked out, rather like a husband and wife within a marriage. Jew and Gentile remain distinct but find a unity in their common Saviour, who has broken down the middle wall of hostility that previously separated them. Now this barrier has been removed, both groups must make sure it isn’t rebuilt, whether in mind, heart or action.

The final principle which ties all these together is that of serving each other. This is more than tolerating or even understanding each other, connoting walking together and looking out for each other. Gentiles may often support Jews through various organisations and charities, but this can often still be at a distance rather than side by side. And do Messianic Jews actually find ways of loving and serving their Gentile brothers and sisters?

Worthwhile Contribution

These are all important challenges for the future as God continues to restore Hebraic roots to his Church and bring more Jewish people into a relationship with their Messiah. This book is a worthwhile contribution to this objective.

As Hoffbrand says clearly, “The Jewish people were not an accident that God would rather forget. The Gentile people are not second best or an afterthought. Together, this new community must be better, not worse, than what has come before” (p156).

‘The Jewish Jesus’ (paperback, 220 pages) is available from the author’s website for £10. Also available elsewhere online. Click here to watch the author’s testimony in an interview with Jewish Voice.