When I saw that the book A Rabbi Talks with Jesus by Jacob Neusner was recommended by Pope Benedict XVI, that impressed me. (And, for the purposes of this review, it would probably be useful to the reader to have me on the record as being a Protestant Christian with Evangelical [religious, not necessarily political] leanings.) Based on Benny's suggestion, I decided to give it a try. At first glance, it might seem like an odd choice of writing to be recommended by a Pope. Neusner is a Jewish rabbi, and the book is basically his explanation as to why he rejects Christianity and stays with his Jewish faith.
However, Neusner does this in a very respectful way. As he might say, "Some of my best friends are Christians"; he shows great respect for Christians and their teachings. Neusner explains his disputes with Christianity by imagining himself within the world of the Gospel of Matthew. (He uses only Matthew.) He places himself at the Sermon on the Mount, as well as other locations in the gospel, and discusses his reactions to its teachings.
The title of the book may sound provocative. Indeed, there are discussions with Jesus, but the replies from Jesus are brief and mirror other statements in Matthew: Neusner takes care to avoid putting words into Jesus's mouth.
A few years ago, as I was driving, I saw a sign that queried the traveler, "Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour?" I'm not sure how common this question is in the wider world, but in the religious circles I frequent, the question is so common it's (almost?) a cliché. With this in mind, I tried to think of an odd way of responding to the question. What came to mind was, "No, but I've accepted Jesus as my collective group Saviour".
To the Evangelical (Protestant) Christian, this response sounds odd and almost funny. But I think it strikes at the heart of one of Neusner's main objections. He sees himself as a member of "Eternal Israel", of the same family as Abraham and Issac, Rachael and Leah. As such, he is looking for not just a personal relationship with God, but also direction in the here and now regarding how to live as a member of eternal Israel.
There were other objections as well, but I found this one the most striking. Overall, I found the book to be highly interesting. For the most part, my past discussions with Jews haven't dealt in detail with religious beliefs. I'm sure that reasons for this include the fact there isn't a lot of proselytism in Judaism, and also that being "Jewish" is largely a cultural identity to some people. So, the book was educational to me in its portrayal of Jewish religious beliefs.
I'd recommend it to Jews, Christians, and people interested in learning more about Judaism and Christianity.
