60 Questions Christians Ask About Jewish Beliefs and Practices

Written in an accessible style, 60 Questions Christians Ask About Jewish Beliefs and Practices answers sixty common questions about Jewish people and Jewish culture.

Drawn from the steady stream of questions Michael L. Brown’s ministry receives every month, the book’s questions reflect the perennial Christian fascination with Jewish customs and beliefs.

 

A Jewish believer himself, Brown provides clear answers to questions like...

- “Are there Jewish denominations?”

- “What are the ten lost tribes of Israel?”

- “Do the Jewish people expect a literal Messiah?”

- and many more.

The book also addresses questions Christians have about their own relationship to the Old Testament Law, such as

- “Should Christians observe the Sabbath on Saturday?” and

- “Are Gentile Christians spiritual Jews?”

 

Note: This book was previously published under the title, "What Do Jewish People Think About Jesus?"

 

Part One: Judaism and Jewish Practice
1) Are there Jewish denominations?
2) What is Hasidic Judaism?
3) What is the Oral Law?
4) What is the Tanakh?
5) What exactly is meant by the term Torah?
6) What is the Masoretic Text?
7) What are the holy books of Judaism?
8) What are the main differences between Judaism and Christianity?
9) What do Jewish people think about Jesus?
10) Do the Jewish people expect a literal Messiah?
11) Do Jews refer to God by the name of Jehovah?
12) What is meant by the term kosher?
13) Why do traditional Jews have separate dishes in their kitchens for meat products and dairy products?
14) Why do traditional Jews light candles at the beginning of the Sabbath?
15) Why don’t traditional Jews drive on the Sabbath?
16) Why do traditional Jewish men wear a skullcap (called yarmulke or, in Hebrew, kippah)?
17) Why do traditional Jewish women wear wigs (or even shave their heads)?
18) Why do some Jewish men grow long side curls?
19) Why do some Jewish men wear white fringes outside of their shirts?
20) Why do traditional Jewish men pray with black boxes (called phylacteries or, in Hebrew, tefillin) on their head and arm?

21) What are the little boxes (mezuzah’s) on the doorways of Orthodox Jewish homes?
22) Why do some religious Jewish men wear long black coats?
23) Why do traditional Jews claim that Jewish descent is matrilineal (i.e., coming through the mother) rather than patrilineal (i.e., coming through the father)?
24) Are there really 613 commandments in the Torah?
25) What are the seven laws of Noah?

Part Two: The Jewish People and Jewish History
26) What is the origin of the term Jew and can Jews today really trace their lineage back to the Jewish people of the Bible?
27) What are the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel?
28) Are the Samaritans really Jews?
29) Who are the Karaites?
30) Why have Jewish people been so hated and persecuted through the centuries?
31) Do contemporary Jews want to rebuild the Temple?
32) Has there been a continuous presence of Jews in the land of Israel for the last 2,000 years?
33) Should all Jews move back to Israel?
34) Are the Palestinians descendants of the ancient Canaanites?
35) In the Bible, is the fig tree a prophetic symbol for Israel?

Part Three: Rabbi Yeshua and the Jewish Background to the New Testament
36) Was Jesus really a rabbi?
37) Did Jesus follow the Oral Law?
38) What is the original Hebrew name for Jesus? And is it true that the name Jesus (Greek Iesus) is really a pagan corruption of the name Zeus?
39) What language did Jesus and the apostles speak?
40) Was the New Testament originally written in Hebrew?
41) Was the New Testament originally written in Aramaic?
42) What are some examples of the Jewish background to the New Testament?
43) What does it mean to “restore the Jewish roots” of the Christian faith?
44) Was Paul really an educated Jew who knew the Hebrew language well?
45) Did the Jews really kill Jesus?

Part Four: Contemporary Christians, the Law of Moses, and the State of Israel
46) Did Jesus abolish the Law?
47) Did Paul abolish the Law?
48) Should Christians keep the Law?
49) Should Christians observe the Sabbath on Saturday?
50) Should Christians adhere to the dietary laws?
51) Should Christians observe the biblical, Jewish holidays?
52) What is the difference between Passover and Easter?
53) Are Gentile Christians spiritual Jews?
54) What is the “Two House Theory”?
55) What is the difference between a Messianic Jew and a Hebrew Christian?
56) Are Messianic Jewish leaders really rabbis?
57) Is it good for Christians to attend Jewish synagogues?
58) Should Christians unconditionally support the nation of Israel?
59) What did Paul mean when he said that “all Israel will be saved”?
60) Did God make a special way for Jews to be saved without believing in Jesus?