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The
Christian and the Pharisee
by Dr
R T Kendall and Rabbi David Rosen
A
Review
This book is a series of letters
between two friends, one a well-known evangelical minister, the
other a distinguished rabbi. At first sight the title comes as
something of a shock but this is because we as Christians have often
misguidedly used the word “Pharisee” as a synonym for hypocrisy. But
for Rabbi Rosen, Pharisee is a title of honour. This is because, as
he explains, Orthodox Judaism views the Pharisees as representing
mainstream Judaism in New Testament times, and claims direct descent
from them. Understandably, therefore, Rabbi Rosen objects to our
largely negative Christian use of the word.
The debate in these letters is carried out at the level of
deepest mutual respect and friendship. As such,
it is a model of courteous and gracious interaction between two
strong-minded people of differing faiths. Nevertheless, the
exclusive claims of the Christian gospel are uncompromisingly
explained.
Rabbi Rosen explains and defends his Orthodox principles
very cogently, not least in his defence of the Oral Torah as the
authoritative explanation and re-application of the written Torah to
each succeeding generation. Whilst modern scholarship would rightly
question his assumption that today’s Orthodox Judaism represents a
straight-line continuity with Pharisaic Judaism – and also his
assumption that the Pharisees represented the mainstream Judaism of
Jesus’ time – Rabbi Rosen nevertheless presents a strong and
coherent case for the Oral Torah. And for those who assume that
religious Zionists must inevitably ignore the just rights and
concerns of Palestinians, Rabbi Rosen shows how biblical and
Orthodox principles have led him, as a religious Zionist, to cherish
a deep concern for the Palestinians.
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Space does not allow for discussion of Rabbi Rosen’s
thoroughly pluralistic view of other religions, nor of his somewhat
postmodern view of the interpretation of Scripture, which seems to
allow opposing interpretations to be equally valid.
However, he answers Dr Kendall’s arguments from the Old
Testament in a spirited and carefully reasoned manner.
Dr Kendall’s letters constitute a clear case for taking
the Christian gospel to the Jewish people. He is deeply aware of
Jewish sensitivities due, in part, to the long history of
persecution by professedly Christian people; but he rightly insists
that concern for truth must ultimately override such
considerations. We may not always agree with the details of Dr
Kendall’s arguments. Indeed, Rabbi Rosen corrects his interpretation
of Habbakuk 2:4 from “the righteous shall live by his (God’s)
faithfulness”, to “the righteous shall live by his [own]
Faith” (pp. 39 and 66) – at this point Rabbi Rosen is closer to
Paul’s understanding of the verse than is Dr Kendall (cf. Romans
1:17 and Galatians 3:11). Nevertheless, Dr Kendall presents the
gospel with clarity and a rightful plea for careful attention to the
real meaning of Scripture.
More could be said but hopefully the above comments are
sufficient to encourage any with a genuine concern for the Jewish
people, not least, those who want to share the gospel sensitively
with them, to read this uniquely fascinating book.
The Christian and the Pharisee
Dr R T Kendall and Rabbi
David Rosen
190 pp. ISBN:
9780340908747
Available from Hodder & Stoughton or Amazon |
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