The “War on Christmas” and Jewish-Christian Dialogue
My wife and I visited our local Costco this weekend to get a good deal on a vacuum, only to be greeted by rows of fake LED-lighted Christmas trees, a life-size nutcracker, and a giant wire reindeer. Apparently the Christmas season began October 1st this year! Which makes Anthony Le Donne’s new book especially timely.
In Near Christianity, Le Donne offers us an important primer on Jewish-Christian dialogue. He takes us to the borders of the faith to help us understand and sympathize with those who remain “near Christianity.” Perhaps there’s no better time to consider this nearness than the season from Black Friday to Christmas Day.
In a chapter highlighting the dynamics at work between Christians and religious minorities during Advent, Le Donne asks us to consider the season’s relationship with cultural appropriation, the culture…
Jewish-Christian Borders – An Excerpt from Near Christianity by Anthony Le Donne
“In my experience—in my conversations with ‘unbelieving neighbors’—I have learned that Christianity appears quite differently from the borders.” (19)
In today’s excerpt from Near Christianity, Anthony Le Donne, associate professor of New Testament at United theological seminary and cofounder of the Jewish-Christian Dialogue and Sacred Texts Consultation, reflects on our relationships with those on the peripheries of Christianity.
Sidewalk to Synagogue
One of the realities of pilgrimage is border crossing. Whether it is a physical or spiritual journey, borderlands must be navigated. Boundary markers must be interpreted. Some borders suggest new life, progress, or possibility. My memory of the concrete tunnel that opened up to Candlestick Park was like that. Upon entry, that concrete tunnel was only nostalgic in that it promised something better, greener beyond. Or you might know…