Surprised by Christ: My Journey from Judaism to Orthodox Christianity
Overview
Surprised by Christ tells the story of a man searching for truth and unable to rest until he finds it. Raised in Queens, New York, by formerly Orthodox Jewish parents whose faith had been undermined by the Holocaust, Arnold Bernstein went on his own personal quest for the God he instinctively felt was there. He was ready to accept God in whatever form he chose to reveal himself—and that form turned out to be Christ. But Bernstein soon perceived discrepancies in the various forms of Protestant belief that surrounded him, and so his quest continued—this time for the true church. With his Jewish heritage as a foundation, he studied and evaluated, and eventually came to the conclusion that the faith of his forefathers was fully honored and brought to completion only in the Orthodox Christian Church.
Surprised by Christ combines an engrossing memoir of one man’s life in historic times and situations—from the Six-Day War to the Civil Rights Movement to the Jesus Movement in Berkeley—with a deeply felt examination of the distinctives of Orthodox theology that make the Orthodox Church a true home not only for Christian Jews, but for all who seek to know God as fully as he may be known.
Key Features
- Provides a comprehensive introduction to Orthodox Christianity
- Explains key ideas about the Orthodox Church
- Presents insights into the journey of faith
Contents
- Not the Messiah I Expected
- Raised in the Shadow of the Holocaust
- My Conversion
- Is Christ Divine?
- Discovering the Prophecies of Christ
- College Years
- In the Holy Land
- Discovering the Church
- Evangelical Protestant Ministries
- Why the Scriptures Are Not Enough
- Worship in the Ancient Church
- A New Commitment
- Finding the Original Church
- Orthodoxy: Jewish and Christian
- What Became of the Apostolic Jewish Christian Church?
- Discovering Salvation with Depth
- How Fallen Are We?
- What Salvation Is Not: Solutions to Problems That Don’t Exist
- What Is Salvation?
- God Became Man So That Man Might Become God
- Is God Humble?
- The Divine Fire of God’s Love
Top Highlights
“In the Orthodox understanding, only persons sin, not human nature.” (Page 223)
“In contrast, Jews believed that sacrifices were not necessary for God to forgive. We held that there are no constraints on God’s forgiveness other than the repentant heart of the sinner. To view a payment to God as a necessary requirement for His forgiveness was for us akin to saying that God could not absolve sin unless He was bribed. That God had to become human in order to be able to forgive sins did not make sense. The belief that God the Father had to kill God the Son in the flesh (a form of God killing Himself) in order to forgive sin made even less sense.” (Page 278)
“The Orthodox agree that pride is the mother of all sins, and that to desire to be like God without God is fatal. But we believe that it is not sinful to desire to forever be more godlike, in love and humility, with His help. In fact, being created in God’s image and likeness includes forever becoming more like God! Jesus directly addresses our being godlike in the Gospel of John.” (Page 280)
“The Orthodox view the sinful state into which we all are born as an inclination to sin personally, as well as a spiritual and physical brokenness, corruption, mortality, and genetic/biological deterioration. But being born into sin does not imply having committed personal sin or being personally guilty for the sins of those living before us.” (Page 223)
“So when Orthodox read a verse like ‘Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures’ (1 Corinthians 15:3), it is understood to mean that Christ died for us—to heal us, to change us, to make us more godlike—not that He died instead of us. The ultimate purpose of His death is to change us, not to avert the wrath of God.” (Pages 252–253)
Praise for the Print Edition
The story of Fr James’ journey is fascinating. It reminds us again of the sovereignty of God, and his desire to reach every one of his beloved children, no matter where they are.
—Frederica Mathewes-Green, author, Facing East
In life you meet a handful of people whose stories crash through the usual categories of human experience and form a new kind of stand-alone narrative. Enter: Fr. James Bernstein. Son of a Jewish rabbi, national chess champion, leader with Jews for Jesus in Berkeley, Orthodox Christian priest – whew! You will love and be greatly encouraged by his unusual story of life in Christ.
—Peter E. Gillquist, author, Becoming Orthodox
A marvelous volume! It shows how in our time, just as two millennia ago, the question posed by Christ, ‘Who do you say I am?’ (Matt 16:15), is resoundingly answered: ‘The Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ All conversions are miracles of God’s grace. Fr. James Bernstein allows us to share in the special miracle of his conversion.
—H. Tristram Engelhardt Jr., professor of philosophy, Rice University
Fr. James Bernstein’s roots are here in Jerusalem even as he ministers in the Pacific Northwest. Though separated by vast distance we are one and united in our desire to actualize an authentic Jewish Christian Orthodox Church in the Holy Land as in the beginning. His book compellingly presents why of all branches of Christianity, Orthodox Christianity has by far the greatest kinship to Judaism.
—Alexander Winogradsky, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate—Jerusalem
In sharing his ‘surprise’ with us, Fr. James Bernstein shows that he is a Hebrew prophet in the definition of prophecy provided by that other ‘Hebrew born of Hebrews’ who knew the same ‘surprise.’ In sharing his story and convictions, Fr James ‘speaks to people for their edification and encouragement and comfort.’ (1 Cor. 14:3) The grace and spirit of His words match the grace and truth of their content. We thank God for this prophetic gift.
—Thomas Hopko, dean emeritus, St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary
- Title: Surprised by Christ: My Journey from Judaism to Orthodox Christianity
- Author: A. James Bernstein
- Publisher: Ancient Faith
- Print Publication Date: 2008
- Logos Release Date: 2015
- Pages: 337
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Bernstein, A. James, 1946-; Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America › Clergy--Biography; Christian converts from Judaism › United States--Biography; Orthodox Eastern converts › United States--Biography
- ISBNs: 9781888212952, 1888212950
- Resource ID: LLS:SRPRSDCCHRSTNTY
- Resource Type: text.monograph.autobiography
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T20:56:56Z