JourneyOnline
The Jewish Approach to God: A Brief Introduction for Christians
By Rabbi Neil Gillman
Jewish Lights Publishing
RRP $29.95
Ever thought of becoming a liberal Jew? Rabbi Neil Gillman sets smartly forth his modern theology of the nature of God as a taster for you in his latest work The Jewish Approach to God: A Brief Introduction for Christians.
Admittedly, religion is not the sort of thing one tends to change as often as one’s toothbrush – no matter how good the taster. So, if you’re ever going to read Gillman’s book I think there will have to be some other good reasons to pick it up.
Perhaps you are interested in understanding some of the age-long Jewish wrestling with the God of Israel and its bearing upon today? Perhaps you have been wondering about the discrepancies between God’s popular portrayal and his appearance in classic Jewish sources? Or perhaps you are fascinated with the origins of some of the many different ways Jewish people have understood and related to God?
In The Jewish Approach to God Gillman eruditely explains in simple language the central issues of Jewish theology and philosophy regarding the nature of God. He tackles this substantial task through looking at different metaphors for God in the Jewish scriptures, each picture telling something more of who God is and the relationship the Jewish people have with him. These metaphors include God is Echad, God is power, God is person, God creates, God reveals, God is nice (sometimes) and God is not nice (sometimes).
While the framework is an historical one, Gillman’s point of view is decidedly modern in flavour. He attempts to engage the Christian reader with recurring comparisons to Christian doctrine. This is helpful insofar as it puts his thoughts in perspective with more familiar theological terrain. However with only 146 pages to do the work, the comparisons are inevitably, at times, a tad tokenistic.
Religious allegiance aside, I enjoyed the proficiency of Rabbi Gillman’s writing. Just don’t grab it as a substitute for Every Day With Jesus.
