Surprised by Christ: My Journey from Judaism to Orthodox Christianity
Product ID: 007517
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PRODUCT DETAILS
Format: Paperback
ISBN-10: 1-888212-95-0
ISBN-13: 978-888212-95-2
Page count: 337 pages
SUMMARY
Surprised by Christ is 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 the
true
home not only for Christian Jews, but for all who seek to know God as
fully
as He may be known.
REVIEWS
"Surprised by Christ is an autobiography, an intellectual history, and a
conversion story, and more than these, conveys a spiritual and theological
vision in a message that touches people from many different backgrounds.
That vision is of the Living God revealed in Jesus Christ, who is the
fulfillment of the Old Covenant, the life of the Faithful, the hope of the
despairing, and the motivation for those who strive to preach the Gospel
in
all its integrity."
-- Hieromonk Jonah (Paffhausen), Abbot of St. John of San Francisco
Monastery in Manton, California (from the foreword to the book)
"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 of Real Choices and Facing East
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"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."
-- Fr. Peter E. Gillquist, author of 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., Ph.D., M.D., Professor, Rice University,
Professor Emeritus, Baylor College of Medicine, and Senior Editor,
Christian
Bioethics
"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 kin****p to Judaism."
-- Fr. Alexander Winogradsky, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate - Jerusalem
(Head
of the Hebrew-speaking community)
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"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."
-- Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko, Dean Emeritus, St. Vladimir's Orthodox
Theological Seminary
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Arnold James Bernstein, the son of a Chassidic Rabbi, was
born in Lansing, Michigan in 1946 and raised in Queens, New York, where he
lived for 25 years. As a teenager he was a chess champion whose dramatic
conversion experience at the age of 16 led him to convert to Christianity.
His spiritual journey has included a number of twists and turns -- he was
president of Inter-Varsity Christian Fellow****p at Queens College of the
City University of New York, helped found the Jews for Jesus ministry in
San
Francisco, was a staff member of the Christian World Liberation Front in
Berkeley, served as a pastor of an Evangelical Orthodox Church near
Silicon
Valley, and later became an Eastern Orthodox convert and then priest.Today
he lives with his wife Bonnie outside of Seattle, Wa****ngton, where he
serves as pastor of St. Paul Antiochian Orthodox Church. Father James is
the
author of a number of booklets published by Conciliar Press, including
Orthodoxy: Jewish and Christian (1990); Which Came First: The Church or
the
New Testament (1994); and Communion: A Family Affair (1999). He was also a
contributor to the Orthodox Study Bible (Thomas Nelson, 1993) and wrote
the
introduction to the book A Second Look at the Second Coming by T. L.
Frazier
(Conciliar Press, 1999).
Item URL:
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