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Удивленный Христом. Мое путешествие из иудаизма в Православие
Книга протоиерея Джеймса Бернстайна «Удивленный Христом» – это необычная автобиография священника, который вырос в США в иудейской культуре, в подростковом возрасте начал духовные поиски и через протестантство пришел к Православию.
Арнольд Бернстайн в детстве был шахматистом — и вся его жизнь похожа на красивую шахматную партию. Он был свидетелем Шестидневной войны в Израиле, борцом за гражданские права и протестантским пастором.
В книге есть описание жизни Америки 50–70-х годов, рассуждения о еврейском народе, анализ и сравнение иудаизма и Православия. Но самое интересное в книге — путь поиска истины, живое и глубокое богословие, которое позволяет читателю по-новому взглянуть на, казалось бы, уже привычные вещи.
Арнольд Бернстайн в детстве был шахматистом — и вся его жизнь похожа на красивую шахматную партию. Он был свидетелем Шестидневной войны в Израиле, борцом за гражданские права и протестантским пастором.
В книге есть описание жизни Америки 50–70-х годов, рассуждения о еврейском народе, анализ и сравнение иудаизма и Православия. Но самое интересное в книге — путь поиска истины, живое и глубокое богословие, которое позволяет читателю по-новому взглянуть на, казалось бы, уже привычные вещи.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published May 15, 2008
15 people are currently reading
253 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
April 12, 2010
This is a conversion narrative, a fairly common type of book. In this case, the author's background is Jewish, which makes the story a bit unusual. The autobiographical part of the book is not especially deep, although lively and quite readable.
On the other hand, the second part of he book is a discussion of various issues of Orthodox Christian theology, quite clearly and concisely presented.
On the other hand, the second part of he book is a discussion of various issues of Orthodox Christian theology, quite clearly and concisely presented.
August 8, 2017
Some of the clearest explanations of theological fine points I've read so far.
May 19, 2019
The positive
Surprised By Christ is an autobiography that reads like a novel underpinned by a theological treatise lived out by someone who sought and found wonder.
As a convert from evangelical Protestantism who always heard that Eastern Orthodoxy was very similar in many respects to Judaism, I have always been curious about how. I know very few Jewish people and none of them are practicing. Fr James’ book really opened up a whole new vista of understanding how the two faiths are related and where they diverge.
"Why would God want to become man? . . . 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 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…
"As an Orthodox Christian, I came to understand that the focus of the Incarnation was not to enable God to forgive; the emphasis was on the healing, purification, and ultimate transfiguration of mankind. The goal of the Incarnation was to energize our fallen human nature and to make it godlike--a process variously referred to as deification, divinization, or theosis. The Orthodox teach that God in His wisdom chose to accomplish this by assuming our human nature and transforming it from within--not from without." (p278)
That quote right there solved a personal issue I had always had with the Incarnation since my evangelical Protestant life. It made no sense to be that God—Who owns everything— needed to be paid a ransom or that He would need to pay a ransom to anyone or anything else. And that was always the explanation, that Christ was either a ransom to God for us or to Death for God’s sake. These two paragraphs alone explained it simply and beautifully.
The entire book is like this.
As an audio book it reads very well. You can tell Fr James hails from Brooklyn. All of that upbringing is in his voice as he tells his story. And his storytelling is on point. Sometimes his voice can become a little “drone-y” but the story of his life and the depth of his knowledge overpower that.
The negative
There are times when he seemed to get bogged down in details but that is just me—I like things to get to a point and so Fr James’ penchant for telling the ENTIRE story around his point sometimes made me want to skip ahead but there is wisdom in that as well
5 stars
Full Disclosure #1: I was given an Audible credit to purchase this book in return for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to do this, AFP!
Full Disclosure #2: I listened to the audiobook twice and then purchased the hard copy so I could take notes in it.
Surprised By Christ is an autobiography that reads like a novel underpinned by a theological treatise lived out by someone who sought and found wonder.
As a convert from evangelical Protestantism who always heard that Eastern Orthodoxy was very similar in many respects to Judaism, I have always been curious about how. I know very few Jewish people and none of them are practicing. Fr James’ book really opened up a whole new vista of understanding how the two faiths are related and where they diverge.
"Why would God want to become man? . . . 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 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…
"As an Orthodox Christian, I came to understand that the focus of the Incarnation was not to enable God to forgive; the emphasis was on the healing, purification, and ultimate transfiguration of mankind. The goal of the Incarnation was to energize our fallen human nature and to make it godlike--a process variously referred to as deification, divinization, or theosis. The Orthodox teach that God in His wisdom chose to accomplish this by assuming our human nature and transforming it from within--not from without." (p278)
That quote right there solved a personal issue I had always had with the Incarnation since my evangelical Protestant life. It made no sense to be that God—Who owns everything— needed to be paid a ransom or that He would need to pay a ransom to anyone or anything else. And that was always the explanation, that Christ was either a ransom to God for us or to Death for God’s sake. These two paragraphs alone explained it simply and beautifully.
The entire book is like this.
As an audio book it reads very well. You can tell Fr James hails from Brooklyn. All of that upbringing is in his voice as he tells his story. And his storytelling is on point. Sometimes his voice can become a little “drone-y” but the story of his life and the depth of his knowledge overpower that.
The negative
There are times when he seemed to get bogged down in details but that is just me—I like things to get to a point and so Fr James’ penchant for telling the ENTIRE story around his point sometimes made me want to skip ahead but there is wisdom in that as well
5 stars
Full Disclosure #1: I was given an Audible credit to purchase this book in return for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to do this, AFP!
Full Disclosure #2: I listened to the audiobook twice and then purchased the hard copy so I could take notes in it.
March 26, 2022
Father James takes readers through a well-told, thought-provoking journey from his Jewish roots to his Christian conversion and move from evangelicalism to Orthodox Christianity. The first half of the book is a fast-moving autobiography, with the second half focusing on his theological acceptance of the Orthodox Church as the deepest rooted since the time of Christ. While I don't necessarily subscribe to all his ideas, he presents them in logical progression. He writes with wit, humility, and wisdom. His descriptions of God's love as a fire that warms or consumes go a long way in explaining heaven and hell. He does not shy from the difficult subjects.
April 9, 2016
Part 3 is a must for anybody curious about the theological differences between Judaism, Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity.
This is a wonderfully informative, reads-like-a-novel book that weaves Fr. Bernstein's personal journey, theology, biblical history and 1960's pop culture. A unique compilation of various facets.
This is a wonderfully informative, reads-like-a-novel book that weaves Fr. Bernstein's personal journey, theology, biblical history and 1960's pop culture. A unique compilation of various facets.
May 12, 2020
My long and winding journey as a child of three-and-a-half began with experiencing constantly the presence of Jesus Christ. Then on, I played a game of hide-and-seek with Him across the decades which had me ultimately returning to what I consider the roots of the faith in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. I know that tradition is a four-letter word these days. But I've wound my way back to the heart of this tradition.
I moved from the intuitive apprehension of the Presence of Christ to the Protestantism of the Anglican variety as my father's family came from the Church of South India. Sunday school, VBS, church services, and cottage prayer meetings played a part in this. My father's brother recently told me that the family had been Jacobite Syrian Orthodox faithful. But then, three of our ancestors had some political or personal issues with the church hierarchy. They lent their ears to some white Church Missionary Society proselytisers busy in Kerala seducing the Eastern Orthodox faithful to the 'true' Protestant faith and three families on my father's side became CSI, the seeds of which church were sown in 1879.
From a child, however, I was exposed to the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church to which my mother belonged. I was baptised as a child in the Marthoma Church. The Mar Thoma church came into being through formalised schism in 1898, with several Jacobite priests and laypeople who were seduced once again by the white CMS missionaries decided to form their own church. However, the Marthomites were unwilling to cut off entirely from its Syrian and indigenous roots so keep parts of the Syriac liturgy but became Protestant in its central ideology. The members of the CSI and the Marthoma churches share a common communion and could marry across their denominational boundaries as was the case with my father and mother.
I had a twin advantage. I could understand and worship in the Anglican form (more 'white' than indigenous) and the more ancient liturgical form of the Suriyani Christians. My heart was always more moved by the indigenous form than the Anglican form, except for the few times I could participate in a High Anglican service.
Over time, my life became an adventurous riot of exploration of yoga, drugs, sex, kalari, karate, zen buddhism, music, art, films, writing and so on and Jesus Christ popped in and out of my life, sometimes watching over me and sometimes intervening. While doing my Master's, apart from my heavy reading of philosophy and religio-spiritual literature, I began reading the Bible again at a critical point in my life.
It led to what I call the Evangelical phase in my life. I did not entirely cut off from the Anglican or Marthoma aspects of life but plunged rather deep into the world of the fundamentalists, legalists, charismatics and holiness sectarians. It was a holy roller coaster ride that led me to rethinking my faith and gradually putting some distance between me and rabid fundamentalist Evangelicalism.
Over the last decade, the rethinking of my faith in Jesus Christ and my newer religious and spiritual experiences have led me full circle to the heart of the Orthodox faith. Apart from asking to join the Eastern Syrian Orthodox church in Kerala, returning to my roots, my understanding has aligned with the core of the Orthodox faith.
It is against this personal background that I discovered this book. It did something simple for my understanding. The journey of Rev Bernstein resonated with me and in some sense validated my own journey. His is a fascinating journey from being an Orthodox Jew, to his frutiful years among the Evangelicals and Protestants, his evaluation of Roman Catholicism, and finally to finding his spiritual home among the Orthodox.
This book is written with utmost clarity about the phases of Rev. Bernstein's journey, his spiritual longings and crises, his dogged research into the origins of the Christian faith and unraveling of the holy Orthodox faith and its components, and his ability to sift through the madness and mayhem of competing Christian doctrines and dogmas and return to the Apostolic Source and Tradition.
This book showed me the close relationship between Jewish Orthodoxy and Christian Orthodoxy in their perception of God as Love. Chapter 12 expands on this theme. The liturgical, sacramental and hierarchical nature of Christian worship with all its depth and beauty is reiterated. Further, one realises that one can escape the Koranesque burden of Sola Scriptura by understanding Prima Scriptura.
Chapter 13 delves into what happened to the Jewish Apostolic Christian Church that emerged in the wake of the Holy Spirit being poured out at Shau'vot and the Gentilization of the church which led to abysmal times during the first two centuries for Jewish believers. The Nazarenes, as they were called, were hated by the Romans, the Jews who did not believe in the Messiah, and excluded by the increasingly Gentilized church for seeking to continue with their Jewish religious-cultural practices along with their faith in the Messiah. He traces the roots of anti-Semitism in the Gentilized church to writers like St Augustine, Bishop of Hippo (354-430).
"The imprint of the ancient Nazarene Jewish Christians is to be found within the predominantly Arabic Orthodox Church of the region. First, Aramaic, the language of Christ, the Apostles, and the early Jewish Christians, is still spoken among Christians in and around Maalula and has been used in the worship services of the Syrian Orthodox Christian Church. Western Aramaic is used nowhere else in the world." These Jewish Christians were assimilated under the Orthodox Christian Patriarch of Antioch who has resided in Damascus since the 14th Century. Its soul lives in the Orthodox Churches.
Chapters 14, 15, and 16 are must reading for those who want to climb out of the muddle and morass of a plethora of Western theologies when it comes to the the important soteriological questions of "How Fallen are We?", "What Salvation is Not" and "What is Salvation?" Rev. Bernstein delineates the key differences between the Orthodox, the Roman Catholics and the Protestants-Evangelicals. He is able to explain succinctly why the Western theories of salvation - the "ransom' or 'bargain' theory (a debt is owed to the Devil) and Anselm's 'debt' or 'satisfaction' theory (a debt is owed to God who is presented as 'a prisoner of His own justice'). This was the beginning of a legal view of sin which had to lead to the legal view of salvation, the central ideology of most Western churches. Then there came the Protestant notion of the penal/substitutionary theory of atonement which emphasizes that Christ received the punishment we deserve for sin.
At the popular level, all these three theories are mixed and muddled up and used in most churches, one deadly stream of which has to do with the idea of "sinners in the hands of an angry God" pushed by the Puritans and their descendants, the fundamentalist Evangelicals. The fourth theory is the 'Moral Exemplar Theory of Atonement", an example of the liberals recoiling from the painful Catholic and Protestant theories of salvation and looking for something more humane.
The question hidden in all these vagaries of doctrines of soteriology has to do with propitiation or expiation. Propitiation has to do with appeasing God and expiation with the change that takes place in the propitiator. The Orthodox emphasis is on Christ's sacrifice being expiatory in nature. It is on Christ dying FOR US to heal and transform us. That is, He has actually brought about a change in man's state of being. The Orthodox understanding of salvation then is 'incarnational' and "has as its basis not the law or the courtroom but God's unconditional love and grace". Finally, the Incarnation took place so that theosis or deification (becoming by grace what God is in nature) could take place in the followers of Christ. God became man so that man could become God (Athanasius). However, because the process of becoming is everlasting, the redeemed are forever becoming more like God by grace, without ever becoming God.
I heartily recommend this book for all those who have felt that their life of genuine devotion to Christ has been muddled up by certain theological notions that have not been entirely satisfactory or beneficial. I also recommend it for seekers of God belonging to every stream of humanity and pray that this book will reveal the wonderful purpose of Christ being incarnated to them.
I moved from the intuitive apprehension of the Presence of Christ to the Protestantism of the Anglican variety as my father's family came from the Church of South India. Sunday school, VBS, church services, and cottage prayer meetings played a part in this. My father's brother recently told me that the family had been Jacobite Syrian Orthodox faithful. But then, three of our ancestors had some political or personal issues with the church hierarchy. They lent their ears to some white Church Missionary Society proselytisers busy in Kerala seducing the Eastern Orthodox faithful to the 'true' Protestant faith and three families on my father's side became CSI, the seeds of which church were sown in 1879.
From a child, however, I was exposed to the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church to which my mother belonged. I was baptised as a child in the Marthoma Church. The Mar Thoma church came into being through formalised schism in 1898, with several Jacobite priests and laypeople who were seduced once again by the white CMS missionaries decided to form their own church. However, the Marthomites were unwilling to cut off entirely from its Syrian and indigenous roots so keep parts of the Syriac liturgy but became Protestant in its central ideology. The members of the CSI and the Marthoma churches share a common communion and could marry across their denominational boundaries as was the case with my father and mother.
I had a twin advantage. I could understand and worship in the Anglican form (more 'white' than indigenous) and the more ancient liturgical form of the Suriyani Christians. My heart was always more moved by the indigenous form than the Anglican form, except for the few times I could participate in a High Anglican service.
Over time, my life became an adventurous riot of exploration of yoga, drugs, sex, kalari, karate, zen buddhism, music, art, films, writing and so on and Jesus Christ popped in and out of my life, sometimes watching over me and sometimes intervening. While doing my Master's, apart from my heavy reading of philosophy and religio-spiritual literature, I began reading the Bible again at a critical point in my life.
It led to what I call the Evangelical phase in my life. I did not entirely cut off from the Anglican or Marthoma aspects of life but plunged rather deep into the world of the fundamentalists, legalists, charismatics and holiness sectarians. It was a holy roller coaster ride that led me to rethinking my faith and gradually putting some distance between me and rabid fundamentalist Evangelicalism.
Over the last decade, the rethinking of my faith in Jesus Christ and my newer religious and spiritual experiences have led me full circle to the heart of the Orthodox faith. Apart from asking to join the Eastern Syrian Orthodox church in Kerala, returning to my roots, my understanding has aligned with the core of the Orthodox faith.
It is against this personal background that I discovered this book. It did something simple for my understanding. The journey of Rev Bernstein resonated with me and in some sense validated my own journey. His is a fascinating journey from being an Orthodox Jew, to his frutiful years among the Evangelicals and Protestants, his evaluation of Roman Catholicism, and finally to finding his spiritual home among the Orthodox.
This book is written with utmost clarity about the phases of Rev. Bernstein's journey, his spiritual longings and crises, his dogged research into the origins of the Christian faith and unraveling of the holy Orthodox faith and its components, and his ability to sift through the madness and mayhem of competing Christian doctrines and dogmas and return to the Apostolic Source and Tradition.
This book showed me the close relationship between Jewish Orthodoxy and Christian Orthodoxy in their perception of God as Love. Chapter 12 expands on this theme. The liturgical, sacramental and hierarchical nature of Christian worship with all its depth and beauty is reiterated. Further, one realises that one can escape the Koranesque burden of Sola Scriptura by understanding Prima Scriptura.
Chapter 13 delves into what happened to the Jewish Apostolic Christian Church that emerged in the wake of the Holy Spirit being poured out at Shau'vot and the Gentilization of the church which led to abysmal times during the first two centuries for Jewish believers. The Nazarenes, as they were called, were hated by the Romans, the Jews who did not believe in the Messiah, and excluded by the increasingly Gentilized church for seeking to continue with their Jewish religious-cultural practices along with their faith in the Messiah. He traces the roots of anti-Semitism in the Gentilized church to writers like St Augustine, Bishop of Hippo (354-430).
"The imprint of the ancient Nazarene Jewish Christians is to be found within the predominantly Arabic Orthodox Church of the region. First, Aramaic, the language of Christ, the Apostles, and the early Jewish Christians, is still spoken among Christians in and around Maalula and has been used in the worship services of the Syrian Orthodox Christian Church. Western Aramaic is used nowhere else in the world." These Jewish Christians were assimilated under the Orthodox Christian Patriarch of Antioch who has resided in Damascus since the 14th Century. Its soul lives in the Orthodox Churches.
Chapters 14, 15, and 16 are must reading for those who want to climb out of the muddle and morass of a plethora of Western theologies when it comes to the the important soteriological questions of "How Fallen are We?", "What Salvation is Not" and "What is Salvation?" Rev. Bernstein delineates the key differences between the Orthodox, the Roman Catholics and the Protestants-Evangelicals. He is able to explain succinctly why the Western theories of salvation - the "ransom' or 'bargain' theory (a debt is owed to the Devil) and Anselm's 'debt' or 'satisfaction' theory (a debt is owed to God who is presented as 'a prisoner of His own justice'). This was the beginning of a legal view of sin which had to lead to the legal view of salvation, the central ideology of most Western churches. Then there came the Protestant notion of the penal/substitutionary theory of atonement which emphasizes that Christ received the punishment we deserve for sin.
At the popular level, all these three theories are mixed and muddled up and used in most churches, one deadly stream of which has to do with the idea of "sinners in the hands of an angry God" pushed by the Puritans and their descendants, the fundamentalist Evangelicals. The fourth theory is the 'Moral Exemplar Theory of Atonement", an example of the liberals recoiling from the painful Catholic and Protestant theories of salvation and looking for something more humane.
The question hidden in all these vagaries of doctrines of soteriology has to do with propitiation or expiation. Propitiation has to do with appeasing God and expiation with the change that takes place in the propitiator. The Orthodox emphasis is on Christ's sacrifice being expiatory in nature. It is on Christ dying FOR US to heal and transform us. That is, He has actually brought about a change in man's state of being. The Orthodox understanding of salvation then is 'incarnational' and "has as its basis not the law or the courtroom but God's unconditional love and grace". Finally, the Incarnation took place so that theosis or deification (becoming by grace what God is in nature) could take place in the followers of Christ. God became man so that man could become God (Athanasius). However, because the process of becoming is everlasting, the redeemed are forever becoming more like God by grace, without ever becoming God.
I heartily recommend this book for all those who have felt that their life of genuine devotion to Christ has been muddled up by certain theological notions that have not been entirely satisfactory or beneficial. I also recommend it for seekers of God belonging to every stream of humanity and pray that this book will reveal the wonderful purpose of Christ being incarnated to them.
September 9, 2025
Christian conversion stories are often illuminating and fun to read, for me. We might think of famous examples like Fr Thomas Merton or Cardinal Newman.
However, a conversion story from Orthodox Judaism to Christ is particularly interesting, from my perspective, as we see with fresh eyes how the old testament is fulfilled in the new.
It's fascinating to see how differently Fr James read the grand story from fellow Jews growing up, in terms of emphasis- Israel as stubborn and intransigent vs Israel as faithful.
The rejection of Jesus by most Jews fits perfectly with Fr James' Yin view and the recorded history of people who formed a golden calf and worshipped Baal. Yet the constant faithfulness of the martyrs and saints of The Church maintains the Yang continuity of the faithful remnant from throughout aeons past. His writing has a real flair and he brings the ancient prophecies and promises to life in rich prose.
Fr James Bernstein's book is really marvellous and has rekindled my love for what Met Kallistos Ware has called The Orthodox Way.
This is even more the case now at a time of mob madness when people see their primary identities in 'race' or sexual desires and bow at the altar of the state and world opinion.
"If I'd-a paid attention to what others were thinkin'
The heart inside me would've died
But I was just too stubborn to ever be governed by enforced insanity
Someone had to reach for the risin' star
I guess it was up to me" - Bob Dylan
No to that and yes to Christ! It's incredibly freeing to be able to say that.
There are so many gems from this book, but I've particularly taken away a much better appreciation of the continuity of our Messianic faith from our Jewish roots, and the deep meaning behind practices we find hard to understand or troublesome, such as sacrifice and closed communion.
Read this, especially if you enjoyed Andrew Klavan's autobiography or others like those mentioned above.
However, a conversion story from Orthodox Judaism to Christ is particularly interesting, from my perspective, as we see with fresh eyes how the old testament is fulfilled in the new.
It's fascinating to see how differently Fr James read the grand story from fellow Jews growing up, in terms of emphasis- Israel as stubborn and intransigent vs Israel as faithful.
The rejection of Jesus by most Jews fits perfectly with Fr James' Yin view and the recorded history of people who formed a golden calf and worshipped Baal. Yet the constant faithfulness of the martyrs and saints of The Church maintains the Yang continuity of the faithful remnant from throughout aeons past. His writing has a real flair and he brings the ancient prophecies and promises to life in rich prose.
Fr James Bernstein's book is really marvellous and has rekindled my love for what Met Kallistos Ware has called The Orthodox Way.
This is even more the case now at a time of mob madness when people see their primary identities in 'race' or sexual desires and bow at the altar of the state and world opinion.
"If I'd-a paid attention to what others were thinkin'
The heart inside me would've died
But I was just too stubborn to ever be governed by enforced insanity
Someone had to reach for the risin' star
I guess it was up to me" - Bob Dylan
No to that and yes to Christ! It's incredibly freeing to be able to say that.
There are so many gems from this book, but I've particularly taken away a much better appreciation of the continuity of our Messianic faith from our Jewish roots, and the deep meaning behind practices we find hard to understand or troublesome, such as sacrifice and closed communion.
Read this, especially if you enjoyed Andrew Klavan's autobiography or others like those mentioned above.
August 10, 2019
There are many excellent passages which succinctly and clearly express the fundamental differences between Orthodoxy and western Christianity. Perhaps the most important difference is on the Orthodox understanding of sin, justice, and vengeance.
"Additionally, it did not make sense to me for God to tell us to love our enemies, while He Himself planned everlasting vengeance on His enemies. It seemed much more reasonable that the very changelessness and inescapability of God's love causes pain to those who oppose that love. The fact that He does not annihilate them has also traditionally been considered an act of love because, being created in God's image and likeness, man reflects that Divinity and as such is intrinsically sacred. [...] 'Far be it that vengeance could ever be found in that Fountain of love and Ocean brimming with goodness! The aim of His design is the correction of men.' [The Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian, Homily #48]" (321 - 322)
"This is why the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is of paramount importance in Orthodoxy: sin, Satan, and death, not God’s justice or wrath, are the obstacles Christ overcomes for our salvation." (267)
"Thus, Saint Paul is not saying [Romans 5:12] that we are all guilty of personal sin merely because we are federally included in Adam, but that, like Adam, we have all committed personal sinful acts and have thus experienced death. We are subject to death and corruption because of Adam‘s sin, but we are guilty only of our own personal sinful acts. Unfortunately, Western Christianity has often accepted variations of the following mistranslated version: ‘Therefore, just as a through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, in whom all have sinned.’ This translation misleads readers into believing that the guilt of original sin is inherited." (222)
"The dogma of the Immaculate Conception became still another barrier dividing Orthodoxy from Roman Catholicism. Orthodoxy theology has no problem with Mary’s conception to begin with: we believe her conception was as pure as it could be and did not need the application of any special merits." (227)
Fr. Bernstein also does a good job of explaining the difference between Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox visions of Church history.
"The evangelical Gentile Christians ...would not identify themselves with any specific historic church, yet considered themselves to be somehow in the Church. It was not important to them to have historical continuity with the ancient church. In contrast, I now believed that the Church is every bit as physical and historical as the Jewish people." (182)
"The more I researched the history of doctrine, the more I realized that there is no non-Orthodox denomination that holds to the fullness of the Orthodox faith as expressed in the original, unaltered Nicene creed. All but the Orthodox have either added to the Faith or subtracted from it." (176)
"I came to realize that even if I decided to experience correct worship by attempting to re-create orthodox worship with others (a Protestant sort of thing need to do) and adhered to the correct belief and practice, if I were not a baptized, chrismated Orthodox Christian, the third criterion of obedience to the authority of the Church would still be lacking." (177)
"But as we have seen, there is no room for diversity in doctrine or morals. Nor is there a diversity in obedience." (170).
"...for the first thousand years of her history, the Church in East (Orthodox) and West (Roman Catholic) was one. [...] How did the Church become so fragmented and divided? What happened to tear apart the unity that was so apparent in those early days of the Church’s development?"(Bernstein, 172)
I was uncomfortable with the implication in this last passage that the Church is divided between Catholics and Orthodox. This is reminiscent of the "branch theory" which views the Orthodox Church as one of multiple branches in the Church. This theory has been rejected by the Moscow Patriarchate:
"…the so-called 'branch theory', which is connected with the conception referred to above and asserts the normal and even providential nature of Christianity existing in the form of particular ‘branches’, is also totally unacceptable." ("The Attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church Toward Other Christian Confessions", approved by the All-Russian Sobor of the Moscow Patriarchate in August 2000)
This theory was earlier anathematized by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR):
"Those who attack the Church of Christ by teaching that Christ's Church is divided into so-called 'branches' which differ in doctrine and way of life, or that the Church does not exist visibly, but will be formed in the future when all "branches" or sects or denominations, and even religions will be united into one body; and who do not distinguish the priesthood and mysteries of the Church from those of the heretics, but say that the baptism and eucharist of heretics is effectual for salvation; therefore, to those who knowingly have communion with these aforementioned heretics or who advocate, disseminate, or defend their new heresy of Ecumenism under the pretext of brotherly love or the supposed unification of separated Christians, Anathema!" (Anathema Against Ecumenism, 1983)
I was also somewhat put off by Fr. Bernstein's evaluation of the "Nazarenes", of whom he writes: "In excluding the Nazarenes from the Church it seemed to me that Epiphanius, like subsequent church fathers, exercised a double standard. They declared the Nazarenes heretical because they sought to keep the [Jewish] Law, while at the same time they accepted the Jewish Christian founders of the Church as fully Christian." (204)
Fr. Bernstein omits to mention that the Fathers before Epiphanius also took a dim view of Christians keeping Jewish Law. For instance, St. Ignatius wrote in the Epistle to the Magnesians:
"[Chapter VIII] Be not deceived with strange doctrines, nor with old fables, which are unprofitable. For if we still live according to the Jewish law, we acknowledge that we have not received grace. [Chapter X] It is absurd to speak of Jesus Christ with the tongue, and to cherish in the mind a Judaism which has now come to an end. For where there is Christianity there cannot be Judaism." (Chapter VIII.—Caution against false doctrines & Chapter X.—Beware of Judaizing)
Fr. Bernstein also has some unusual ideas about the nature of hellfire: "Many Protestants continued to believe, as did Roman Catholics, that hellfire is literal, created, physical fire. In contrast to both Roman Catholics and Protestants, the Orthodox teach that hellfire is the presence of God. This fire is not physical but spiritual, because it is uncreated." (309)
The Orthodox Response to the Latin Doctrine of Purgatory strongly implies that the Orthodox Fathers view hellfire as physical: "Thus the Latins receive both the temporal and the eternal fire, and call the first the purgatorial fire. On the other hand, the Greeks teach of one eternal fire alone... All this shows us that S. Paul speaks here of the last day, and of the eternal fire prepared for sinners. 'This fire,' says he, 'shall try every man's work of what sort it is,' enlightening some works, and burning others with the workers. But when the evil deed will be destroyed by fire, the evil doers will not be destroyed also, but will continue their existence in the fire, and suffer eternally." (From The History of the Council of Florence, by Ivan Ostroumoff, trans. from the Russian by Basil Popoff)
Fr. Bernstein is also fond of denying that Heaven and Hell are physical. More than once he uses phrases such as this: "'going to heaven' is not a change of location" (324) and "Nor are heaven and hell defined by location (heaven is up and hell is down) or physical distance from God." (313) These statements are difficult to reconcile with Scriptures such as Eph 4:9-10 "Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things." The Orthodox liturgy also affirms the physicality of Hades, which sings: "Unto Hades, O my Savior, didst Thou descend, and having broken its gates as One omnipotent, Thou, as Creator, didst raise up the dead together with Thyself." (Kontakion of the Resurrection. Fifth Tone.).
There is nothing wrong with affirming that heaven and hell are also present with us on earth, but I cannot agree with denying their physical presence in separate spaces elsewhere.
"Additionally, it did not make sense to me for God to tell us to love our enemies, while He Himself planned everlasting vengeance on His enemies. It seemed much more reasonable that the very changelessness and inescapability of God's love causes pain to those who oppose that love. The fact that He does not annihilate them has also traditionally been considered an act of love because, being created in God's image and likeness, man reflects that Divinity and as such is intrinsically sacred. [...] 'Far be it that vengeance could ever be found in that Fountain of love and Ocean brimming with goodness! The aim of His design is the correction of men.' [The Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian, Homily #48]" (321 - 322)
"This is why the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is of paramount importance in Orthodoxy: sin, Satan, and death, not God’s justice or wrath, are the obstacles Christ overcomes for our salvation." (267)
"Thus, Saint Paul is not saying [Romans 5:12] that we are all guilty of personal sin merely because we are federally included in Adam, but that, like Adam, we have all committed personal sinful acts and have thus experienced death. We are subject to death and corruption because of Adam‘s sin, but we are guilty only of our own personal sinful acts. Unfortunately, Western Christianity has often accepted variations of the following mistranslated version: ‘Therefore, just as a through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, in whom all have sinned.’ This translation misleads readers into believing that the guilt of original sin is inherited." (222)
"The dogma of the Immaculate Conception became still another barrier dividing Orthodoxy from Roman Catholicism. Orthodoxy theology has no problem with Mary’s conception to begin with: we believe her conception was as pure as it could be and did not need the application of any special merits." (227)
Fr. Bernstein also does a good job of explaining the difference between Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox visions of Church history.
"The evangelical Gentile Christians ...would not identify themselves with any specific historic church, yet considered themselves to be somehow in the Church. It was not important to them to have historical continuity with the ancient church. In contrast, I now believed that the Church is every bit as physical and historical as the Jewish people." (182)
"The more I researched the history of doctrine, the more I realized that there is no non-Orthodox denomination that holds to the fullness of the Orthodox faith as expressed in the original, unaltered Nicene creed. All but the Orthodox have either added to the Faith or subtracted from it." (176)
"I came to realize that even if I decided to experience correct worship by attempting to re-create orthodox worship with others (a Protestant sort of thing need to do) and adhered to the correct belief and practice, if I were not a baptized, chrismated Orthodox Christian, the third criterion of obedience to the authority of the Church would still be lacking." (177)
"But as we have seen, there is no room for diversity in doctrine or morals. Nor is there a diversity in obedience." (170).
"...for the first thousand years of her history, the Church in East (Orthodox) and West (Roman Catholic) was one. [...] How did the Church become so fragmented and divided? What happened to tear apart the unity that was so apparent in those early days of the Church’s development?"(Bernstein, 172)
I was uncomfortable with the implication in this last passage that the Church is divided between Catholics and Orthodox. This is reminiscent of the "branch theory" which views the Orthodox Church as one of multiple branches in the Church. This theory has been rejected by the Moscow Patriarchate:
"…the so-called 'branch theory', which is connected with the conception referred to above and asserts the normal and even providential nature of Christianity existing in the form of particular ‘branches’, is also totally unacceptable." ("The Attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church Toward Other Christian Confessions", approved by the All-Russian Sobor of the Moscow Patriarchate in August 2000)
This theory was earlier anathematized by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR):
"Those who attack the Church of Christ by teaching that Christ's Church is divided into so-called 'branches' which differ in doctrine and way of life, or that the Church does not exist visibly, but will be formed in the future when all "branches" or sects or denominations, and even religions will be united into one body; and who do not distinguish the priesthood and mysteries of the Church from those of the heretics, but say that the baptism and eucharist of heretics is effectual for salvation; therefore, to those who knowingly have communion with these aforementioned heretics or who advocate, disseminate, or defend their new heresy of Ecumenism under the pretext of brotherly love or the supposed unification of separated Christians, Anathema!" (Anathema Against Ecumenism, 1983)
I was also somewhat put off by Fr. Bernstein's evaluation of the "Nazarenes", of whom he writes: "In excluding the Nazarenes from the Church it seemed to me that Epiphanius, like subsequent church fathers, exercised a double standard. They declared the Nazarenes heretical because they sought to keep the [Jewish] Law, while at the same time they accepted the Jewish Christian founders of the Church as fully Christian." (204)
Fr. Bernstein omits to mention that the Fathers before Epiphanius also took a dim view of Christians keeping Jewish Law. For instance, St. Ignatius wrote in the Epistle to the Magnesians:
"[Chapter VIII] Be not deceived with strange doctrines, nor with old fables, which are unprofitable. For if we still live according to the Jewish law, we acknowledge that we have not received grace. [Chapter X] It is absurd to speak of Jesus Christ with the tongue, and to cherish in the mind a Judaism which has now come to an end. For where there is Christianity there cannot be Judaism." (Chapter VIII.—Caution against false doctrines & Chapter X.—Beware of Judaizing)
Fr. Bernstein also has some unusual ideas about the nature of hellfire: "Many Protestants continued to believe, as did Roman Catholics, that hellfire is literal, created, physical fire. In contrast to both Roman Catholics and Protestants, the Orthodox teach that hellfire is the presence of God. This fire is not physical but spiritual, because it is uncreated." (309)
The Orthodox Response to the Latin Doctrine of Purgatory strongly implies that the Orthodox Fathers view hellfire as physical: "Thus the Latins receive both the temporal and the eternal fire, and call the first the purgatorial fire. On the other hand, the Greeks teach of one eternal fire alone... All this shows us that S. Paul speaks here of the last day, and of the eternal fire prepared for sinners. 'This fire,' says he, 'shall try every man's work of what sort it is,' enlightening some works, and burning others with the workers. But when the evil deed will be destroyed by fire, the evil doers will not be destroyed also, but will continue their existence in the fire, and suffer eternally." (From The History of the Council of Florence, by Ivan Ostroumoff, trans. from the Russian by Basil Popoff)
Fr. Bernstein is also fond of denying that Heaven and Hell are physical. More than once he uses phrases such as this: "'going to heaven' is not a change of location" (324) and "Nor are heaven and hell defined by location (heaven is up and hell is down) or physical distance from God." (313) These statements are difficult to reconcile with Scriptures such as Eph 4:9-10 "Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things." The Orthodox liturgy also affirms the physicality of Hades, which sings: "Unto Hades, O my Savior, didst Thou descend, and having broken its gates as One omnipotent, Thou, as Creator, didst raise up the dead together with Thyself." (Kontakion of the Resurrection. Fifth Tone.).
There is nothing wrong with affirming that heaven and hell are also present with us on earth, but I cannot agree with denying their physical presence in separate spaces elsewhere.
September 21, 2023
Well just like Father Bernstein, I was surprised throughout this entire book. The section I loved the best was about Adam and Eve. The Orthodox understanding of Adam and Eve is completely DIFFERENT from the Western/Protestant view. Definitely recommend this book for those who want to learn more about the perspective of Orthodox Christianity.
October 24, 2017
As an evangelical Christian who loves Israel and the Jewish people, I very much enjoyed reading Bernstein's testimony. Berstein was an Orthodox Jew who found Christ in the "Jesus movement" of the 70s, which led to his co-founding of Jews for Jesus. His spiritual journey led him to eventually convert to the Eastern Orthodox church. The book left me with many questions as I continue to read the writings of the early church to learn if their beliefs and practices more clearly resemble those of Eastern Orthodoxy or Protestantism.
I also emailed the author personally, and he quickly responded that he would be willing to talk with me on the phone and answer my questions.
I also emailed the author personally, and he quickly responded that he would be willing to talk with me on the phone and answer my questions.
February 21, 2012
An excellent book by a quiet but very good mind. The first half is the story of his journey. The second half contained one of the best articulations of the fundamental differences between the eastern and western churches for non theologians. His Jewish heritage gives some valuable insights.
I would highly recommend this book to any Christian looking for something deeper.
I would highly recommend this book to any Christian looking for something deeper.
September 12, 2010
A wonderful and well written story of Fr. James Bernstein's life story from his journey to Protestant Christianity and then to Orthodox Christianity. Heart warming and inspiring.
November 13, 2008
"Jews for Jesus had a very utilitarian approach to evangelism, whereas our directors tended to view artistic excellence as having a value beyond its use in bringing people to Christ . . . Years later I read the book called the Philokalia, which in Greek means 'love of beauty.' . . . . all which is truly beautiful--including good art--has inherent value and power, manifesting the creative love and beauty of God" (118).
All the churches were one before the schism. Think of what that means? "If a Christian had fallen out of fellowship with the One Church in any of those areas [doctrine, morality, obedience], he could not simply walk out in a huff, expecting to receive Communion at the next Christian church down the street" (172).
"This policy of closed Communion does NOT imply that those outside the Orthodox Church are considered not to be Christians, or not to be saved. The Church explicitly refuses to pass judgment concerning the salvation of any individual, within or outside her walls" (177).
". . . with the destruction of the Temple and the sacrificial system in the first century, devout Jews were thrown into great confusion. Many of the Jewish people were sympathetic to the misguided Pharisees, who decided sacrifice was not necessary. They held that prayers and good deeds could replace sacrifice. So they emphasized local synagogue worship (focusing on scripture reading and homilies) rather than the form of worship that took place in the ancient Jewish Temple in Jerusalem . . . " (189).
"The English word 'mystery' comes from the Greek term mysterion, which means anything hidden or secret . . . . a temporary secret, which is being revealed by God to men through His Spirit. The concept of mystery is close to the Greek word apokalypsis, which is translated into English as 'revelation'" (189).
"As a new Christian, I missed the intensity of Jewsih asceticism (praying and fasting), and also the intensity of Jewish mirth. I missed the happy music, the folk dancing, the magnificent combination of feasting and asceticism that is uniquely Jewish . . . . the ascetic (the emptying) and the festal (the filling)--encourage and enhance one another" (191).
"Man's withdrawal from God unto his own death, like the freedom of human will, is outside God's jurisdiction by His own will. The fact that God desires the salvation of all does not mean that all are saved. God saves only through love and freedom" (219, Fr. John Romanides).
"I discovered that in non-Orthodox Christianity, both the height from which we fell and the depth to which we have fallen are held to be much greater than in Orthodoxy. The Orthodox Christian approach meshed well with the Orthodox Jewish understanding with with I was raised. Both have a much more favorable view of man than is presented in non-Orthodox Christianity, especially in the Calvinist view that man fell from a state of perfection to a state of moral depravity, retaining no ability within himself to return to God" (219-220).
"Never confuse the person, formed in the image of God, with the evil that is in him; because evil is but a chance misfortune, an illness, a devilish reverie. But the very essence of the person is the image of God, and this remains in him despite every disfigurement" (220, St. John of Kronstadt).
"According to St. Irenaeus, man's original state was one of spiritual childhood, innocence, and simplicity joined to moral purity. Man was to gain the divine likeness through a slow process. He does not view man's fall as a full-blown rebellion, but rather as an impulsive desire to grow before his time" (220-221).
"Orthodox Judaism and Orthodox Christianity both have a more positive view of children than does non-Orthodox Christianity. . . . Puritans viewed childhood as undesirable, a necessary evil. the sooner the child grew up the better. . . . This is in sharp contrast to Orthodoxy, in which children are adored. Orthodox theology teaches that Christ himself sanctified childhood as he passed through every state of development, from embryo, to fetus, to infancy, to childhood, and then young adulthood" (225).
"Expiation is directed toward us, or more specifically, toward something in us that prevents the offering of perfect worship. It changes man's actual condition or state, the same way that bleach changes a stain, as opposed to changing something outside of us, such as God's will. In contrast, propitiation seeks to change God's offended will and achieve a forgiveness that He cannot grant without that appeasement. Thus while propitiation seeks to assuage divine wrath (assuming it exists), it does not claim to strengthen our condition" (253).
"[God] is good, and He only bestows blessings and never does harm, remaining always the same. We men, on the other hand, if we remain good through resembling God, are united to Him; but if we become evil through not resembling God, we are separated from Him" (excerpt from great quote by St. Anthony 253-254).
"[Forgiveness and atonement] are principally therapeutic, organic, synergistic, transformational, and ultimately ontological in nature. In fact, the Greek word translated as 'salvation' is soterias, whose root meaning is 'health.' So being saved means more than being saved from something such as death or hell; it also means being healed or made whole" (255).
"Sin is the failure to realize life as love and communion--the failure to be whole, healthy, complete. It is the rejection of personal communion with God. . . . God hates sin, not because of what it does to Him, but because of what it does to us" (259).
"For us, to be forgiven means to be embraced by God's love and brought into ever deeper union (without confusion) and communion with Him. It is to be purified, purged, illumined, and ultimately transfigured organically, within the very essence of our being" (259).
"That is why many expressions of Christianity had seemed shallow and simplistic to me: sanctification, virtue, holiness, life in Christ, transfiguration, union and communion with God were held to be added on to redemption and salvation [which were legal realities-propitiation], not integral to their very essence [expiation]" (264).
"Orthodoxy emphasizes that we tend to sin because we die. We die because we are born into a fallen state in which we have inherited mortality, death, and corruption (but not guilt). Although death is not from God, it is the inevitable result of turning from God [who is Life]. Sinful acts are the rotten fruit or stench given off by death" (266, cf Hebrews 2:14-18).
"The fear of death leads to sin. For the Orthodox, because being born fallen is essentially about mortality, salvation is essentially about Christ vanquishing sin, death, and the devil, enabling us to share in His life. He destroys the power of the fear of death in our lives, as well as the fear of suffering, pain, sorrow, and abandonment" (266-267). How would I live if I weren't afraid of these things? I need God to destroy the power of fear in my life.
"Why would God want to become man? . . . 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 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" (278).
"As an Orthodox Christian, I cam to understand that the focus of the Incarnation was not to enable God to forgive; the emphasis was on the healing, purification, and ultimate transfiguration of mankind. The goal of the Incarnation was to energize our fallen human nature and to make it godlike--a process variously referred to as deification, divinization, or theosis. The Orthodox teach that God in His wisdom chose to accomplish this by assuming our human nature and transforming it from within--not from without" (278).
"The purpose of the Incarnation was to enable us to experience a metamorphosis that could happen only by our being actually united [hypostatically united] to the humanity of the Incarnate [and glorified] God" (282).
"The Orthodox understand that when we receive the sacrament of eucharistic Communion, the glorified humanity of Christ interpenetrated by His divine nature is consumed and assimilated into our being" (283).
"The early Christians used the imagery of a iron in fire to explain deification: When an iron sword is thrust into a fire, it takes on the fire's characteristics of heat and light, but does not become fire" (283).
" . . . during Holy Communion . . . we receive the glorified humanity of Christ, interpenetrated by the divine energies, the grace and fire of God's Holy Spirit, into our very being, heart and soul" (284).
"I am beginning to know [yodayah] God. We Orthodox believe that knowing God and salvation are both a never-ending process" (286).
"It was not His humanity that suffered and died in place of His Personhood; it was His Personhood that suffered and died in His humanity. (Of course, when we speak of God 'dying,' we are not saying that He ceased to exist; rather, a three-day separation took place between the pre-existent Person of Christ and His flesh)" (295, cf Fr. John Meyendorff quote same page).
"The kiss of peace assumes that individuals are working on their differences during the days between services . . . as a daily personal effort to incorporate forgiveness and humility into our lives, Orthodox family members will often ask forgiveness of one another at the conclusion of their corporate evening prayers at home" (302-303).
All the churches were one before the schism. Think of what that means? "If a Christian had fallen out of fellowship with the One Church in any of those areas [doctrine, morality, obedience], he could not simply walk out in a huff, expecting to receive Communion at the next Christian church down the street" (172).
"This policy of closed Communion does NOT imply that those outside the Orthodox Church are considered not to be Christians, or not to be saved. The Church explicitly refuses to pass judgment concerning the salvation of any individual, within or outside her walls" (177).
". . . with the destruction of the Temple and the sacrificial system in the first century, devout Jews were thrown into great confusion. Many of the Jewish people were sympathetic to the misguided Pharisees, who decided sacrifice was not necessary. They held that prayers and good deeds could replace sacrifice. So they emphasized local synagogue worship (focusing on scripture reading and homilies) rather than the form of worship that took place in the ancient Jewish Temple in Jerusalem . . . " (189).
"The English word 'mystery' comes from the Greek term mysterion, which means anything hidden or secret . . . . a temporary secret, which is being revealed by God to men through His Spirit. The concept of mystery is close to the Greek word apokalypsis, which is translated into English as 'revelation'" (189).
"As a new Christian, I missed the intensity of Jewsih asceticism (praying and fasting), and also the intensity of Jewish mirth. I missed the happy music, the folk dancing, the magnificent combination of feasting and asceticism that is uniquely Jewish . . . . the ascetic (the emptying) and the festal (the filling)--encourage and enhance one another" (191).
"Man's withdrawal from God unto his own death, like the freedom of human will, is outside God's jurisdiction by His own will. The fact that God desires the salvation of all does not mean that all are saved. God saves only through love and freedom" (219, Fr. John Romanides).
"I discovered that in non-Orthodox Christianity, both the height from which we fell and the depth to which we have fallen are held to be much greater than in Orthodoxy. The Orthodox Christian approach meshed well with the Orthodox Jewish understanding with with I was raised. Both have a much more favorable view of man than is presented in non-Orthodox Christianity, especially in the Calvinist view that man fell from a state of perfection to a state of moral depravity, retaining no ability within himself to return to God" (219-220).
"Never confuse the person, formed in the image of God, with the evil that is in him; because evil is but a chance misfortune, an illness, a devilish reverie. But the very essence of the person is the image of God, and this remains in him despite every disfigurement" (220, St. John of Kronstadt).
"According to St. Irenaeus, man's original state was one of spiritual childhood, innocence, and simplicity joined to moral purity. Man was to gain the divine likeness through a slow process. He does not view man's fall as a full-blown rebellion, but rather as an impulsive desire to grow before his time" (220-221).
"Orthodox Judaism and Orthodox Christianity both have a more positive view of children than does non-Orthodox Christianity. . . . Puritans viewed childhood as undesirable, a necessary evil. the sooner the child grew up the better. . . . This is in sharp contrast to Orthodoxy, in which children are adored. Orthodox theology teaches that Christ himself sanctified childhood as he passed through every state of development, from embryo, to fetus, to infancy, to childhood, and then young adulthood" (225).
"Expiation is directed toward us, or more specifically, toward something in us that prevents the offering of perfect worship. It changes man's actual condition or state, the same way that bleach changes a stain, as opposed to changing something outside of us, such as God's will. In contrast, propitiation seeks to change God's offended will and achieve a forgiveness that He cannot grant without that appeasement. Thus while propitiation seeks to assuage divine wrath (assuming it exists), it does not claim to strengthen our condition" (253).
"[God] is good, and He only bestows blessings and never does harm, remaining always the same. We men, on the other hand, if we remain good through resembling God, are united to Him; but if we become evil through not resembling God, we are separated from Him" (excerpt from great quote by St. Anthony 253-254).
"[Forgiveness and atonement] are principally therapeutic, organic, synergistic, transformational, and ultimately ontological in nature. In fact, the Greek word translated as 'salvation' is soterias, whose root meaning is 'health.' So being saved means more than being saved from something such as death or hell; it also means being healed or made whole" (255).
"Sin is the failure to realize life as love and communion--the failure to be whole, healthy, complete. It is the rejection of personal communion with God. . . . God hates sin, not because of what it does to Him, but because of what it does to us" (259).
"For us, to be forgiven means to be embraced by God's love and brought into ever deeper union (without confusion) and communion with Him. It is to be purified, purged, illumined, and ultimately transfigured organically, within the very essence of our being" (259).
"That is why many expressions of Christianity had seemed shallow and simplistic to me: sanctification, virtue, holiness, life in Christ, transfiguration, union and communion with God were held to be added on to redemption and salvation [which were legal realities-propitiation], not integral to their very essence [expiation]" (264).
"Orthodoxy emphasizes that we tend to sin because we die. We die because we are born into a fallen state in which we have inherited mortality, death, and corruption (but not guilt). Although death is not from God, it is the inevitable result of turning from God [who is Life]. Sinful acts are the rotten fruit or stench given off by death" (266, cf Hebrews 2:14-18).
"The fear of death leads to sin. For the Orthodox, because being born fallen is essentially about mortality, salvation is essentially about Christ vanquishing sin, death, and the devil, enabling us to share in His life. He destroys the power of the fear of death in our lives, as well as the fear of suffering, pain, sorrow, and abandonment" (266-267). How would I live if I weren't afraid of these things? I need God to destroy the power of fear in my life.
"Why would God want to become man? . . . 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 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" (278).
"As an Orthodox Christian, I cam to understand that the focus of the Incarnation was not to enable God to forgive; the emphasis was on the healing, purification, and ultimate transfiguration of mankind. The goal of the Incarnation was to energize our fallen human nature and to make it godlike--a process variously referred to as deification, divinization, or theosis. The Orthodox teach that God in His wisdom chose to accomplish this by assuming our human nature and transforming it from within--not from without" (278).
"The purpose of the Incarnation was to enable us to experience a metamorphosis that could happen only by our being actually united [hypostatically united] to the humanity of the Incarnate [and glorified] God" (282).
"The Orthodox understand that when we receive the sacrament of eucharistic Communion, the glorified humanity of Christ interpenetrated by His divine nature is consumed and assimilated into our being" (283).
"The early Christians used the imagery of a iron in fire to explain deification: When an iron sword is thrust into a fire, it takes on the fire's characteristics of heat and light, but does not become fire" (283).
" . . . during Holy Communion . . . we receive the glorified humanity of Christ, interpenetrated by the divine energies, the grace and fire of God's Holy Spirit, into our very being, heart and soul" (284).
"I am beginning to know [yodayah] God. We Orthodox believe that knowing God and salvation are both a never-ending process" (286).
"It was not His humanity that suffered and died in place of His Personhood; it was His Personhood that suffered and died in His humanity. (Of course, when we speak of God 'dying,' we are not saying that He ceased to exist; rather, a three-day separation took place between the pre-existent Person of Christ and His flesh)" (295, cf Fr. John Meyendorff quote same page).
"The kiss of peace assumes that individuals are working on their differences during the days between services . . . as a daily personal effort to incorporate forgiveness and humility into our lives, Orthodox family members will often ask forgiveness of one another at the conclusion of their corporate evening prayers at home" (302-303).
January 4, 2025
This is the autobiography and conversion story of an influential Eastern Orthodox priest who just passed away as I was reading. Its a moving experience to read the story of someone venerable just as they are crossing their zenith and moving on. Fr. James' story is a wandering tale that crosses through the world of traditional Judiasm, secular Jewish culture, secular hippie culture, the house church and Jesus Movement of the 70's, Campus Crusade and their ministry to young people, more buttoned down mainstream Christian denominations, Pentecostal Christianity, The Jews for Jesus Zionism Christian movement, Fundamentalist Evangelicalism....and then finally a step into the world of Eastern Orthodoxy. I had heard lots of about several of the other people who were compatriots of Fr. James and converted as part of his friend group, but his own story is unique enough and yet also relevant to so many of the current concerns of American Christians that is very useful in its own right. I was kind of hoping this story would speak more specifically to traditional Jewish practice and the connections from that world into the Christian Orthodox community and though Fr. James is ethnically Jewish and did have some faith background, most of his experience is actually rooted in various parts of American Christianity with some experience with the Messianic Zionist Community thrown in for good measure. I think this story might be more compelling to American Evangelicals who have major Zionist affections than any traditional Jews approaching the faith.
The book follows a pretty standard Orthodox formula for format, the first section is his personal story and his life, then the second section is theological discussion related to his life and experiences. Lots of useful stuff here for understanding the recent history of our country theologically and our curious American relationship to the idea of an ethnic and political Israel. I did love hearing Fr. James' wrestlings as a young man with the idea of Christ's teachings about forgiveness, kindness, no retaliation, etc. and how antithetical and almost irritating but also fresh those ideas were to him, based on his upbringing. I also loved the thought of the Christian Scriptures as tantalizing and off-limits contraband. I wonder how much of the Muslim world would feel similarly. That experience with the Bible is so different from mine that it is pretty jolting and also kind of enlivening.
Technically, I thought the writing was decent and readable. Nothing earth shaking, Fr. James is coherent and interesting but not particularly memorable or insightful as a writer.
The book follows a pretty standard Orthodox formula for format, the first section is his personal story and his life, then the second section is theological discussion related to his life and experiences. Lots of useful stuff here for understanding the recent history of our country theologically and our curious American relationship to the idea of an ethnic and political Israel. I did love hearing Fr. James' wrestlings as a young man with the idea of Christ's teachings about forgiveness, kindness, no retaliation, etc. and how antithetical and almost irritating but also fresh those ideas were to him, based on his upbringing. I also loved the thought of the Christian Scriptures as tantalizing and off-limits contraband. I wonder how much of the Muslim world would feel similarly. That experience with the Bible is so different from mine that it is pretty jolting and also kind of enlivening.
Technically, I thought the writing was decent and readable. Nothing earth shaking, Fr. James is coherent and interesting but not particularly memorable or insightful as a writer.
October 10, 2022
This was recommended to me for my spiritual growth by my priest, and obviously he knew what he was talking about, ha! I learned SO MUCH from this book concerning the connection between Orthodoxy and Judaism, and I feel like a lot of things have finally clarified in my brain about the faith.
This is both an autobiography and an "intro to theology" book by Fr. James Bernstein, a Jewish man who converted to Christianity in the midst of the "Jesus Movement" and whose journey took him from evangelical street preacher to Orthodox priest. It includes a ton of Jewish history and religious perspective that sheds new light on what ancient Christianity must've looked like (and why Eastern Orthodoxy is the most direct descendent of the original Jewish-Christian church), as well as a thorough explanation of all the basics of Orthodox belief and how it compares to both Judaism and Western Christianity.
What a story! It's amazing the journey this man has taken, including finding himself in Israel during the Six Days' War! His is a very genuine story of a man trying to find God, and discovering Him in the most unexpected way (as well as re-discovering his own Jewish roots!). His life is truly remarkable, and I'm humbled by the fervor of his religious feeling and yet being open to change his perspective as he continued to research and learn new things about his faith and history. He was not afraid to follow where the evidence led and refused to just go along with what would be easiest or most accepted by those around him.
I love how he explains the basics of Orthodox belief about God, salvation, sin, and eternal destiny in comparison with Western Christian perspectives. He explains the differences directly and in a way that's easy to understand. I found much help from him in dismantling my own misconceptions and aligning my thinking to a deeper and more accurate understanding of who God is and how He relates to us. I also LOVED the Jewish connection and insight. It gave me so much confidence and just taught me a ton that I didn't know at all concerning Judaism and how they interpret Scripture.
All in all, I strongly recommend this book to any Christian interested in finding the ancient faith or the intersection of Christianity and Judaism as taught by a true expert in both. It's not a hard read and the weaving of theology and story makes it engaging and personal. I feel as though this book has helped me grow in my spirituality, and I'm so glad my priest recommended it to me.
This is both an autobiography and an "intro to theology" book by Fr. James Bernstein, a Jewish man who converted to Christianity in the midst of the "Jesus Movement" and whose journey took him from evangelical street preacher to Orthodox priest. It includes a ton of Jewish history and religious perspective that sheds new light on what ancient Christianity must've looked like (and why Eastern Orthodoxy is the most direct descendent of the original Jewish-Christian church), as well as a thorough explanation of all the basics of Orthodox belief and how it compares to both Judaism and Western Christianity.
What a story! It's amazing the journey this man has taken, including finding himself in Israel during the Six Days' War! His is a very genuine story of a man trying to find God, and discovering Him in the most unexpected way (as well as re-discovering his own Jewish roots!). His life is truly remarkable, and I'm humbled by the fervor of his religious feeling and yet being open to change his perspective as he continued to research and learn new things about his faith and history. He was not afraid to follow where the evidence led and refused to just go along with what would be easiest or most accepted by those around him.
I love how he explains the basics of Orthodox belief about God, salvation, sin, and eternal destiny in comparison with Western Christian perspectives. He explains the differences directly and in a way that's easy to understand. I found much help from him in dismantling my own misconceptions and aligning my thinking to a deeper and more accurate understanding of who God is and how He relates to us. I also LOVED the Jewish connection and insight. It gave me so much confidence and just taught me a ton that I didn't know at all concerning Judaism and how they interpret Scripture.
All in all, I strongly recommend this book to any Christian interested in finding the ancient faith or the intersection of Christianity and Judaism as taught by a true expert in both. It's not a hard read and the weaving of theology and story makes it engaging and personal. I feel as though this book has helped me grow in my spirituality, and I'm so glad my priest recommended it to me.
March 4, 2025
This was a very interesting book. It is exactly as the title says - the journey of James Bernstein from growing up in a Jewish family to becoming an Orthodox priest.
He carefully tells his story step by step so one can follow his thinking every step of the way beginning with having a few friends who were Christian and exposed him to Christianity. As he read the New Testament, his family was quite upset and he risked losing the relationship with his family. But he was determined to find truth. He spent time in different denominations and worked with some of the "big" names in Orthodoxy who were part of a group of evangelicals who all converted en masse to Orthodoxy. But by the time that happened, he was already in an Orthodox seminary studying for the priesthood.
I loved how well he explained the Orthodox views of atonement, salvation, how important it is to see the crucifixion and resurrection as two parts of one whole and not as separate events. He explained why the Orthodox will not commune anyone who comes in the door of the church.
I wish I could get many people to read this book, but I am afraid that most people just aren't interested enough.
He carefully tells his story step by step so one can follow his thinking every step of the way beginning with having a few friends who were Christian and exposed him to Christianity. As he read the New Testament, his family was quite upset and he risked losing the relationship with his family. But he was determined to find truth. He spent time in different denominations and worked with some of the "big" names in Orthodoxy who were part of a group of evangelicals who all converted en masse to Orthodoxy. But by the time that happened, he was already in an Orthodox seminary studying for the priesthood.
I loved how well he explained the Orthodox views of atonement, salvation, how important it is to see the crucifixion and resurrection as two parts of one whole and not as separate events. He explained why the Orthodox will not commune anyone who comes in the door of the church.
I wish I could get many people to read this book, but I am afraid that most people just aren't interested enough.
September 6, 2024
Would highly recommend this to anyone interested in the Orthodox faith who has struggled with the more conceptual, cerebral books. My learning ability is unfortunately limited to the bounds of storytelling, anecdotes, and metaphorical examples. In that sense, this autobiography catered to my needs.
Fr. James oscillates from the telling of his life journey to explanations of theological topics. The theological side, however, flows smoothly in tandem with his story, as different events sparked new questions which ultimately led him to deeper wisdom and understanding of such topics.
Overall, I found this book to be surprisingly relatable, granted, I am a Gen Z girl from a Calvary background. In spite of our day and night demographics, Fr. James expressed having many of the same questions and wrestles I did throughout the faith walk. How comforting it was to see him fulfill his lifelong pursuit of peace and full truth. :)
Fr. James oscillates from the telling of his life journey to explanations of theological topics. The theological side, however, flows smoothly in tandem with his story, as different events sparked new questions which ultimately led him to deeper wisdom and understanding of such topics.
Overall, I found this book to be surprisingly relatable, granted, I am a Gen Z girl from a Calvary background. In spite of our day and night demographics, Fr. James expressed having many of the same questions and wrestles I did throughout the faith walk. How comforting it was to see him fulfill his lifelong pursuit of peace and full truth. :)
March 2, 2024
Neat either/orisms for the rationalist still lurking in the minds of we who denounce rationalism. It's decent information without inspiration, as abstract as the author's connection to the heritage advertised. Yet, all honor due to that generation of converts; being at the ground floor, we're still steeped in the muck.
abandoned
May 24, 2021This book is just too long for what it is. The first half was the super interesting, but then it got long. Even listening on nearly double speed, it was dragging :(. I did enjoy the first half though!
December 22, 2023
I enjoyed reading A. James Bernstein’s journey. I also enjoyed how at the end he went into detail about Orthodox theology comparing it regularly with what the west believes. It was helpful to see them compared in that way.
April 16, 2019
Father James mixes autobiographical details with an excellent explanation of Orthodox Christian theology, and how the Orthodox Church fulfills the Jewish beliefs of his early life. Recommended
January 31, 2021
В доступной форме отец Джемс даёт сравнительный анализ догматических вопросов.
June 25, 2024
This was an amazing book, full of meaningful information to further one's understanding and faith in God.
July 5, 2020
A pretty tale of conversion from judaism to the orthodox christian faith and a interesting rereading of the old testament with the glasses of the orthodoxy. Recommendable
May 7, 2025
There is admittedly a fascination I do have with Jewish converts to the Orthodox Christian faith. Far too long, Judaism and Christianity have progressed in such a way that obfuscates and confuses its practitioners with later foreign traditions that are not the traditional dogmatic concrete norm of the early centuries of the faith. Especially with Judaism and its transformation into Rabbinical Judaism that prevents innocent and truth-seeking Jews to find their Messiah in the person of Jesus Christ. Father James Bernstein story is both touching, coming from a family who has suffered much from the aftermath of the Second World War, his experience with Protestantism and Jews for Jesus and eventually finding his original spiritual home in the Orthodox Church, a home he found that is most reminiscent of what the Old Testament points towards to. Memory eternal!
May 29, 2014
After reading "Which Came First, the Church or the New Testament? I had to read this story. I loved his journey, his insight into Judaism, his experience with evangelicalism and his discovery of Orthodoxy.
"Uncomfortable as it was for me as an independent Protestant, I was repeatedly confronted with the fact that for the early Christians, Christianity was not a ‘do your own thing’ affair."
— Fr. James Bernstein, Surprised by Christ [p. 170]
"Uncomfortable as it was for me as an independent Protestant, I was repeatedly confronted with the fact that for the early Christians, Christianity was not a ‘do your own thing’ affair."
— Fr. James Bernstein, Surprised by Christ [p. 170]
August 17, 2011
The story of a man’s religious journey from Judaism through 1960′s Protestantism, to Orthodoxy. Very clearly written, with both an interesting personal story and some really good theological explanations. I’d really recommend this one to anyone who’s interested in Orthodoxy and how it differs from the other branches of Christianity. [June 2010]
January 16, 2021
A work of theology disguised as an autobiography. You fall in love with the author early and hang on every word. Doesn't suffer from the intellectual elitism that (in my opinion) plagues so much of orthodox writing
Want to read
July 22, 2008Can't wait to read Rev. Bernstein on tradition
January 13, 2016
Book truly makes you think about some things, you believe or thought you did.
Need to do more research in to the validity of his claims. Only true church is eastern orthodox.
Need to do more research in to the validity of his claims. Only true church is eastern orthodox.
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