Surprised by Christ Rev. A. James Bernstein Conciliar Press

Jesus Made me Kosher, the Church took me Home

A Review by Calee M. Lee

Fr. Bernstein takes the reader on a journey that is recognizable to all converts to Orthodoxy while at the same time filled with the types of life events that make the evening news. He lived in Israel during the Six Day War. He sat a few feet away from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Queens College. That Cross and Star of David we still see on Jews for Jesus paraphernalia—he made it happen. This backdrop, linked with Fr. Bernstein’s Jewish heritage, elevates the telling beyond the ranks of a typical conversion narrative.

In describing his first visit to an Orthodox church, he weaves in similarities between ancient Christian and Jewish practices.

“Jewish worship was always physical. The Old Testament people of God worshiped with music, with color, with light and candles, with sweet aroma and incense, with art, with rhythmic chant, with feasts and fasts, with cycles of holy days, and with godly order and liturgy. I came to realize these things were neither pagan in origin nor temporal in character. They were fulfilled in Christ and retained.”

While the story of Fr. Bernstein’s conversation to Orthodox Christianity is compelling, I found this book’s true strength to be in its simple yet thorough explanation of the Orthodox Christian faith. He distills the Church’s teaching into manageable segments using copious amounts of scriptural, historical and rabbinical evidence.

“The Orthodox understanding of the Fall focuses on our condition or state, rather than on a broken law or God’s judgmental anger. It centers on Adam and Eve’s state of being, the essence of who they were and how that was changed in their disobedience. By turning away from God, the source of life, they began to die.”

As a side note, I was throughly impressed by this book’s use of language appropriate to its audience. Fr. Bernstein’s book offers an outstanding narrative that I intend to share with family members and friends who are not formally inquiring into Orthodoxy, but would like an explanation of the faith.

A little about the author of the this post - Jacob Lee is the Creative Director of the Icon New Media Network. Jacob believes new media is a great tool for sharing the Orthodox faith. You can hear Jacob\'s journey to the Orthodox faith by visiting the following link: Jacob Lee's Journey to Orthodoxy You can email me at: jacobleeatIconnewmedianetworkdotcom Read more from this author