Joe Johnson January 23rd, 2009

I listened to this program with a strange tension between laughter and sorrow. Mr. Cohen was a delight, and I'm definitely interested in his book. But I'm not sure how to handle this uneasiness of talking to a person who spent 52 Sundays in Christian churches and — at least in the limits of this interview — never expressed a problem with being confronted by the Gospel. (Obviously, this is my problem as a Christian with a rather exclusive view of Jesus as the only way to the Father.)

Is it because the churches didn't preach it? Is it simply because Cohen entered with a set purpose and he was able to dismiss the question of Jesus as part of the culture? I'm not sure.

As fascinated as I am by an outsider's view of the general American Christian culture, I can't get past Cohen's analysis that there are a huge number of similarities between Christianity and Judaism, "Give or take a Jesus."

Give or take a Jesus. Hmmm. What do we have if we give/lose "a Jesus"?

Alas, this is just a gut reaction. It's probably my struggle with listening respectfully while believing in the Christian Gospel as the unique and essential message of God's favor through His Son.

Good show (as usual).

Tony Heringer January 23rd, 2009

Good show guys. Living in the Atlanta area, this was of particular interest. I'm not surprised that Christian Wrestling takes place in Athens, GA There is a Bulldog joke in there somewhere!:-)

Thanks for the plug for Perimeter Church Steve
In honor of Erik, here's the website: http://www.perimeter.org

Tony Heringer January 23rd, 2009

Joe,

Think of it this way. Jesus spent a fair bit of time in synagogues and it didn't seem to matter to some of the folks there — He even preached. If He couldn't impact them, what chance do a year of Sundays with us, His followers, have? For some the Gospel is "love at first sight" but for most it is a slow, growing and finally all consuming love affair. 2 Peter 3:9 seems to be an appropriate verse here "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance."

In light of that verse, others like it and my own experience as a Christian, my take on this is as follows. He was drawn to Jesus first by marriage, now he writes a book about his experience exploring our faith. All this sounds like "the hound of Heaven" to me.

Let's face facts, he's an Orthodox Jew, he lives in Atlanta — grew up there. So, he's been exposed to Christianity his whole life and likely been taught about it at home. However, since he lives in Atlanta, he will not escape the influence of the Church — in particular ministries like Light Of Messiah (http://www.lightofmessiah.org/about_us/meet_our_staff/murray_tilles.php ). Praise God for that and pray that Ben and his family come fully into God's presence.

Kristina Skinner January 25th, 2009

I was raised in a religious Christian home and have visited my fair share of churches. Benyamin's journey through the bible belt absolutely fascinated me. I enjoyed "My Jesus Year" immensely. I love that he finds common ground, I love that he finds inspiration, I love that he is so candid and honest. (In confession he really does confess the truth)

My story is just the reverse. I'm inspired by orthodox jews. I find their dedication to their faith extraordinary. They pray faithfully three times a day. They take the commandments seriously. They understand modesty. They understand holiness. For an orthodox jew, the most mundane things are lifted to a level of spirituality. There is a prayer after going to the bathroom for goodness sake! There is a real beauty to the jewish way of life. It's full of gratefulness and goodness, charity and kindness.

Jesus lived his life as an observant orthodox jew. Each time a christian opens his bible he owes a debt of gratitude to the jews. In my opinion, we would do well to follow Benyamin's example in finding inspiration from one another. The world could use a little more mutual respect these days.