Godspeed Institute - Rebekah Simon-Peter - 04/06/14

THE JEW NAMED JESUS - WITH AUTHOR REBEKAH SIMON-PETER  

In her new book, The Jew Named Jesus, Rebekah Simon-Peter says that "Jesus was born a Jew, raised a Jew, lived a Jew, died a Jew, and resurrected a Jew. He was no backsliding Jew, but an observant Jew. He honored and observed the Sabbath and the Jewish holidays. But most of all, he honored and observed the Torah, the Hebrew Bible, or what we call the Old Testament. How could he do anything but love his own people?”   Simon-Peter, an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church, was born and raised a Jew, first Reform then later Orthodox. She challenges Christians to rethink Jesus’ identity as a Jew, and in the process, to consider ways traditional Christian theology has contributed to anti-Semitism.  Enjoy Caer Hallundbaek's lively interview with Rebekah Simon-Peter and recall the significance of Jesus' Jewish identity and how to better connect with it through scripture, dialogue and ritual.