Peter Van 't Riet

Reading Torah, the Key to the Gospels: Introduction to the Jewish Character of the Gospels Peter Van 't Riet

For centuries Christians have read the gospels without much relevant knowledge of Judaism. Fortunately, this situation has changed since last century. Now many Bible-scholars and church members alike have discovered that Jesus' life and thought can't be understood without recognizing him as a Jewish teacher in his days. Less known, however, is the idea that the evangelists were Jewish scribes as well. They have often been seen as authors who'd left Judaism and had even opposed it fiercely. In line with all new insights that arose with regard to Jesus' Jewishness, this book demands attention for the evangelists as Jewish narrators. The author shows that the evangelists were entirely Jewish, just like Jesus, and they never intended to establish a new religion, separated from Judaism. The subjects that come up for discussion are: the evangelists' Hebrew ways of thinking, the oral and written traditions in their narratives, the Jewish life in their stories and the method of midrash they used writing their gospels. The last two chapters deal with the age-long alienation between Christianity and Judaism and with the cautious attempts at conciliation that started after the Second World War. The first 1986 Dutch edition of this book was quickly sold out and reprinted two years later. A revised Dutch edition was published in 2010 and this English edition appeared as an e-book recently. Through the years this book appeared very useful for study-groups, theological education, preparation of homilies and personal reflection. Theologians as well as other interested bible-readers could be inspired by new ideas picked up from this book. The author of this book, Dr. S. P. (Peter) van 't Riet, studied mathematics and psychology at the Free University in Amsterdam. There he wrote his dissertation on a subject in the field of educational psychology. Before his retirement he was a professor of IT and education at Windesheim University in Zwolle, the Netherlands. In his leisure time he published many books and brochures on the Jewish character of the New Testament and he frequently teaches groups of Christian and Jewish-Christian study-associations on this subject. More information about his activities can be found on his website: www.petervantriet.nl.