The idea of a Jewish Church has been banned from the Christian horizon for almost two millennia. But things are changing. Since the middle of the 70s the Messianic Jewish movement has strived to build an ecclesial home for all Jewish believers in Christ. This new phenomenon brings to life issues that had disappeared since the first centuries of the Church. What does it mean to be a Jew in the Church? Should there be a distinction between Jews and non-Jews among believers in Christ? Is such a distinction compatible with the unity of the whole Body of Christ so ardently preached by Paul? What lifestyle should this Church promote? In his various works, Mark Kinzer, a prominent Messianic Jewish theologian, has attempted to provide substantial answers to these questions. Antoine Lévy is a Dominican priest. With Kinzer, Lévy has launched the “Helsinki Consultation”, a cross-denominational gathering of Jewish theologians. In Jewish Church: A Catholic Approach to Messianic Judaism, Lévy examines Kinzer’s positions critically, bringing forward an alternative vision of what a “Jewish Church” could and should be. This is only the beginning of what promises to be a fascinating discussion.

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Lévy challenges the accepted Christian tradition of excluding Gospel-derived eschatology, soteriology, and theology from Jews as Jews. Lévy asserts this in dialogue with leading messianic Jewish thinker Mark Kinzer, who provides the foreword and who shares the conviction of the need of Israel qua Israel presence in the church, albeit with major differences: i.e., for Kinzer (a messianic Jew) bilateral ecclesiology, Jewish and non-Jewish; for Lévy (Catholic Jew) acceptance of a global ecclesia defined by the magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church, which sees theological significance in the emergence of a Jewish corporate entity that contributes to the reconciliation between Yeshua and his people. Lévy respects yet sees limitation in messianic Judaism that insists that Jewish believers remain and live Jewishly. Recommended.