01.00.5. Introduction

Introduction The author of this book is one of the best known, most useful Jewish Christians, not only in the United States, but in all the world. For over twenty years he has travelled over the nations of the earth, under the auspices of the Southern Baptist Convention, preaching, teaching, lecturing, conducting or speaking in conferences, having personal interviews with the high and the low, and all in between, both Jews and Gentiles. Only eternity will reveal the magnitude of his contribution to both. I have known him for more than sixteen years, have read most of his writings, have heard him speak many times. He is a giant in every sense of the word: a man of wide culture and learning, an able speaker, and alert thinker, zealous, unbiased, sweet, compassionate, and tolerant. This volume is a heart and mind contribution to a better understanding of the Jewish problem by both Jew and Gentile. It is scholarly, yet written in the lucid, racy style of a man who has throughly acquainted himself with his subject and knows how to tell it to others. It is an interpretation of an age-old subject that has become more modern, more up-to-date than the news of the warfront. The book is for everybody: for the preacher, the Sunday school teacher, the layman, the Christian, the nonbeliever. It is eminently worth and worthwhile reading. It has a zest and a freshness that is very often absent from books of this type. The chapter headings themselves suggest a wealth of material in compact form for which many have been waiting. The first chapter, “Anti-Semite Propaganda,” and the last chapter, “The Christian Jew,” are something, in compact form, for which all of us have been waiting. The entire book should be read thoroughly, and then used as a background for other reading, for discussion, for examination, for writing upon this or any kindred subject. It was impossible for me to put the manuscript down once I started it, and I read it at one sitting. With all my heart I earnestly, urgently recommend the book to everybody, regardless of nationality, race or creed. It will explode some ideas, introduce new ones, surprise at some points, confirm at others, delight in all.

The Jew should read it for a much better understanding of himself, of his own people, of the mighty contributions of his nation, of the problems he faces. The Gentile should read it to dispel forever any erroneous ideas he may have had concerning Jewish attitudes and aspirations. The whole book is a great answer to some of the bladderdash philosophy that has so cheaply, so brazenly, so mistakenly filled the current mind. Here is a real discussion of the mind and heart of the Jew, written now from the standpoint of bitter polemics, but with a view to clear, honest, truthful information. But it, read it, pass it on to others.

Hyman Appelman Fort Worth, Texas