Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ

Christian converts from Jewish backgrounds supply the lives collected in Aaron Bernstein's biographical reference work. Its chapters move from the apostolic age through the Eastern and Western churches to Protestant communities. The introduction sets out a Christian missionary purpose: to record the work of converts whose names and achievements might otherwise receive little attention. A detailed account of sources accompanies that aim, while the preface acknowledges that the authorities consulted differ in reliability.

The individual entries connect religious change with teaching, scholarship, church service and literary work. Paul Isaac Hershon's account, for example, follows his studies in Jerusalem, missionary appointments and later publications on the Talmud. Other notices describe clergy, a Danish poet and whole families entering Protestant churches. Readers interested in religious biography can use the collection to examine how a Christian compiler presented these lives and linked personal belief with intellectual achievement.