Evangelizing the Chosen People

“Although Mr. Ariel’s book is not a polemic, it constitutes, in effect, a stinging indictment of American Jewish life. It is impossible to read it without concluding that Christian evangelization has thrived because the American Jewish community has failed to meet the needs, material and spiritual, of its young.” — Todd M. Endelman, Forward

“Going where no scholar has gone before, Ariel recounts the history of Protestant missions to the Jews in the United States. . . . [He] tells this fascinating story well, and fairly.” — Journal of American History

“[A] fabulously knowledgeable account of 120 years of attempts by American Protestants to convert the Jews. . . . Meticulous, fair-minded scholarship.” — Cross Currents

“Ariel’s evenhanded treatment, his extensive writing in the field, and his excellent use of sources make this a must for college and seminary libraries.” — Religious Studies Review

“A ground-breaking account of American Christians' missions to the Jews from the late nineteenth century to the present. . . . [Ariel] is a scholar with a rare understanding of both Judaism and Christianity, a deep knowledge of American religious history, and a judicious respect for the people about whom he writes. Jews and Christians alike will find Ariel’s new offering informative and challenging. . . . Ariel has produced an indispensable book. . . . Especially noteworthy is Ariel’s extensive and evenhanded treatment of Messianic Judaism.” — Books & Culture

“Shows for the first time the full extent of the rich history of Protestant missionary efforts directed toward the Jews in America. . . . A model of scholarship. . . . This broad survey of the Christian-Jewish relationship exposes an important and generally unknown terrain in American religious history. . . . With this impressive book, Professor Ariel has established himself as a leading scholar of the Christian-Jewish relationship in America. . . . The valuable insights provided by this study will enhance understanding of the important role of religion in American history.” — American Jewish Archives Journal

“A painstakingly researched, well-written account of Protestant Christian missionary activities toward the Jews in America for approximately the past 100 years. . . . This book is very much needed today.” — Perspectives in Religious Studies

“A useful contribution to the social and intellectual history of Christianity in the United States.” — Studies in Contemporary Jewry

“[An] exhaustive new study. . . . Ariel, whose tone is balanced and respectful, gives the evangelical community the credit it deserves for being open to a Jewish Messianic identity. . . . At a time when the Jewish community faces a downward demographic spiral, Ariel’s graceful and nuanced book offers a challenging perspective on the fate of these two religions and on Christianity’s ability to reinvent itself in novel ways.” — Raleigh News & Observer

“On a religious terrain bristling with potential landmines, Yaakov Ariel offers us what we most need and least expect: a history that evokes both the Protestant evangelical and the Jewish communities with sympathy. Indeed, Ariel’s book illuminates the ongoing — and often paradoxically symbiotic — relationship between the two without condescension toward either. An exceptional work on an important and highly sensitive chapter in American religious history.” — Paul Cohen, Lawrence University