Stephen Schwab

As a convert to Reform Judaism who spent over fifty years in the Episcopal Church, I am committed to an ongoing interfaith dialogue between Christians and Jews. My reasons are twofold: First, I believe that ideally all major religions seek a common goal: to encourage their adherents to be the best human beings they can be, or in the words of Micah "to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with their god." Second, I think that interfaith dialogue may break down walls of prejudice and ignorance that prevent people of different faiths from appreciating and respecting their differences in belief. It is in that spirit that I recommend to members of Temple Emanuel the book recently published by my former spiritual guide, Reverend (retired) James Rowe Adams, From Literal to Literary: The Essential Reference Book for Biblical Metaphors, (Bend: Rising Star Press, 2005).

As the reader will quickly discover, Jim Adams is a broad-gauged, balanced, and graceful writer, whose primary goal is to reacquaint unthinking biblical literalists, creationists, and all who misuse religion to justify their self-righteous attitudes, with a new sense of the beauty and depth of religious mystery. As Adams says in his introduction: "In my opinion, Christians who can't cope with metaphors have done their best to spoil the faith for the rest of us." The book is Adams personal, yet scholarly interpretation of approximately one hundred and fifty biblical metaphors, from Abba to yeast. A few choice examples: The followers of Jesus who called him the "Son of G-d" were doing essentially the same thing that conquerors such as Alexander or Julius Caesar did to encourage loyalty among their subjects. These self-appointed emperors also used "stories of virgin birth" to substantiate their claims to be "chosen" leaders. "Resurrection of the dead" may simply mean that no matter how much a person has given into to self-destructive tendencies, new life is always possible.

For Jewish readers, a possible use of this book would be to confront self-righteous Christians with their ignorance of the metaphorical depth of the biblical terms that they frequently use, but never question or critically examine. I am thinking in particular of those bigots who accuse us of having killed the Christ, or those who tell us bluntly that, as Jews, we can never enter the kingdom of heaven. At the end of the work are Indexes to the Hebrew and Greek words and to Bible Citations that Adams has discussed. Unfortunately, there is no scholarly bibliography or "Suggestions for Further Reading." Adams has promised me, however, that, if the book sells well enough to justify subsequent printings, he will correct this omission. Nevertheless, Jews can point their Christian friends, colleagues, and adversaries to a work sourcing texts they should regularly use and be familiar with to include several versions of the Bible and Strong's Concordance, plus an electronic tool called Quick Verse Version 4.0, a program for cross-referencing these other sources. Next time someone challenges your religious beliefs, challenge them back by pointing to their own biblical sources!