The Emperor Has No Clothes
Dr. Levine's teachings may resonate with some, but her work simply does not wash with me. I will admit up front that the only reason that I bought this book was because it was required for a church book club; I consider myself fortunate that I opted not to continue with the group. Dr. Levine's basic premise in this book is that Christ's parables are anti-Jewish in nature, which in itself seems more than preposterous. This is because Christ's parables are stories that were intended to convey his teachings to a largely Jewish audience in first century Israel, so saying that these stories go against that group of people hardly makes sense. On a related note, I converted to Christianity from Reform Judaism, so when I hear the word "anti-Jewish," the word anti-Semitism immediately comes to mind. After not only having read the King James Bible cover to cover but also having experienced anti-Semitism firsthand, at least in from what I could tell the parables do not fall into that category. Like all of Christ's teachings, his parables are about peace, love, and understanding towards one's fellow human. Given my observations, I would say that the reason for the popularity of Dr. Levine and her scholarly endeavors is because people who are not only looking for answers in the Bible, but who are also too ignorant to know any better believe that she is knowledgeable solely because she is an academic who is saying something provocative. My guess is that like all things that are faddish in nature, Dr. Levine and her teachings will fall out of fashion sooner than later, particularly once fans of her work come to the realization that the emperor has no clothes.
