Ruth Rosen (2) (1956–)

Called to Controversy: The Unlikely Story of Moishe Rosen and the Founding of Jews for Jesus
by Ruth Rosen

Called to Controversy by Ruth Rosen, daughter of Moishe Rosen, tells the life story of the extraordinary man who was the founder of Jews for Jesus from the viewpoint of his family and colleagues....

Moishe comes across as a very talented, brilliant man with an overriding life passion to reach fellow Jews for Jesus. He used his unique talents of creativity, intuition, the ability to read people and situations, communicate, and more, to live out that passion as a missionary to Jews wherever he lived.

Rosen, the author, has done a good job of helping us see him through a multitude of eyes. For not only is she his daughter, but she also worked on staff at Jews for Jesus so saw him interact with co-workers and had him as a boss herself. She had access to dozens of his colleagues (former and present) and the book is liberally sprinkled with direct quotes from interviews, emails, letters, and other primary documents.

Rosen's balanced biography sometimes portrays her father in a less than flattering light — though even the critical parts are respectful in that there is no sense of spite or getting back at him, only the desire to be truthful and not hide the bad. The fact that he was not perfect leaves readers with the realization that we don't have to be perfect either to make a big impact for God....

...I was impressed by the story of this very talented, determined, and focused man, his great love for Jesus—his Y'shua Messiah—and what he accomplished as a result.

Excerpt from a longer review on Blogcritics.

I received this book as a gift from the publisher for the purpose of writing a review.… (plus d'informations)

A very enlightening book of testimonies by Jewish converts to Christianity. The theme that can be drawn from the testimonies speaks to the chasm that must be crossed in order for a Jew to accept Jesus as his messiah. The cultural identity of a Jew is deep and lasting--the love of the holidays, the perception of Christianity as being anti-semitic, the ties of family--all work against conversion. Factors that are helpful to the Jew who feels an emptiness in his life and is searching for meaning is the realization that he does not have to give up his Jewish identity to accept his messiah. A study of the Old Testament prophecies, which he honors, can bring uncomfortable questions which are not readily answered by Jewish scholars. Further help to the struggling Jew is found by discovering that the New Testament is very Jewish in its roots and there can be found no basis for anti-semitism there. In an era where there are still strong Jewish cultural ties, but little relationship with the God of their fathers, more and more Jews as well as agnostics of all stripes are searching for relief from the emptiness of a life apart from God.… (plus d'informations)