Recommendations for Why Don’t We Read the Book That Christ Read?
Towards a Better Understanding of the Old Testament (Beirut: Clarion Publishing House, 2008).
Recommendations
“I have known the author since his childhood playing with our children and we loved him like them. He is now a colleague in the ministry; dedicating his life to serve Christ, the church, and people. I read the manuscript of this book with passion. The book deals with an old-new issue that focuses on the importance/unimportance of the Old Testament in the life of the church and the Christian faith. This outstanding book emphasizes the importance of the Old Testament as a book revealed by God for the life of the church. It also deals with the strong relationship between the Old Testament and the New. This book fulfills a significant need in the life of church and society as it helps the reader to understand and accept the Old Testament and to see its crucial role in understating the New Testament. It is with great pleasure that I recommend the publishing of this book and advice that it should be read deeply and carefully.”
Revd. Dr. Saleem Sahouny
President of the Supreme Council of the Evangelical churches in Syria and Lebanon
“This book represents a great academic and reference value to be added to our Arabic Christian library. Revd. Dr. Riad Kassis is an example of a believing Christian scholar who, on the one hand, has a distinguished academic wealth and on the other hand carries the burdens of his fellow Arab Christians. These Arab Christians were overwhelmed with various difficulties to understand the Old Testament. They were also subject to illegitimate interpretations of the Old Testament that mixed up the message of the Old Testament with the complexities of the political situation. All this have contributed to widen the gap between the Arab reader and the text of the Old Testament and to build a strong wall at the edge of the gap.
In this interesting book, Dr. Kassis attempts to build bridges of reconciliation between the reader and the text of the Old Testament that was regarded by the church throughout the centuries as an integral part of its holy heritage revealed by God. Have Dr Kassis succeeded to build the bridges? I would like to invite the readers to accompany our writer in this journey to enjoy bridging the gap and to be able to see what is behind the wall.”
Revd. Eng. Atef Gendy, Ph.D. (Aberdeen University)
President of the Evangelical Presbyterian Seminary, Cairo, Egypt
“This is an interesting, deep, and documented book. It deals with dilemmas and questions that an Arab, particularly the Christian who is committed to his/her faith and to the issues of his/her country, faces as he/she reads the Old Testament. Although I do not agree fully with Dr. Kassis’s perspective on the text, I do find the book to be helpful to the reader to have his/her own conviction in understanding the Old Testament based on sound hermeneutical foundations that builds up his/her spiritual life.”
Engineer Jiries Habash
President of the Higher Council of Evangelical Churches in Jordan and Director of Bible Society in Jordan
