The Politics of Christian Zionism 1891-1948 Book

Mike Bird consistently writes thoughtful, organized, and well researched books. His balance of academic scholarship and concern for faith is exemplary. This book leans far more on the academic side of things, exploring the possibility of Jewish missionary activity in the second temple period with an aim to see if this may have influenced early Christian missionary practice. Bird concludes, through a thorough exploration of the texts and historical evidence of that time, that Gentiles were often attracted to Jewish faith, but that there was no ethos or organization of mission by Jewish groups prior to the rise of Christianity. Bird concludes that Christology and eschatology likely led to the rise of missionary activity within the church. I agree wholeheartedly with these conclusions, but herein lies my only rub - the actual way in which Christology and eschatology motivated mission is not explored. Now, to be fair to Bird, he covers this in another book - but even a cursory summary of these motivations would have made a very fitting end to this study. This is, however, and excellent book, highly recommended for anyone looking to explore the the nuances of missionary activity and conversion, and how they played out in the second temple period.