The author tries to show how difficult it can be for Christians and Jews to understand each other's religions, viewpoints and history. He uses examples from C.S. Lewis' book "Mere Christianity and Chronicles of Narnia to show what evangelical Christians believe and how it has shaped their worldview.
Perhaps one of the most important ideas of the book came when the author discussed how Christians were responsible for the Holocaust because of Martin Luther's vitriolic hatred of the Jewish people, he wanted to work them to death, destroy their books, and annihilate them as people. You will be amazed to read excerpts from Luther's book " The Jews and Their Lies" along with Elsie Wiesel's description of what happened during the Holocaust.
The author also discusses how we as Americans have mistreated our Native American and Black populations in the past, so we have no defense when it comes to understanding genocide.
The German madman, Hitler, even used the Oberammergau Passion Play to incite the hatred of Jews as "Christ Killers."
By learning about Jewish history and European history, it is easier to understand why some Jewish people do not trust Christians or any non-Jewish person.
This book tries to teach Christians and Jews about each other in order to promote honest dialogue, treat misconceptions each has about the other, and ultimately to create peaceful coexistence and acceptance.

C.S.Lewis's Mere Christianity is considered a classic of Christian apologetics. Any young Christian seeking to understand the difficult, and often frightening, world of apologetics is almost guaranteed to have Lewis's work thrust upon them. In fact, very few Christians can honestly say that Mere Christianity has not been recommended to them at point. This is because Mere Christianity, like most of Lewis's works, is timeless in its defense of the Christian faith making it an essential read for those seeking to understand the most effective way of making the case for Christ (to borrow the title of another Christian classic).

So how does Le Donne's Near Christianity relate to Lewis's Mere Christianity? For one thing, it is unlike any book I have ever read. When I read Mere Christianity my mind was aflame, amazed at Lewis's brilliance and I think I first understood the magnificent weight of the faith I held. To Near Christianity I reacted in much the same way. Never before had I read a work solely devoted to the borders between Jews and Christians written by an author so refreshingly honest about his own shortcomings and struggles with the faith he holds. Le Donne's books rings with revealing truth and honesty, as he asks us to understand those who are closest to us in faith.

In seven chapters, Le Donne analyzes  seven borders that Christians and Jews share and how the skirmishes that have taken place along these borders have affected Jewish-Christian friendship. In the process of analyzing these boards Le Donne also argues why these friendships are so incredibly important: understanding Judaism, understanding our neighbors in faith makes our faith even deeper, stronger, and resilient.

The most poignant chapter in Near Christianity is entitled "On the Border of Jesus and Genocide". In a book about Jewish-Christian relationships the Holocaust has to come up eventually. Le Donne handles this topic with delicacy and great respectfulness. Aware of his cultural shortcomings, Le Donne actually spends a portion of the chapter interviewing his friend to understand the catastrophic nature of the Holocaust and how it affects the way Jews interact with Christians. This is a wonderful display of humility on the part of Le Donne as he, a self-described "main-line" Christian, could not possibly hope to explain the tragedy of the Holocaust.

But he does not only explore how the Holocaust altered Jewish mindset. He also argues that Christians were complicit in the Holocaust. Nazi antisemitism did not spring up overnight. Hitler did not wake up one morning deciding that the Jewish people sounded like a good group of people to unilaterally exterminate. The foundations that made the Holocaust possible were laid long before the 1930's or 1940's. They were laid when Martin Luther published his shocking The Jews and Their Lies, encouraging widespread antisemitism  among Protestants. Le Donne describes how misinterpretation of the New Testament allowed for vicious Christian attacks upon Jews during the Holy Week for retribution for "the Jews killing Jesus". He describes how language and teaching to "Not be like the Pharisee" infiltrated the church and gave everyday Christians a less than charitable view of the Jewish people. All of these events, bad doctrine, and prejudice ultimately culminated in the Holocaust. An event which was overseen by men, many of which considered themselves devout Christians, and approved of by people who had had the false teaching of antisemitism pollute their Gospel.

Many of the ideas posed in Near Christianity were surprisingly new to me, especially the idea of Christian complicity. I have always believed myself to hold a belief set that is exceptionally sensitive to Jewish traditions and Judaism as a whole, but I have never given much thought to the borders walked by Christians and Jews. After all, much of our Holy texts are the same. The Savior of Christianity was Jewish not to mention nearly all of the founders were also Jewish. So why are these borders not discussed openly in our churches? Why do we as Christians not stop to think how understanding these borders we share could possibly help to end injustice and enrich our own faith in the process? Le Donne poses similar questions throughout his work. Neither he nor I can come to satisfactory answer except to say that when you are in the majority it is very easy to never consider the minority.

But Near Christianity also includes moments of raw honesty from Le Donne. He confesses his short comings, his frustrations with the main-line Christian community, and his doubts. He also describes how this Jewish-Christian border walking, this friendship, has allowed him to find a strengthened, renewed faith that is still growing and changing but present all the same. These are snippets of relate ability that allow the reader to see that Le Donne is not some academic lecturing us on how to be good Christians. He is in the trenches with us, fighting for a real and honest faith that is securely our own.

Overall, Near Christianity  is an incredibly unique book. With the rise of Anti-Semitic language in our nation and a culture that is increasingly fearful of anything different Near Christianity  is also an incredibly timely one. I fear that the hard-hitting and unpopular opinions, as truthful as they may be, will prevent this book from becoming as widely read as it deserves to be. This is no criticism of Le Donne, we are in desperate need of Christian authors who honestly write the truth, it is instead a criticism of the current landscape of "main-line Christianity". Without reservation, I recommend Near Christianity to any Christian seeking to understand and appreciate our borders.