a page about anthony's books
jewish-christian relations
Near Christianity
This is my most personal book. It details my struggles with faith as a concept. I argue that Christianity ought to be more about belonging and less about belief. It also takes seriously something called "Holocaust Theology" and discusses the intersections of faith and humor. Yes, the title consciously plays with C.S. Lewis's most famous book, Mere Christianity.
“Le Donne shows courage by facing directly difficult questions such as the Christian role in paving the way for the Holocaust. Throughout, he shows not only respect for Jews and Judaism, but tremendous understanding of Jews in the twenty-first century . . . The book is highly readable and engaging, and will be of interest to anyone interested in a down-to-worth and honest approach to Jewish-Christian relations.”
— Adele Reinhartz, PhD (University of Ottawa)
Professor of Classics and Religious Studies
Soundings in the Religion of Jesus
This book was my earliest attempt to put my interest in Jewish-Christian dialogue into print. I co-edited this book with Bruce Chilton and Jacob Neusner.
"A fantastic book on Jesus and Jewish-Christian dialogue."
—Nijay Gupta, PhD (Northern Seminary)
Associate Professor of New Testament
Sacred Dissonance
Aside from my dissertation, this book took the longest to write. And because of the subject matter, it was almost as emotionally taxing. My friend Larry wrote half of this book from the perspective of a Reform Jew who appreciates, but fears Christianity (for good reason!). Larry is a great writer. He brought an interesting, funny, and challenging voice to some really hard topics. I filled out the other half from the perspective of a progressive, mainline Protestant. At the end of every section, we've included a transcribed dialogue. Amy-Jill Levine wrote the foreword.
