What Happens When a Jew and a Christian Fall in Love?
Over one million Jewish/Christian couples in the United States face the challenges and opportunities inherent in their decision to marry. This balanced and open-minded book is the best comprehensive guide in print for families living with two faiths in one household. Concise and practical, The Interfaith Family Guidebook offers these families a look at the many questions they will face and the resources available to help them find their own answers.
This book will help interfaith couples to: respect and appreciate both of their religious heritages; discuss with candor the struggles they will face; celebrate all the holidays that are meaningful to them; consider the implications of their impending marriage; nurture positive relationships with their extended families; create a mutually satisfactory plan for celebrating in their home; decide how to raise their children; plan meaningful and inclusive ceremonies to mark their marriage, the birth of a child, coming-of-age, and other life-cycle events; learn from the experiences of other interfaith families; and find helpful local and national resources and support groups.
This book is your constant reference on the issues facing interfaith couples. Whether you are recently engaged or married with children, you will refer to it again and again, throughout your life together. And if you are a clergyperson, counselor, or therapist, you will want to recommend this book to all your interfaith couples.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Sorry some of you had bad experiences, but...:
I've been in a Jewish/Christian marriage for nearly 10 years, and while my spouse and I certainly have our conflicts, virtually none are based on our religious differences. We've had arguments about politics, arguments about our relationship, arguments about operating systems, but religion? Naaaaah.
When we got married, we knew--thanks to books like this one--that we might have issues to face, and so far, I think we've done pretty well with them. We share basic values and, for the most part, appreciate... more info
It doesn't work - here is a personal experience:
I'm with the first review I read, discussing the Jewish-Jewish divorce rate vs. Jewish-Christian divorce rate. It's important to note that this can be an issue even if you have a Jew and a Gentile who are both non-practicing, because Judaism is an ethnic identity. Because if you are Jewish, there are a whole lot of people out there who don't like you, and this rich cultural history you have, and your non-Jewish partner will not "get it". As someone with an agnostic Jewish mother and a... more info
Very practical and easy to read:
As someone about to begin an interfaith marriage, I found this book to be the most helpful of all the books I read. It has examples of how other people, from all different perspectives, have tackled many of the different problems of a Christian-Jewish marriage. It is easy to read and sparked many discussions to help us understand what we wanted. I think we now know some of the issues that are going to come up along the way, and at least now we have begun to understand where we both are and started working... more info
Excellent Read:
Every thought, feeling, and concern that I had about my interfaith relationship was addressed in this book. The author writes a very clear and honest book about what to expect--good and bad. She explored every possible situation you may encounter in an interfaith relationship, as well as the best solutions for the situation. It opened my eyes tremendously to the possibilities for me, as well as to the questions I need to answer in order to have a fulfilling relationship. It's easy to read and a great... more info
