Messianic Judaism

Messianic Judaism refers to various religious movements, predominantly evangelical Christians, self-identified as Jewish, that believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah foretold in biblical prophecy. Even though many Messianic Jews are ethnically Jewish, they are not considered part of the Jewish community by any mainstream Jewish groups.

Rabbinic Judaism, including all the modern Jewish denominations, have a variety of beliefs about a future messianic era. These beliefs are discussed in the entry on Jewish eschatology and the Jewish Messiah. However, though some of the denominations of rabbinic Judaism are messianic, it is still Rabbinical Judaism not "Messianic Judaism".

Organization and beliefs

The messianic movement seeks to combine elements of Jewish worship and culture with the belief that Jesus Christ is the son of God and the messiah. This movement, comprising various groups, consists of approximately 200 congregations in the United States.

Adherents regard themselves as being Jewish; most Jews regard them as having ceased to be Jewish at the point where they adopted Christian beliefs.

Religious practices and customs

In order to make Jews feel comfortable in worshipping Jesus, they use some or all of the following terminology.

• They do not call their places of worship churches but instead call them congregations, synagogues, or Beit Knesset.
• They celebrate the Jewish holidays.
• They display Menorahs and Stars of David rather than crosses.
• They use Torah scrolls in their services.
• Many wear kipot (Jewish head coverings) and prayer shawls.
• They call their clergy rabbis rather priests or ministers.
• They refer to Jesus and other Christian saints by their Hebrew names. Thus, Jesus is called Yeshua, John is called Yochanan, and Paul is called Sha'ul.
• Instead of using the name "New Testament", they use the Hebrew translation Brit Hadasha.
• Some groups try to observe the Jewish dietary laws (kashrut)

The theology of these groups, as reflected in their statements of faith, is solidly within the ambit of Evangelical Protestant Christianity. They believe in the inerrancy of the New Testament, salvation by grace from Jesus through faith alone, the divinity of Jesus Christ, and the Trinity). Many of these groups are funded and supported by Evangelical churches.

Some messianic Jewish groups are Evangelical para-church organizations that are designed to outreach to the Jewish community with a goal of converting Jews to Christianity. One of the most conspicuous of these is Jews for Jesus.

Critics of this movement

All denominations of Judaism hold that these people are not practicing Judaism, but are rather practicing Protestant Christianity. Messianic Judaism is condemned as heretical and not Judaism by Reform Judais, Orthodox Judaism, Conservative Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism.

A few within Humanistic Judaism, a small group of atheist and agnostic Jews, holds that Messianic Judaism is a viable approach to Judaism, and believe that these evangelical Protestant groups should be considered forms of Judaism. Examples of humanistic Jews who hold this view include Sherwin Wine and Judith Seid. However, the mainstream Jewish denominations hold that such views have no relevance, as humanistic Jews themselves admit that they are not adherents of the Jewish religion; in this view, those people who openly reject following Judaism have no right to define what Judaism is.

One can find a small number of religiously liberal Jews who are accepting of messianic Judaism; Reconstructionist Rabbi Carol Harris-Shapiro wrote in her book Messianic Judaism that it could be considered an authentic branch of Judaism. Reform Rabbi Dan Cohn-Sherbok, author of Voices of Messianic Judaism: Confronting Critical Issues Facing a Maturing Movement, also regards it as a valid form of Judaism. Their work failed to win any acceptance among their denominations, or among the wider Jewish community, and sparked a controversy as to whether the authors themselves had gone too far.

Some Christian groups disagree with "messianic Jewish" groups because they feel that these groups are guilty of false advertising. In 1977, the Board of Governors of the Long Island Council of Churches (New York) accused "Jews for Jesus" of "engaging in subterfuge and dishonesty," and of "mixing religious symbols in ways that distort their essential meaning." "Jews for Jesus" filed a suit in a State Supreme Court in Manhattan against a 600-member Council. The Rev. Jack Alford, the executive director of the Council, said the suit "proves the point we were making about their tactics." He added: "The mentality of 'Jews for Jesus' is the kind of mentality that has been spawn in some fascist and communist countries." Eventually, the lawsuit was rejected by the court. (The New York Times, July 2, 1977)

The Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington (1997) has dealt with this issue. This inter-faith group was made up of Protestant Christian, Catholic Christian, Jewish, and Muslim leaders. They released a consensus statement on this issue saying:

We condemn proselytizing efforts which delegitimize the faith tradition of the person whose conversion is being sought. Such tactics go beyond the bounds of appropriate and ethically based religious outreach. Examples of such practices are those common among groups that have adopted the label of Hebrew Christianity, Messianic Judaism, or Jews for Jesus. These groups specifically target Jews for conversion to their version of Christianity, making claim that in accepting Jesus as the savior/messiah, a Jew 'fulfills' his/her faith. Furthermore, by celebrating Jewish festivals, worshipping on the Jewish Shabbat, appropriating Jewish symbols, rituals and prayers in their churches, and, sometimes, even calling their leaders 'Rabbi', the seek to win over, often by deception, many Jews who are sincerely looking for a path back to their ancestral heritage. Deceptive proselytizing is practiced on the most vulnerable of populations - residents of hospitals and old age homes, confused youth, college students away from home. These proselytizing techniques are tantamount to coerced conversions and should be condemned." (Summer, 1997, Washington, D.C., Interfaith Connector" Vol. 8, No. 2)

However this statement is not widely agreed with, especially within Evangelical Christian churches.

Parallels to Baal teshuva

These efforts to convert Jews to Christianity, and the receptiveness of some Jews to it in the past few decades, are a parallel phenomenon, although in an obviously different context, to the Baal teshuva movement that has witnessed a vigorous outreach effort by Jewish Orthodox institutions to reach out to Jews alienated from, or ignorant about, the Jewish faith.

Orthodox Jews are conscious of the fact that they are competing with the Messianic movement for the same audience. Specific organizations, such as Jews for Judaism and Outreach Judaism, are devoted to getting Jews out of Messianic churches, with limited success. The fascination with Hinduism and Buddhism, and a willingness to join these movements, by previously secular young Israelis and American Jews is seen as part of the same phenomenon. What all share in common here is the fact that a "market" exists for all these efforts, which in turn is indicative of a strong receptiveness to religious and spiritual notions, and a willingness to "buy into" an alternate religious experience and a radical new way of life, leaving many secular Jews mystified by the success of religion-based outreach and recruitment.

External links

• Jews for Judaism
• Outreach Judaism
• Task Force on Missionaries and Cults
• Messianic Jewish Alliance of America
• Jews for Jesus

Some messianic essays to see the contrast with Messianic essays

• Eisenbaum essay

See also: Judeo-Christian -- Comparing and contrasting Judaism and Christianity