"Messianic Jews": Is your religion Christian or Judaism?
I want to know Messianic Jews' answer. I want to know what exactly their religion is.
Markkkkkkk:
Okay, then in short, they're Christians who can't let go of Jewish traditions?
I am not a messianic Jew my dad is and i have asked him this before basically it is a Jew who believes and accepts Christ but still celebrates the Jewish holidays so essentially they believe what Christians believe but still have the Jewish traditions
There is no such thing as Messianic Judaism. Its not even listed as a Orthodoxy in Judaism. Which means they are Christians. Anyone who worships Jesus Christ rather they call him Yeshua or Jesus are Christians.
To answer simply, Messianic Judaism is a religious movement that differs from mainstream Christianity and from Judaism by combining elements of each into a single faith. They believe Jesus is Messiah (Yeshua HaMashiah)
There is so much more to know and understand. If you have questions, please feel free to email me. Although Christian, I have been around and worshiped with Messianics for decades!
answer: doesn't matter what they claim. Their beliefs are Christian beliefs. Their beliefs are considered blasphemous in Judaism. No branch of Judaism accepts their blasphemous beliefs or them.
CHRISTIANS don't get to decide that they are Jews - Jews decide who is a Jew. All branches of Judaism, the Torah, the state of Israel and the US military agree - they are NOT Jews.
Very few were ever Jewish at any point in their lives.
Those are facts
Do Christians believe David Koresh and followers were Christians, a legitimate sect of Christianity? David Koresh and followers believed they were true Christians. Other Christians would disagree and would especially disagree that Koresh was a messianic figure and that his views were legit.
I am a Jew who believes that there will be a messiah, but that messiah is not J.C.
So I do not belong to the self proclaimed group of "Messianic Jews."
They are wrong on two counts. 1) the aspect of the messiah and 2) the aspect of Jew.
As a general rule, a person who believes in J.C. is cut off from the Jewish community. So the name is contradictory. Y Jews don't believe in J.C. --> http://www.aish.com/jw/s/48892792.html
"Messianic Jews" practice some Jewish traditions and holidays that are changed to incorporate J.C. The Nerve! For example, they say the 4 cups of wine on passover reflects the blood of J.C. when he was nailed to the cross (not by Jews who don't use that form of death, but by Romans - who commonly used crucifixion - Read any history book.)
Some say they do this to attract unsuspecting, vulnerable Jews. Those who are only Jewish by name. Fundamentalist Christians believe that in order for their messiah to come, everyone must believe in him. So..why not start with the Jews?
The Jewish messiah - who will be the messiah for the entire world will be a regular man, born to human parents He will bring world peace, usher in an era of recognition of G-d, rebuild the temple - at which all people - Jews and ninjas alike - can pray at and worship at. He will be the leader of the entire world - a marvelous leader and political genius -required to bring world peace. He will be extremely pious and the wisest man to ever live. He will also be a prophet. The messiah will gather all Jews to the land of Israel. He will restore the Sanhedrin- Jewish court of seventy elders. He will restore the DavidICCynasty - he will be from the house of David. He will also restore the system of sacrifice in the temple and the sabbatical and jubilee years.
I am an adherent of Judaism. It is a messianic religion. Judaism's concept of messiah is different than the New Testament doctrine's concept. If New Testament adherent's do not wish to call themselves Christians, that's not a matter for Jews...it IS a matter for Jews when adherents of a contradictory belief system wish to call their religion Judaism. Whether or not an outside group misappropriates the name of Judaism and imposes forbidden by Torah beliefs upon the holy observances of Judaism or not, it can't and doesn't redefine Judaism. The Jewish position has been clear for nearly 2000 years, the New Testament doctrine remains antithetical to Judaism.
Excerpts from various Position Statements:
In 1993, the Task Force on Missionaries and Cults of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRCNY) issued a statement which has been endorsed by the four major Jewish denominations: Orthodox Judaism, Conservative Judaism, Reform Judaism, and Reconstructionist Judaism, as well as national Jewish organizations.
Based on this statement, the Spiritual Deception Prevention Project at the JCRCNY stated:On several occasions leaders of the four major Jewish movements have signed on to joint statements opposing Hebrew-Christian theology and tactics.
In part they said: "Though Hebrew Christianity claims to be a form of Judaism, it is not ... It deceptively uses the sacred symbols of Jewish observance ... as a cover to convert Jews to Christianity, a belief system antithetical to Judaism ... Hebrew Christians are in radical conflict with the communal interests and the destiny of the Jewish people. They have crossed an unbridgeable chasm by accepting another religion. Despite this separation, they continue to attempt to convert their former co-coreligionists."
CHIEF Ashkenazi and CHIEF Sephardi Rabbis of Israel:
"There are Christian groups that call themselves "Messianic Jews" whose faith is totally alien to the Jewish faith, and members of these groups who were born to Jewish parents have a status of apostates who removed themselves from the Jewish Nation."-Official proclamation of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, 1998.
Rabbi Y. Eliezer Danzinger of Tzefat, Israel (Chabad)
"Messianic Judaism is both a logical and theological absurdity. It's perverse goal is to seduce uneducated Jews away from their heritage and people, without the ensnared realizing the enormity of their betrayal.""Although Jews who subscribe to such heresy are clearly apostates--and as such, forfeit all rights as Jews, including the right of being buried in a Jewish cemetery--the gates of repentance are open to them."
Hebrew Union College / Jewish Institute of Religion (Reform)
....being Jewish and accepting Christ is entirely incompatible. In the Winter 1996 issue of Reform Judaism, Mark Washofsky, called Messianic Jews "apostates." "We see Messianic Jews as dishonest, deceptive and ultimately dangerous to our existence as a religious community."
Central Conference of American Rabbis (Reform) "For us in the Jewish community anyone who claims that Jesus is their savior is no longer a Jew and is an apostate. Through that belief she has placed herself outside the Jewish community. Whether she cares to define herself as a Christian or as a "fulfilled Jew," "Messianic Jew," or any other designation is irrelevant; to us she is clearly a Christian. We should, therefore, consider a "completed Jew" [Messianic Jew] as an apostate.....they should be seen as outsiders who have placed themselves outside the Jewish community. This should be made very clear to them and to the Jewish and general community, especially as many such individuals are active proselytizers. Such individuals should not be accorded membership in the congregation or treated in any way which makes them appear as if they were affiliated with the Jewish community, for that poses a clear danger to the Jewish community and also to its relationships with the general community.We certainly do not want these individuals to speak for Judaism in any public forum. In conclusion, we should make the distinction between ourselves and these individuals very clear to them, to the Jewish community and to the general community around us.-proclamation September 1983.
Conservative Judaism:
...there is no place for so-called Messianic Jews or Hebrew-Christians within our congregations and within the Jewish community."Hebrew Christian, Jewish Christian, Jew for Jesus, Messianic Jew, Fulfilled Jew. The name may have changed over the course of time, but all of the names reflect the same phenomenon: one who asserts that s/he is straddling the theological fence between Christianity and Judaism, but in truth is firmly on the Christian side.?we must affirm as did the Israeli Supreme Court in the well-known Brother Daniel case that to adopt Christianity is to have crossed the line out of the Jewish community."by Rabbi Jonathan Waxman, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Reconstructionist:
"What is ALEPH's position on so called messianic Judaism? ALEPH has a policy of respect for other spiritual traditions, but objects to deceptive practices and will not collaborate with denominations which actively target Jews for recruitment. Our position on so-called "Messianic Judaism" is that it is Christianity and its proponents would be more honest to call it that."Position statement of ALEPH the Allianced for Jewish Renewal
Canadian B'nai Brith:
"One of the more alarming trends in antisemitic activity in Canada in 1998 was the growing number of incidents involving messianic organizations posing as "synagogues". These missionizing organizations are in fact evangelical Christian proselytizing groups, whose purpose is specifically to target members of the Jewish community for conversion. They fraudulently represent themselves as Jews, and these so-called synagogues are elaborately disguised Christian churches."
Orthodox Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, writing for the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, wrote:
'Christianity negates the fundamentals of Jewish faith, and one who accepts it rejects the very essence of Judaism. Even if he continues to keep all of the rituals, it is the same as if he abandoned Judaism completely.
The Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington met in
the summer of 1997 in Washington D.C.. This group is an umbrella organization that includes Baha'?, Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, Mormon, Zoroastrians, Muslims, Jews, and church groups from the Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran and Presbyterian churches. IFC's stated goal is "(1)to increase understanding, dialogue, and a sense of community among persons of different faiths, representing diverse races and cultures, and (2)to address issues of social and economic justice in defense of human dignity."
It is an affiliate member of The Washington Theological Consortium, an ecumenical organization with its regular membership composed of Christian theological schools that cooperate and share resources.
Singled out for criticism was the "Messianic Jewish" movement as promoting activities "harmful to the spirit of interreligious respect and tolerance." The conference denounced ?deceptive proselytizing efforts?, though recognizing evangelism is an important tenet of Christian theology due to the Great Commission. The conference stated that when?deceptive proselytizing efforts? were practiced on "vulnerable populations" such as the young or the elderly, these efforts are "tantamount to coerced conversions."?
The Conference concluded with an official statement condemning the proselytization efforts of the ?Messianic Movement? (published in Summer, 1997 "Interfaith Connector" Vol. 8, No. 2) which stated: ?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 Jews '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 aged homes, confused youth, college students away from home. These proselytizing techniques are tantamount to coerced conversions and should be condemned."
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It makes no difference if they claim to be following Judaism, their doctrine remains antithetical to Judaism and none of the world's Jewish movements or communities recognize them as co-religionists.
It's actually neither, little one. We follow the Jewish Messiah, and ONLY Torah. We do not follow Rabbinical Judaism, nor are we Christians because we don't observe Christian holidays of Christmas and Easter, which we have learned are Pagan in origin.
And no, we aren't "Christians who can't let go of Jewish traditions." Moses didn't follow "tradition," he followed YHWH, as do we. We keep the Lord's Feasts, which were given for ALL who love God, not just Jews.
Thanks for asking and try to be blessed with what YOU believe, rather than trying to change what WE believe.
I am not "Messianic" but was once part of a Messianic congregation. "Messianic Judaism" is a mixture of Christian beliefs with some Jewish beliefs mixed in along with some other beliefs that are only found in Messianic congregations. Very few "Messianic Jews" were ever Jewish to begin with so it would probably be more accurate to say that they are Christians who have adopted some Jewish beliefs.
Its possible to have within a given congregation people who are still active in a mainstream church and have beliefs that are obviously Christian along with people who haven't set foot in a church in 10-15 years and have beliefs that are not at all consistent with Christianity
Its very difficult to define "exactly" what their religion is. Its not Judaism but it isn't exactly Christianity either as most who claim to be "Messianic" have beliefs that conflict with what the other 99% of Christianity teaches.
"Messianic Jews": Is your religion Christian or Judaism?
