One of the subjects on which I am prone to irrational rants (I know, I know you can’t believe I would do any such thing) is so-called Messianic Judaism. It is the ghastly love-child of a certain type American dispensationalist fundamentalism and a theologically ignorant ahistorical romanticism.
Yesterday Claude Mariottini posted a link to an article by one Brent Emery, apparently brought up as a Christian, now a pastor of a Torah observant congregation professing faith in Yeshua the Son of G-d. They do not, it seems, stop to ask whether Yeshua was quite happy to be addressed as Iēsous by his Greek speaking friends and followers, nor whether the Father formerly addressed intimately as Abba enjoys his new ly distancing hyphenated symbology.
Now, I’ve got no objection to encouraging Christians to learn from Jewish prayer traditions, the main purpose of the article. However, Mr Emery seems remarkably ignorant of the central place of the psalms, and various scriptural canticles within the mainstream liturgical tradition of the Church. You can’t, in fact, join in the daily prayer of the Catholic or Anglican Church, for example, without a hefty dose of Jewish prayer tradition. That was true even when the Western Church was at it’s most anti-Semitic.
Mr Emery’s patterns are a little different from what one might expect. Assuming some truth to the most common critical reconstructions, it is a little odd to hear someone encouraging Christians to pray the Eighteen Benedictions. Jewish believers in Jesus in New Testament times were not exactly enamoured of the birkat ha-minim. Calling down a curse on followers of Jesus may not be the best Christian prayer pattern.
Their only weekly advertised service is 11am on a Saturday morning. Standing as some vague compromise with American Protestant culture it is stranded between a Shabbat evening celebration and a morning commemoration of the resurrection on the Lord’s Day. It is neither fish nor fowl, and stands as an eloquent testimony to the artificial nature of this complete religious botch.
They say in their statement of beliefs (with a typical Reformation misunderstanding of justification)
We believe that all believers, Jew and Gentile, should pursue obedience to the Torah not as a means to salvation but as a path to sanctification
After that I can only hand over to one Sha’ul, who was as happy to be known by his Greek name as he was to worship Yeshua by his, and who would (were he not alive in the Messiah’s presence) be giving a very creditable impression of a high-speed out-of-control rotisserie in his grave.
The particular target of his anger and polemic was Jewish believers encouraging Gentile believers to obey Torah.
Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian (Gal 3:24-25)
Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. (Gal 5:1)
Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes (Rom 10:4)
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Doug,
While there are legitimate reasons to be critical of Messianic Judaism, it seems to me like one of the least good reasons is by associating it with the Sacred Name Movement. To the best of my knowledge, Messianics are not Sacred Name Only-ers as well. Am I wrong?
-JAK
I’ve never heard of the Sacred Name Movement. I’m only responding to what this specific group have on their website, which includes lots of hyphenated deity.
Clayboy, I take your point about Paul and Gentile practicioners of Torah, but he encouraged Jews who practised Torah to do so should they wish. He even had Timothy circumcised, so made him appear more Jewish, in the New Testament.
But as for this:
“It is the ghastly love-child of a certain type American dispensationalist fundamentalism and a theologically ignorant ahistorical romanticism.”
Imagine if someone said that about Christianity, how would you feel? The American religious right does not represent all Messianic Jews any more than it represents all Christians!!!
*last paragraph shouldn’t be italicised, should read:
Imagine if someone said that about Christianity, how would you feel? The American religious right does not represent all Messianic Jews any more than it represents all Christians!!!
People regularly have said such things and worse about Christianity as they have about Judaism. I disagree with them as you, I imagine, disagree with me.
Yes, that’s my point!!
OK, well I guess “how would you feel?” is irrelevant.
But who are Jesus’ Greek-speaking friends?
He spoke Aramaic…
I’m with you on the unnecessary hyphon though.
Clayboy,
I hope that, by linking my post to Brent Emery’s article, you don’t think I am supporting whatever position Emery and his group espouses. The purpose of my post was to correct his view that Christians “bless the food” rather than thank God for his blessings.
I believe that the prayers of the Hebrew Bible have much to teach Christians about prayer. I am not advocating Sabbath-keeping or observance to any ritual. My post was just trying to correct what I believed to be a wrong understanding of praying before meals.
Claude Mariottini
Worry not, I was in no way intending to taint you by association with such a group. Personally I think the contrast between thanking God for something and blessing it can be seriously overdone, and is nothing to get too worried about. I see them more as mirror images of each other. In the NT there is of course the very particular usage of “the cup of blessing which we bless” (1 Cor 10:16) which seems to involve giving thanks over it.
“Worry not, I was in no way intending to taint you by association with such a group.”
What about not judging people according to New Moons and Sabbaths? Colossians 2:16
Clayboy, you obviously have no idea about what the New Covenant Scriptures actually mean. Sha’ul wasn’t advocating abolition of Torah for either Jew or Gentile. He was simply stating that relying on it, or circumcision, instead of faith in the blood atonement of Yeshua was in error because then it becomes a works-based righteousness which is antithetical to Judaism or Christianity. You would do well to stop taking Scripture out of context to prove a point.
Oh, please, hold me still till I stop laughing
There was an interesting “event” in Gloucester in mid- September, in the Cathedral, no less. A self-described Christian from Israel of an openly pro-Zionist viewpoint came to promulgate his views. His support group made a serious attempt to involve local clergy by sending out a very classy invitation, with DVD and booklet and putting on a lunchtime free buffet before Mr Silver’s “forum.”
Strangely, the purpose of the meeting did not seem to have been adequately assessed by the person who took the booking for the Chapter Room at midday and the Cathedral for a gala- type celebration in the evening. At some time before the event the Church authorities at the Cathedral evidently warned their local clergy of the possibility of opinions totally inappropriate for a Christian place of worship. Accordingly, when I attended, representing my parish priest, I was surprised not to find any Anglican priest whom I knew. The bulk of the “church leaders” for whom this lunchtime meeting had been envisaged appeared to be from local free church congregations.
There is an account of the visit on this website,
http://barthsnotes.wordpress.com/2009/09/18/disruption-in-gloucester-cathedral/
largely drawn from the report in the GLOUCESTER CITIZEN.
I mention the matter to suggest that Christian Zionists are trying to step up their recruitment in this country.
Yeze, (Sorry comments stop at four levels of nesting) I think the question of whether Jesus spoke some Greek is a very open one – not, obviously as a first language, or necessarily very well. If John’s Gospel preserves historical memory, then Philip may well be such a Greek speaking friend.
I thank you for your responses. I remain convinced that the origins of a “messianic Judaism” that seeks a distinct identity from the Church originates in a particular American Protestantism – and their hopes to speed up the end of the world.
Whether some branches of it are evolving into something different is something I’m certainly prepared to consider (I found your site interesting).
The particular group whose site I was quoting from, however, seem to me to be mainly American Gentiles who think that Hebraisms and Torah observance tacked on to a very evangelical confession of faith somehow make it more authentically Christian and Jewish.
“The particular group whose site I was quoting from, however, seem to me to be mainly American Gentiles who think that Hebraisms and Torah observance tacked on to a very evangelical confession of faith somehow make it more authentically Christian and Jewish.”
Oh yeh I can see that’s dodge.
“I remain convinced that the origins of a “messianic Judaism” that seeks a distinct identity from the Church originates in a particular American Protestantism – and their hopes to speed up the end of the world.”
Well, I’ll admit there’s quite a few like that, but there are other Messianic Jews like us at RPP who want little more than to be left alone by Yad L’Achim and their cronies.
Thanks. As I say, the grouping you seem to be representing is a variant I haven’t come across before. I think I’d like to ask you how you see your relationship with long-term Christian communities in Israel (i.e not pilgrims and the tourist apparatus)
*Very* cynical about Christian Zionists who favour religious nationalists to Israeli believers as their Jewish allies. No problem with Christian Zionists who want to pray for Israeli believers though.
Me personally? I’m comfortable in Protestant high church and low church services, and synagogue occasionally. I meet with other Messianic Jews to worship frequently.
Thanks for giving me something to think about
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