How is a Haredi Jew who insists that a Jew who believes in Yeshua is no longer a Jew, but rather a Christian, any different from a Christian who insists the very same thing? Both of these people are in complete agreement about little else besides this - that a Jew who believes in Yeshua as the Messiah of Israel, the One promised for centuries through myriad prophecies, prophecies given to the prophets of Israel, prophecies fulfilled to exacting precision by Yeshua, in the land of Israel - a Jewish person who believes in Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah (who came to redeem Israel) can no longer be Jewish. By and large, both of these parties agree on this. I find that terribly interesting and I'll explain.
I find it interesting for a number of reasons - two of which I will briefly elaborate on. First, the Christian side of the agreement. The Christian will insist that a Jewish person who realizes that Yeshua is Mashiach ceases to be a Jew any longer. His reasoning? Well, it's simple really. There are many, many scriptural passages in the New Testament that support this idea. This, of course, is an utter contrivance. There are no such passages anywhere in scripture at all. In fact, if you're reading this and believe you know of one, please post it in the comments section. But, I'll happily save you the time - there aren't any. Further, has anyone ever heard of a Christian insisting that a German, Bolivian, Ukrainian, Portuguese, Chinese or Arabic person, upon accepting Yeshua as Messiah, ceases to be his ethnicity any longer? What else could they be? What is the scriptural nationality of a disciple of Yeshua? The idea that there could possibly be one is preposterous, yet many, particularly in the United States, suffer from this lack of understanding and there is a long and well-documented history of believing Jews being asked by Christians to "prove" their belief in "Jesus" by doing unspeakable things- things I won't get into in this post.
Let's explore our other agreeing member - The Haredi Jew (and perhaps many others sects of Judaism as well). I have read of and heard many instances of members of the Orthodox community, in no uncertain terms, state, sometimes by screaming, that any Jew that believes Yeshua is Mashiach is not only no longer a Jew, but now an idolater and will spend an eternity in hell. This view is also vehemently espoused without the smallest shred of scriptural backing. What's interesting about this side of the mutual agreement, besides the obvious, is that these same Jewish teachers and followers not only consider Jewish, but completely respect, Chabadniks who consider Rabbi Menachem Schneerson (who died in 1994) to be Mashiach. These people believe a Jewish man to be their Messiah. They await his glorious return. They are considered Jewish. In fact, the similarities between their beliefs and that of "Christians" has never even come up for discussion, at least publicly, as far as I know.
Ah, the very interesting world of Messianic Judaism. The next world will be much better.
but completely respect, Chabadniks who consider Rabbi Menachem Schneerson (who died in 1994) to be Mashiach.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, untold numbers of Jews haven't been tortured and murdered in Rabbi Schneerson's name. Many Jews have been killed in the name of Christ, so you can imagine how Jewish people might feel.
It's not just the Orthodox, but most Jews would say that anyone (including a Jewish person) who believes in Jesus is a Christian. The Jews in Messianic Judaism are considered Christian (and either not Jewish or apostate Jews) by the larger Jewish world (which is probably why the Jews in MJ really struggle to establish themselves as ethnic, cultural, and religious Jews).
Certainly you are I are considered Christians by "mainstream" Jews and Jews in the MJ arena. In my case, I finally decided to "go with it" and cease resisting. While (and you can see this on my current blog) I am exploring my Christian faith through a Jewish lens, that makes me a goy with a very interesting choice in reading materials and perspectives.
Hey James, thanks for your comment.
ReplyDeleteI know from your blog that you're fond of Chabad for many reasons. I'm not taking issue with them specifically, or even others who may have views similar to theirs, but with the apparent double standard in Jewish thinking in regards to who is "allowed" to remain a Jew and who is not, according to their beliefs regarding Yeshua.
Of course, I'm cognoscente of the fact that no one has been murdered in Schneerson's name - as I am that untold millions of Jews have been destroyed for centuries by those who claimed to be Christian. While I believe the inclusion of such obvious history to be unnecessary, this is precisely why I find the application of the label "Christian" to Messianic Jews to be that much more troubling, possibly offensive - and the reason for this post and my continued thoughts that I'll post tonight. Have we not learned anything from the the many holocausts? Do we still think it acceptable to curse and persecute people according to their views on Yeshua, for or against? Why are so many, who should know much better, so unwilling to perceive the shoe on the other foot?
But yes, I understand what you're saying and why this is the "mainstream" view among Jews. I more than understand it, actually, as hopefully you'll read in Baggage Claim, tonight's post. Here, I chose to highlight the Orthodox viewpoint because of a recent, and very interesting conversation I had with a Haredi Jew on this very issue - from which most of these thoughts arose. I completely understood where he was coming from, but understanding it, as essential as that is, does not, or should not, give way to accepting it or "going with it", in my opinion, but rectifying it, in any way that we're able - even if that is just one thought-provoking conversation or choosing to point out the obvious hypocrisy in various schools of Jewish and Christian thought in a brief post on an insignificant speck in the blogging universe.
To be fair, as you say, I'm challenging Christians, too. What's the mainstream excuse for the views they hold regarding believing Jews - besides centuries of misinformation and ignorance? These are questions, no matter how divisive, that I feel desperately need to be discussed for us all to move forward.
And yes, I agree with you completely. Yours is the most interesting goy blog a Jewish person could ever come across, I believe. Thank you so much, James, for providing the unique insights you do. Your perspective is an invaluable resource and I truly appreciate you sharing it on KOEOY. Please visit again soon, Brother, and Shabbat Shalom.