Weekly Bracha 7

This week in the Messianic, Jewish, and Christian blogosphere.

• Answering Anti-Missionaries – Messianic organization First Fruits of Zion writes,
  
  

  We [have] observed many Messianic Gentile believers falling in love with Judaism and abandoning faith in Messiah. Without exception, such apostates warmly (and gullibly) accepted the arguments of anti-missionaries without question, while at the same time they treated the New Testament and anything they perceived as Christian with cold suspicion and cynical criticism.
  
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  Vine of David is carrying on the task of answering anti-missionary propaganda in our To Whom Shall We Go teaching series. Follow our progress at vineofdavid.org as we bring solid answers and compelling proofs defending faith in Yeshua of Nazareth.

  
  
  
• Excavating the Teachings of Yeshua – Aaron Eby discusses the language of the gospels and how the Greek language was used to preserve the Aramaic and Hebrew thinking of Yeshua and his disciples.
  
  
• Oldest Hebrew Text Deciphered – Critics of the Bible often claim Israel’s history as recorded in the Scriptures is a pseudo-history, made up by post-exilic scribes. But this ancient Hebrew text from the 10th century BC suggests the existence of the kingdom of Israel, and that at the Biblical texts may indeed have been written before the critics suggest.
  
  
• Thank You, Chabad – Rabbi Joshua applauds Chabad Judaism for exposing Orthodox Judaism to messianic principles we believers in Yeshua have long held.
  

  We have much to thank Chabad for - particularly for their work spreading Yiddishkeit around the world, and for bringing fellow Jews back to Torah. I too have much to thank Chabad for personally, for their role in my own spiritual journey. However, most of all, I think we owe Chabad a bit of gratitude for bringing the issues of Mashiach front and center in the Jewish community.

  
  
• Idealism and Reality in Joshua – Derek Leman discusses the authenticity of and pictured painted in the book of Joshua.
  
  
• One Law, Obligation & Distinction – Christian blogger Nate Long discusses Torah keeping for gentiles.
  
  
• Early Classic Jewish and Christian Sources – Aaron Eby compiles a list of freely available, early Jewish and Christian writings online. Bookmark this one.
  
  
• Palestinian Christians Under the Gun – A look at the plight of Palestinian Christians: boxed in from Israel, persecuted from the Palestinian Muslim majority. The Palestinian Christian population continues to slide from an 1948 80% Bethlehem majority to a 20% minority, and now a tiny 2% among the Palestinian territories.

Podcasts

• Implementation of the Apostolic Decree, Part 2 – John McKee’s Acts 15 study discusses the implementation of the ruling on gentiles and the Torah. This week is part 2 of a 3-week look at the implementation of the ruling. McKee looks at some opinions on how Paul implemented the ruling, and discusses why the Jerusalem Council ruling is often absent from Paul’s writings in the New Testament.
  
  
  
  
  
• Should a Pastor Pray at the Inauguration of an Openly Lesbian Mayor? – Hebrew Christian Dr. Michael Brown discusses the news that mega-church pastor Joel Osteen prayed at the inauguration of Houston, Texas’ new mayor. He asks his audience whether such a thing is biblical, and looks at both sides of the issue.
  
  
  
• Jews’ Covenant with God Expires – The Onion News Network has the big story.
  
  
  
  
  

Video blogs

• The Need for Mutual Submission – John McKee on the need for mutual submission within the home, the family (particularly between husband and wife), and within the Messianic movement:
  
  
  

Have a great shabbat & weekend!