The Weekly Bracha: highlighting this past week’s gems from the Messianic blogosphere, plus relevant news items from the Jewish and Christian worlds.
- Christian murdered, Messianic Jew injured in Israel – A female Christian missionary, and her Messianic Jewish friend, were attacked and stabbed in the hills west of Jerusalem this past week. It’s believed their attackers were politically motivated Arabs.
- Church’s Ministry To Jews worker murdered in Israel – More first-hand information about the attack.
- Prayers in British shul said for Messianic Jew – Maidenhead Synagogue, a Reform synagogue, offers prayers for the attacked Messianic Jew.
- Dead Sea Scrolls to be made available online – This is very cool: Google is going to digitize the Dead Sea Scrolls and make the entire collection available to the public online. Go Google! Hat tip: Leman
- Fox News Accidentally Labels Elie Wiesel 'Holocaust Winner' – Fail:
- World's Jews Celebrate Christmas With Ceremonial Re-Murdering Of Christ – The Onion has the true story:
I love the Onion."I love devouring Christians' young almost as much as corrupting maidens," said Benjamin Levy, 89. "It's a magical time for all."
- Separation and Connection – Rabbi Resnik on separating one’s self from the world in this perverted culture:
Can we deny that today’s visual bombardment of sexual imagery fuels adultery of the heart? Tearing out the eye today means turning off the TV, blocking the website, closing the book or magazine, ruthlessly if necessary. Film, in particular, often employs explicit sexual images within a compelling art form that draws us into it. But Messiah’s standards require us to forgo experiences that may have a positive side for the sake of wholeness before God.
- Simple Gnosticism – Analyzing the Christian tendency to create a dichotomy between spiritual and physical, flesh and spirit, particularly with commandments. He then counters the notion that a gentile believer in Yeshua has no relationship with Israel:
Most people confuse “living by the Spirit” as being somehow at odds with “living according to God’s instructions”. This reflects a Gnostic influence. They think that something is “spiritual” only if there is no physical evidence of it. “Prayer” is good. “Bible study” is good (as long as there is no set section of Scripture to study each week).
At the same time, commandments that are part of daily living—kosher diet, trimming of the beard, agricultural mandates—are relegated to the “not moral, and therefore not necessary” category.
- Not Jewish Yet Drawn To Torah, Part 5 – Derek Leman, who is involved in the part of Messianic Judaism that does not care much for gentile participation, does not wish to have non-Jewish Messianic congregations be named “Messianic”. He hopes to call such groups “Judeo-Christian”.
- Summary On Part 5 – Scratch that. Derek no longer thinks “Judeo-Christian” is a good name. But he still doesn’t want gentiles using the term “Messianic”. Sigh.
- Cataloging the New Testament's Hebraisms, Part 6 – Offering evidence of a possible Hebrew or Aramaic original of the New Testament, the author looks at antithetical parallelisms: balancing couplets, each of which is the antithesis of the other. He gives examples from the Tenakh and New Testament.
- Lying About Prayer – In this amusing post, Dr. Schiffman ponders,
I wonder how many people lie about praying for other people or about situations they hear about. I’ve known many people over the years, who upon hearing about someone who was sick, dying, or had an accident, or were losing their house or a loved one, or their job, or spouse, or there was some other serious need, responded by saying they will pray for whatever it was that was needed, only to not pray about it, forgetting it completely.
- New Blog: Paul Wilbur – Famed Messianic music pioneer Paul Wilbur has started a blog.
Shavua Tov, fine blog readers!
Judah,
ReplyDeleteFirst, thank you for starting and continuing the Weekly Bracha. I think it's a fine institution in the Messianic blogosphere.
I'd like to use one of your comments as an opportunity to unfold some thoughts of mine. You wrote: "Derek Leman, who is involved in the part of Messianic Judaism that does not care much for gentile participation."
To the extent that I'm involved in the same "part" of Messianic Judaism that Derek is, I'd like to say to everyone else who cares about this conversation: "No, that's not how I feel at all!". I'm not uncaring about Gentile participation (in fact, I spend a lot of time caring for Gentile participation--though to ascertain this, you'd have to come to my community).
What I object to is communal expression which has no way to affirm the unique calling of Jewish people in the regular life of the community. The reason such communal expressions trouble me is because in my experience they lead to identity crises for young people who grow up in this environment--both Jew and Gentile.
While I personally think that traditional Judaism offers some insights and practices which can really help us in this area, I'm open to any and all suggestions (and there are a number of approaches out there). I can distinguish between someone who agrees with me that there is a problem but has a different solution and someone who at a more basic level disagrees with the idea that there is even a problem there.
Sometimes I wonder if it's the reverse of what you say: perhaps the part of Messianic Judaism we're speaking of is associated with "not car[ing] for gentile participation" because, in reality, relatively few Gentiles care to participate in a form of Messianic Judaism which explicitly preserves the distinctness of Jewish calling in the regular fabric of the community (so when we tell them what we're about, they say, "No thanks, not for me!"). Thankfully, I have plenty of Gentile friends who with their words, lives, and participation in Messianic Judaism reassure me otherwise.
Along these same lines: I wonder if you've read the article (I think it's by Jon Cline) in the recent edition of Kesher (23, I think) on praying traditional prayers as a Gentile. It talks about how to approach the traditional prayers as a Gentile, and shows how, with some basic understandings and the proper intentions, the siddur can be quite approachable and powerful for a Gentile to pray along with Israel.
I recommend giving the article a read--if for no other reason than that it demonstrates effort by one part of Messianic Judaism to facilitate Gentile participation, rather than leave Gentiles behind purely on virtue of their being Gentiles.
Keep up the good work blogging and with Chavah,
Yahnatan
Onion article was funny, Dr Schiffman's was funnier still cos it's true. Great stuff!
ReplyDeleteAlong these same lines: I wonder if you've read the article (I think it's by Jon Cline) in the recent edition of Kesher (23, I think) on praying traditional prayers as a Gentile. It talks about how to approach the traditional prayers as a Gentile, and shows how, with some basic understandings and the proper intentions, the siddur can be quite approachable and powerful for a Gentile to pray along with Israel.
ReplyDeleteI generally have concerns about this. When I spent some time worshipping with my children at the local Reform shul, I wasn't sure how to approach the siddur. After all, there are plenty of prayers where the reader refers to himself as "Israel". I tended to feel like a fish out of water (even though there were plenty of other Gentiles there).
The "sect" (for lack of a better term) of Messianic Judaism we're discussing has, more than once, said that the proper place for a believing Gentile is in the church. If however, that same Messianic Judaism is willing to welcome Gentile worshipers through its doors, is there any thing inside to tell said-Gentile, who may be eager but clueless, what their role is?
I just responded to on Derek's blog directly. I wonder if the universe will explode or whether I'll "just get in trouble" again this week.
ReplyDelete"The "sect" (for lack of a better term) of Messianic Judaism we're discussing has, more than once, said that the proper place for a believing Gentile is in the church"
ReplyDeleteThat doesn't mean there aren't exceptions. And the gentlemen that I've reached out to (who are apart of that branch of MJism) believe/agree and affirm that.
I'll tell you what...Much harm and difficulty was caused to me when I was first initiated into the MJ blogosphere because of this conversation.
However, once I reached out to some of the people whom I had (and some who I still have) or thought I had disagreements with...
well, let's just say that to allow someone the opportunity to flesh out what they mean via an actual conversation proved to be more enlightening than reading all of the blogposts on the subject.
it's easy to write. It's much harder to converse.
I'd have to agree with that last part. I think in our own ways, we all blog because we're all trying to interact, but it's certainly not the same as a face-to-face. I suspect if we were able to talk all this out over a cup of coffee or a few beers, the conversation would be quite different.
ReplyDeleteJames wrote: "I suspect if we were able to talk all this out over a cup of coffee or a few beers, the conversation would be quite different."
ReplyDeleteHear, hear.
That means you like beer, right Yahnatan? :-P
ReplyDelete>> To the extent that I'm involved in the same "part" of Messianic Judaism that Derek is, I'd like to say to everyone else who cares about this conversation: "No, that's not how I feel at all!".
ReplyDeleteOf course! But that is how your leadership feels: they look at gentiles as a problem.
In particular, the sect of Messianic Judaism that you currently belong to wants to sent most, if not all, gentiles back to the church, stop gentiles from keeping the Torah, stop gentiles from using the term "Messianic", and create a Messianic Judaism that is almost entirely devoid gentiles, as if they are evil corruptors to be shunned.
That is not the New Testament model. What Derek and Gene and Joshua are advocating is not the New Testament model.
"That is not the New Testament model. What Derek and Gene and Joshua are advocating is not the New Testament model."
ReplyDeleteI beg (well, not really) to differ, Judah. The only reason that I can even begin to advocate for distinctly Jewish Messianic communities where Jews can retain their own identity and live among their own people is because I DO find it to be very much a New Testament model.
"create a Messianic Judaism that is almost entirely devoid gentiles, as if they are evil corruptors to be shunned"
I am glad that you still included the word "almost." The model of bilateral communities allows for inclusion of and in fact welcomes, in love, committed non-Jewish members. It does not permit or advocate any sort of "ethnic cleansing" or some supposed "racial purity" of any sort, but only that the character of a Jewish community be preserved. It does so by focusing on the spiritual and physical needs of the Jewish people in and outside of the community, first and foremost (which is quite Biblical and even Gentiles should take part in).
Oh, right, gentiles who "catch the vision" (code word for "agree with our theology") are welcomed, so long as they're a minority.
ReplyDeleteThe bilateral model is a new invention that runs against the grain of the New Testament model, where Jews and gentiles worship together, not in segregated, walled-off communities.
"Oh, right, gentiles who "catch the vision" (code word for "agree with our theology") are welcomed, so long as they're a minority."
ReplyDeleteWhat's wrong with having agreement in a congregation or movement? There's nothing wrong with being like-minded with those who are closest to you, especially on issues important to the unity of the community. I bet that most people in your own congregation are in general agreement about theology, while those who think differently (like me, for example) most likely would not feel very welcomed (at least in the long run) because of what they believe (unless they keep my mouth shut and abstain from influencing anyone).
"The bilateral model is a new invention that runs against the grain of the New Testament model, where Jews and gentiles worship together, not in segregated, walled-off communities."
Judah, you do know that Paul writes about the "congregations of the Gentiles", right?
It's been the Bilateral Ecclesiologists who have tried to delegitimize and extinguish any Messianic who doesn't adhere to their standards.
ReplyDeleteFor example: you, right now on your blog, are proposing a new version of Messianic Judaism that almost entirely excludes gentiles.
For example: Derek, right now on his blog, is proposing anyone who isn't a Bilateral Ecclesiologist, must not use the name "Messianic".
Gene, you know that Acts writes about Jews and gentiles worshiping together, right?
One needs to be very careful about Romans 16:4 and its reference to "assemblies of the Gentiles." What kind of a genitive clause is hai ekklesiai ton ethnon intended to be? The CJB notably takes it another way than advocates of a bi-lateral ecclesiology:
ReplyDelete"the Messianic communities among the Gentiles."
There are a lot of details that really haven't been well thought out. I agree that Jews in Messianic Judaism have every right to form their own congregations which service a Jewish population, much like Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox communities do. You'll find a few Gentiles in any of those communities, even the Orthodox (met one the other day), but not too many.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, you have a boat load of Messianic communities that are primarily to almost totally full of Gentiles. Have they not the right to worship in the manner of their forefathers who, 2000 years ago, came to faith in the Jewish Messiah thanks to the emissary Paul and his co-workers in Yeshua?
The Apostolic Scriptures record Messianic congregations which were mostly Jewish, mostly Gentile, and some that were mixed. Couldn't there have been some mutually agreed upon standard of worship and fellowship for those various communities, both within a single community and between communities? Perhaps that's what we should work toward.
"For example: you, right now on your blog, are proposing a new version of Messianic Judaism that almost entirely excludes gentiles."
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing new about what I am proposing, Judah. It's at least 2,000 old. Also, I write about Jews being a MAJORITY, which accounts for the fact that there's a Gentile minority. It would be similar to Israel today - Jews constitute 75% of the population, which allows for the preservation of the Jewish character of the country. It's simply an eternal plan of G-d's that prevents Jewish people from assimilation.
"Gene, you know that Acts writes about Jews and gentiles worshiping together, right?"
You mean when it talks about the G-d-fearers and converts to mainstream Judaism who were part of non-Messianic synagogues at the time?
Also, do you worship together with Chinese believers in China or with Aboriginal believers in Australia? No? Can you still say that you are in unity with them worshiping the same G-d and are part of the same Body and community, even though you are not WITH them nor can you worship like them? If yes, please give the Jewish people the same consideration. That's all we ask.
LOL. This all goes back to the first point:
ReplyDeleteYou guys in the Bilateral Ecclesiology sect do look at a gentiles as a problem.
You want gentile Messianics to stop using the term 'Messianic', unless they're Bilateral Ecclesiologists.
You generally want Messianic gentiles to go back to the church.
You want Messianic gentiles to stop following Torah.
You guys want to create a religion virtually-free of gentiles.
This isn't the New Testament model.
You guys all say these things plainly on your blog, it's only when we call you out do you backpedal and hair-split and release the red herrings.
"You guys in the Bilateral Ecclesiology sect do look at a gentiles as a problem."
ReplyDelete"Bilateral Ecclesiology sect" - LOL. OK, why would YOU want to be part of that? Since you don't want to be part of that sect, then what's the problem?
"You want gentile Messianics to stop using the term 'Messianic', unless they're Bilateral Ecclesiologists."
Stopping the use of terms Judaism, Israel and Israelites would also be nice.
"You generally want Messianic gentiles to go back to the church."
Yes, church is not an evil monster it was painted. It's a community of Gentile believers who tend to love Messiah and want to serve him with all of their heart, in non-Jewish ways.
"You want Messianic gentiles to stop following Torah."
Gentiles are NOT under the various Jewish obligation found in Mosaic Torah and tied to the nation of Israel. I think that the apostles made that plainly clear. However, the Torah has something in it for everyone. Gentiles should study it and learn from it.
"You guys want to create a religion virtually-free of gentiles."
No, we do not - Gentiles committed to the Jewish people are welcomed. On the other hand there are hundreds of Gentile Messianic/One Law communities which are Judenrein. So, I think it's a bit hypocritical to thrust such an accusation at Jewish believers.
Also, being believers in Yeshua are we not part of the same "religion" regardless of what denomination we attend?
"This isn't the New Testament model."
Many Messianic Jews disagree with your reading of New Testament.
"You guys all say these things plainly on your blog, it's only when we call you out do you backpedal and hair-split and release the red herrings."
No backpedaling here. Only looking forward.
You want Messianic gentiles to stop following Torah.
ReplyDeleteSeen this?
Orthodox Rabbi's View of Gentiles and the Torah.
Puts an interesting spin on things.
You read it here first, folks.
ReplyDeleteBilateral Ecclesiologists, such as Gene, want all Messianics to stop using the terms "Messianic", "Israel", and "Judaism" to describe themselves.
Unless, of course, you're a Bilateral Ecclesiologist, in which case usage of those terms is A-OK.
This is another example of them trying to delegitimize and extinguish people they deem undesirable, which includes not only most gentiles, but most Messianics in existence today.
Theirs is essentially a boil-the-ocean scheme:
Step 1. Get rid of all existing Messianics by changing their minds to join us, or, if they refuse, delegitimizing them as not-Messianic, not-Israel, not-Judaism, not-legitimate.
Step 2. Jewish identity is preserved.
Step 3. There is no step 3, we've won!
"Step 3. There is no step 3, we've won!"
ReplyDeleteTo the victor goes the spoils, right?! Actually, Step 3 would be peace and harmony, good will toward all, unity with love and respect between Jew and Gentile, and last but not least cessation of mass confusion and false teaching on the subject of G-d's will for Jews and Gentile. One could only hope and pray.
Judah, I note with much sadness how in your comments you've attempted to villainize those Messianic Jews who, though not even a part of your own circle of fellowship, do not agree with you on certain aspects of theology by attributing to them such terms as "delegitimize", "extinguish", "exclude", "undesirable", "religion virtually-free of gentiles."
ReplyDeleteI am certain that you didn't mean it and that it was just an expression of frustration.
I'd be sad, too, if I was a proponent of that harmful theology. Bilateral Ecclesiologists are suppressing and trying to extinguish all Messianics who do not adhere to their beliefs.
ReplyDeleteEvidence of this is the desire to prevent any Messianic congregation from using the term "Messianic", unless, of course, said congregation is comprised of Bilateral Ecclesiologists.
While Derek is proposing that Gentile "Messianic" groups not use the term "Messianic", Bilateral Ecclesiology congregations, the MTJI or anybody else for that matter can't actually enforce that suggestion. The only way to really tighten the screws would be to somehow make the word a legal "brand name" and then defend it in court, which is probably a legal impossibility. That would also pretty much nail the coffin shut on any fellowship between "strict" Messianic Jewish groups and more mixed or Gentile congregations. Not exactly promoting the love of the Messiah.
ReplyDeleteIn reading Derek's blogs (principally parts 6 and 7 of the series you posted here), I must admit he seems to be working on Gentile inclusion and reducing what he calls "particularism" in the MJ movement. He even seems to have a "softer" viewpoint on some issues than Gene. No, I haven't consumed any Kool-Aid, but I can recognize bridge-building efforts when I see them.
Incidentally, I don't feel rejected or marginalized by Gene. I know we've butted heads from time to time, but you don't have to agree with another person's viewpoint universally to respect and like them. There are even some things Derek has said in the past couple of days I can agree with.
No one was more surprised than me. ;-)
My point here is to not let differences separate us and not to personalize conflict. We already know we're not going to agree with each other on every single major point (and many minor ones). That doesn't mean we can't keep lines of communication open and behave well toward each other. I've been known to get my knickers in a knot from time to time, but given a chance to cool off, I can make amends if the opportunity arises.
The Master did command us to love each other, after all. He didn't say we had to agree with each other all the time...just love each other.