The Faith Column

4 comments from readers

mama pajama
30 January 2008 at 19:12

Religion at best connects us to something beyond our mortal existence, to each other, to all life and to God, and helps us find purpose and meaning for existence. Religion at worst separates us from all of the aforementioned best. That's something I came up with a few years ago and have shared with Jew and Christian friend alike who agree with it even though our religions have much in disagreement.

Christians have a love-hate relationship toward the Jews. While believing the original Hebrew Scriptures to be the infallible and inspired word of God, they also believe the New Testament to be equally, though superceedingly, inspired. This includes Paul's words in which he calls Jews "the enemies of the Gospel." But Paul explains that this had to happen for God's acceptance to be extended to the Gentiles.

That thinking is foreign to Jewish law (Torah )where the Gentile is already capable of direct connection to the Divine and able to live righteously through the Noahide covenant.

Rather than bring together Jew and Gentile in understanding and respect. This form of misrepresentation of the eternal covenant of Israel is creating a deep divide when Christians present Christianity as "Torah observant" Judaism.

I say that this form of Christian evangelism cloaking itself as “fulfilled Judaism” in falsehood is damaging because of how it is affecting the way non-Jews view Judaism and Jews. Jews comprise less than 1 percent of the world’s population and while the stereotype has it that we control the media and views everyone has about us..the reality is far different.

The evangelic campaigns here and abroad are insidious as a destructive force to Judaism because they are creating a wave of Jew hate here in my own country the likes of which I never thought possible. They are dividing Jews from our Christian neighbors like nothing before in my lifetime. This creates a mind set in people who do not view themselves as “haters” of justifying atrocities done *to* Jews. I have heard it said countless times by people who claim to love Jews and Israel that Israel deserves suffering because they “reject” Jesus.

Jesus is insignificant to the eternal covenant of Israel.

Jewish identity is determined by Jewish law. One serious issue is that to many, it has left the arena of Jewish law and entered into “debate” with non-Jewish public opinion often being given more credibility for legitimacy than that of the Jewish community. The Christian community increasingly embraces the Hebrew Christian “Messianic” as legitimately speaking for authentic Judaism, and as Jews who are persecuted by their very own people. These Christians then come to view Jews as intolerant or bigoted!

When Churches that claim they respect the Jewish people and Israel allow these individuals to speak in public forum as representatives of the Jewish people to teach about Judaism, they are disrespecting the Jewish community completely. It is especially hurtful to see this happening in some churches where there was previous goodwill between the Jewish and Christian community. Many Jews still ignore this as an insignificant cult fringe element that will die off and disappear because “Messianic Judaism” appears as so illogical and contradictory to Jewish thinking.The problem with that attitude is that head in the sand thinking by many in the Jewish community creates an illusion of acceptance that fosters its very spread!

. It is the larger widespread acceptance by non-Jews that is significant to the insidious nature to this movement. Because Jews are few in number and often fail to speak out clearly on this issue, the few Jewish voices who call for the Christian churches to not allow them to speak FOR Judaism, are often ignored or insulted. I know that the majority who speak out try very hard to do so while maintaining respect and brotherhood. That is the method I work hard to employ. Yet, II also know we are actually often being silenced as being bigoted to “ our own”. This leads to Jewish communities afraid to speak out for fear of a backlash or being presented to the community as being intolerant when bigotry is one of the main things we are trying to combat and prevent!

They fear it because we hear those insults being hurled! It happens! So only a small number of Jews like me are risking our social standings and reputations to try to appeal to reason while many of our Jewish bretheren turn their heads and hide from the slurs.

I say nothing here with any desire to create hate. My efforts are to stop it. I am earnestly trying to highlight what is sadly happening now and perhaps touch at least one additional person to become dedicated to help stop the spread of hate through misinformation. It is only through an honest dialog that we can develop peace and genuine understanding between any peoples.

And while I am most strongly appealing to all my fellow Jews to wake up and speak out on this, I have come to the realization that this is not something the Jewish people can do on our own. I am appealing to Christians to help by speaking out against this deception. You are a far larger number of people and while these are co-religionists who share your faith, how they are trying to spread it is creating discord and skewing a message of honesty and love.

I do not see Christians being condemned for speaking out against the KKK, the Christian Identity Movement or the Westboro Baptist church as promoting or creating hate. In fact, I see Christian groups being formed to speak out against them and rightfully so! It is a righteous expression of faith to speak out against people who hijack your faith to spread lies in the name of your faith

If you claim to love the Jewish people and then try to tell us that every aspect of our longstanding faith in God and customs to honor this faith are topsy turvy what message are you giving us?

History has shown from the days of the Torah, that the worst calamities befall the Jewish people as a nation happen when the Jewish people in large numbers STRAY from the Torah or try to pervert it by introducing idolatrous elements into it. I can now finally understand how this happened in the past as I see it happening yet again.. Do we want the Jewish people divided from within so that we are more vulnerable to assaults from without to tear us apart, leaving us easy prey for perhaps the greatest suffering that Jews have ever known? Or do we want to let our light shine clearly as a light unto the nations and our voices call out clearly for honesty, justice and mercy in our walk alongside every other people?

Hillel’s words come to my mind. If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am for myself alone, what am I? If not now, when?

Please do not remain silent for fear of reprisal, being silent will only ensure that the message of those who misrepresent Judaism is louder than the example of your life.

I have found the relationship between Christian, Jew and Muslim in a horrible condition. I want to help fix that. I am one middle-aged mom in Arkansas. I am not arrogant or crazy enough to think I can figure this out all by myself when the greatest leaders of the past and our world leaders today cannot seem to get this straightened out. I know that we do not all pray to the same deity for help but I know we can still have our voices used collectively together to ask for the same things that we say we all want. Peace, justice, mercy, honesty, understanding, respect, brotherhood, unity, and cooperation rather than competition. Isn’t this what we all want?

. Shalom.

Tobax
30 January 2008 at 22:15

Much thanks to Mama Pajama for her insightful response. I too am deeply troubled by the messianic-Jewish movement. I am an American Jew living in Germany, and have observed this phenomenon up close here as a journalist. Russian-speaking Jewish immigrants are the prime target of missionaries, whose message is that Judaism is incomplete. Mr. Pacht, in his posting, suggests that a spirit of forgiveness toward Germans was part of his religious transformation. The implication is that Jews are not forgiving. This narrow-minded view is shared by extreme right-wing (neo-Nazi) groups here in Germany. It almost sounds as if Mr. Pacht has adopted anti-Jewish stereotypes and condemned his former self. But Mama Pajama is right - Judaism is a very forgiving faith. Unlike the faith he has adopted, Judaism sees a place in the world to come for all those who behave in a righteous manner - and not just Jews. Mr. Pacht apparently did not know much about Judaism when he left it. But it is never too late for him to return. And it is fine to respect the great philosophers and healers of other faiths. Once one begins to worship them, however, one is no longer Jewish, even if one's ancestors were.

BritishAirman
03 February 2008 at 08:38

A lesson you might like to read, Sunday 03 February 2008.

http://markatscotland.blogspot.com

mazaluk
04 February 2008 at 17:39

You anti-Semites don't give up, do you?

Only 2 days ago you had a similar article - well here is my reply - AGAIN!

The New Statesman, not content with its anti-Semitic attacks on the Jews as a nation, now turns its unholy attention on to the Jewish religion as well.

Not content with villifying the Jewish state, they desecrate the core belief of Judaism - that there is but one G-d in heaven and earth, incorpreal and who alone created the heavens and the earth.

The Jewish people will never accept the pagan concept that a mere man can become a god.

How much longer must the Jewish community suffer this Jew-baiting by the New Statesman? Julius Streicher must be laughing in hell!

Perhaps the New Statesman believes that the eternal Jew is an easy target with its small world wide 13 million adherents, representing 0.02% of the world's population.

I wonder how soon the editorial offices of your mag would suffer if you publicised a "Muslims for Jesus" group?