I'm jewish and go to a Christian small group?

Question

Alright, I have been going to a christian small group for some time now.Many of the people there are my friends and is just a cool time to hang out and chill. The leader of the small group asked me a question doing with Jesus,"where are you in your walk with christ" I shared my thoughts and the way i believe(i'm a second generation Jew) All the sudden they all went wild! defending thereselves and trying to prove to me that Jesus is the Messiah. I mean i believe that Jesus is real and that he had his place in history,but i don't beleive he fulfilled all the prophecies..
I have felt very uncomfortable in this small group,i went there to learn,not to be judged. They seemed to accept me for who i was and now they look at me like i have 5 heads. I just don't really know what to do in this situation.I guess im just looking for feedback and some of your opinions. Thank you~

Answer 1

I once went to a "fellowship" with a christian friend, (he knew I could hold my own in a religious debate, and it was entirely a all around educational attempt, not an attempt to convert me)

lol, we made no hidden point of my jewishness, even though I was very particular to not be offensive or signifigantly argumentative...

well, lets just say they were not interested in having me again. merely from presenting a differing viewpoint.

I think you have a very good approach, its harmless to be open to other viewpoints, and in fact it can help alot. I've deliberately put myself into a position to have my beliefs challenged and such, and its helped me alot.

if theres not a study group or something, (pirke avot "classes" are very good for this, I found, if you can have acess to such a thing)

if something like that isn't avaliable, maybe see if you can find a group for "A Course in Miracles" if you can tolerate the jesus-y stuff from a outright christian group, well, ACIM should be fascinating to you, and I get a feeling you'd be interested in some of it.

basically its Christianity combined with Kabbalah... I went to a group for this for quite a few times, and from the get go, they were THRILLED to have my opinions, as they knew there was some attachments between the stuff the course was talking about, but they didn't have a contributor for the Jewish-Kabbalistic viewpoint on things. I found it quite interesting too.

and the "jesus stuff" in the ACIM group didn't have that :"icky" film on it, (you know what I mean...)

Answer 2

no, because it is probably in the policies of the cementary to allow religious practices there. if the answer was yes, then the wiccans would just as easily sue everyone else for even praying near their loved ones. ******* really? well then you should probably pick a cementary that is solely for your religous followers in your will. life is diverse, get over it. **** i don't see what the problem of this article is besides her being there after visiting hours. she was doing something customary while visiting someone, just like a catholic uses rosary beads, or a christian would say a prayer over the grave. it's not like she gathered a clan, danced around naked, and then caught the place on fire. and you do practice ceremonies. the funeral is not at the cemetary, but you do say a prayer when lowering the body into the grave and that still counts. **** should i make a spot on my will that i don't care if people sit directly on my grave and practice whatever religion makes them happy, as long as they don't mess up the grass? so you can baptize your whole family over me if you really wanted to. are you just doing a hypothetical questions? because i don't see those details in the article except for one woman.... so if it was a big gathering, then i still wouldn't have a problem with it. most people and groups that go into cemetaries have a tremendous amount of respect for the bodies beneath them and are not going to harm them or disrespect them in anyway. they wouldn't be dancing on (or whatever they do) on your relatives grave, it would be their own loved one.... just like a gathering of your religion would do. k that got longer than it needed to... happy new year!

Answer 3

I hope they were saying these things to you with a loving attitude; wishing the best for you and not beating a Bible over your head. If it came across that way, I would like to say I'm sorry. Christians often don't express themselves as well as they should. I have been a christian for twenty years or so and looking back I haven't come across as very loving at times. Its kind of a weird situation Christians are in; they want you to have what they have, purpose and security in God through Jesus Christ. So, how do you do that and not sound like your shoving your beliefs down someones throat? Some act that way to be sure, like your an object in a contest to be fought over. But not all do, not all do. You found you are similar to them and yet different. One of those differences came up. The question is are all the pluses about this group outweigh the minuses. If its yes, stay. If its no, go. I hope you stay but a day will come when this will happen again, you'll asked about your spiritual journey and where you are in it. We want everyone to have what we have.

Answer 4

Im a Pagan and i whould feel uncomfortable for different reasons. I dont hang out with christians at all and i live in the bible belt, me and my husband are recluses and only go out to places that arent heavy with dark(christian) energies, btw Jews for Jesus are an insult to Judaism, keep your religion as Jews (with nothing mixed) make more sense than christians or islamics.

Answer 5

I don't know what type of "small group" you joined but I will inform you from my studies and personal experience that christians will often form non-threatening groups as a way to entice non-christians into their fold and eventually into their religion. (For me, it was a job working at a small facility to promote music -- only later did I find out that it was a j4j organization.)

I recommend that you consider leaving the group. If that's not an option, I think you should tell your friends that if they really are your friends they'll respect your opinions and feelings just like you do theirs. and lastly, you may want to brush up on your knowledge of judaism (and especially why we don't believe in jesus). I recommend the site http://www.JewsForJUDAISM.org

cheerio

Answer 6

I would find your beliefs fascinating and would bager u for answers to a million questions. Sounds like they were just trying to prove they were really into God or maybe they are really into him. From my experience I try to hang out with people who are not really into God. It drives me nuts to hang out with Bible nuts some of the time. Most of the students at the public school I went to were full of them so I didn't have any close friends. At a bible meeting at college this one Junior Paster freaked me out into not going ever again b/c during some Christain music that was playing from a CD player he raised his hands to the fluresent lights and had his head raised with eyes closed. The other four people acted normal. Long story short maybe u should try talking to the group leader or the minister of the chruch. Ministers at least are surpposed to be open minded. Good Luck with it all. Happy Future Hanaka.

Answer 7

Try to explain to them that you guys agree to be a Friends. Tell them that you believe in your religion and they have to accept you as who you are, but you respect what they believe. The last think don't ever open a religion subject with them when you guys having a good time their is nothing More beautiful than the Friend ship.

Answer 8

It sucks that they wanted nothing to do with you other than convert you, but they probably were under the impression that you were there to learn and accept the Jesus as your "saviour".

Hopefully, as supposed "chrisitans", they will learn to accept your beliefs and you for who are, regardless of what you think about the Jesus.

Answer 9

Being a minority secet in a religon feels the same.

Cam down and tell them that you came here to learn and not be judged. If it continues, leave them. If they are your friends have a one on one talk and they might help you through. If they dont then they arent your friends.

Answer 10

Hi Hannah, In the Christian religion there is a command to tell about Jesus. So when you went into that Christian group and said your religion, they became very excited to tell about God. I am sorry they got so defensive and loud. They just overreacted. They're probably used to Christians getting a bad rep. Please don't give up on your friends or this group because of this one instance.