Messianic Judaism: Is it Judaism or Christianity?

Answer 1

Christians, period. Only Jews have the right to define who we are, and no Jewish organization that I know of would ever consider them to be Jewish.

This is taken from the reference section of this article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jews_for_Jesus

1. “"We believe that Jewishness is a birthright. It is inherited from our parents. Our people are not of one culture; we have diverse cultural expressions (Ashkenazi/Sephardi, Georgian/Russian, Ethiopian, Persian, etc.). Our people are not of one religion. While Judaism might be the traditional religion for many Jewish people, Jews are still considered Jewish even though they might be atheists or even if they embrace other beliefs. Those who say that Jews who believe in Jesus are errant Jews or misguided Jews are entitled to their opinions. But they are not entitled to negate our Jewishness. We are Jews by birth and that cannot change."
2. "There is virtual unanimity across all denominations [of Judaism] that Jews for Jesus are not Jewish." (Kaplan, Dana Evan. The Cambridge Companion to American Judaism, Cambridge University Press, Aug 15, 2005, pp. 139-140).
3. "For most American Jews, it is acceptable to blend some degree of foreign spiritual elements with Judaism. The one exception is Christianity, which is perceived to be incompatible with any form of Jewishness. Jews for Jesus and other Messianic Jewish groups are thus seen as antithetical to Judaism and are completely rejected by the majority of Jews". (Kaplan, Dana Evan. The Cambridge Companion to American Judaism, Cambridge University Press, Aug 15, 2005, p. 9).
4. Jewish groups:
o "To make the record clear, Jews for Jesus is a Christian missionary organization – period." Jews for Jesus: Jewish or Christian? You Decide, Jews for Judaism website, retrieved September 11, 2006.
o "Messianic Jewish organizations, such as Jews for Jesus, often refer to their faith as fulfilled Judaism, in that they believe Jesus fulfilled the Messianic prophecies. Although Messianic Judaism claims to be Jewish, and many adherents observe Jewish holidays, most Jews regard Messianic Judaism as deceptive at best, fraudulent at worst. They charge that Messianic Judaism is actually Christianity presenting itself as Judaism." (Balmer, Randall. Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism, Baylor University Press, Nov 2004, p. 448).

Answer 2

Messianic Judaism IS Christianity.
Many people, Christians and some Jews as well, erroneously believe that just as one can be Black and Christian, just as one can be Oriental and Christian, one can also be Jewish and Christian. It is not true. The Jews are not a race. There is no genetic code passed from either mother or father to the child that makes that child a Jew. Even if all, or some, of the genetic code in a child could be proved to be of Jewish Origin, that would not make the child a Jew. Jewish law determines who is a Jew, and Jewish law is quite clear. If a person's mother is a Jew, and that person has not converted to another faith, then that person will be considered fully Jewish, so long as that person wishes to identify solely as a Jew. Although one cannot convert to become a member of a race, for example one cannot convert to become an Oriental or an African-American, one who converts to Judaism does, indeed, become fully a Jew. Similarly, if one converts from Judaism to another faith, one is no longer a Jew.

Answer 3

I think he may secretly want to be an evangelical/Christian; he just won't take the plunge and convert to Christianity (Or maybe he already has and we just don't know it?). Sure he's doing something good but it seems that his allegiance lies with the evangelicals and not with his own people or even people of other faiths and religions. And your right; how come we aren't trying to maintain ties with other non-Jewish, non-Christian faiths like Buddhism, Hinduism, Ha'hai, etc.? Those groups also want to make the world a better place. After all if we are in fact trying to change the world for the better than why not include all of the people of the world in the cause as well. If we were able to do that then I'm sure the world would change much faster than if we just allow a select few (or certain groups) in the cause of making the world a better place.

Answer 4

It is definitely Christian today but some of its roots can be found in late apocalyptic Judaism of the last 2 centuries before Christ. Christianity was an offshoot of Judaism in the formative years of the early Church. You can say that at Antioch where people were called Christians for the first time , a term which could be equivalent to Messianists. You can not escape the fact that Christians came from Judaism and would have adopted some parts of the Jewish faith that coincided with the ideas of the new way of Christianity and one of these was the late Old Testament concept of Messianic Judaism . Jesus was a Jew of the first century who was proclaimed to be the Messiah but later was recanted by the authorities who demanded his death on political and religious charges. We must also keep in mind the Council of Jamnia in 90 AD which stated that anyone who claimed Jesus as the Messiah was to be expelled from the synagogue and be accursed. The Christians adopted the Messianic Judaism concept of a Messiah-Priest and King and put into the context in which Jesus claimed to be . He was a king , a Messiah just not the Messiah that Judaism considered it would be, that is a conqueror of Rome militarially and economically but a religious priestly Messiah who came to save us. To sum up , the term originated in Judaism but it was elaborated upon and scrutinized by Christianity to their beliefs in Jesus as the Messiah.It is not an invention of Christianity but an adoption of sorts to profess their faith in Jesus as the Messiah.

Answer 5

Totally Christian. These so called "Messianic Jews" prey on the elderly, and "down and out" real Jews in order to convert them to Christianity. These people had their annual convention here in the Twin Cities a few years back. Some real Jews infiltrated their convention, and discovered that only about 25% of these people had even one Jewish grandparent. These people are despicable.

Answer 6

Christianity:

Messianic Judaism and Jews for Jesus are deemed as nothing more than Christian sects using deceitful means to convert Jews. EVERY Jewish denomination denounces these sects as Christians and nothing more. However, by Jewish law, once a Jew, always Jew- whether born or converted. Thus once a person is Jewish they are always judged by Jewish standards, and if they revert/convert to a different religion they are still considered Jewish by Jewish law. BUT, someone practising a religion other than Judaism is considered outside of the community, may not be a member of the community, receive any community honours, be a representative for the community, be buried in a Jewish cemetary, marry a Jew or be treated as a Jew for the purposes of the laws of mourning. However, since they never stop being a Jew- they merely have to repent, return to Judaism and go to mikveh in order to once again be a full member of the community

Here is why we don't believe that Jesus was the messiah in simple terms:
1) The dead were not resurrected
2) The Jews did not beome priests to the other nations
3) There is no world peace
4) The temple is not standing
5) There is no temple service
6) There is no parah adumah or its ashes to render us tahor
7) The messiah is from the House of David. your house/tribe is inherited from your father. Your father is your BIOLOGICAL father- there is no adoption in Judaisim to another father- if God is the father of Jesus- then Jesus cannot be from the House of David as God is not frm the House of David.
8) Human sacrifice is completely forbidden in Judaism- remeber God stopping the sacrifice of Isaac? The idea of a human being sacrificed is the opposite of anything from Judaism!
9) You have to atone for yourself! An essential part of the atonement process is being repentant. Someone cannot be repentant for you- you have to do it for yourself. ONly communal sins can be forgiven communally- not individual, private sins!

And no- the messiah does NOT proclaim himself- he will be recognised by his deeds- not by his claims- in other words, through doing the above he will be recognised as the messiah. On top of that- mashiach is a HUMAN being, with HUMAN parents- the idea of an anthropomorphised God going around and impregnating young woman is completely alien to Judaism- though it fits very nicely into the pagan religions of the time which had their heroes being fathered by gods (ala Hercules and his daddy Zeus)

And here are some major differences between Judaism and Christian theology:
Christianity is totally divorced from Judaism theologically
1) The belief that God would physically manifest to produce a child is the opposite of Jewish belief
2) The belief that God is made up of different beings is the opposite of Jewish belief in the single, undivided nature of God.
3) The belief that any being could set itself up in opposition to God (i.e. the devil) is the opposite of Jewish belief in which God is the sole and only authority and author of events in the world
4) The idea of eternal damnation for people who err (Hell), is the opposite of Jewish belief in which God is loving and always forgives.
5) The idea that God would ever cancel his convenant, after explicitly stating it was eternal, and thus turning God into a liar, is the opposite of Jewish belief
6) The idea that God could ever make a mistake (i.e. that the law he gave was too difficult to follow and was thus replaced with the sacrifice of his "son") is the opposite of the Jewish belief that God is perfect and never makes mistakes.
7) The idea that God can make mistakes is also the opposite of the Jewish belief that God is eternal and across all of time (God is, God was, God will be) and thus knows rthe consequences of every action and can tus never makes mistakes or not know the result sof something he does.

Answer 7

Both. Christianity would not exist if it weren't for Judaism, they are really the same thing except Christians recognize the Messiah. Messianic Judaism is when a Jew recognizes the Messiah. Most Christians are not Jewish so that is why Christians so that is why Christians do not identify as following Judaism.

Answer 8

Messianic Jews are Christians.
For Jews, the belief that God would become human is the ultimate heresy!
.

Answer 9

Christianity.

It has nothing to do with Judaism other than some superficial imagery and misread texts.

Any one who says otherwise is doesn't understand Judaism.

Answer 10

it is by definition, intent and origin, in every way, it is Christian.

it belives things that are absolutely contrary to Judaism.

equivalent to if a group claimed to be christian, and said that jesus was inspired by satan.

there is nothing remotely jewish about it. their entire purpose is to function as a branch of evangelical christianity, to prey upon isolated, uneducated and vulnerable jewish people, and through profound deception, draw them away from God and to the Idolotry of jesus.

edit: additionally, there is ABSOLUTELY NO SUCH THING as a jewish person who belives in Jesus.
if a jewish person comes to belive in jesus as more than merely a man, then he has betrayed his God and forsaken his heritage, and is no longer jewish.

edit for below, umm, yes, if a muslim came to belive in jesus as the messiah, they would no longer be muslim, and would then be christian.

belief in Jesus is contrary to the most fundamental beliefs of Judaism, on several fronts, you cannot be both.