So before I ask for your opinion on something, I'll give you some background:
The other night I attended a Paul Wilbur concert. Everything with the concert itself was fantastic. Hope for Israel (a supposedly independent Israel charity), orchestrated a beautiful, multi-national, prayer for Jerusalem. An Arab woman stood next to a Jewish holocaust survivor and prayed for the peace of Jerusalem, getting choked up in parts, a man who was Kenyan I think prayed in Swahili, a Korean man prayed in Korean, a German woman in German, etc, etc. Needless to say, the beauty of it made me cry.
During another part of the evening, the Holy Spirit seemed to have intervened. Paul Wilbur said, "I'd like to go off script for a moment and play -----" (I don't remember the name of the song). Then, after he was finished, Paul Klassen of Hope for Israel asked him, "Do you know who wrote that?" And Paul Wilbur made some sort of joke (I couldn't hear what he said). But he didn't know who had written it. Well, it turned out that the guy who wrote that song was sitting in the choir behind Paul Wilbur!
So the evening was perfect...almost.
I noticed that at one of the Hope for Israel tables they offered a selection of UMJC reading materials.
Why would that upset me, you ask? Because the UMJC teaches that non-Jews are second-class citizens (good ol' fashioned bilateral ecclesiology at work). They make non-Jewish women feel like they have to marry Jews in order to become a first-class citizen. There are a host of other evils produced by this teaching but I mention the one with which I am most painfully familiar.
So, my question, for those who think there is no war or who think that I'm just "quarrelsome"...I ask you now...
How would you feel if the UMJC was coming into YOUR congregation and disseminating doctrinal views that you personally know to be harmful?
Peter UMJC on Paul Wilbur is just normal. Paul is a christian with not only healthy ties with the church but a part of it; the he has and presents is a kind of christianity with a jewish flavor, what is exactly where UMJC wants Christianity to go... I don't see nothing strange on their relationship at all. I am sorry, though.
ReplyDeletePeter, I am not involved in MessyWorld, except online, and for good reason as you can imagine, so I don't keep us with the latest turf wars. Certainly no one is better than another, although there are different callings. Question: If non-Jews are second class citizens, why would a Jewish man want to marry a non-Jewish woman? Does his first-class-ness rub off on her following marriage? I did have a problem, when I was single, watching the Jewish men, one after another, marry "lovely gentiles," - sweet blondes with a big star of David around their necks who learned how to make matza ball soup. I would hear that these women were preferable to the more dominating and demanding Jewish women, (like myself I suppose) who were supposed to be happy as we attended the bridal showers. And nearly every leader was married to a non-Jewish woman, unless they were married prior to their faith, which puts the kibosh on, "Jesus made me more Jewish."
ReplyDeleteSo, while I don't believe in this bilateral ecclesiology, I do not think every non-Jew should be welcome in a Jewish congregation, especially those who just think Jewish stuff is fun or have come to teach, take over or via numbers, force their ways upon us. I believe one law applies only to those who sojourn among us, to cut our wood and draw our water; in other words, those with servant's heart. Rabbis seek to discourage those who desire to convert. I see no reason to be a part of some group that calls themselves Jewish when the vast majority are not Jewish. As a minority everywhere else, I would love some place to be in the majority, but I suppose that is impossible outside of Israel, even in social media. No, I don't want to go someplace that claims to authenticity where they say the Sh'ma using, "Yahweh," instead of Adonai, takes offerings and drinks grape juice for kiddush to not offend Christian sentiments.
Grape juice is ok for Kiddush according to Halacha...
DeleteJewish Princess,
DeleteI'll ask two different versions of the same question:
(1) What type of Messianic environment would you feel comfortable attending?
(2) How would you solve the problem of the "MessyWorld"?
Well...Last time I checked wine is grape juice, or is it orange juice?
ReplyDeletePeter, I have no problem with objecting to errant doctrine, or naming names or countering false philosophy with biblical doctrine. If you ever watch any of the videos of my derashot you'll note that I'm pretty blunt. I love you and the others here and I'm only trying to help maintain a balance that will make our theology draw others by its tiph'arah.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that my challenge was offensive. I meant no offense and have only to'elet in my heart for you.
Cajun,
DeleteI'm not offended with you, brother. I apologize for being passive-aggressive. You've only acted like a true brother would.
Thank you for your comforting reply brother. Psalm 133:1
DeleteCajun, please keep being a burr under our saddles. We all need to be brought down to earth sometimes. keep it up.
ReplyDeleteThank you Dan. I believe the path ahead for healthy Messianism is to encourage one another and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11); to hold on to our confession of hope (notice the positivity) of the faithfulness of the Lord, being concerned about another and promoting love and good works (Hebrews 10:23-24) on a daily basis so that we don’t become hardened by sin’s deception (Hebrews 3:13). We ought to set apart the Messiah as Lord in our hearts, always being ready to give a defense to anyone who asks us why we have our hope. However, we should do this with gentleness and respect, keeping our conscience clear, so that when we are accused, those who denounce our way of life will be put to shame (1 Peter 2:15-16). Our prevailing strategy must be to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21).
ReplyDelete