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Please De-Christianize this Article

The language structure and conceptual framework of this article reflects Christianity, much more than it does Messianic Judaism. The theology section is CHRISTIAN theology, NOT Messianic JEWISH theology. In fact theology and eschatology, are entirely Christian focuses. 12.218.150.29 04:57, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

12.218.150.29, if you would, please register with wikipedia and create a screenname. Also after much talk and debate/intense discussion over this article (see this page and corresponding archives for this article) this is as Messianic as we can get it, hon. The article must come from a NPOV and the article is for the most part to cite its sources. And *sigh* there’s a guideline for all of that. Not every person that has a website is considered a viable source. Also, what you’ve LEARNED is not a viable source, either. As for the theology section – please point out what it is you consider being Christian theology, is it because they call the Messiah “Jesus” in the article? Because when I read the theology section, it seems to be inherently MJ to me. Even the Eschatology Section, which is 75% Jewish. Look forward to your repliesRivka 16:32, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

Another New Editor!

Hello!

At the risk of stepping in to a controversial topic that appears to have had a few edit wars, but in the spirit of the "be bold" philosophy, I've taken the liberty of rewriting the lead section. I am relatively new to WikiPedia, but I have tried to write it in a encyclopedic NPOV style. I hope you'll agree, and I'm sure you'll tell me what you think! Please be specific with any comments, especially those relating to POV matters.

There is definitely too much material in there, and some should be moved to the body of the article at a later stage. But much more work is needed to restructure and expand the whole article before this can be done. I felt it was more important at this stage to provide something that mentioned all the key points in a readable and NPOV fashion.

I have included all but one of the existing references (which was effectively a duplicate) and added a couple more. There is plenty of scope for additional or better ones.

For the rest of the article, I don't feel that the current starting point of identity is helpful. The reader needs to understand why issues of identity are important first. Moving the section on history to the start seems to be the best way to approach this. What do others think?

Would now be a good time for someone to archive this talk page?

Sidefall 09:47, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

Please discuss edits here before making such broadsweeping changes. (unsigned, but log says added by 12.218.150.29)

Did you actually bother to read my changes before reverting them? I don't think that calling them "broadsweeping" is particularly accurate as (a) they only affected the lead section, and (b) the substance was largely unchanged and based on the original text. You didn't even put my username correctly in the log! It would have been polite for you to say if there was anything in my edit that you took exception to. Perhaps you could also register a username (as you've been asked to previously), and also sign your comments as recommended.

I am sorry if I was out of order by not discussing my ideas here first, although you'll note that I did ask about reordering some sections, which I considered to be a more substantial change. I'm keen to improve this article, by which I mean helping to make it comprehensive, well-written, accurate, and NPOV (none of which are currently true). But I'm not going to waste time if my contributions aren't welcome. Please could some other people offer their opinions both generally and on my edit. Sidefall 19:00, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

I favor sidefall verision. I would like to remind everyone of Misplaced Pages:No personal attacks. Jon513 19:17, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

Sidefall, apparently someone has reverted what you wrote back to the previous version. While I feel that there could be a mixing of the two (because I think your line should come first and then, the quote from whatever Messianic Institution that is already there), I DO NOT feel that anyone should cause this to start any "edit war". To the anonymous person who said he made a broadsweeping change -- it would be appreciated by all if you would either sign your name to your comments, or register a screenname -- whichever you need to do. It is unfair for you to comment or revert anything from some secret hiding place from which no one can touch you.

Sidefall, let's work on incorporating your idea in with what's already there. Rivka 19:46, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

Rivka, the revert was done by the unregistered user who left the comment above about "broadsweeping changes" without signing it. I've added his IP address to make it clear who wrote it. My response to him/her wasn't intended as a personal attack.

I'm not sure what you mean by "quote from messianic institution that is already there". There is a copy of the UMJC definition in the source, but it is commented out so doesn't appear on the page. The UMJC definition is obviously relevant to this page but shouldn't appear in the lead section on NPOV grounds. It only represents one POV and there has been some opposition to it which should also be reported.

What's the best way to incorporate my stuff without starting an edit war? 22:06, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

I've just added a few more relevant books (with a variety of differing points of view) to the bibliography. That shouldn't cause too much controversy! Sidefall 22:30, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

Sidefall -- sorry I didn't realize that quote was just a comment. Didn't catch that. That being said, I don't see any problem with you posting what you originally wrote. I don't know if you want to wait for another vote, but that's me, you and Jon on the band wagon for your edit. Now, as for the anonymous user, since the person will not log in/create an account -- well I don't know what to do if said user comes through and reverts the edits again. Jon, any ideas? Rivka 18:12, 11 August 2006 (UTC)

Archiving Talk Page

I also contend that this page needs to be archived. I just don't know how to do it. If there is anyone that could help, it would be appreciated by all to release us of some of the clutter... Rivka 19:47, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

don't have time now, you can read Misplaced Pages:How to archive a talk page. leave the last 10 or so sections. Jon513 20:21, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

It's done!Rivka 19:02, 11 August 2006 (UTC)

Thanks Rivka. This is also a note to let you know that as a fellow MJ editor that I'm still checking in on this revision. I can feel the pressure mounting for additional sources to be cited. I hope to do those in the comming days. inigmatus 07:03, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

Much good, some not so good here...

I had to go away for a few months. I'm glad that the counter-missionaries no longer own the page. Thanks a lot to the editors who have brought this page into a more NPOV state. Having said this, there are some issues that might need to be addressed.

The first thing I note is that has been redirected here. This makes about as much sense to me as redirecting Ireland to North Ireland. I'm not sure why, but the history section has been dramatically cut down, and in doing so has essentially eliminated the historic developments in the separation of Messianic Judaism from Hebrew Christianity.

I'm not certain if there is a relationship to these changes or not, but the overall tone of the article is now very Christian. There were some real howlers, which I've corrected. (A bimah is never referred to as a pulpit, and most of Judaism considers writing out any version of the tetragrammaton in this context to be near blasphemy.) These kind of slipups are not to be taken lightly. We do the antimissionaries' work for them if we come of as a bunch of Christians playing at Judaism.

The section on theology, is extremely Christian in its form and tone, especially the subsections on doctrines. The very term escatology is a Christian term, and its is presented as if there has been some great conference to decide them matter. I pretty much agree with what is presented, but I strenuously object to its being presented as definitive Messianic theology.

The section on holidays is weird at best. Why not state, "As a self-identified branch of Judaism, Messianic Judaism observes traditional Jewish Holidays, while some individuals continue to celebrate Christmas and/or Easter for various reasons, including family harmony."?

The entry on kashrut is self-contradictory.

NathanZook 01:48, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

If you could clean up the character references for the Hebrew that would be great. All other changes you made to the article were good updates in my opinion. You are correct in that this article has a Christian view - meaning that it uses Christian terminology like "eschatology" - but neither do I think that we should throw out the baby with the bathwater and not use the title at all until a better one can be found. There are no Messianic Jewish equivalents for eschatology, but I was thinking prior to your post that "End Times Theology" might work better.

If you mean that the article is "Christian" in its theology rather than its use of terms, I'd love to hear how and what you define as Christian, as opposed to Messianic Judaism.

Also, when I redrafted the article, I didn't move as much as I wanted to over from the previous version's History section. I have left this for other editors to do as I myself am still studying the history of Messianic Judaism and I do not feel confident enough to appropriately expand the section using cited resources just yet - as I am still collecting sources.

As for your holiday intro suggestion, I believe that the way the article is current subsectioned is the best way to present what is currently stated - even for the Holiday section. It allows room for growth if need be, and it provides the basis for any subsections regarding disagreements. The goal of the re-write was to present a format that could be expanded to handle all the competing POVs related to the article, and not be locked due to edit wars.

I didn't know that Hebrew Christian redirected to Messianic Judaism. For now, I think that's ok, at least until we get enough material to start creating additional Messianic Jewish pages and thus create a portal to link them all together. I am sure there is someone from J4J who would love to expound on an article for Hebrew Christians. For now, I think the subsection about this in the Identity section is sufficient - and perhaps that is why that article is redirected here.

The goal is to expand the sections with information to the point that they can be moved to their own pages, and a Messianic Jewish portal created. I would love to see that happen - as I am sure other Messianic editors would enjoy seeing that happen too.

Welcome to the editing team! inigmatus 05:03, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

It's good to be back...

When I say "form and tone", I mean "form and tone". I don't know how many mainstream Jewish sites you've visited, but I've NEVER seen anything like the doctrinal statements which are here. I HAVE seen almost identical copy from almost every Christian denomination that I've contacted. Christian creedalism is one of the things that distinguishes it from Judaism. (And I can pull multiple scholarly references on this if needed.) If that weren't enough, the subsection label "Non-essential Doctrines" has a distinctly Evangelic tone.

I've been trying to figure out how to address the issue, which must be here. Here's the problem: we are an emergent NMR. As such, even if we wanted to hammer out our ninety-five points of argument with Christian denomination X, there is no extant or even possible forum in which to agree on such points, nor would we agree with each other if such a forum were available. As much as I dislike the fact, there is an effectively unbroken continuum from Hebrew Roots Christianity, through Hebrew Christianity, to Messianic Judaism. And congregations can and have moved back and forth across whatever divide one might wish to draw. To present otherwise is to violate NPOV. Worse, (from my POV) it seems that almost no one self-identifies as Hebrew Christian without being pushed. I attempted to research the links at the bottom of the page back around March, and it was striking how many referred to themselves as "Messianic" on their sites, but when queries if they thought of themselves as being part of Judaism, they came back "no". A scholar might well conclude that "Hebrew Christian" is a term coined by people wishing to confine the term "Messianic Judaism" to be consistent with its syntactic meaning. It seems possible, even likely, that the term "Messianic" (by itself) will come to mean what I want "Hebrew Christian" to mean.

My point? Theology and doctrine must be presented as a continuum. Spurious doctrines which have/are being attached (ie: Sacred Name & Ephramite) by some must be admitted. While the Evangelic/Torah Pole sections on earlier versions of the page had its problems, it at least had the potential of presenting this unfortunate fact. I may take a swipe at reworking this section. In the meantime, please take a look at Rashi's Thirteen Principles of Faith (page 179 in the Artscroll Siddur), and the first part of Sanhedrin 11. That's about as formal as Judaism generally gets.

NathanZook 22:35, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

In the theology section, I don't see there being a disagreement in Messianic Juadaism on the essentials of agreement of which would be seen as the absolute essential salvific doctrines of MJism that all MJs would agree on - the key phrase being "all MJs". There might be disagreement between different MJs over what is essential for salvation in addition to these (like keeping Torah), but the list presented is what all MJs do agree on as being essential for securing a place in the world to come. Granted there is no forum to decide these salvific essentials, but does their have to be for the assumption to be correct - after all we have the Scriptures! We know there are agreeable essentials of our faith, as there are other groups that deny the divinity of Yeshua, and some groups who have other Messiahs; but MJism is not these groups. These other groups and doctrines aren't the majority, nor even a growing minority in MJism. So then, the non-essentials of agreement are also listed but not all self-described MJs subscribe to those views. The Christians have sources for gathering their statements of faith - and all of our sources are theirs too. Isn't MJism defined apart from other sects of Judaism by the creeds of the Apostles, and later by their testimonies and letters? For the uninitiated, we are Christian by faith (as in saved from the eternal concequence of sin, and secured in a place in the world to come, by faith in the atoning death and resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah), but we are Jewish in practice, because our faith is Jewish - from Abraham to now. Do we then remove the dichotomy by compromising our faith and not say all that we believe in response to the Christians and Jews that seek to quiet us? Hear me out here: our work as believers in MJism is one of apologetics to three groups: Christians, Jews, and the rest of the world. An encyclopedia page on MJism should be the forum where the world can pick out our main points, where Jews can see where we differ with them, and where Christians can see where we are seperated from them.

For the world audience, this article summarizes a lot. For the Jewish audience, we use our Hebrew terms and concepts as much as possible to explain our positions. For the Christian audience, we engage them in their most familiar format: statements of faith - just like Rashi.

Now that I've said this, I would love to see your proposed changes. :)

inigmatus 00:25, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

Well, if by "essential doctrines", you mean "those doctrines which must be accepted for salvation", then you have a substantial logical problem, as faith alone (of the proper sort) leads to salvation, not adherance to a set of creeds. (Credenda Adgenda did a wonderful view of driving this point home recently.)

Moreover, I can pick substantially at almost all of these statements as being univerally held within MJism--especially if I were to insist that they mean the same things here as they do in evangelic Christianity. The process of salvation and santification described in items 5 & 6 is one that I cannot state that I have ever heard before. Some in MJism hold a view which is almost modalism. Others hold that the trinity is too confining, preferring the Etz Chaim model from Kaballah. I've heard the Apostolic writings denigrated to being scarcely above Talmud, which in turn is taken far more seriously (by some) than anything on this page would suggest. You might want to contrast and compare this statement on Messiah with the one that was adopted (after two days of careful debate) by the UMJC conference a few years back.

But these particulars are not my primary issue. My primary issue is that this section is saying, by its mere construction and tone, that MJism is Christianity with a twist. The details probably align precisily with a particular denomination. I am concerned that Christians don't decide that we are lost and in need of a home missions effort. But I'm not willing to dress up as a Christian to that end, in part because I take seriously Paul's implicit charge to stir up the jealousy of the Jews.

Messianic Judaism exists in opposition to Christianity on a number of key points. These differences, and the continuum on which they are held, should frame this discussion. If a reasonable man can scan signficant parts of this article and come away with the veiw that we are a bunch of wannabees, then there is no need for the antimissionaries to mess with us. We have done their work for them.

And I'll see if I can get a start of a straw man together on my talk page tonight. ;)

NathanZook 01:12, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

Uggh. That was much, much longer than I wanted. Please critique and edit mercilessly what I have in User talk:NathanZook as a possible replacement for the theology section.

NathanZook 04:36, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

I responded to you on your talk page. Good material so far. Let's keep working on it though. I had a few suggestions. inigmatus 05:41, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

Christian Views of Messianic Judaism

The section on Christian views of MJ needs serious revision. As it stands, it is eaisly a MJ POV critique of Christianity rather than a NPOV discussion of how Christians view Messianic Judaism, both positive and negative.

To anon - I see what the issue is and agree that it is POV. (It's really one sentence that makes it that way)

I plan to change it as soon as I get a moment; however, please feel free to change it yourself, if you would like to.

Also, if you choose to update/edit the article, we would appreciate it if you logged in, or created a screen name.

This would also be handy in confering here in the Talk Section.

Rivka 21:30, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

To anon and everyone else -- I have removed sentence that was POV. Rivka 22:53, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

Well, to be completely honest, the link to Antinomianism is iteself POV. Certainly, it reflects our view of Christianity and not the reverse.

NathanZook 04:27, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

Nathan – I didn’t bother to check that link (because I don’t even know what that word means lol). Rivka 15:38, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

Theology: Essential Doctinres and Non Essential Doctrines

I was wondering if we as an editing team could review for NPOV purposes, the list I posted in the subsections Essential Doctrines and Non Essential Doctrines in regards to the beliefs held by the vast majority of those who consider themselves Messianic. There are a lot of beliefs in Messianic Judaism, and the beliefs vary from congregation to congregation, even in the same city, even on the same block. However, I believe it is necessary to the encyclopedic nature of the article to list what the vast majority of Messianics do believe, and also list all other beliefs that the vast majority do not agree on. That was the purpose for the Essential (to salvation/being a Messianic) Doctrines and the Non Essential (to salvation/being a Messianic) Doctrines subsections I created. I felt it was necessary to create them, using a list from several sources (my and other congregations, Messianic Manifesto, and even older versions of this article and their sources). I feel that it would be in the public's best interests for us to work on this list. Perhaps a change in the name of the sections to "Popular Beliefs" and "Not So Popular Beliefs", or "Agreeables" and "Non Agreeables", or "Messianic Essential Beliefs" and "Messianic Non Essential Beliefs" etc. I hope I'm making sense as to my desire for something to this effect. Perhaps if we can come up with subsection headings and agree on the titles, that the content within those subsections will be easy to formulate, based on various sources. So far, I do like "Essential Doctrines" and "Non Essential Doctrines" (KISS principle) and then an explanation within the subsection and what it covers: the beliefs that a majority of Messianics adhere to, and the beliefs that are not as agreeable to the majority. I am also open to the idea that we don't fuss with what is held by the majority of minority in regards to these doctrines, in favor of just a subsection simply titled "Doctrines" with a whole list there (if the doctrine doesn't have a subsection elsewhere in the article, or have its own article, then it would get listed in "Doctrines" if there was a verifiable source for the belief).inigmatus 22:15, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

The problem is that what you list as essential and non essential beliefs, represents not Messianic Judaism as a whole, but only the majority American-assimilated branch of Messianic Judaism (This would be like saying that Judaism doesn't believe in a literal Messiah, just because the majority of liberal Reform synagogues in America don't.) For example you list the pagen-christian trinity doctrine in the essentials; whereas Torah observant Messianic Jews reject such a notion. And conversly You list Torah observance and non-essential; but that same segment would claim that torah observance is a at the core of the jewish identity and the teachings of Yeshua, and anyone saying otherwiise would be "least in the kingdom" 12.218.150.29 19:58, 27 August 2006 (UTC)

I think it would be very hard to encompass all the beliefs of the multitude of Messianic Believers worldwide. I will say that I, as a Torah-Observant Messianic Believer, thought *I* was the majority until I read the wikipedia article lol. That being said – I know many different sets of Messianic Believers. All of those sets are “Torah-Observant”, at least to the best of their interpretation of the word. No Messianic Believer I know celebrates Christmas or Easter; all MJs I know observe the feasts and the dietary laws. MJs I know don’t accept the trinity in the way Christians believe it. I agree with 12.218’s last line, that to us Torah observance is at the core of the teachings of Yeshua. I do not know of one Messianic Believer that feels otherwise. I think for us the things that are often seen in different lights are the faith the sets put in rabbinical laws, and thoughts on what the Tanakh and B’rit Chadashah say in regards to clothing (Kippah or no Kippah? Etc). I will not be in a position to reply to anything from 8/30 to 9/6; I will be in Brooklyn visiting family. Shalom -- Rivka 20:11, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

Major Adherents of Messianic Judaism

I know the article List of Messianic Jews and Hebrew Christians already exists, and I don't like to see the duplication of effort. Having said that, after reading and editing the article I can't help but come away with the feeling that this article could use a section specific persons (preferably historical as well as modern persons) who where ethnically Jews, but belived in Yeshua (Jesus): such persons could justifibly be included (regardless of the actual lable they bore in their day). I'm sure His own talmudim (disciples) would make the list, as well as Saul (Paul); some people from the Hashalah (Jewish Enlightenment) period in Europe; and modern-era followers. Between Biblical periods and the Haskalah I'm drawing a (rather lengthy) blank. Dose anyone else here think that a concise, but well rounded section covering notable adherents of Messianic Judaism (and linking to the list for more complete treatment) would be good for the article? Any ideas where the section would start and end? And for my own personal curiosity sake: can anyone think of a Jewish followers of Jesus from the Middle Ages? —Wikijeff

---

At this time, I would much prefer that the matter not be raised, as there is almost no way to create such a list without appearing to be Christian triumphalists. I know, I know. It's normally minorities that try to point out "See all these names you know that are like us". But a Jew who converts to Christianity is 1) going from a small religion to a large one and 2) doing something I don't want. A list of major Jews who accept Yeshua as the messiah and continue to worship the God of their fathers as did their fathers--now that is a list that I might like to see linked. Starting with Yacob ha Tzadik (ie: James the Just), of course, followed by Paul/Shaul "I have not walked in a disorderly fashion." of Tarsus, and the Shaliach John, who taught his Greek disciple (Polycarp?) to celebrate Pesach.

NathanZook 03:40, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

Messianic Jews are nothing more than devout Christians

Holy Christian Bible consists of Old Testament and New Testament

Messianic Jews follow both, unlike mainstream Christians that follow NT only.

Unsigned, if Christians are defined as those who worship God using pagan holidays like the Winter Solstice (Christmas) and Easter, then no, Messianics are not Christians. Just an FYI. You will find many Messianics object to the use of the term "Christian" for many reasons, but these are the most important. Personally I don't see why we should confuse the world who don't even know the difference between a Catholic and a Baptist; but I know other Messianics would disagree with me and do everything they can to promote the term "Messianic" - a term that I use often until I have to clarify it. inigmatus 17:43, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

Objections Sections

the "Jewish objections" and "Christian objections" sections in the article may be factual and possibly NPOV, however they are inconsistent with standard wikipedia style and practice. If you look throughout Misplaced Pages it is not common practice to voice the objections to a subject in an article about that subject (you don't find any objections sections in the article about Chabad, even though many other Chasidim consider them a cult.) These sections should be either deleted or edited to to be more consistent with standard Misplaced Pages practice. 12.218.150.29 20:16, 27 August 2006 (UTC)

critism sections are very common on wikipedia. Jon513 20:34, 27 August 2006 (UTC)

Please site several structurally/stylistically similar examples 12.218.150.29 21:05, 27 August 2006 (UTC)

Category:Criticism of religion has quite a few that expanded into their own article! Jon513 21:33, 27 August 2006 (UTC)

Those pages are of Scholarly criticisms, of the subject matter, not lists "Objections" by its opponents. An article called "Criticisms of Messianic Judaism", which presents objective criticism would be appropriate. 12.218.150.29 08:26, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

The objection sections are necessary to prevent another edit war. Please see the recent archived talk discussions. inigmatus 00:25, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

This is an encyclopedia, not the United Nations. The objective is the appropriate presentation of information, not peacemaking. 12.218.150.29 08:26, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps, if all are willing, we can have a vote on whether or not the objection section should be present. I'd have to say though, that I feel the objection section is valid where it is.Rivka 21:15, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

The problem is that without any criteria of scholarly critisms, this article will become primarily a list of every trivial objection that can be cited on any webpage of those who oppose messianic judaism. There are people who feel it is there moral obligation to make sure every negative comment about Messianic judaism heard and will make that the focus of the article. including only CRITICISMS that have substance and are of a scholarly caliber, will make this a better article, as opposed to a venue to vent biased emotional OBJECTIONS that have no academic merit. 12.218.150.29 00:13, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

--- Look, mister 12.218.150.29, you don't know what you're talking about. Even in its worst days, this article has never been that. If some joker were to try to make it so, even the antimissionaries would revert it.

You're coming in mighty strong about what is really a minor issue. Yes, there is another way of handling the matter--it would probably be better to merely list the distinctives, but you will get an edit war if you try.

We are a NRM, flying in the face of 1850 years of tradition of the largest faith and of the most persecuted faith. Our article is not going to be as pretty as those of more accepted movements until we gain their level of acceptance. May it be soon and in our days.

In the mean time, sit down and learn from those who've earned their stripes on this page.

NathanZook 03:49, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

12.218..., I doubt by formatting the article to include objections would pave the way to allow any trivial objection to be posted - as most of those that are uncited would be disputed here in Talk. I just don't see it happening. If a lot of objections were noted, then obviously we the editors would summarize them and point the reader to a more detailed article - for then there would be reason to create a new article entirely, and not clutter up this one. This article is organic. My intention was for it to grow and for individual parts to eventually replicate into full articles by themselves so a Messianic Judaism portal could be justified. Someone had to start somewhere, and you have to admit that the way this article is formatted is much better than any other that was attempted. If you have ideas or information you'd like to contribute we'd love to see it. Just keep in mind that most people don't like to see their stuff deleted from this article without at least some kind of group consensus. inigmatus 17:56, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

Shalom in the Name of Yeshua! The problem here is terminology and lack of understanding. First of all, the true Name of Jesus is Yeshua, which means Salvation. Jesus is the English version of the Greek Name "Isos". The Greeks called Him "Isos Christos" which meant Jesus the Anointed One. Christ is the English versionof Christos, which means Anointed or anointed one. Messianic comes from the word Messiah.

There could not be a "Christian" without Yeshua, who lived in a Jewish body created by the Holy Spirit and the cooperation of Miriam (Mary, a Jewish Virgin). Yeshua is a Jew. He will return to Jerusalem, Israel. He is NOT a Christian and never will be a Christian. Christians are a sect that was formed as they were the first Believers. Actually, they were Believers in the Messiah, who was the Anointed One. The name Christian was formed from the word Christos. It is the English version of Christos. It is all about Yeshua (Salvation) called Jesus in English. He loves both the Jew, Gentile, Buddhist, Muslim etc. He is the Son of the Living God, therefore He is God on His Father's side and human on His mother's. His physical body is human,Jewish and called Yeshua. His Spirit Body is called Christos, the Anointing, Powerfilled. The difference with some Christians is that since Judaism is an Exclusive religion, way of life, and the sect of Christianity is an Inclusive religion, way of life, the Christians, who accepted Yeshua (Jesus) could not receive the proper instruction about Him. They had limited knowlege before the computer and television. So, because of this, there is lack of understanding of terminology, culture, traditions, and customs. Most Americans were never taught their native language; only English, while the people from the other countries came to the US and spoke their mother mother language as well as English. They were basically ignorant people with Great Faith, which moves God. So. from ths time on, don't fret or make chaos over trivial things. Each religion (way of life) will lead to Yeshua eventually. The Holy Scriptures tells me that. Shalom

Who IS that?... No signature... okay, look, anonymous, what we do here in "Talk" is discuss the article and how to put it together. What you've said is all fine and dandy, but none of that can be put into the article. Why? NPOV rules here at wikipedia forbid it.

This article must be as neutral as we can get it -- and using anything you've put forth here would, I'm sure, knock the article completely out of balance.

So good for you in knowing yourself and your beliefs; may G-d bless and keep you... Rivka 16:05, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

Law, Grace, and the flow of this Article

The sections (4.1) Law vs. Grace and (4.2) Law and Grace are both one-liners. It seems to me they could be merged into a single section "Competing views of the Torah", (or whatever) with transitional text between the various view-points. I think that, with some additional content, would improve the flow of the article in that section. On a similar note, are their not adherents to Messianic Judaism who (a) do not observe Torah, but (b) do not hold the Torah in conflict with God's mercy and grace toward men? Or, perhaps I've misunderstood some Messianic litrature from the non-Torah observant camp? —Wikijeff 04:22, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

WikiJeff -- They are one liners. They are pretty much stubs that need to be expounded on. Feel free to do that, or to make a suggestion of how to add on to the sections. As for the non-Torah Observant Messianic Believer -- speaking for myself, I don't know any Messianics like that, and have never read any literature from such people. I don't think anyone will have an issue with you even renaming the section if you'd like (if anyone does, please say so). Just remember that, if possible, to cite your references. Rivka 22:28, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

Hard article to make NPOV

I've only spent about an hour looking into this, after bumping into a reference to 'Jews for Jesus'. It seems very simple to me. I would define it as 'Messianic Judaism' as an approach to converting Jews to Christianity by offering them an alternative religion that is at it's core Christian but keeps some trappings of Judaism. A relatively small number of converted Messianic Jews are supported by a much larger number of evangelical Christians seeking to convert Jews. Critics accuse the movement of hypocricy, their main arguments being that that the majority of people supporting the movement identify themselves as Christians, that it is funded by and closely shares most of its membership with Christian organisations who's stated goal is to convert Jews to Christianity, and that Messianic Jewish organisations mislead prospective converts by concealing these connections.

Anyway, good luck to you all in trying to find an NPOV solution to what seems to me, in my humble opinion, an attempt by very ferverent Christians to be dishonest to save souls. If you can fix that, maybe you can take a stab at the 'terrorist versus freedom fighter', 'torture versus fighting terrorism' and 'pro-life versus pro-choice'. :)

12:35, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

How absurd! I was born a JEW and was raised by Jewish parents in the Messianic faith. I never have been some "secret Christian spy"!!! How rude! Dishonest to save souls? WTF man? Look...straight-up: I'm Jewish (last name JUDAH...can't get more Jewish than that) I adhere to Torah and I believe Yeshua is the messiah...sound like a Christian spy? Well...can't help ya, sorry :-\ -FX 65.204.232.77 11:48, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

I'd appreciate more information "I've only spent about an hour looking into this". And, be fair, I never said "secret Christian spy", so I don't think that should be be presented as a quote. In more detail: 1) the messianic Jewish sites I looked at were concerned with converting jews 2) I tracked them down through some what website links to what and who is a member of what and what I found was funding from Christian organizations support from Christians and evangelical organizations who state they want to convert Jews 3) i found plenty of criticism that i paraphrased above, it seemed supported 4) i took a look at the claims of persecution and 100,000's membership and both seemed dishonest. 5) my personal opinion, a more accurate name would be Christians for the Old Testament. Jesus is the crux of your belief, but you downplay him in your public face. From what I read, the claim that you are being dishonest to convert mainstream Jews has merit. But that wasn't my point, I just don't think this can be made NPOV. TRWBW 18:02, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

Renovations

Today I have reworded various parts of this page to make it more coherant with what Messianic Judaism actually is in my comprehensive studies: the practice of Judaism that also happens to believe Jesus is Messiah, which Messianic Judaism actually is, rather than the practice of Christianity in Judaism's clothing, which it is not. I have done so in a non-biased way that actually has some balance between the two opposing views, IMO. Perhaps this brings the page ultimately closer to having a comfortable level of NPOV. What do you think? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.64.84.87 (talk • contribs) 24 September 2006

You made a lot of unacceptable POV changes. From the very beginning, that MJ is "the practice of the religion of Judaism" you promote MJ. Despite the deceiving name, the belief in divinity of Jesus in incompatible with Judaism. ←Humus sapiens 22:13, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

Messianic Judaism is no different whatsoever from mainstream Judaism, with the exception that its practitioners also believe that Yeshua is the Messiah. Jews that believe that Yeshua is the Messiah number in the tens of thousands to hundred thousands (at least 10,000 in Yesrael) and there are over 100 Messianic synagogues, so you have no right to treat a valid, Torah-based movement of Judaism as alien. If humanistic "Judaism", a movement now indistinguishable from culture-centric secular humanism, is honored as Judaism, then declaring that any form of Messianic belief is alien? There is nothing N about that POV. Btw, Messianic Jews do not believe that the Messiah is divine in the same way as most Christians; the Messiah is the physical manifestation of the Torah. Most Messianic synogogues/groups will have nothing to do with the Christian group Jews for Jesus, btw. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.64.140.136 (talk • contribs)

Anon, addressing a more minor note first on your changes, please note that the style manual instructs to only capitalize first words in headings, excepting proper nouns. As far as your opinion that "Messianic Judaism is no different whatsoever from mainstream Judaism", I understand that is your opinion, but we don't put editors' personal opinions in the encyclopedia. We quote sources. I don't think you'll find a mainstream Judaism source that agrees with your opinion. --MPerel 06:28, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

Other forms of Messianic Judaism

I don't know if it's been discussed in the talk archives, but surely 'Messianic Judaism' encompasses more than just Jews who believe in Jesus? Maybe I'm widely off the mark, but I think that the term 'MJ' includes all branches of Judaism who feel that the messiah has already come, including the followers of Sabbatai Zevi, David Reubeni and Jacob Joseph Frank (only one of whom, Frank, believed in Jesus). Ayin/Yud 08:07, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

Not so my good friend. They really ought to be kept seperate. As a Messianic, and if you were to ask others I think perhaps they would agree: They aren't related. Messianic Judaism REALLY IS ABOUT Yeshua (Jesus). That's the defining characteristic. -FX 65.204.232.77 11:51, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

Factual Accuracy Debated?

I noticed on the main page it says the factual accuracy is debated. What's debated!? I've read a lot of this talk page...and it's as if the WHOLE IDEA is debated! I'm finding this talk page to be a confusing mish-mash of theological whatchamacallit and noise that really doesn't have much to do with ANYTHING that is Messianic Judaism. If you guys REALLY wanna know what Messianic Judaism, then please please please, go read/listen to Eddie Chumney, Joel Chernoff, Monte Judah, Ralph Messer, Bill Cloud, Brad Scott and a whole slew of others I'm not gonna mention of the top of my head. Many of them have books, cds, pamphlets etc. that could EASILY be referenced so that people quit questioning this whole thing. Also, while I'm at it, I think the numbers that were mentioned in the first paragraph (47,000) are low...REALLY low. Ralph Messer has over 20,000 on his mailing list, want to ask him: www.simchattorah.tv. Monte Judah has some 50,000 plus on his mailing list now, ask him: www.lionlamb.net. Seriously folks, quit arguing your stupid theology on this ALLEGEDLY factual site and do just that STICK TO THE FACTS. You may disagree with the belief, but it's still a FACT and that's what wikipedia is about!! So go do some research, shut up, edit, and live free! -FX 65.204.232.77 12:06, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

Why Messianic Judaism is actual Judaism

Messianic Judaism is Judaism, not some anomoly within Christianity. From the Frequently Asked Questions:

Messianic Judaism is not gentile Christianity in disguise.

   * Messianic Jews observe traditional Jewish holidays such as Purim, Chanukah, etc. Christians do not.

   * Messianic Jews observe the biblical feasts such as the Feasts of Trumpets, Tabernacles and Passover. Christians do not.

   * Messianic Jews do not observe Christian holidays borrowed from paganism, such as Christmas and Lent.

   * Messianic Jews worship on the biblical sabbath, i.e., Friday evening till Saturday, not Sunday.

   * Messianic Jews cant the Sh'ma, and traditional Jewish blessings that most Christians have never even heard of, e.g., the kiddush and the Aaronic benediction.

   * Messianic Jews cant the Torah portion in Hebrew at worship services.

   * Messianic preaching is mainly from the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), although references to the B'rit Chadasha are not unusual.

   * Messianic Judaism emphasizes the special relationship between G-d and the Jewish people, whereas Protestantism and Catholicism only mention it in passing.

   * Messianic Judaism emphasizes Jewish traditions that do not conflict with the Bible, whereas Protestantism and Catholicism totally ignore those traditions.

   * Messianic Judaism asserts that the Torah (literally, "teaching") is still in effect. Christianity claims that Jesus ended the Torah.

     But Christians still teach the Ten Commandments and tell church members to tithe!  <g>

   * Messianic Jews bar-mitzvah their sons and bat-mitzvah their daughters. Christians don't.

   * Messianic Jews wrote B'rit Chadasha. Christians didn't.

   * A Jewish person who converts to Protestantism is called a Hebrew Christian, not a Messianic Jew.

Messianic Jews do not need to be evangelized into Christianity -- they already believe in Yeshua (Jesus).

B'rit Chadasha (the New Testament) was written by Jews, not the Roman Catholic Church. Despite its claims to the contrary, Roman Catholicism did not even come into existence until around 325-400 C.E.

Contrary to common belief, there is no historical evidence that Luke was a non-Jewish Gentile. Either he was of Jewish ancestry or he was a proselyte Jew, i.e., a Gentile who converted to Judaism--Gentiles don't hang around with itinerant Jewish preachers--Jews do.

Most adult Messianic Jews converted from traditional Orthodox or Conservative Judaism into Protestantism (i.e., became Hebrew Christians) and then went back to Judaism, while retaining their belief that Yeshua is G-d's promised Messiah.

Like about half the Protestant denominations, Messianic Jews only baptize believers and only by immersion; Messianic Jews do not baptize infants or baptize by pouring or sprinkling.

Not everyone who considers himself a "Messianic Jew" is.

For instance, for over a year I regularly attended Zola Levitt's Shalom Shalom Congregation in Dallas, Texas. He is ethnically Jewish, he was raised Orthodox Jewish, and he definitely considers himself to be Messianic. However, theologically his beliefs are mainstream Baptist. Hence, he really is a Hebrew Christian, not a Messianic Jew. (He is an ordained Baptist minister.) Almost all the attendees are gentile Protestants. All the staff ministers except Zola are gentiles and all were trained in mainstream Protestant seminaries.

In shorthand, saying that Messianic Judaism (A Hebrew-centric, Torah-based spirituality that has a majority of ethnically Jewish practitioners) is some fringe of Christianity is like saying that Kaballists are not practicing Judaism because they adhere to both Torah and Kaballah, or that Karaites are non-Judaism because they reject Talmud: Who are you kidding?

Christian objections section

The content of that section was laughable. Unless MJ presents themselves as true keepers of the covenant (vs. real Judaism), it looked more like Christian support, not objections:

Christian objections to Messianic Judaism are many and often start with disputes over applications of Torah in a believer's life.

The majority of Christians believe that, with the coming of Jesus of Nazareth, the Law of Moses was made obsolete, see Antinomianism, Christian view of the Law.

Some Christians believe persons observing Torah do not have faith in the Messiah and are forsaking the gift of grace and mercy that God gave to all people, after the Messiah's death and subsequent resurrection.

There are some Christian denominations that have what many would consider to be an anti-Semitic view of Messianic Believers because of their attempted alignment with Judaism.

May I suggest the author to add citations and make it a new section, ==Christian support== ←Humus sapiens 11:11, 26 September 2006 (UTC)

Are you smoking crack, Humus? These are clearly a list of Christian objections, not support. Reactionary statists like you that detest Messianic Judaism (a form of Judaism because it is monotheistic, Torah-based, Hebrew-centered, and has a majority ethnic Jewish participation) have no right to continue to push your half-assed edits on everyone else. Please, stop or at least intelligently discuss before doing these things.

Anon, I do not watch for all your sockpuppet IPs, so I'll write it here. If you are going to continue your involvement with WP, you'll need to comply with WP:RULES. I suggest you register and learn to sign your posts, but first and foremost WP:NPA. I'll ignore your attack this once but don't expect to be able to continue in this manner.

On the subject: The majority of Christians these days respect the ecumenical and reconciliatory spirit of dialogue among various faiths, are tolerant to other religions and reject radicalism and are against missions to the Jews. Those listed above are radical Christian objections to real Judaism, and like it or not, the Messianics are one of their weapons to make Jews believe in Jesus the Messiah, salvation, and other Christian beliefs (which BTW, I respect - until those beliefs are forced upon others). ←Humus sapiens 00:44, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

Messianic Judaism is not a Christian "weapon", considering that Messianic Judaism has the same basic principals of faith and Torah practice as the Conservative-Reform gamut, with the major addition that they have believe Jesus is the Davidic Messiah, and consider what sort of meaning that brings. Now, that doesn't mean that the majority of Christians don't like the movement, perhaps that is what you meant to say.

There is no need to invent a new name for those (born Jewish or not) who believe in Jesus the Messiah: they are called Christians with all the "sort of meaning that brings". FYI, the schism occured about 18 centuries ago. ←Humus sapiens 01:01, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

A Plea

The Talk page of Messianic Judaism is to discuss valid changes or edits needed for the article. The article is ABOUT Messianic Judaism, period. It is not about your views or someone else's views of Messianic Judaism, it is about the article. Unless ANY of you have something constructive to do here, it would be good for those that truly work on the article and its contents if you would take your view-hashing elsewhere. We've all heard it before, both sides (since it only ever seems to be MJs versus Jews on here). The article was locked for a month because of nonsense such as this and I'd rather that not happen again. Repeat: Your banter is not useful here, whether it is for or against Messianic Judaism. You're just taking up space... all of you. Rivka 18:07, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

And PLEASE, anonymous if you are going to type anything it would be fair and respectful if you would register with wikipedia and create a log in name, so that you and your comments can be taken seriously. You should have nothing to hide, if you are sound in your beliefs. This is not the KKK; there is no need for anyone hear to wear masks. Rivka 18:09, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

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