Messianic Jews, Antimissionaries, and the Rest of Everybody

First of all, Messianic Jews don't proselytize. Many people (including on PolishForums.com) are  confusing proselytizing with being open about faith. My and other Messianic Jews' intent is not to convert or force conversion on anybody. 


Certain posters on PolishForums.com like genecps (who is an Antimissionary, and Antimissionaries frequently) say that even being open about your faith is proselytizing or trying to force conversions; which is about them, not me. I understand, meanwhile, where some people are coming from, but I'm not proselytizing--if my intent were to convert anybody instead of just share my faith-based arguments and support them with Scripture, I could see their contention. As I stated, the Antmissionaries (in general, not just on PF) have been skilled in convoluting the meaning of "proselytize". Posting Scripture to support my arguments, by the way, is not proselytizing. Proselytizing is forcing conversion.


To proselytize is to:

Webster: 

: to induce someone to convert to one's faith
2
: to recruit someone to join one's party, institution, or cause
transitive verb
: to recruit or convert especially to a new faith, institution, or cause

We don't do that. We share our faith and let you and G-d make the decision:

1 Corinthians 3:5-8 (NKJV): 

5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

The Inquisitors, the pogromists, etc.--they proselytized.

Secondly, Jeszua (Jesus) was a Jew. So you don't believe that Jeszua was the Messiah. Nu, what can I do about it? But don't tell me that I'm not Jewish because I believe that a Jewish man who you don't believe is the Messiah, is the Messiah. Thirdly, we Jews are a people first, regardless of what we believe--belief is secondary:

Deuteronomy 7:6-8
New King James Version (NKJV)
6 “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. 7 The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; 8 but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

What Angers Me, Maybe Especially Because I'm a Messianic Jew

I think about how the Foczkos (Fockos, Foskos), Hanzoks, and other sides of my dad's family (except the Trudn(i)aks, though that is still up to debate whether they) were forced to become Catholic--and the force wasn't always physical, but could be psychological (as you'll discover if you do your research). Seeing records for the Foczkos and Hanzoks on Family Search, I was angered that they were forced, oppressed, hounded after--and they expressed their own anger by, for example, by naming children "Josephus" and "Aurelia" (search "Josephus" and "Marcus Aurelius"), and by naming their only or oldest girls other names than "Maria" (although there were Ashkenazic Jews called "Maria" for "Miriam", and one of my Foczko cousin now holds the variant "Miriama" instead of "Maria" like our cousins of old did).

Yeshua Himself stated, "And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet." (Matthew 10:14) Proselytization is wrong, especially if proselytization is forcible. Putting your faith, beliefs, etc. out there is not wrong; but remember:


"Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?  I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.  Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor." 


Who were the Catholics and others who tried to force us to convert, though we were Anusim who would not believe for the most part?


"Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:

 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,

Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”"


"“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’"

I Can't Take Seriously a "Rabbi" Who Doesn't Believe That Homosexuality Is Wrong...

This is part of why Mattiyahu 23:8-10 specifically warns against calling anyone but Yeshua "Rabbi", by the way...

Nicole Czarnecki said...

Natalie Portman is a self-hating Jew. For examople, voting for John Kerry (a self-hating Cohen) and Barack Obama (a self-hating matrilineal Jew) and definitely taking some Anti-Jewish roles ("Cold Mountain" and a certain scene with Mia Kunis in "Black Swan" which violates Leviticus 18); Natalie Portman shows that she gives only lip service to Israel and Jewish values, and that she's a JIEO (Jew In Ethnicity Only).

1:33 AM

Anonymous said...

"...and a certain scene with Mia Kunis in "Black Swan" which violates Leviticus 18)"

Are you serious??? It's a movie...it's all pretend...it's nonsense like this why despite my great respect for Torah I will never become Orthodox.

And by the way even if her hubby is not Jewish, her kids will be and I am sure she will raise them that way. I am 87.5% Jewish which means my great grandmother on my father's side married and non-Jew, was cast out from her family and yet her child (my grandpa) was raised Jewish and married a Jewish girl (my grandma) and so did my father, and so did I. The result: a Jewish generation with improved genetic diversity, which is a plus.

2:41 PM

Rabbi Jason Miller said...

Nicole: You need to study Lev. 18 more in depth. You are not correct by any reading of the text.

2:54 PM

Now let's look at Vaykira 18 where homosexuality is talked about: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind; it is abomination." The converse applies: women shall not lie with each other as with men. That means that (for a lack of a better explanation) even pretend oral sex between Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis was wrong.

You can look at Jason Miller's resume, by the way. I'm surprised that Shomrei Emunah let him teach at their congregation, since they are Orthodox P'rushim. Also by the way, you can Google that Barack Obama's mom was a Jew-- a fellow Jew told me that, and I thought that she was kidding until I Googled it for myself.

Another Golden Calf Of Many Fellow Jews: Antimissionarism

Dennis Prager should've addressed another golden calf of many fellow Jews: Antimissionarism. As I've said before, that a fellow Jew does not believe in the historical and Biblical Jesus of Nazareth (Yeshua HaNotzri) as the Messiah (Mashiach) is his or her schtick. I've also said that I personally don't believe in proselytizing though I believe in being open about my faith. However, as I've also stated, Antimissionarism is a problem.

Anti- or Counter-missionarism is any form of hostile attempt to dissuade one from believing in Yeshua HaNotzri as Mashiach. Antimissionarism includes, but is not limited to, lying about Messianic Jews-- for example:

1. Saying that Jews for Jesus and Congregation Yeshuat Yisrael are affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. By the way, Jews for Jesus is an independent Messianic Jewish 501(c)(3) organization; and Congregation Yeshuat Yisrael is an independent Messianic kehilat v'shul in Franklin, Tennessee.
2. Saying that Jews for Jesus, Chosen People Ministries, and similar organizations proselytize. "Proselytize" means "induce to join" or "recruit", which such Messianic Jewish organizations do not do-- they merely put themselves out there in what they believe is the fulfillment of the Great Commission. They share their emunah, but do not threaten, bribe, or otherwise coerce or cajole anyone to become a Christian, whether he or she is Jewish or gentile.
3. Saying that Messianic Jews are kapos, apostates, and other such kinds of Self-Hating Jews, or Jews turned into gentiles. Since Yeshua HaNotzri was Jewish and nobody can change his or her own ethnicity (since ethnicity is a biological factor), a Jew cannot become a gentile in any way, shape, or form, let alone by believing that a fellow Jew is Mashiach.

Antimissionarism also includes being involved with such organizations as Jews for Judaism, Yad L'Achim, and the so-called "Messiah Truth". These organizations are the Non-Messianic-Jewish religious equivalent of the political Media Matters on the Left and the former Senator Rick Santorum on the Right: they will do anything to lie about and hurt others who disagree with or don't think like them.

Antimissionarism is inherently UnJewish but too prevalent within the Jewish community, and Antimissionarism needs to stop. This does not mean that all Jews have to start believing in Yeshua HaNotzri as Mashiach, though. Nonetheless, fellow Jews can respectfully agree to disagree on whether Yeshua HaNotzri as Mashiach and let Messianic Jews (Jewish Christians) have their beliefs as we who are Jewish Christians let Non-Messianic Jews have theirs, even though we share our emunah. 

One More Thing Regarding Jews, Jesus, and Antimissionarism

‎"As it is written: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”" (Romans 9:33) One thing that I hope that people learn about me really quickly is that I let be your schtick if you don't believe in the historical and Biblical Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah. However, I won't cave in to Antimissionarism. If you take offense at the "stumbling stone and rock of offense", you can take offense at the "stumbling stone and rock of offense". Just don't tell me that I'm not Jewish because I "[believe] on Him[. I] will not be put to shame." Laila tov.

"Nothing feels better than"...

Nothing feels better than knowing that Antimissionaries who swear "We Jews will NEVER convert!"-- as if they speak for all Jews-- "'will look to me, whom they pierced.' They will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son; they will be in bitterness on his behalf like the bitterness for a firstborn son. When that day comes, there will be great mourning in Yerushalayim, mourning like that for Hadad-Rimmon in the Megiddo Valley. Then the land will mourn, each family by itself - the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Natan by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shim'i by itself, and their wives by themselves; all the remaining families, each by itself, and their wives by themselves." (Z'kharyah 12:10b-14)

Wednesday's Blog Entry, In Case You Missed It...

Not That I'm Self Exalting, But...

I'm just as "what you see is what you get" as Geraldo Rivera. I don't hide ish (pun highly intended. If you don't understand what "ish" is in Hebrew and is in English, Google it.). I criticize even my own family and the most central member in the family (next to G-d) to me-- me. I know me as well as I know me, and know me better than I know anyone else. But even G-d knows me better than I know me.

By the way, you have a problem if you're not the most central member of your family (next to G-d) to you. Who are you if you don't know who you are and why you are who you are? For example, I thought that I was a Dark Irish, German-French, Polish-Lithuanian-Czechoslovakian American before I knew that I'm an Anusit-- or was an Anusit. Now because I'm not a Crypto Jew and I even know that I'm a Jew in the first place, I can confidently be a Patrilineally-Jewish Messianic Jew with Ashkenazic Jewish- (hold your breath) Polish-Russian, Polish-Ukrainian-Russian, perhaps Lithuanian-Belorussian, Slovakian-Hungarian, Slovakian-Austrian-Hungarian, and Slovakian-Russian blood (I warned you to hold your breath. I just gave you a long list of the Ashkenazic Jewish blood that I have.).

As for the gentile blood (I think, though some could very well be Jewish blood); it's a long list, too. Want the list? E-mail me or comment on this blog. The list is as extensive and contains just as much information that you might need. By the way, where are relatives e-mailing me? Also by the way, ain't that fun that I'm probably related to Kirk Douglas (nee Issur Danielovich)? (I was being sarcastic about the "fun" part. Having Jack Czarnecki, Mary Gaydos, and Mia Danilowicz-- among others-- as relatives is enough.)

So Far, What Seemed Like a Miracle Is a Shattered Dream....

I'm not going to get into what the miracle is, especially if it turns out to be a shattered dream; since (even though I'm a Jewish Christian) I don't want to (for a lack of a better term) jinx any chances of my so-far-shattered dream being what I had thought (or hoped) that it was going to be. To make a long story short; I don't presently have all that I need to fulfill the dream, and I could possibly be being presented with a possibly-false-choice scenario wherein fulfilling my dream and going to college for at least this semester is regarded.

I'm not asking for money. I'm asking for prayer, prayer that (as the Bible says) G-d will provide; though I am much less than many who have been provided for and are being (and/or will be) provided for. I'm not Avraham or Moshe, or so many others who have been provided for. I'm not the starving child in Africa or the sexual-abuse victim (who, in many cases, is-- in a sense-- luckier than I am because he or she suffers so much more here, and gets more sympathy from both Heaven and Earth-- and more reward in Heaven because of his or her suffering. As I've blogged about before, I can't even get sympathy or empathy for what little I've been through in comparison-- in fact, I usually get the opposite. That is, I get the opposite of sympathy and empathy.).

As I said, I'm asking for just prayer, prayer that (as the Bible says) G-d will provide; though I am much less than everyone from Avraham and Moshe, to the starving child in Africa and the sexual-abuse victim. Besides, the fulfillment of my dream may help that I am exalted above those who have abused and hated me, and who even abuse (including ignore) and hate me still.