If your life is not in jeopardy for what you
believe, you’re probably on the wrong side!
“Indeed, all who want
to live a godly life united with the Messiah Yeshua will be persecuted.” (2Tim 3:12)
It is what you actually believe that determines how you walk out your faith,
“but avoid stupid controversies, genealogies,
quarrels and fights about the Torah; because they are worthless and
futile.” (Titus 3:9)
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Please Note: Absolutely nothing on this website should be taken as anti-Church. I am not anti-anything or anyone. I am only pro-Torah and pro-Truth (see “Philosophy”), but sometimes the Truth upsets our long-held beliefs. I know it certainly upset mine! For example, see “Why Isn’t My Theology Consistent Throughout the Website?”
Anti-Semitism in the Church
A Required Response to the Charge
that Messianic Judaism is Apostasy
by Messianic Pastor/Theologian
Ari Levitt
MA, ThM, ThD, DMin, MBA, ND, CNHP
Introduction
The article that appears in the left column of the following pages, to which I make my response in the right column, is is exactly the kind of blatant ignorance and venomous anti-Semitism that has driven Yeshua’s Jewish brethren out from fellowship with Gentile Believers in Mashiach (“the Church”) for the past 1,700 years.
Unfortunately, Ms. Nero is far from being alone in “the Church” in her virulent hatred of the Jewish people. Before there can ever be the unity within the Body of Messiah for which Messiah Yeshua so fervently prayed, this anti-Semitism simply must be stopped, and the Gentile “church” must, as a body, forever repent of this dispicable and heretical practice.
On August 23, 2001, I received the following email from:
Mary Nero
1209 N. Haskell Apt. J
Dallas TX 75204
scarlet58766@aol.com
“This e-mail serves as notice that you are the subject of a message I very recently wrote and published on my website at http://scarlet-to-snow.com/aa9.htm …
In The Lord,
M. Nero,
Scarlet-To-Snow.com”
[Fortunately, the blasphemous website no longer exists]
Ms. Nero’s article is published here in its entirety. I have not obtained her permission to duplicate it, and in light of the email message she sent me informing me of its existence, I do not feel any obligation at all to obtain such permission. [She did not obtain my permission to publish on her web site a private email that I sent to her.] She has branded Messianic Judaism in general, and me in particular, as “apostate” and has thrown down the gauntlet by telling me that I am personally the subject of her article, thereby declaring that I personally am “apostate,” as is the entire Messianic Jewish Movement. Such a challenge demands a carefully-considered response, and with the help of Ruach HaKodesh I shall attempt to provide as adequate a response as I am able, and to put her to shame as is required of me by Scripture: [The website disappeared from the Internet a few months after I originally published my response, so maybe I was successful. Baruch HaShem!]
But even if you do suffer for being righteous, you are blessed! Moreover, don't fear what they fear or be disturbed, but treat the Messiah as holy, as Lord in your hearts while remaining always ready to give a reasoned answer to anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you — yet with humility and fear, keeping your conscience clear, so that when you are spoken against, those who abuse the good behavior flowing from your union with the Messiah may be put to shame.” (1Peter 3:15-16, CJB)
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Click on the bracketed numbers [#] to jump between Ms. Nero’s comments in the left column and my response in the right column. Her article is so totally full of error and hatred that it will be many months, if ever, before my response is complete. In the meantime, I will be working on it as time (and my stomach) permits. I will not be giving this project a very high priority, however, because anyone who reads her article with a spirit of discernment will readily perceive it for what it really is … the venomous ravings of either a demoniac or an anti-Semitic bigot who claims to be a “Christian,” while despising the brothers and sisters of the Master she claims to follow. Her knowledge of the Scriptures, and of the history of “Christianity” and Judaism, particularly of Messianic Judaism, is woefully lacking. I cannot tell whether they are the simple ravings of a hate-filled lunatic, or the spewing of one demon possessed. Because what she says is often totally unintelligible, I certainly suspect the latter. The last time I worked on this response was Tuesday, 17 January 2023 at 03:01 PM.
Her numerous grammatical errors have not been corrected,
are quoted exactly from her website, and are marked with the standard indicator
“[sic]” (which should not be interpreted as a commentary on her obvious
mental and spiritual condition
).
The “Jesus” that Ms. Nero portrays simply never existed! He is a “false messiah” created by Gentile revisionist historians to “prove” the superiority of Gentiles over Jews. He bears extremely little, if any, resemblance to the historical Messiah, Rabbi Yeshua ben Yosef, the Son of God, Israel’s Messiah and Savior of the World, Who will soon return in glory to reign over the world from his throne in Jerusalem. Marana-ta!
As you may note from the tone of some of my comments, from time to time I grew so disgusted with her nonsense that I came quite near to losing my temper (along with my lunch), and for that I apologize. The only reason that I am going to submit myself to the unpleasant task of completing this project at all is that she raises almost every possible objection to Messianic Judaism — both reasonable and (mostly) unreasonable — and by answering her objections I feel that I will have written a fair apologetic for the Messianic Jewish Movement.
This document wound up being so long that it took over 2 minutes to download with an average 56K dialup connection (that was a pretty fast connection in 2001), so I divided it into thirteen smaller pages for faster loading.
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If you would like to learn the truth about what Messianic Judaism believes, I would encourage you to read the following books (in addition to most of the content of this web site):
Stern, David. Messianic Jewish Manifesto. Clarksville, MD: Jewish New Testament Publications, 1988. Messianic Jewish Manifesto offers an ideology, theology, and program for Messianic Judaism. A challenge to both Jews and Gentiles who honor Yeshua (Jesus) as Israel's Messiah and others involved with the movement catch the vision for its destiny, which is to heal the split between the Church and the Jewish people. A call to action for Messianic Jews and a source of information for others, whether in favor, opposed, or just curious.
Stern, David. Restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel. Clarksville, MD: Messianic Jewish Resources International; Revised edition (August 19, 2009). A book the whole Church needs to read! A challenge to conventional Christian ideas! Clear thinking about neglected questions.
Berkowitz, Ariel and Dvorah (Michele). Take Hold: Embracing Our Divine Inheritance in Israel. First Fruits of Zion, 1998. Take Hold reveals the profound equality in the relationship between Jewish and non-Jewish believers in the body of Messiah. The resulting unity bring together His holy bride—the ancient People of the Book and those grafted in from among the nations. Take Hold describes the inheritance that non-Jewish believers have in the covenants of Israel. Learn how the Prophets of old foretold of this time — a time when men from every nation would look to the God of Israel seeking out His ancient paths.
Juster, Daniel. Jewish Roots: Understanding Your Jewish Faith (Revised Edition)
Jewish Roots presents the fundamentals regarding biblical theology, Israel and the Church, the Jewish people, the Messianic Jewish community, and much more. Important matters are discussed such as the relationship of law and grace, the role of the Spirit, and an approach to Judaism. This new edition considers recent biblical scholarship and evaluates the progress of the Messianic Jewish community — a pulsating grass roots movement among Jewish and non-Jewish followers of Jesus of Nazareth who recognize and identify with their Jewishness. Messianic Judaism and Messianic Jewish biblical theology are significant not only to those who are part of Messianic Jewish congregations — indeed, because the destiny of Israel and the Church is bound together, Messianic Jewish theology has implications of great importance for all people worldwide.
Young, Brad H. Paul the Jewish Theologian reveals Saul of Tarsus as a man who, though rejected in the synagogue, never truly left Judaism. Author Young disagrees with long held notions that Hellenism was the context which most influenced Paul's communication of the Gospel. This skewed notion has led to widely divergent interpretations of Paul's writings. Only in rightly aligning Paul as rooted in his Jewishness and training as a Pharisee can he be correctly interpreted. Young asserts that Paul's view of the Torah was always positive, and he separates Jesus' mission among the Jews from Paul's call to the Gentiles.
Young, Brad H. Jesus the Jewish Theologian
establishes Jesus firmly within the context of first-century Judaism and shows how understanding Jesus' Jewishness is crucial for interpreting the New Testament and for understanding the nature of Christian faith. Insights from Jewish literature, archeology, and tradition help modern readers place Jesus within his original context. Particular attention is given to the Jewish roots of Jesus' teaching concerning the kingdom of God.
There are a huge number of other excellent books on the subject of Messianic Judaism. Refer to the Bibliography for this website.
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