I have a great deal of respect for Jews that I know and for Judaism in general (as do most Christians that I know). However, it is also evident that modern Judaism is suffering from a lack of theological purpose. From conversations I've had with Jewish friends -- Conservative, Reform, and Orthodox -- it seems to me that Judaism offers very little to answer the question "so what?" Many Jews I spoke to either don't believe in an afterlife or claim that Judaism as a whole doesn't teach anything about an afterlife. Many also said that the Messiah is only figurative, and that not only wasn't Jesus the Messiah but that there will never be a literal Savior.
All fine and good, but those beliefs leave little reason to be Jewish, and to most (all?) Jews I know Judaism is more of a culture or ethnicity than a religion of substantial spirituality. It's no surprise to me, then, that Jewish leaders are panicking about demographics as Jews intermarry with Genitiles and the children of such unions rarely identify as Jewish.
It is one of the most commonly understood notions about Judaism that its adherents do not proselytize. And yet there in the Boston Globe last week was the headline: "Conservative Jews Set a Conversion Campaign." What was going on?As it happened, Rabbi Jerome M. Epstein, the head of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, had set a somewhat limited campaign. At the group's convention he had urged: "We must begin aggressively to encourage conversions of potential Jews who have chosen a Jewish spouse."
Such a desire has more to do with practical reality than with theology. (Gentiles still do not need to become Jews in order to live according to God's wishes.) With the intermarriage rate at about 47% and less than 8% of children of intermarried couples actually identifying as Jews, it is easy to see why the chosen people are in a state of demographic panic.
Honestly, it's amazing to me that Judaism has survived so long after its primary earthly purpose was fulfilled, that of bringing about Jesus' life and sacrifice. There are no more Moabites or Philistines, yet the Jewish people continue to prosper -- how? The only explanation I can think of is that God has promised numerous times to care for his Chosen People, and so they continue to survive despite being so reviled by much of the world throughout history. Eventually they will come into their full inheritance.
With all the negativism and Anti Jewish sentiment we Jews are in a better situation now than at any time in our existance. Don't worry about us!.
We have always lost people along the way but the core remains strong.
You all agonise over our fate,we'll just get on with being successful.
"Honestly, it's amazing to me that Judaism has survived so long after its primary earthly purpose was fulfilled, that of bringing about Jesus' life and sacrifice."
Surely you wouldn't expect the Jews to see their purpose that way, Michael?
I think, until we reach the End Times -- and possibly beyond that -- every religious creed we know will maintain a foothold on this ball of dirt. It's in the nature of God that no single human attitude toward Him can grasp Him whole. Even we Christians must admit this.
Slivers of truth have been given to every creed -- and each has been impaled on slivers of falsehood, as well. Which is why it's a really Good Thing that God is merciful as well as just.
Certainly many branches of Judaism have lost their way, but others haven't. I have a lot of respect for orthodox Judaism because it is comprehensive, demanding, and stable over time in a way that few Protestant groups are. The orthodox Jews really believe in something outside and above themselves.
Michael Medved's book Right Turns has many good pages on this. The book is Medved's autobiography; it's mostly about his transformation from activist liberal to staunch conservative. A large portion of the story is about his adoption of orthodox Judaism against the wishes of his secular Jewish family and friends.
I think the point was that the Jewish faith as it stands is a dead end, not the culture, traditions, or the people. Hebrews was written specifically to the Jews to tell them about Jesus and how he completed the Jewish faith with his sacrifice. Now they are to follow Christ or be Christians.
As staunch as they are in the Jewish faith, denying the messiah that God specifically sent to us is probably not the best way to believe. That isn't for me to determine though, as they will ultimately have to answer to God for that.
You know "Gentile" means less than?
As in less than a jew!
Look it up, a jewish friend told me.
Tim: I haven't found any support for your assertion.
The Jews have always imagined thier Massiah to be a powerful, warrior king that would heroically lead the nation of Isreal to it's rightful and prominant position as God's chosen people. But their true Massiah has already come and gone and he talked of a kingdom not of this world, a spiritual plain that could not be conquered or would not offer worldly prestige, power or wealth. This to the Jewish people of the day and to this day was never an attractive sales pitch. They lusted earthly inheritance and position...the exact opposite of what is to be close to God. This is the clincher. This is at the core of the rejection of Jesus as the Massiah. The Old Testament, the history of the Jewish people before Christ is the Christian religion as well. For we both share the same path. It is one in the same and I truely feel for the Jews who have refused to understand Jesus' coming as the will of God. For he fulfilled Judiasm. The term "missed the boat" comes to mind.