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Critics
"If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent" (Yah'shua - in Matthew 12:7, NIV).
Christians of all stripes have been honestly and dishonestly criticised throughout the ages by those of other beliefs, both theistic and atheistic. And since the time of the Seleucid struggles, the 'People of the Book' have been relentlessly persecuted.
The association of witness and suffering began as early as the second part of Isaiah and was taken over by Christians. Despite official toleration of their religion by Rome, Jewish cohesiveness, non-cooperation, and uncanny financial success won them widespread hatred and spasmodic persecution especially outside the Holy Land: pogroms were common in Alexandria. This legacy was taken over by the Christians/Messianics. Their willingness to face suffering was intensified by the example of Yah'shua and by the association of persecution for the longed-for end of the age (Mk.13:7-13). Not until a much mutated Roman Christianity syncretised with paganism and became the official state religion did persecution subside.
As a people, though tiny in number, Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) has attracted not only criticism but in recent times open persecution for our uncompromising stand on Biblical truth. We do our best to live at peace with all people, as the Bible admonishes us, and to embrace everyone. Today, as in all ages, this desire to live at peace is not reciprocated but openly opposed. There have always been people driven by dark forces and a totalitarian mindset who wish to oppress and destroy, for whom co-existence is unthinkable.
From time to time such people come along accusing, distorting the truth, outright lying, and openly persecuting. Most come and go when there is nothing more for them to feed on and people get tired of their ranting. Some are more persistent than others and must be countered so as not to poison the minds of those who are either disinclined to research the truth for themselves or simply don't have the time to. This can be a time-consuming exercise for us that takes us away from valuable ministry and the crying needs of the spiritually wounded and hurting. The critics are not usually interested in people but in getting an audience for themselves.
Since mid-2005, and coming to a head in the summer of 2006, another calculated attack to discredit and destroy us has been made by various enemies. This has taken a lot of our time up which would have been better spent constructively elsewhere. Upon the advice of friends and after much prayerful consideration, we decided to use our resources of time and energy where Yahweh has called us to use them and leave the answering of our critics to others. We have a responsibility to edify rather than descend to the level of our opponents who are more concerned with destroying than building.
The honest in heart will see through the mental acrobatics and discern the hearts of those who have lied and sought to discredit us. In the words of Solomon:
As dead flies give perfume a bad smell,
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honour.
The heart of the wise inclines to the right,
but the heart of the fool to the left.
Even as he walks along the road,
the fool lacks sense and shows everyone how stupid he is.
(Eccl.10:1-3, NIV)
May Yahweh bless you in All Truth.
Answering Personal Accusations
The following is a slightly expanded reply given in response to a question asked in the MLT Reception Group concerning recent accusations levelled against our integrity. It is our official response to all such enquiries now and in the future:
If you are honest and have good discernment Yahweh will reveal the truth to you. If you have concerns about this ministry then I recommend you move on and find one that does not trouble you where you can serve to the best of your ability. It certainly makes no sense your staying here if you are an honourable person and your conscience troubles you, because you must answer to your conscience (there are many New Testament scriptures on this which you can look up). One ministry we like a lot, which we recommend you check out, is at http://www.eliyah.com but there are many other good ones out there too. Yahweh will lead you where He wants you to go.
There is no end to the accusations levelled against believers (Rev.12:10) and there are scriptural proceedures within the Assembly for dealing with complaints. If a person chooses to act outside such procedures (e.g. 1 Tim.5:18), then the Assembly has no further responsibility towards such people, because then they take the law into their own hands by (for example) turning to the world system for support (believers are told by Paul to resolve matters internally and not go to the public arena - see 1 Cor.6:1ff). Solomon understood well when he said:
"If a wise man goes to court with a fool, the fool rages and scoffs, and there is no peace" (Prov 29:9, NIV)
Moreover, there is very strict counsel in scripture as to how we should answer accusers:
"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander" (1 Peter 3:15-16, NIV).
We are always happy to give people the reason for our hope in Christ, to which we intend to confine ourselves, especially to atheists and those of other religions who find Christianity and Christians objectionable. As John Feeney aptly remarked: "Too many atheists and agnostics seem to think that the only real choice is between unbelief and the very worst that the Christian faith has to offer". An independent investigator has already answered the bulk of the slander that has been made against us (mostly by atheists) on a public website. It is up to you to discern and judge, and then make your decision as to where you want to go. To study this investigation, please click the button below:
As an American member recently wrote in a statement to Christians who have made honest enquiries about recent events and got sucked up into the debate:
"Form your own opinions, stay or leave; if you stay, support this ministry with all that YHWH directs you to; if you leave, then go where YHWH tells you to go, and do the work that He desires you to do, but BUILD UP THE KINGDOM OF YHWH."
That is our advice to you.
"Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is Yah'shua who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till Yah'shua comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from Elohim" (1 Cor.4:2-5, NIV)
Types of Critic
There are two basic types of critic who report on this ministry. One is the Redemptive Critic and the other is the Divisive Critic.
The Redemptive Critic will usually contact us in a spirit of concern having a desire to restore and bring clarity about theological matters. We happily welcome the input of such persons always. Redemptive Critics have always been very helpful and are appreciated in the development and refinement of this ministry. We appreciate people who exemplify the Spirit of Christ and who seek to bring positive clarification to this ministry. These people are a blessing to work with.
The Divisive Critic does not seem to be interested in unity or restoration but rather in polarising the Body of Christ and bringing discredit to the ministry and often of others. It is sometimes hard to know what motivates this kind of critic but are in general content to leave them with Yahweh to do His redemptive or punitive work.
Nevertheless, we have genuinely listened to both, made revisions and clarification where needed, and have thus found benefit from interacting with both.
Related Articles
'Apostates and New Religious Movements'
'Talebearing' and 'The Gossiper
A rebuttal of an attack made against MLT in 2006
Our response to attacks made against MLT in 2006-7 by an ex-member
Critics Archive (for MLT Members only)
Answering J.P.Holding of Tektonics
This page was first created on 17 May 2007
Last updated on 18 May 2007
 Copyright ©2007 Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) - All Rights Reserved
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