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Jesus was Jewish, so were the Apostles. Therefore, you can be Jewish and Christian at the same time. That would be the claim of the Messianic Jewish movement. Since Jesus and the original Christians came from Judaism, then you can be both, at least that is how the argument goes. But, there are major errors made in this argument, that can be easily demonstrated when analyzed more closely. This article will review the errors and explain why Jesus being Jewish does not show that you can be Jewish and Christian at the same time. One of the worst blasphemies in all of the Bible was the sin of the Golden Calf. The Jewish people just received the Ten Commandments...and what did many of them do? They demanded that Aaron the High Priest create a Golden Calf for the Jews to worship as a god. Using the Messianic Jewish reasoning, we could ask, "But weren't the worshippers of the Golden Calf Jewish?" There is no doubt that the worshippers of the Golden Calf were Jewish, but there is equally no doubt that the worshippers of the Golden Calf were in violation of the Ten Commandments. Is there anyone advocating for "Jews for Paganism?" The same argument holds for Jesus and the Apostles. Just because they may have been born Jewish, does not make their beliefs correct or Jewish. A prime error that is made by the Messianic Jewish groups is the sociology of creating movements. All new movements basically come from older movements. The formation of a new movement involves members of an older movement deciding that they want something different. Changes evolve, eventually the new movement branches from the older movement, and the new movement has an existence independent from the older movement. As an example, the English language came from Latin. Over time, English branched off, developed its own grammar and verbage, becoming an independent language. Though English can count Latin as its point of origin, no one says that you can give a speech in English and Latin at the same time. The speechmaker is either speaking in English or in Latin, not both simultaneously. English has so greatly changed form Latin that the languages are too different to speak both at the same time. Similarly, Christiniaty can point to Judaism as its point of origin, however, it quicly changed so much that you cannot be both Jewish and Christian at the same time. The Jews and the Early Christian Church were quickly identifiable as different groups with very different beliefs. No one, even shortly after Jesus' death, would mistake one group for the other. The Nature of Man's Interaction with G-d The Nature of Humanity The Purpose of Our Daily Lives The Identity of the Messiah The Purpose of the Messiah The Concept of Sin The Concept of Salvation The Nature of Sacrifice The Concept and Function of Charity and Acts of Lovingkindness The Afterlife Which Books are Part of The Bible How To Practice Religion The Identity and Function of Satan The Acceptability of the Existence of Other Religions As you can see, in just about every major area, Judaism and Christiniaty have a significant disagreement. With so many differences between the two religions and an understanding as to how religions develop, it is only reasonable to conclude that one cannot be Jewish and Christian at the same time. There are many reasons why Jews do not accept Jesus, and the links below are some of the better explanations on this topic. Of course, if you have questions that are not covered on the links, you can always e-mail me with your questions. An Answer from Rabbi Stuart Federow Click Here An Answer from Rabbi Shraga Simmons Click Here Ask the Rabbi from Ohr Somayach Click Here An Answer from Rabbi Tovia Singer Click Here
There are a number of groups that provide Countermissionary Counseling. Here are links to a few of them: Alternatively, you can call them at 1-800-4PROOF1 with general questions about missionary claims.
Here are a number of great sites that counter missionaries and explain the differences in belief between Judaism and Christianity, including addressing the Biblical verses that missionaries try to use against the Jews and explaining why the missionaries are incorrect. For the most in-depth analysis of verse by verse questions, go to Messiah Truth (sections on Counter-Missionary: Multi-media training [this can be read without being "multi-media"], Knowing Your Orchard and Judaism's Answer), Jews for Judaism (in their Reference Section (please note that the Isaiah topics tend to be under "Suffering Servant" part of the "Proof Text" section) and the Q & A section of Outreach Judaism. Escape From Counterfeit Judaism Talking to Kids About Missionaries
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