| There are a number of people who have joined Messianic Jewish congregations. One of the Messianic congregations is Shabbat Shalom Messianic Ministries in South Carolina. They claim to view the Bible with "Jewish eyes", however, in reality there is nothing Jewish about them. Shabbat Shalom is fully a Christian organization, Southern Baptist Convention to be specific. I will demonstrate this, using information from their web-site and other Christian sites. Each time, reference links will be provided, so you can see the evidence with your own eyes. Southern Baptist Mother
Shabbat Shalom presents itself as a Jewish organization, while realistically, they are full members of the Southern Baptist Convention. In fact, you can find Shabbat Shalom in the Southern Baptist directory. Here is the link to the proof:
Click Here A real Jewish congregation would never be part of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Southern Baptists want to convert all of the Jews! Christian Beliefs
As Shabbat Shalom is a Christian organization, it is not shocking that their beliefs are Christian. They believe in the Virginal Birth, Resurrection, Holy Trinity...all beliefs in Christianity that have never existed in Judaism! Here are links to the beliefs of Shabbat Shalom Messianic Ministry and the Denver Seminary, a Christian evangelical school. You will see that Shabbat Shalom's beliefs are practically identical to the Denver Seminary:
Shabbat Shalom beliefs
Denver Seminary beliefs Missionary Goals
Shabbat Shalom is clear on their web-site that their goal is to convert Jews. They state: " We also teach believers how to evangelize their Jewish friends.
We provide materials free that teach how to witness to a Jewish person.
We plant congregations as a means of testifying in a specific community.
We work with other ministries and missionaries throughout the world to bring the Gospel to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel".
Obviously, they want to convert the Jewish people, just like the rest of the Southern Baptist Convention! Here is the link to the quote, the quote comes from the fourth section, titled "Outreach":
Click Here Christian Links
In the Shabbat Shalom "Helpful Links" section, they give links to a number of Messianic and other Christian links. I want to point out two links in particular, namely SEM International Ministries and the Messianic Bible Institute Yeshiva. SEM is the third listing under "Other Ministries" and the Messianic Bible Institute Yeshiva is under "Education" at the bottom of the page. Here is the link back to Shabbat Shalom so you can see these two organizations:
Click Here So, who is SEM International Ministries? According to the SEM web-site: "SEM International exists, therefore, to train and equip those Christians who are concerned about reaching out and evangelizing the world for Christ, whether in this country or overseas.
SEM is interesting in converting everyone to Christianity-a real Jewish group would never link to them. However Shabbat Shalom is a Southern Baptist organziation, so it is not a shock that they link to SEM. Here is the link to the quote, the quote is the from the final line of the introductory section of the webpage (the line prior to the section titled "S.E.M. International's Broad Ministry Goals"):
Click Here That leaves us with the Messianic Bible Institute Yeshiva. The Messianic Bible Institute was founded by Reverend David Hargis, an ordained Pentecostal minister. Reverend Hargis also founded his own Messianic congregation, called Mishkan HaMelech. Reverend Hargis lies about his heritage on his web-site. How do I know this? I know this because Reverend Hargis' own cousin e-mailed me and told me that Reverend Hargis lied. Here is the link to my review of his congregation, which includes the letter from Hargis' cousin:
Click Here Besides being a Southern Baptist Convention member, Shabbat Shalom is chartered by the Messianic Bureau International, the group that runs the Messianic Bible Institute. Here is the link to the proof, Shabbat Shalom is the 5th to last congregation:
Click Here If you looked closely, you will notice that the leader of Shabbat Shalom, as reported by the Messianic Bureau, is Andrew F. Barnett. So who is Barnett? Why, he is a minister from the Southern Baptist Convention! Here is the link to the Southern Baptist Convention MinisterSearch to see the proof:
Click Here
Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus 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 Countermissionary Counseling
There are a number of groups that provide Countermissionary Counseling. Here are links to a few of them:
Jews for Judaism Alternatively, you can call them at 1-800-4PROOF1 with general questions about missionary claims.
Torah Atlanta
Outreach Judaism
Torah Life and Living Great Sites, Priceless Information
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. Messiah Page Messiah Truth Jews for Judaism Outreach Judaism Counter Missionary Reference Torah Atlanta Messianic Verses in Tanach Kosher Judaism Escape From Counterfeit Judaism Talking to Kids About Missionaries
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