Are terrorists more evil than Jewish rabbis?

Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

If a Jew is wrong I will say so but lumping them in with Muslim terrorists is not something I am prepared to do.

 

While the title does seem provocative and perhaps unnecessarily so, let us not be too quick to write this off to trouble stirring. Remember that Christ warned the Pharisees of being blind leaders of the blind and condemnign the little ones by misleading them. A terrorist can only affect the physical life; a false teacher can affect the eternal life. Which is worse and why?

I don't think DD means to equate them in terms of the situation in the world today. But when you look at this from a theological standpoint, is he that far off base??

 

Perhaps it is a surprise to you, as it was to me,
that there are many rabbis right now who have
categorically stated that they believe Y'shua to
be the Messiah Right Now, but they have
decided that they cannot speak this outright until
the time is ripe. These rabbis are from many
countries, including Israel and the U.S.

This comes from a teacher who up to now has
been a moderately-popular "Christian" teacher
with quite a following but who, in just a few
months, is going to put out a book denouncing
Him as the Messiah! This teacher has already
warned the staff to start looking for other work,
because financial support will cease with the
publishing of this book.

No, I am not wiling to tell this person's name.
Instead, we are praying for a change of heart
and repentance.

 

David --

Being a member of a Baptist-based Torah-
observant Synagogue, I just ask you not to be
quite so adament in your assessment of rabbis.
Such all-encompassing assumptions and
statements may truly hurt the cause of the
Messiah.

Imagine you were reared in a society in which
His name was slandered, but you, through
personal study, are starting to see that this Man
is the Messiah. If you admit it publicly, you lose
your family. You lose your friends. You lose
your colleagues. All your life -- from childhood!
-- you have studied to be a rabbi, seeing it as a
good, godly, upright position, but you will, by
your admission, lose 98% of your congregation
and your livlihood. While you live, they will have
your funeral and your name will forever be
erased from their lips.

The church will not accept you. You are, after all,
a Jew and do not go to church on Sunday
because Sabbath is your day of rest, you will
not do Christmas, you do holy days Christians
don't understand and do not try, and they do not
understand your funny clothes and hair style.
To them, you are an interesting anomaly, an
oddity, but they have no place for you. To be
one of them, you must comply with their social
rules, but you cannot. So you watch and wait.

Meanwhile, you note that Christians, while
rejecting Jews with inaccurate accusations,
are not a very friendly bunch. Then you realize
that Jews are the most neglected in all Christian
outreaches in all of time. You recall the political
and social sanctions, done in the name of
Christianity. And when they do try to convert you,
the first thing they tell you is to stop doing
Passover and start doing Easter, or you're
pagan; stop doing Sabbath and do Sunday
because Sunday is traditional.

All this makes the conversion of those most
knowledgeable, those most likely to be
productive for the cause of Messiah very, very
difficult.

Let's not go there.

 

I believe Daniel David was speaking about non-believing Jews and not to the plight of those who believe. I submit it is difficult to convert to trusting in Jesus by Jewish people, as it is in China and the Sudan. For those, you will not just lose your family, but will probably be put in prison (China) or put to death! (Sudan).

As for the Christian community not accepting Jewish believers, this is just foolishness. There is nothing in the NT that commands observance of Christmas, Easter, or even Sunday. You can just as much wear funny clothes and funny hats as men in Thailand can continue to wear things that look an aweful lot like dresses to our western eyes as well as facial makeup. Cultural dress has nothing to do with circumsicion of the heart. If this is truly the case in our western churches (that we don't accept Jews on this basis) then it is to our shame and demonstrates our inability to understand the gospel.

 

Well, thank you, Pete. We need more in the
churches with your attitude, and I appreciate it.

The problem I am trying to address, and now I
see I did not do it well, is those rabbis who are in
a process -- those who have not completely
changed their minds but are in varying stages of
thought toward Messiah. We do not know who
they are, because they have not yet reached that
point of complete conversion. Unlike one of the
pastors at my synagogue, he cannot yet look
another in the eye and say, "I may look like just
another rabbi to you, but I am a believer like you."

I just request that we not make the road so rough
for them here in the States, where we still have
freedom of religion. Let's not criticize them
categorically, especially by comparing them to
terrorists!

You may see one of my pastors walking down
your street and make a very heinous assumption!

 

I would much rather live next to a Jewish Rabbi than a terrorist. They both teach heresy, but only one will try to kill you.

 

I always try to keep the message in one category and the messenger in another. Of course many believe false doctrine, and many teach it--but personally, I will still consider them lost souls which Jesus can save. When the message is heretical we cannot support it, but the Lord is still in the business of saving heretics.

Application: Judaism is an anti-Christian religion, but Jews (and even rabbis) need Christ.
Islam, ditto. But I do think praying for a Mulim's salvation may involve a little more self-interest (he may want to kill me).

Tim

 

Am I not writing clearly? I am advising that when
you categorically link all rabbis with terrorists,
you are denouncing some who are children of
Messiah and some who are future children of
Messiah. Does this not matter to you, or am I
not making sense? Do you not even care that
you, by your attitue, are making it difficult for
a whole race of people to find our Lord?

 

1 Samuel 24:12, 13

 

Hi guys, "More evil?" Evil is evil. Sin is sin. Both murderer and false teacher will be judged unless he repents and accepts Jesus Christ as Lord & Savior! Consider: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Cor. 5:17 Mankind puts degrees on sin. It all stinks in God's nostrils! Let's by no means uphold 'em, let's by all means pray for 'em! Just a thought. In Christ, WT

 

PJ

 

When denouncing sin and erroneous teaching, one should not play favorites. But our spirit should demonstrate a desire for the redemption of those caught up in error.

This applies equally to Jews, Muslims, and even WASPS. (So, to those to whom this applies, it wouldn't be helpful to call me Hitleresque, because I'm not dispensational).

Anyway, Abiyah, Perhaps I misunderstand you, but it seems like you're exempting rabbis from a proper denunciation of their heresy regarding Christ. Any such exemption will certainly not lead to their repentance.

In Christ,

Tim

 

No, Tim, I am not. And thank you for your gentler
attitude here.

What I am trying to say is that the Lord is working
with His people, the Jews. Many are presently
coming to Him, recognizing Him as the Messiah,
but too many in the church are too busy labeling,
too busy bashing, too busy condemning. When
people are so intent on this, they are not praying.

We Must Quit Criticizing, Quit Labeling, and Quit
Advertizing Our Ignorance Toward Groups and
start doing the Great Commission as our Lord
said.

I always liked Preach. This is all difficult for me to
accept.