I'm also a staff evangelist for Jews for Jesus.
I also belong to a mainstream Christian denomination.
I must confess, that I get a little tired of Jews for Jesus being called a cult. It shows a vast amount of ignorance about a number of things including who we are, what we do, how we function and what we believe. It shows ignorance of the basic belief system of the Christian faith. I also think it shows a massive ignorance of what a cult is.
A related belief is that all Jews who come to believe in Jesus are 'indoctrinated'. Really what they are trying to say is that we are 'programmed' and/or duped to believe what we believe. Therefore, as a Jew for Jesus I am responsible for doing the duping.
That is an amazing assertion. When I am on the street this is my message to people I meet (Jewish or not) and are willing to listen: "I believe Jesus is the Messiah for Jews and Gentiles alike. Now go read the Scripture and see what God has to say about it. Listen to His message, not mine or the rabbis."
The message of the Jewish leaders who counter us is: 'Don't listen to them, only to us!"
Now, who is being indoctrinated?
When a Jewish person passes me by with, "you can't be Jewish and believe in Jesus," and yet is unable to give me one piece of rational evidence for this belief - who is being indoctrinated?
If someone responds to my presence on the street with, "I'm a real Jew for Jesus," but has not the ability to tell me what makes this true - who is being indoctrinated?
When a "more learned" Jewish man tells me that Isaiah 53 is about 'the nation of Israel', because a Rabbi in the 11th century said so despite the understanding of Talmud on the matter (not to mention the fact that such a claim would make a liar of the Lord [you can ask me about this one]) - who is being indoctrinated?
My belief in the Messiahship of Y'shua (Jesus) comes from the mouth of God as given to us in His Word. Yes I believe the New Testament is His Word, but the New Testament derives its truths from the Hebrew Scriptures that promised Messiah would come to bring first peace between God and those who would have a personal relationship with Him. That is the plain meaning of Isaiah 53, which can be read straight from the Book. The Hebrew Scriptures speak of Y'shua!
Why do I believe all this? Because some people came when I was down and out and fed me this stuff so I could join them? No! Because some Christians who claimed to be Jewish told me it was okay to be Jewish and believe in Jesus, and that I could be in with the mainstream of society if I did? No! I was a very self-satisfied person before I came to believe, and I have never felt more out of step with society (and happily so) since. And it was a couple of years before I even met another Jew who believed in Jesus.
I came to understand through the power of the Almighty that Y'shua was Mashiach. Then I began like never before to search the words of God in the Hebrew Scripture. I began to read what Y'shua did and said in the Gospels and how they were consistent with what the Hebrew Scriptures say. I began to see how the earliest Christians (almost all Jews) began to work out the essence of these truths, and how that hung together with what Moses, the Prophets and Y'shua said. One full complete package that is the Word of God. I began to see how these two sets of writing were complementary, both with each other and with the world I experienced around me. Sure I was instructed in what faith in Y'shua was about by other believers (both Jewish and Gentile). But I still checked these things with the Word of God and saw that they were consistent.
Can you say the same about the Talmud? The Midrash? Do they complement the very words of God?
Who is indoctrinated?
Y'shua said, "If you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will bou believe my words? (John 45:46-47)"
How many Jewish people feel safe in exploring these things - especially among the Orthodox?
How many Jewish people feel safe reading the New Testament - just to see what it says?
How many Jewish people feel safe to talk to a Christian about his beliefs - especially if those beliefs seem centered on Y'shua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ)
Who is indoctrinated?
This is indoctrination:
- when you stop seeking truth and allow others to dictate it for you.
- when you are made to feel unsafe in exploring things that are different from the truths you are given.
- when you world view is based on what people tell you, and you are discouraged to test it with reality.
- when valid questions (i.e. things you really don't understand and want to know the truth of) are shot down and discouraged.
- when your belief system does not hold up to close scrutiny and you are told not to scrutinize.
- when you cannot allow your world view to be challenged because most of your world view comes from someone else and you don't know how to defend it.
Who is indoctrinated?
