Didn't you read and understaned the rules before registering?

The rules are very clear.

Every message board has its own focus.

This may not be the right one for you.

I am sure there are quite a few where people share their beliefs and do some preaching, but this is not one of them.

I think that Judaism is also a race. There is a genetic component. There are certain genetic problems that are unique to or more prevalant to people of Jewish heritage. For example:

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RECESSIVE DISEASES SUCH AS Tay-Sachs often occur more frequently, though not exclusively, in a defined population. A person's chances of being a TSD carrier are significantly higher if he or she is of eastern European (Ashkenazi) Jewish descent. Approximately one in every 27 Jews in the United States is a carrier of the TSD gene.

Also,

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Genetic testing has determined that men of the Lemba, a black, Bantu-speaking people, have the Y chromosome of the Jewish priestly class, the Cohanim. It is rare among non-Jews.

I know Judaism is genetic because although I no longer practice the Jewish religion, I had to go through genetic counseling due to my age when I was pregnant and one of the questions asked was whether I had Jewish heritage. It is in the blood. It is genetic. It is a race.
It is also a religion. People who are not of Jewish heritage can choose to convert to it and practice it as a religion. People who have Jewish heritage can choose not to practice the religion. But if geneticists can track it, I think that also makes it a race.
There is also a Jewish culture.
Judaism is a race, a religion, and a culture.

Sorry "believer" but Jews are not a "race."

Jews, like Christians, are from many races.

One group, European Jews, may have some common genetic characteristics, but that still does not make Jews a race.

And interest in Jewish "culture" or Jewish family background does not make someone "Jewish."

The defining element of Jewish identity is religion. always has been historically and always will be.

The Israeli courts and the historical record have made this clear.

You may be a "believer" and have theological rationalizations for claiming "Jewish" identity or believing someone else can, but that doesn't change the historical facts.

First, just a quick opinion on race. There are at most 8 races in the world today and at least 4. Major divisions would be Australoid, Mongoloid, Caucasoid and Negroid. You could make further divisions, but then it is really splitting hairs at that point. My qualifications to make such a statement is that I hold degrees in Anthropology and Biology. I actually study such things on a daily basis.

The point is that "Jewish" is not a race. There are practicing Jews in China, Africa and Central Asia. They have more genetic information in common with their non-Jewish neighbors than they do with more distant populations of Jews. As an aside though, an interesting study has been done on the Y-Chromosome of the Cohanim that gave a surprising amount of similarities amongst diverse populations of Jewish men. However, it can easily be explained by migraition and intermarriage. More can be found out about this by following the link provided here: [www.aish.com] But I digress...

My own experience with some individuals that went from being Baptists to Messianic was not good. They were originally neighbors of my Grandmother and they had a Jewish surname. They changed their first names and emmigrated to Israel under the pretense of being secular Jews. After that they began asking my Grandmother for money for their ministry in Israel; she did send some at first but discontinued after they attacked me by lying about me.

At any rate, I do not think that they are being forthright about their faith. There's no place in Christianity for deception of this kind. In trying to be both Christian and Jewish; they end up being neither.

That's really interesting information, Wright_Again...thank you for sharing that! :D

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Wright_Again
At any rate, I do not think that they are being forthright about their faith. There's no place in Christianity for deception of this kind. In trying to be both Christian and Jewish; they end up being neither.

I agree. There is no place for deception of any kind. I can see where trying to be both caused them to be neither. I don't see that with everyone that explore Judaism as a Christian, but I can see where it could happen. I think anytime you attempt to break the norm you need to be aware of the possibility. Hm. I hope that makes sense.

There are a lot of interesting things to learn about the world and an open mind can only help. The point being that I find a lot of value in other religions while retaining my Christian faith. For instance, I do not care to eat things like crab or shellfish. I also think it's a very good idea to set aside a day to truly rest.

On the other hand, I think many people are being misguided by following what could be best thought of as cultural artifacts such as spelling words and using a dash rather than a vowel. The fact is that most written languages started out by not using vowels at all, this applies to all early written languages from the region we now know as The Middle East.

In other words, you will be hard pressed to find a Biblical instruction to omit a vowel when spelling a word such as "Lord" without the "o". The omission of the vowels could at best be decribed as a "fence law"...that is to err on the side of caution when interpreting a Biblical commandment. In this case it would be to not use the Lord's name in vain. So you leave out a vowel to be on the safe side.

I am also confounded by the insistance of some Believers (a proper noun, thus it is capitalized) to use the Hebrew name for Jesus rather than the Aramaic [b:26533386f1]Eashoa'[/b:26533386f1] since the person we refer to as Jesus in modern English was in fact primarily an Aramaic speaker.

There are also some other names for God that might be worth noting such as Adonai and Elohim. (Or should that be -d-n-- and -l-h-m :? ) Why just pick on Yhwh ? And even if we were to be closer to the original teachings; what about the admonition to Peter to break away from the Law and eat the forbidden food as was found in Acts 10:9 onward?

The point being that I feel it is important to observe the spirit of the teachings of [b:26533386f1]Eashoa'[/b:26533386f1] and not nit-pick about the shifting nuances of languages and style since Biblical times.

As an aside, anyone reading this thread might find it interesting to follow what has happened over time to a once great people since their conversion by the prophet Jonah.

[www.aina.org]

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Wright_Again
There are a lot of interesting things to learn about the world and an open mind can only help. The point being that I find a lot of value in other religions while retaining my Christian faith.

Yes. I agree. I'm quite the hippy in my neighborhood because I tie-dye, homeschool, and listen to "hippy" music. I was asked by a neighbor if I smoke pot. No, I don't. He questioned my Christianity because of it. We also don't spank, which is very odd in Christian circles. I'm very much alternative in raising my children. I keep an open mind and check it with my belief system and my intuition before making a decision.

You're fascinating. I'm going to check out that link a bit later...it's time to feed my family right now. I look forward to learning more from you!

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I look forward to learning more from you!

Well, I guess I am trying to inform you so that you won't fall into the pitfalls of a lot of what I personally consider to be conceptual lapses about the Nature of God.

The link above is to a site about the Assyrians, they have a very interesting history to say the least and I would find it interesting just how much of that Cohanim Y-Chromosome is floating around in that population as they were the people that conquered the Northern Kingdom and are responsible for the "Lost Tribes" of the Hebrews

At any rate, the admonition to not use the Lord's name in vain is central to the cultural artifact of omitting vowels and dancing around the name of God in conversation by supposedly devout people. The point I feel most strongly about is when someone evokes the name of God and then is deceptive or duplicitous in their actions; is not doing the work of God. Another would be to deny one's true faith, whatever that may be.

As to the first premise in the preceding paragraph, you have to ask, "Why should a divine being that is infinite have any need for a name in the first place?" The use of God's name is for the convenience of his created beings and quite often pertains to the role He is playing at that particular point in time. For example, we could talk about "The Eternal God", "The God of Creation" or "The God of Mercy" and then ponder that since there are more than one name being used; there must be more than one person. (This is in fact an interpretation that many scholars have when analysing the Bible.) I'm pretty sure that God knows who He is at all times. We on the other hand might be confused at times. :wink:

Which brings us back to the topic of this thread...

There are similar words used in different languages that denote the same or simlar concepts and these are referred to as [i:326ee58713]cognates[/i:326ee58713]. For example, we have several cognates for Jesus such as Joshua, Yeshua and Eashoa', yet they all mean the same thing and that is: "The one who saves us." It is no more or less correct to use any word more than another given your particular primary language. No one is more Holy or in touch with God if they use one cognate in preference to another. On the other hand, you might be somewhat deceptive if you pretend to be something you are not by using an archaic style of speech.

Another problem I see is the denial of affiliation with Christ Himself. This is similar to the denial of Peter on the Gospels before the rooster crowed in the morning. Peter did a normal thing and distanced himself from Jesus when his life was at stake. Point here is that a Christian should identify with Christ regardless of the consequences...even if it costs your life. It is much less to ask that Christians identify with Christ when it could cost only a possible convert. However, I strongly feel that converts are being lost due to the dishonest practices of some sects of Christianity.

Christians were to separate themselves from many practices of the Mosaic Law. No animal sacrifice was needed, tithing wasn't either, some foods were no longer forbidden etc etc... In short, you can't practice Judaism and still be a Christian. This topic is addressed time and again in the New Testament. I don't know how anyone could miss it.

Many people believe that the Law was a burden to the Hebrews and that once Jesus came along, it was no longer needed at all. I believe that the Mosaic Law was in fact a gift to the Children of Israel and you might think of it as a Cultural Survival kit. There are a lot of good, practical things about it and it goes a long way in explaining why the Hebrews were able to occupy such a strategic spot for so long without dying out. It simply gave them an advantage over their heathen neighbors. It was not an arbitrary set of rules as a lot of people seem to think. You can use them to have good guidelines by which to live by; but don't expect that you will be scoring brownie points with God if you use them and are a Christian. (It might be different for a Jewish person, but I wouldn't know about that since I'm not Jewish.)

Finally, I think a lot of people need to wake up to the fact that they do not know more about Biblical Prophecy than God does. I do believe that much of what is going on with regard to the modern State of Israel and Christian involvement is a mistaken belief that God needs a lot of help and He really isn't quite sure of how to do things anymore...He's kinda old and senile and needs the help of His children in order to get things done. :roll: Trust me...He knows exactly what is going on and will hold everyone responsible for their actions. In my opinion, we must take the right actions and let the outcome be what it is without worry as to what it may be.

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Sugarberry24
Hi. I'm a newbie to all this and am doing some research on cults, specifically Messianic churches. Does anyone know if they're considered a cult? Are they dangerous? I know they believe in Jesus, but that's about it. I've never had a good feeling about them. Thanks.

I used to belong to a Messianic quote unquote congregtion and that one flipped out and became an outright cult. Please see my comments under my handle.