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| Jews for Jesus is a member of numerous evangelical Christian groups: The ], ], ], ], ], ], ], The ], and the ].{{fact}} | Jews for Jesus is a member of numerous evangelical Christian groups: The ], ], ], ], ], ], ], The ], and the ].{{fact}} | ||
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== Litigations == | ||
| ===1987=== | |||
| ⚫ | Jews for Jesus has been involved in litigation regarding Internet use of its name. In 1998 they sued Steven Brodsky for ] for registering the domain name |
||
| The ] ruled in favor of Jews for Jesus in a 1987 suit it filed against the municipal agency in charge of ] that had barred the group from distributing leaflets at the airport as part of a larger ban on what they described as "] activities." Jews for Jesus challenged the airport's right to institute such a sweeping ban. | |||
| <ref name=ADL_LC> (ADL)</ref> | |||
| ===1992=== | |||
| In 1992 ] ruled against Jews for Jesus in a suit the organization brought against the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC), an umbrella group representing 60 Jewish agencies in the metropolitan New York area. The case addressed the JCRC's 1985 warning to Long Island rabbis that Jews for Jesus was seeking a venue to conduct a Passover seder. Jews for Jesus sued the JCRC for violating its civil rights; the decision upheld a lower court ruling that the JCRC communication did not "go beyond the proposal stage" and that there was no evidence that any of the Long Island rabbis had actually contacted establishments for the purpose of discriminating against Jews for Jesus. | |||
| In a 1992 lawsuit brought by Jews for Jesus against the JCRC of New York, a ] ruled that the efforts of the JCRC urging Jewish organizations not to patronize a New York country club because it allowed Jews for Jesus to hold its annual convention on its premises were not protected as an exercise of the JCRC's First Amendment rights. <ref name=ADL_LC/> | |||
| ===1993=== | |||
| In 1993 the ], in a case involving a couple affiliated with Jews for Jesus, ruled that Jews who adhere to the Christian beliefs are regarded by Israeli law as "members of a different faith," and are not eligible for the ]. In its summary of the ruling, the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the belief that Jesus is the Messiah "cannot be reconciled with Judaism" and "marks the clear separation between Judaism and Christianity." <ref name=ADL_LC/> | |||
| ===1998=== | |||
| ⚫ | Jews for Jesus has been involved in litigation regarding Internet use of its name. In 1998 they sued Steven Brodsky for ] for registering the domain name ''jewsforjesus.org'' to use for a site criticizing the organization; <ref name=ADL_LC/> the domain now belongs to Jews for Jesus and is used for their main site. | ||
| ===2005=== | |||
| In 2005 they sued | In 2005 they sued | ||
| <ref> by Eric Goldman (CircleID) December 30, 2005</ref> | <ref> by Eric Goldman (CircleID) December 30, 2005</ref> | ||
| ] for allowing a ] user to put up a site at the third-level subdomain |
] for allowing a ] user to put up a site at the third-level subdomain ''jewsforjesus.blogspot.com''. That lawsuit appears to have settled, as the blog now is operated by Jews for Jesus. | ||
| ===2006=== | |||
| In 2006, comedian and actor ] filed a lawsuit against Jews for Jesus, alleging that they unlawfully distributed a pamphlet which used his name and likeness in a way that suggested he was a member of the group. In fact, Mason is a member of the Jewish faith and not associated with Jews for Jesus. | In 2006, comedian and actor ] filed a lawsuit against Jews for Jesus, alleging that they unlawfully distributed a pamphlet which used his name and likeness in a way that suggested he was a member of the group. In fact, Mason is a member of the Jewish faith and not associated with Jews for Jesus. | ||
| <ref></ref> Jews for Jesus, however, has responded on their website to the allegations, stating that "We hope once you read it you will agree that we treat Mr. Mason respectfully and that we in no way say that he is a follower of Jesus." and attempts to explain that the pamphlet does not proclaim Mason to be a Christian at all. <ref>http://www.jewsforjesus.org/blog/20060825mason</ref> | <ref></ref> Jews for Jesus, however, has responded on their website to the allegations, stating that "We hope once you read it you will agree that we treat Mr. Mason respectfully and that we in no way say that he is a follower of Jesus." and attempts to explain that the pamphlet does not proclaim Mason to be a Christian at all. <ref> (Jews for Jesus) August 25, 2006</ref> | ||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 07:56, 31 August 2006
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Jews for Jesus is a Christian
Evangelical
organization based in the United States with the long-term goal of religious conversion of all Jewish people to accept Jesus as the Messiah and God, a Christian belief which is incompatible with Judaism,
A publication from Jews for Jesus denies this,
and their continuing denial has led many Jewish and Christian groups to call its practices "deceptive". (See Critical responses)
Beliefs
According to an article on Jews for Jesus by B. Robinson of Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance,
Their doctrinal statement is basically indistinguishable from Evangelical and other conservative Christian groups. It includes the following beliefs:
- in the divine inspiration and inerrancy of the Old and New Testaments, as originally written.
- God the creator exists as a Trinity, is perfect, all wise, all powerful and all loving.
- Jesus is the Messiah, the second person of the Trinity, was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died for the sins of all humanity, rose again, and is co-equal with God. Jesus will return to earth in the near future.
- People are saved through a belief in Jesus as savior and an acknowledgment of their sins; not by their achievements.
- Heaven is a reward for those who are saved; Hell is a place of "everlasting conscious punishment" for the vast majority of humanity.
They differ from some Evangelical Christian groups in their belief that Israel continues to exist as a covenant people.
One of the most important Jewish principles of faith is the belief in one God and one God only with no partnership of any kind, and it is therefore impossible to profess Judaism and believe in Jesus at the same time. In his book A History of the Jews, Paul Johnson describes the schism between Jews and Christians caused by a divergence from this principle:
To the question, Was Jesus God or man?, the Christians therefore answered: both. After 70 AD, their answer was unanimous and increasingly emphatic. This made a complete breach with Judaism inevitable.
Leadership, funding and outreach
The organization was founded in 1973 by Moishe Rosen, an ordained Baptist minister of Jewish heritage who self-identifies with the Judaic tradition. Rosen remained its executive director until May of 1996 when he was replaced by David Brickner.
The group's financial support largely comes from a variety of Christian churches, "a number of Bible schools, and individual Christian donations..." and its budget is in excess of $10 million. It has "a full-time staff of 150 employees running branch offices in nine cities across the United States. There are also branch offices in Toronto, London, Paris, Buenos Aires, and Johannesburg."
Aims and organization
Jews for Jesus' official mission statement is "to make the Messiahship of Jesus an unavoidable issue to our Jewish people worldwide." They claim that belief in Jesus as Messiah is a fulfillment of the prophecies of Hebrew scripture. Rosen argues that Christianity is the fulfillment of scriptures. Through media advertisements, production and distribution of literature, producing music and organizing person-to-person evangelism, the organization asserts that "a specifically Jewish mission" is necessary, as "Jewish people tend to dismiss evangelistic methods and materials that are couched in Christian lingo, because they reinforce the assumption that Jesus is for 'them' not 'us.'"
According to its Executive Director, Jews for Jesus employs "only front-line missionaries who are Jewish or married to Jews". Stan Telchin, formerly associated with Jews for Jesus, wrote in A Loving Call to Unity that 80 percent of those who attend Messianic Synagogues are not Jewish. An official figure quoted to counter it pegged the number at 50 percent.
Critical responses
All mainstream Jewish groups (both secular and religious) strongly oppose Jews for Jesus and many see its proselytizing activities as a thinly-veiled attack on Judaism.
The Spiritual Deception Prevention Project at the Jewish Community Relations Committee of New York states that
On several occasions leaders of the four major Jewish movements have signed on to joint statements opposing Hebrew-Christian theology and tactics. In part they said: "Though Hebrew Christianity claims to be a form of Judaism, it is not ... It deceptively uses the sacred symbols of Jewish observance ... as a cover to convert Jews to Christianity, a belief system antithetical to Judaism ... Hebrew Christians are in radical conflict with the communal interests and the destiny of the Jewish people. They have crossed an unbridgeable chasm by accepting another religion. Despite this separation, they continue to attempt to convert their former co-religionists."
In his 1997 book The Vanishing American Jew: In Search of Jewish Identity for the Next Century Alan Dershowitz wrote: "In America, and in other nations that separate church from state, one's Jewishness is a matter of self-definition ..." but notes: "I do not mean to include former Jews who practice Christianity under the deliberately misleading name Jews for Jesus. A Jew for Jesus already has a name: a Christian."
Some Christian churches see Jewish religious practice as valid in and of itself and thus object to evangelizing Jews.
The Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, an umbrella organization that includes Muslims, Jews, and church groups from the Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran and Presbyterian churches, has condemned Jews for Jesus as promoting activities "harmful to the spirit of interreligious respect and tolerance." The conference is opposed to religious proselytizing in general. The conference also denounces the group's "deceptive proselytizing efforts", stating that when practiced on "vulnerable populations" such as the young or the elderly, these efforts are "tantamount to coerced conversions." The Rev. Clark Lobenstine, a Presbyterian (PCUSA) minister and executive director of the Conference, has stated that his group condemns Jews for Jesus and other messianic Jewish groups by name because they "go beyond the bounds of appropriate and ethically based religious outreach." Rick Ross, a self-declared "cult expert", has been critical of the organization as well and has included them on his website.
The Board of Governors of The Long Island Council of Churches, a group that is opposed to proselytizing of Jews in general, voiced similar sentiments in a statement that "noted with alarm" the "subterfuge and dishonesty" inherent in the "mixing religious symbols in ways which distort their essential meaning", and named Jews for Jesus as one of the three groups about whom such behavior was alleged.
Support
Jews for Jesus defends its actions against these charges, stating:
"If a person believes the Bible and believes that Jesus is the only way of salvation (John 14:6, Acts 4:12, Romans 10:9,10) and then that person declines to tell a Jewish friend about Christ, it indicates one of two things. Either that person has decided that the Jews are not worthy of the gospel, in which case he would be a racist, an anti-Semite and a hater of people instead of the lover of people that God wants him to be. Or perhaps he has judged the gospel as being unworthy of the Jews in which case he has trivialized the passion of Calvary and the awesome significance of Christ's resurrection."
Jews for Jesus is a member of numerous evangelical Christian groups: The World Evangelical Alliance, Canadian Council for Christian Charities, Interdenominational Foreign Mission Association, Evangelical Alliance of Great Britain, Evangelical Council on Financial Accountability, Lausanne Consultation on Jewish Evangelism, National Association of Evangelicals, The Internet Evangelism Coalition, and the World Evangelical Fellowship.
Litigations
1987
The United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of Jews for Jesus in a 1987 suit it filed against the municipal agency in charge of Los Angeles International Airport that had barred the group from distributing leaflets at the airport as part of a larger ban on what they described as "First Amendment activities." Jews for Jesus challenged the airport's right to institute such a sweeping ban.
1992
In 1992 New York Supreme Court ruled against Jews for Jesus in a suit the organization brought against the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC), an umbrella group representing 60 Jewish agencies in the metropolitan New York area. The case addressed the JCRC's 1985 warning to Long Island rabbis that Jews for Jesus was seeking a venue to conduct a Passover seder. Jews for Jesus sued the JCRC for violating its civil rights; the decision upheld a lower court ruling that the JCRC communication did not "go beyond the proposal stage" and that there was no evidence that any of the Long Island rabbis had actually contacted establishments for the purpose of discriminating against Jews for Jesus.
In a 1992 lawsuit brought by Jews for Jesus against the JCRC of New York, a United States Court of Appeals ruled that the efforts of the JCRC urging Jewish organizations not to patronize a New York country club because it allowed Jews for Jesus to hold its annual convention on its premises were not protected as an exercise of the JCRC's First Amendment rights.
1993
In 1993 the Supreme Court of Israel, in a case involving a couple affiliated with Jews for Jesus, ruled that Jews who adhere to the Christian beliefs are regarded by Israeli law as "members of a different faith," and are not eligible for the automatic citizenship that Israel grants Jews. In its summary of the ruling, the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the belief that Jesus is the Messiah "cannot be reconciled with Judaism" and "marks the clear separation between Judaism and Christianity."
1998
Jews for Jesus has been involved in litigation regarding Internet use of its name. In 1998 they sued Steven Brodsky for cybersquatting for registering the domain name jewsforjesus.org to use for a site criticizing the organization; the domain now belongs to Jews for Jesus and is used for their main site.
2005
In 2005 they sued Google for allowing a Blogspot user to put up a site at the third-level subdomain jewsforjesus.blogspot.com. That lawsuit appears to have settled, as the blog now is operated by Jews for Jesus.
2006
In 2006, comedian and actor Jackie Mason filed a lawsuit against Jews for Jesus, alleging that they unlawfully distributed a pamphlet which used his name and likeness in a way that suggested he was a member of the group. In fact, Mason is a member of the Jewish faith and not associated with Jews for Jesus. Jews for Jesus, however, has responded on their website to the allegations, stating that "We hope once you read it you will agree that we treat Mr. Mason respectfully and that we in no way say that he is a follower of Jesus." and attempts to explain that the pamphlet does not proclaim Mason to be a Christian at all.
References
- ^ Messianic Judaism. Jews for Jesus by B. Robinson (Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance) October 29, 2001
- Is Jews for Jesus a Christian organization, or is it a Jewish organization? (exjewsforjesus.org)
- Who are the Jews for Jesus? (exjewsforjesus.org)
- "For most American Jews, it is acceptable to blend some degree of foreign spiritual elements with Judaism. The one exception is Christianity, which is perceived to be incompatible with any form of Jewishness. Jews for Jesus and other Messianic Jewish groups are thus seen as antithetical to Judaism and are completely rejected by the majority of Jews". (Kaplan, Dana Evan. The Cambridge Companion to American Judaism, Cambridge University Press, Aug 15, 2005, p. 9).
- ^ This July, Hebrew-Christian groups such as Jews for Jesus will work to convert Jews to another religion. The Jewish Response to Missionaries (NY Board of Rabbis)
- ^ Judaism and Jesus Don't Mix (foundationstone.com)
- ^ Jews believe that "Jews for Jesus," "Messianic Jews," and "Hebrew Christians" are no longer Jews, even if they were once Jews (whatjewsbelieve.org)
- Opposition and Response (Jews for Jesus) July 1, 1993
- http://www.jewsforjesus.org/about/statementoffaith (Jews for Jesus) written January 1, 2005
- Johnson, Paul (1987). A History of the Jews. pp. p.144.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - What We Do (Jews for Jesus)
- What We Stand For (Jews for Jesus)
- Book Claiming Messianic Judaism Is Not Christianity Stirs Controversy By Nancy Justice (February 2005 Issue of Charisma Magazine)
- A Special Place in Hell. Why 'Jews for Jesus' is evil By Bradley Burston (Haaretz)
- When converting a Jew to Christ By Bradley Burston (Haaretz) May 31, 2006
- Jews for Jesus offend Jews and Christians By Ethan Frenchman and Seth Mayer (Chicago Maroon, University of Chicago) October 3, 2005
- ^ Jews for Jesus: Targeting Jews for Conversion with Subterfuge and Deception. Christian Response to Jews for Jesus (ADL)
- Can a Jew believe in Jesus? By Aron Moss (Chabad. Judaism 101)
- Presbyterians target Jews by Eric J. Greenberg (New York Jewish Week) October 24, 2003
- Outreach Judaism Responds to Jews for Jesus
- Frequently Asked Questions About Hebrew-Christian Missionaries & “Jews for Jesus” Jewish Community Relations Committee of New York. Spiritual Deception Prevention Project Template:PDFlink
- Dershowitz, Alan (1997). The Vanishing American Jew: In Search of Jewish Identity for the Next Century. Little, Brown; 1st ed. pp. p.324. ISBN 0316181331.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - Should Christians Attempt to Evangelize Jews? Israel's Covenant with God Remains Valid by Allan R. Brockway
- Policies of mainline and liberal Christians towards proselytizing Jews (religioustolerance.org)
- What about Christian Jews or Jewish Christians? by Fritz Voll (International Council of Christians and Jews)
- Ecumenical Considerations on Jewish-Christian Dialogue (World Council of Churches)
- Conversion Outreach Plan Stirs Outrage. Jews for Jesus Trains 600 for Street Work By David Cho (Washington Post) August 17, 2004
- Jews For Jesus (rickross.com)
- Why emphasize witnessing to Jews? (Jews for Jesus)
- ^ Legal Cases Involving Jews for Jesus (ADL)
- Google Sued for Trademark Infringement Based on Third-Level Subdomain by Eric Goldman (CircleID) December 30, 2005
- Comic sues Jews for Jesus
- Press Release: Jews for Jesus and Jackie Mason (Jews for Jesus) August 25, 2006
See also
- Who is a Jew?
- Jews for Judaism
- Messianic Judaism
- Jewish Messiah
- Jewish view of Jesus
- Christian-Jewish reconciliation
- Comparing and contrasting Judaism and Christianity
- Cognitive dissonance
- Anti-Judaism
- Supersessionism
- Dispensationalism
External links
- Jews for Jesus Official website
- Ex-Jews for Jesus website of former members of Jews for Jesus
- Jews for Judaism Jews for Judaism website, an answer to Jews for Jesus
- Jews for Jesus Critical Blog
- Ex-Jews for Jesus Blog
- Jews for Jesus: Targeting Jews for Conversion with Subterfuge and Deception - the view of the Anti-Defamation League
- Why Jews Don't Believe In Jesus
- Who is financing "Jews for Jesus"? (faqs.org)
- Complaint in lawsuit against Google over Blogspot subdomain Template:PDFlink
- Why don't Jews accept Jesus as the Messiah? by Rabbi Barry Dov Lerner (about.com)