For Whatever Reason by Steve Maltz

“The World will always find a reason to hate Jews”

[ But why does the church follow the world? – onesimus]

For Whatever Reason by Steve Maltz

A lot of rhetoric has been poured out over recent days. There are a lot of angry people out there. There are also a lot of frightened people too, and it is for their benefit that this has been written.

The nudge that I needed was supplied, first, by a Facebook posting from a friend, who eloquently asked “what has become of the British nation? Thousands of people have marched through central London to call for an end to Israel’s ground campaign and air strikes in Gaza. Protesters marched from Downing Street to the Israeli embassy in Kensington. A police blockade stopped them from gaining access. Whitehall, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly and Hyde Park Corner were closed. QUESTION: Where were all these people and why was NOT ONE of them protesting against the ISIS who have murdered thousands in Iraq or the 170,000 Muslims slaughtered in Syria by Muslims? Where was these peoples outrage when Egypt was murdering each other? And where was the protests over the past 12 years as Hamas fired thousands of rockets at Israeli civilians? Is anyone brave enough to give me an answer?”

But, yes, this man was admittedly a friend of Israel, yet … (in a small voice) … shouldn’t all right-minded people echo this cry? The second nudge was more telling, because it came from a well-known Christian blogger from the other camp. He tweeted four times in succession and here is the gist:
Just returned from anti-Israel demo in London. Huge numbers there calling for an end to Israeli aggression … admit to feeling uncomfortable marching alongside Socialist Workers Party and Stop the War coalition … wouldn’t it be good if Muslims would turn out in such huge numbers to protest the extinction of Christians in Iraq? … For that matter, it would be good if ANYONE turned up to protest the Iraq situation!

Needless to say none of this was retweeted, because it was dangerous stuff. Dangerous? Why? Because spiritual truth and light was allowed to briefly flicker into view.

Read complete article here:
http://www.kesherweb.com/core/resource/whatever-reason

“Disqualifying Jesus” : recommended article.

The following is from the Sojourning With Jews blog

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Many Christians have been in this conundrum:

Why don’t you [Jew] believe in Jesus as the Messiah? It’s all right there, it’s plain as day, and so obvious, look at the prophecies.

To which a Jew may reply:

Because I’m Jewish, Jews don’t believe in Jesus.

At which point [most] Christians will say:

But…Jesus, and his disciples were Jewish.

Now, this is a very strange thing to say since we have been stripping Jesus and his disciples of his/their Jewishness for almost 2k years now.

See complete article here: http://sojourningwithjews.com/2013/10/13/1482/

Killing Two False Theologies With One “Stone”

Here is a section of scripture that exposes the errors of both “Judaising” and “Gentilising”.

And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.

When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law; but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow. Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law. But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.”

Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them.

Judaising: The insistance that Gentile believers in Jesus need to become Jewish or follow Jewish law to be accepted by God.

Genitlising: The demand that Jewish believers need to forsake their Jewishness and its ways to be accepted by God.

Both of the above focus on “the law” in some way – making relationship to IT the central thing rather than relationship with God through Jesus.

The quoted section of scripture is only one example where this issue is addressed, but the example given couldn’t be clearer. Paul demonstrated his own relationship to “the law” as a Jew (he continued to keep it) and it was made clear that gentiles who believe “should observe no such thing” (with a few general, moral exceptions).

The Truncated Gospel by James

 

The Truncated Gospel by James

In Paul’s day, he and other Jewish apostles and disciples were attempting to spread the good news of the Jewish Messiah to Jews in Israel, Samaria, and in the diaspora and also to give that news to the Gentiles. Jews had been waiting and waiting for the arrival of the Messiah for centuries, and the need for him to come was especially acute during periods of exile and occupation. Israel was a land occupied by a foreign army and desperate to realize its own liberation and redemption. The news of an arrived Messiah who would be King and who would redeem national Israel would be beyond good news…it would be immense in its impact among world Jewry.

From that point of view, explaining why news of the arrived Messiah would be good news to the Jewish people is a no brainer, but we have to work a little harder (which Paul does) to explain why it is also good news to the people of the nations.

See full article here:

http://mymorningmeditations.com/2013/07/22/the-truncated-gospel/

Psalm

“Stop Insulting Our Intelligence!”: recommended article

Article about a “well timed” anti-Semitic cartoon in a British newspaper.

See article here:

http://www.newantisemitism.com/2013/01/stop-insulting-our-intelligence_29.html

Anti-Israelism

Over the weekend there were reports of Hamas missiles reaching Tel Aviv and Jerusalem – fortunately falling outside of populated areas. On hearing that I thought how ironic it would have been if the Dome of the Rock had been hit by one of these wayward missiles.

Then on a Christian forum I saw contributors inferring that Israel had “faked” those missiles:  that Hamas rockets weren’t capable of reaching those distance. I shouldn’t have been surprised. There are still those who see that the September 11th terrorist attacks were an “inside job”.

So, suspicion is already being sown –  IF the Dome of the Rock fell victim, the blame would quickly be turned upon Israel and further hostility stirred up against them. It probably wouldn’t take much to convince many that Israel and not Hamas was to blame – and the “Christian” inferences mentioned above would only add fuel to an already combustible situation.

“BDS, boycott Israel. Really?”: A recommended article.

An interesting article from the Australian blog of Jews for Jesus.

A few years ago, Iran’s Supreme Leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Khomenei urged the Muslim World to boycott anything and everything that originates with the Jewish people.
In response, Meyer M. Treinkman, a pharmacist, out of the kindness of his heart, offered to assist them in their boycott as follows:

http://aussie-jewsforjesus.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/bds-boycott-israel-really.html

A further quote from the article:

Regardless of your feelings about the crisis between Israel and the Palestinians and Arab neighbours, even if you believe there is more culpability on Israel’s part, the following two sentences really say it all:
‘If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel.”