ORLANDO -- For Passover, the cheerful voice on the radio invites me and all other Jews in Central Florida to a "traditional family Seder" at an upscale hotel in this city's bustling tourist corridor.
The menu, prepared by the sponsoring Congregation Gesher Shalom, features the spring festival's familiar food, singing and dancing. Oh, and also Jesus, known by his Hebrew name, Yeshua.
Led by Messianic Jews -- who accept Jesus as their savior, and want others to do the same -- the dinner services are aimed at gullible, lonely or separated Jews with no other place to observe the normally home-based holiday. They'll even be using a special Messianic Passover Haggadah that explains how Jesus would have celebrated the holiday, and notes similarities between the Seder and the Last Supper.
Yes, once again, 'tis the season for ersatz Passover Seders.
These bait-and-switch services are often held at evangelical churches, which may not be as open as Gesher Shalom about their proselytizing goals, have emerged over the past 15 years. They are much different from the more venerable, ecumenical "model Seders" held at mainline churches a week or two before the actual holiday, often with the participation of traditional Jewish rabbis and members of their congregations, designed to demonstrate the meaning and symbolism of Passover.
The evangelical Christian embrace of Jewish converts, and their on-going efforts to proselytize others, including through Messianic Seders, are among the heretofore minor irritants in the alliance between some American Zionists and evangelical Christians, pragmatic link based on unconditional support for the State of Israel.
Local American rabbis, mostly in the heavily evangelical Sun Belt, complain that the "Christianization of Jewish rituals" is too high a price to pay for the pro-Israel alliance. Messianics and their evangelical allies, the rabbis say, are using subterfuge and deceptive means to hijack their holiday. Two groups, Jews for Judaism and Outreach Judaism have sprung up to combat the conversion efforts. In one case, Barnes & Noble was pressured into moving the Messianic Passover Haggadah from the "Jewish" to the "Christian" section. Daily newspapers have been urged to separate Messianic congregations from traditional ones in their weekly worship directory to avoid confusion.
While large numbers of Jews do not appear to be abandoning their faith for Messianic or evangelical Christianity, there have been notable "successes."
In fact, some observers suggest that evangelicals have been more influenced by Jews, than the reverse, that the modern Christian movement would not be what it is without the long list of prominent Jewish converts. These include: authors like Jordan Rubin and Jonathan Cahn; political leaders Louis Sheldon and Howard Phillips; legal advocate Jay Sekulow; megachurch pastor Lon Solomon; editor Marvin Olasky; the twins Paul and Rob Schenck, priest and minister, respectively; broadcaster Sid Roth; Holy Land Experience theme park founder Marvin Rosenthal; evangelist Morris Cerullo; and, most infamously, Moishe Rosen, founder of "Jews for Jesus."
Notwithstanding, the evangelicals' attachment to Messianics can take them down some strange roads. Take the bizarre episodes of "Torah-wrapping," involving two scandal-tinged televangelists.
In late January of this year Ralph Messer, a Messianic rabbi whose only claimed ordination is an "apostolic and evangelical anointing," wrapped Bishop Eddie L. Long, of Atlanta's New Birth Missionary Church, in a Torah scroll, which the rabbi said "may still have the dust of [the] Auschwitz and Birkenau" concentration camps on it. The bearded rabbi ordered Long, wearing a Jewish skull cap and prayer shawl, and cradling a Torah, lifted in his chair. "He's a king," Messer proclaimed. "God has blessed him."
This coronation made no mention of the fact that Long was the target of a U.S. Senate investigation into his fundraising and lavish living, and that he later settled a suit filed by four young men who alleged they were coerced into sexual relationships through Long's influence, including gifts, trips and jobs.
But, like Paula White, another of Messer's Torah-wrapped televangelist whose ministry was the subject of both Senate and IRS investigations, the only thing that seemed to matter was that both Long and White have declared undying love and support for Israel and the Jewish people.
These episodes have drawn criticism from the Anti-Defamation League, as well as from local rabbis. "To wrap a Christian minister in what we consider our most sacred text is nothing short of desecration," said Rabbi Steven Engel, of Orlando's Congregation of Reform Judaism, and chairman of the Greater Orlando Board of Rabbis. "To a Jew this feels like it would for a
Muslim should a non-Muslim burn the Quran or like it would for a Christian were a non-Christian use the New Testament for floor covering."
In any event, I won't be attending this or any other year's "Seder" held by Congregation Gesher Shalom Messianic synagogue, whether held at a church or a hotel. When it comes to Judaism and Christianity, there is no splitting the differences -- or papering them over.
Longtime religion writer Mark I. Pinsky is author of A Jew Among the Evangelicals.
What fisher fails to understand is that the image is not literal. That image is one of ideas, thinking, compassion, the rule of law and yes, even retribution and individuality--the importance of one e.g., save one life and you save the world. Sometimes you just got to think about it fisher. Look, I'm not going to go on debating the value of Judaism with you. The issue at hand is Christian disrespect for Jews and their sense of superiority over Judaism or any other religion for that matter. So they can have their phoney seders as a ruse to convert Jews but they need to know we're onto them and most of us aren't buying it.
Tidbit 2: Moses was told of God’s plan to send a Prophet from amongst the people and that we should hear His words and follow His instructions and that Prophet was Jesus. Moses also composed the Song of Moses in which he tells the people that once they entered the Promised Land they would grow fat and arrogant and turn from their God and worship other gods as they did when they created the Golden Calf.
Tidbit 3: The coming and promised Messiah is mentioned often in the Old Testament as when Isaiah tells of a virgin giving birth and that He will be called Emmanuel (God with us). Isaiah also predicts the coming of a Suffering Servant who will sacrifice Himself for the people and bring about a new relationship between God and the people.
Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
The Old Testament is one long story of betrayal by the people of Israel; God’s Prophets speak to this in age after age, the chosen people who God rescued from Egypt were to be an example for all the nations. God says that he planted a vine in the garden (Israel) but that vine went wild and rebelled against Him as He knew it would being all part of the larger plan to rescue everyone who responds to His voice.
Jesus, Israel’s Messiah at the beginning of His ministry addressed His message to the Hebrews before being rejected by them, as God knew they would (their eyes had been covered by God) so that all the earth would become God’s chosen people, God being no respecter of persons. The Law of Moses had proven insufficient to save souls from illusion as no one was able to completely fulfill the law so a new contract The New Testament was a necessity and it was for all of God’s children not just some and it was The Law of Love.
Maybe you approve of those family values, but I don't.
Next, out of nowhere, Abraham managed to raise an army to force the people of Ur of Chaldea to convert or die. This is how the “chosen” people began. Their god would eventually show his appreciation by enabling anti-Semitism. Oy vey!
As if this were insufficiently morally and intellectually indefensible, you would have us believe your god impregnated a virgin, and then killed off their son, because he loves us.
Really?
“What is hateful to thyself do not do to another. That is the whole Law, the rest is Commentary.” Rabbi HIllel, a devout practioner of the Laws of Moses, who predated/influenced Jesus.
Muslims believe Jesus and Muhammad were both prophets. Christians believe Jesus is God, though only one of the four New Testament books (John) says that. And it was decided by a close vote at Nicene.
About half the world believe in the Old Testament, and imagine they are different religions. The other half of us correctly see them as the same, yet you all fight wars over them. Sunni and Shia fight, Catholics and Protestants in Ireland. The British killed 20M in religious wars between Protestants, Anglicans and Puritans (Cromwell).
Aldous Huxley pointed out that all wars are caused by nationalism, materialism, racism and religion. The world watches in horror as believers in the Bible kill each other. Genesis says the earth is older than the sun. That is false, a book that gets the order of Creation wrong is not the word of God. There is no Holy Land, the Bible is a fable, and we're sick of people dying because of a lie.
We are supposed practice religious tolerance, but it's hard when religion itself is intolerance. I look at it like tolerating kids who believe in Santa Claus. Really the same character as the Biblical God: omniscient, knows when you are sleeping. And judges us, gifts if you're good, coal if you're bad.
The rational are supposed to pretend the Bible is true, so children can live in their fantasy world. And pretend that God actually picked one people over all others, made them his favorite. And what a coincidence - those are the same people who wrote the Bible! Amazing but true, not.
While I appreciate your intent, that is not true. The conception of "god" is quite different even between sects and denominations of the same religion, much less from one religion to another. Just for starters.
Christ was not born of a Virgin Birth - Mary was! The Immaculate Conception refers to Mary. The late Chris Hitchens used to always get Catholics on that one in debates.
I was a confirmed Catholic, I married a Jew. I studied Asian religions and Buddhism. It's the same God, the same religion. The only difference is how merciful folks make Him to be. The New Testament makes Him more merciful, but Christ never overrules Deuteronomy which commands you to kill non-believers like me, and do much worse.
And as recent article points out, Revelations is about the destruction of Rome, not the Rapture. The number 666 is Nero in numerology. He's the AntiChrist. Revelations is a political diatribe disguised to avoid prosecution. But you'll never know any of this, because your faith requires you reject reason and evidence. I found that too hard, but I'm a scientist, 800s in math and physics.
Scientists never get passed the fact that Genesis has the earth created before the sun. It's why the Church made Galileo recant. I mean, surely a newer object would revolve around the older, and if the earth revolves around the sun that means Genesis is wrong - so they rejected Galileo. Religion only survives through ignorance, literally "ignoring" all contrary evidence. Faith is ignorance, ignoring reality.
There may be "similarities" between the Christian Communion ritual and Passover, but the "last supper" itself was actually Jesus & his followers celebrating Passover, wasn't it?
Whether Jesus was the Messiah or not, he was a Jew and he would have celebrated Passover in the normal manner of that day & time, not with some ersatz ritual.