Beth HaDerech; Messianic Jewish Congregation, Toronto, Canada

Messianic Judaism – We are not the "Jewish church"

For many Christians that are supportive of Messianic Jews and the work of Messianic synagogues they support us as the “Jewish church”. The “Jewish church” being defined as a Jewish cultural form of Christian faith. This can be seen in Hispanic, Korean, Filipino, Arab and other culturally sensitive forms of Christianity. Using the wording of missiology this is called “contextualization” and these other cultural groups like the local Hispanic Baptist Church or Chinese Methodist Church are true examples of putting Christian faith and practice within either Hispanic or Chinese culture and language and this is a great way for these non-Jews to experience their Christian faith within their distinct culture, history and language. This view of contextualising of evangelical Christianity for Jews can be seen in the founding of the Hebrew Christian Alliance of America (now the MJAA). The HCAA was founded in the early 20th century as [...]