A few days ago, The New York Times carried an advertisement of sorts, sponsored by the World Evangelical Alliance. The advertisement was titled, "The Gospel and the Jewish People - An Evangelical Statement."This "statement" was signed by a number of "evangelical" leaders and would-be leaders around the world, such as Lon Allison, the director of the Billy Graham Center; Mark Bailey, president of the Dallas Theological Seminary; D. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; Chuck Colson, of the Prison Fellowship; Stan Guthrie of Christianity Today; Harold Hoehner, a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary; Jerry Jenkins, of the ChristianWriters Guild; Lon Solomon, pastor of the McLean Bible Church, McLean, Virginia; and many more.
This advertisement for "evangelicalism" starts out by professing love for the Jewish people, and a recognition that the church has been responsible for "anti-Semitic words and deeds." It pledges "commitment to be loving friends and to stand against such injustice in our generation."
BUT..."...we want to be transparent in affirming that we believe the most loving and Scriptural expression of our friendship toward Jewish people ... is to forthrightly share the love of God in the person of Jesus Christ."
It gets worse! These evangelicals of the world, great friends to the Jewish people, just also happen to believe that if Jews don't accept Jesus as their personal savior, they will burn forever in hell!
"We believe that it is only through Jesus that all people can receive eternal life. If Jesus is not the Messiah of the Jewish people, He cannot be the Savior of the World."
Oh boy...Contrary to what the "evangelicals" would like to believe, the fact is that the Messiah anticipated by the Jews in the first century was a kingly figure who was to conquer the world and rule the world from Jerusalem. Jesus was not the messiah of the Jews. In fact, Jesus did not claim to be the messiah.
Now, the final put-down: "It is out of our profound respect for Jewish people that we seek to share the good news of Jesus Christ with them, and encourage others to do the same, for we believe that salvation is found in Jesus, the Messiah of Israel and Savior of the World."
You just can't get much more arrogant than that! You can't get much more condescending than that! You really can't insult a group of people in a worse manner than that! And you can't find a better venue to show the world how stupendously ignorant you are than running an ad like this in The New York Times!
Friendship? Profound respect? I don't think so. If this is the essence of friendship and profound respect, who needs or wants it?
Here's a statement to the World Evangelical Alliance: Go study Torah!
3 comments:
Jesus didn't claim to be the Messiah?
Try Matthew 11:27, Matthew 12:28, Matthew 26:64, Matthew 16:16, Mark 14:27. Luke 22:29, etc. etc. etc.
Also, if you read this ad, how can you possibly say it is arrogant, condescending and insulting? I would apply those words much more directly to this blog.
Well, Anonymous: Matt. 11:27 and 12:28 do not mention the messiah. Matt. 26:64 explicitly denies he is the messiah, but rather the son of man, which if you new anything about Judaism would know that means any man. Furthermore there isn't a New Testament scholar (other than the fundys) anywhere who would accept Jesus' words to Peter in Matt. 16:16 as being authentic as they obviously come from a much later and established church.
I can't imagine how you got Jesus claiming to be the messiah from Mark 14:27...
Etc., etc., etc. I guess you can make the Christian bible say whatever you'd like it to say or whatever you've been taught that it says.
Now, I read the ad many times and it sure as hell is arrogant, condescending and insulting.
Let's see in how many ways: it assumes that the evangelicals "know" the only truth and they know the mind of god, and thus can proclaim to other people their eternal destiny. That sure sounds condescending to me!
That is also insulting. How dare a so-called evangelical pretend he has the truth and I don't? If you tell me I don't know the truth but you do because of some ancient words in some ancient scribbling, that is pretty insulting!
And arrogant! Holy Moses! Do you think it isn't arrogant for someone to tell another they are going to burn in hell forever if they don't believe in the same piece of doctrine you do?
I did not say anything about the eternal destiny of the evangelicals. I wasn't condescending, nor was I arrogant, nor did I insult them. I simply said that they were wrong to tell other people they are going to hell because they have the "wrong" beliefs.
But thanks for writing.
Jacob
I think Jacob knows his Bible better than those that read things that are not there. Just think of all those that have died over the centuries because of ignorance and misunderstandings. I think Jesus, as a practicing Jew from the day he was born to the day he died and then after he arose would be upset at the treatment of his people, relatives, etc at the hands of those that kill in his name.
What would Jesus say and to whom would he say whatever he would say? Where would he deliver his speech and in what language? What would he say to all those that speak in his name without authorization? One would think Jesus could speak for himself.
Oh well, I am not one that has been spoken to by God, Jesus, or any of the disciples. I do not even know what they look like or sound like. Does anyone? I suspect that he would not like organized religion very much from what I have read.
Bob Poris
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