Editing Jews for Jesus (section)

=== Jewish ===
Jews for Jesus has a contentious relationship with the Jewish community, and their methods have generated controversy. All Jewish authorities, as well as the governing bodies of the [[State of Israel]], hold the view that [[Messianic Judaism]], the religious movement with which Jews for Jesus is affiliated, is not a sect of [[Judaism]] but a form of [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical Christianity.]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/2018/10/31/18042506/jew-for-jesus-messianic-jews-loren-jacobs-mike-pence|title=Messianic Jews and Jews for Jesus, explained|last=Burton|first=Tara Isabella|date=2018-10-31|website=Vox|language=en|access-date=2020-04-30}}</ref> Additionally, [[Gentile]]s who convert to Messianic Judaism are not recognized as Jewish by any Jewish movement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/messianic-judaism/|title=Who Are Messianic "Jews"?|website=My Jewish Learning|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-30}}</ref> However, Jews for Jesus says they "cannot support any efforts by Gentile believers to convert to any type of Judaism."<ref>{{Cite web|title=I'm a Gentile Christian. Should I Keep the Torah?|url=https://jewsforjesus.org/blog/im-a-gentile-christian-should-i-keep-the-torah|access-date=2021-03-08|website=jewsforjesus.org|date=14 September 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

Belief in Jesus as [[deity]], [[Son of God]], or even a non-divine [[Christ]]/[[Messiah]] or [[prophet]] (as in [[Islam]]), is held as incompatible with Judaism by most [[Jewish religious movements]].<ref name=CCAJ9>"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, August 15, 2005, p. 9).
</ref><ref name="incompat">A belief in the divinity of Jesus is incompatible with Judaism:
* "The point is this: that the whole Christology of the Church — the whole complex of doctrines about the Son of God who died on the Cross to save humanity from sin and death — is incompatible with Judaism, and indeed in discontinuity with the Hebraism that preceded it." Rayner, John D. ''A Jewish Understanding of the World'', Berghahn Books, 1998, p. 187. {{ISBN|1-57181-974-6}}
* "It has always been recognized, for instance, after the rise of Christianity and Islam, that these two religions are incompatible with Judaism and that no Jew can consistently embrace them while remaining an adherent of Judaism." Neusner, Jacob & Avery-Peck, Alan Jeffery. ''The Blackwell Reader in Judaism'', Blackwell Publishing, 2001, p. 8. {{ISBN|0-631-20738-4}}
* "Aside from its belief in Jesus as the Messiah, Christianity has altered many of the most fundamental concepts of Judaism." [[Aryeh Kaplan|Kaplan, Aryeh]]. ''The Aryeh Kaplan Anthology: Volume 1, Illuminating Expositions on Jewish Thought and Practice'', Mesorah Publication, 1991, p. 264. {{ISBN|0-89906-866-9}}
* "[The] doctrine of Christ was and will remain alien to Jewish religious thought." Wylen, Stephen M. ''Settings of Silver: An Introduction to Judaism'', Paulist Press, 2000, p. 75. {{ISBN|0-8091-3960-X}}
* "For a Jew, however, any form of shituf is tantamount to idolatry in the fullest sense of the word. There is then no way that a Jew can ever accept Jesus as a deity, mediator or savior (messiah), or even as a prophet, without betraying Judaism. To call oneself, therefore, a 'Hebrew-Christian,' a 'Jew for Jesus,' or in the latest version a 'messianic Jew,' is an oxymoron. Just as one cannot be a 'Christian Buddhist,' or a 'Christian for Krishna,' one cannot be a 'Jew for Jesus.'" Schochet, Rabbi J. Immanuel. [https://web.archive.org/web/20041124055959/http://www.cjnews.com/pastissues/99/july29-99/feature/feature2.htm "Judaism has no place for those who betray their roots"], ''[[Canadian Jewish News]]'', July 29, 1999.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070719101004/http://www.nybr.org/missionaries.htm 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)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100204054639/http://www.foundationstone.com.au/HtmlSupport/WebPage/Missionaries/missionariesAndCults.html Judaism and Jesus Don't Mix] (foundationstone.com)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080229195427/http://whatjewsbelieve.org/explanation09.html Jews believe that "Jews for Jesus", "Messianic Jews", and "Hebrew Christians" are no longer Jews, even if they were once Jews] (whatjewsbelieve.org)
* "If you believe Jesus is the messiah, died for anyone else's sins, is God's chosen son, or any other dogma of Christian belief, you are not Jewish. You are Christian. Period." (''[http://www.beliefnet.com/blogs/virtualtalmud/2006/08/jews-for-jesus-whos-who-whats-what.html Jews for Jesus: Who's Who & What's What] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061123100943/http://www.beliefnet.com/blogs/virtualtalmud/2006/08/jews-for-jesus-whos-who-whats-what.html |date=2006-11-23 }}'' by Rabbi Susan Grossman (beliefnet – virtualtalmud) August 28, 2006; archived 2006-11-23)
* "For two thousand years, Jews rejected the claim that Jesus fulfilled the messianic prophecies of the Hebrew Bible, as well as the dogmatic claims about him made by the church fathers—that he was born of a virgin, the son of God, part of a divine Trinity, and was resurrected after his death. ... For two thousand years, a central wish of Christianity was to be the object of desire by Jews, whose conversion would demonstrate their acceptance that Jesus has fulfilled their own biblical prophecies." (''Jewish Views of Jesus'' by Susannah Heschel, in ''Jesus In The World's Faiths: Leading Thinkers From Five Faiths Reflect On His Meaning'' by Gregory A. Barker, editor. (Orbis Books, 2005) {{ISBN|1-57075-573-6}}. p.149)
* "[There] are limits to pluralism, beyond which a group is schismatic to the point where it is no longer considered Jewish. For example, everyone considers Messianic Judaism and belief in Buddha as outside of the Jewish sphere." (''[http://judaism.about.com/library/3_askrabbi_o/bl_simmons_messianicjews.htm Why did the majority of the Jewish world reject Jesus as the Messiah, and why did the first Christians accept Jesus as the Messiah?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070513110717/http://judaism.about.com/library/3_askrabbi_o/bl_simmons_messianicjews.htm |date=2007-05-13 }}'' by Rabbi [[Shraga Simmons]])
* "No Jew accepts Jesus as the Messiah. When someone makes that faith commitment, they become Christian. It is not possible for someone to be both Christian and Jewish." (''[http://judaism.about.com/library/3_askrabbi_c/bl_jesus.htm Why don't Jews accept Jesus as the Messiah?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201064911/http://judaism.about.com/library/3_askrabbi_c/bl_jesus.htm |date=2010-12-01 }}'' by Rabbi Barry Dov Lerner)</ref> However, there has been some debate of that point by Jewish scholars. [[Daniel Boyarin]], a Jewish historian of religion and professor of Talmudic culture at UC Berkeley, writes in one of his books: <blockquote>Most (if not all) of the ideas and practices of the Jesus movement of the first century and the beginning of the second century—and even later—can be safely understood as part of the ideas and practices that we understand to be "Judaism."... The ideas of Trinity and incarnation, or certainly the germs of those ideas, were already present among Jewish believers well before Jesus came on the scene to incarnate in himself, as it were, those theological notions and take up his messianic calling.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Boyarin|first=Daniel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rd48nOco0-wC&q=Most+(if+not+all)+of+the+ideas+and+practices+of+the+Jesus+movement+of+the+first+century+and+the+beginning+of+the+second+century%E2%80%94and+even+later%E2%80%94can+be+safely+understood+as+part+of+the+ideas+and+practices+that+we+understand+to+be+%22Judaism.%22...+The+ideas+of+Trinity+and+incarnation,+or+certainly+the+germs+of+those+ideas,+were+already+present+among+Jewish+believers+well+before+Jesus+came+on+the+scene+to+incarnate+in+himself,+as+it+were,+those+theological+notions+and+take+up+his+messianic+calling.&pg=PT78|title=The Jewish Gospels: The Story of the Jewish Christ|date=2012-03-20|publisher=New Press/ORIM|isbn=978-1-59558-711-4|language=en}}</ref></blockquote>[[Dan Cohn-Sherbok]], a rabbi of Reform Judaism and professor of Jewish Theology at the University of Wales, implies that Messianic Judaism should be embraced in the Jewish community:<blockquote>...the non-Orthodox rejection of Messianic Jews is more difficult to comprehend given the multidimensional character of contemporary Jewish life ... There is simply no consensus among non-Orthodox Jews concerning the central tenets of the faith, nor is there any agreement about Jewish observance. Instead, the various branches of non-Orthodox Judaism embrace a totally heterogeneous range of viewpoints ... in my view Messianic Judaism constitutes an innovative, exciting, and extremely interesting development on the Jewish scene.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Anderson|first=Gerald H.|date=July 2002|title=Book Review: Messianic Judaism, Voices of Messianic Judaism: Confronting Critical Issues Facing a Maturing Movement|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/239693930202600313|journal=International Bulletin of Missionary Research|volume=26|issue=3|pages=134–135|doi=10.1177/239693930202600313|s2cid=149203101|issn=0272-6122}}</ref></blockquote>In a 2013 [[Pew Forum]] study, 60% of American Jews said that belief in Jesus as the Messiah was not "compatible with being Jewish", while 34% found it compatible and 4% did not know.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2013/10/01/chapter-3-jewish-identity/|title=Chapter 3: Jewish Identity|date=1 October 2013}}</ref> A 2017 survey that included Messianic Jews "found that 21 percent of Jewish millennials believe Jesus was 'God in human form who lived among people in the 1st century.'"<ref>{{Cite web|title=Study: One-fifth of Jewish millennials believe Jesus is the son of God|url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/study-one-fifth-of-jewish-millennials-believe-jesus-is-the-son-of-god-512015|access-date=2021-03-08|website=The Jerusalem Post |date=November 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref> An additional question on faith in the survey found that 14% of participants identified with Christianity, and 10% believed in a hybrid of Christian and Jewish beliefs.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.barna.com/research/beliefs-behaviors-shaping-jewish-millennials/ |title=The Evolving Spiritual Identity of Jewish Millennials |work=Research Releases |publisher=Barna |date=2017-10-10 |accessdate=2021-03-28 |quote=When given a range of options and allowed to select all that apply, nearly half of Jewish Millennials (44%) chose Judaism solely as their subscribed religion. More than half do not affiliate with traditional Jewish denominations (52%), however, and a similar percentage believes Jews can hold faiths other than Judaism (56%). Thus, others choose Christianity (14%), a hybrid of Judaism and Christianity (10%), atheism / agnosticism (9%) or no particular faith (13%)—a range that reinforces the notion of Jewish identity as heritage and people group as much as a specific spiritual belief set. In this context, it should be assumed some of those who select an option that includes "Christianity" may be recognizing any personal association with the faith, such as identifying with the religion of a Christian parent, rather than a specific or devout expression, such as Messianic Judaism.}}</ref>

In 1993 the Task Force on Missionaries and Cults of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRCNY) issued a statement which has been endorsed by the four major Jewish denominations: [[Orthodox Judaism]], [[Conservative Judaism]], [[Reform Judaism]], and [[Reconstructionist Judaism]], as well as national Jewish organizations.<ref name="Schiffman">{{cite web|date=3 November 2006|title=MEETING THE CHALLENGE -- HEBREW CHRISTIANS AND THE JEWISH COMMUNITY|url=http://www.jcrcny.org/pdf/sdpp/MEETINGTHECHALLENG2.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061103010412/http://www.jcrcny.org/pdf/sdpp/MEETINGTHECHALLENG2.pdf|archive-date=3 November 2006|publisher=Jewish Community Relations Council of New York}}</ref> Based on this statement, the Spiritual Deception Prevention Project at the JCRCNY stated:

{{Blockquote|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.<ref name="JCRCNY">{{cite web |url=http://www.jcrcny.org/PDF/7_6/Q_AHC.PDF |title= Frequently Asked Questions About Hebrew-Christian Missionaries & "Jews for Jesus" |url-status= dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060928114652/http://www.jcrcny.org/PDF/7_6/Q_AHC.PDF |archive-date=2006-09-28}} Jewish Community Relations Council of New York. Spiritual Deception Prevention Project</ref>}}
The director of [[Proselytization and counter-proselytization of Jews|counter-missionary]] group Torah Atlanta, Rabbi Efraim Davidson, stated: "Jews for Jesus use aggressive proselytizing to target disenfranchised or unaffiliated Jews, Russian immigrants and college students," and that "their techniques are manipulative, deceptive and anti-Semitic."<ref>[http://torahatlanta.com/IntheNewsArticles/Portland.html Portland Jews Brace for Assault by 'Jews for Jesus'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060515145611/http://torahatlanta.com/IntheNewsArticles/Portland.html |date=2006-05-15}} By Paul Haist (''Jewish Review'') May 15, 2002</ref>