JUDAISM 101HEATHER DRAKE

JEWS FOR JESUS, CHICAGO

Who is Jewish?

– This seems like a simple question but the answer often isn't so simple

–Who wants to know?• The Jewish community• The Rabbis in the community

Where to look for the answer

• What the Bible says about who is Jewish– Covenants (Aramaic, Davidic, Mosaic)– The Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob– Leviticus (the law and the priesthood)

• What the Rabbis say about who is Jewish• What the Jewish people say about who is Jewish

Jewish Culture Invades Our Culture

Where do the Jewish people live?• Israel – 5,703,700*• United States – 5,275,000• France – 483,500• Canada – 375,000• United Kingdom – 292,000• Russian Federation – 205,000• Argentina – 205,000• Germany – 119,000• Australia – 107,500• Brazil – 95,600• Ukraine – 71,500• South Africa – 70,800

Jewish Communities of the USA

• New York City• Miami• Philadelphia• Boston• Washington D.C.• Hartford, CT• Cleveland, OH• Los Angeles• Las Vegas• Chicago

What Jewish People Look Like

What Jewish People Look Like

What Jewish People Look Like

“It’s funny, you don’t look Jewish”

You’re Jewish?

How to be Jewish

• Culturally

• Religiously

• Or “being Jewish” vs. following Judaism

Religious Jewish Expression

• Most Jews (in this country) live in various types of unbelief:– Secularism– New Ageism– Atheist– Agnostic– Jewish and (Buddhist, Hindu etc.)

Branches of Judaism

– Orthodox

– Conservative

– Reform

Orthodox Judaism

• Practices relate back to the 2nd through 5th century

• Seeks to preserve traditional Judaism• Torah Observant• Represents 14% US Jewish Population

What the Orthodox Believe• Torah is the truth• Oral and written law are both divinely inspired• God is spirit (in form)• God is personal– Omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, eternal and

compassionate• Do not believe in original sin, but personal sin

can be absolved through prayer and practicing the Law

What the Orthodox Believe (cont.)

• Messiah is personal. He is like a superhuman with God like qualities but not God.

• Messiah will restore Israel and execute judgment.

• Believe in the resurrection of the dead. Righteous will live forever with God in the Garden of Eden and the unrighteous will suffer for their sins.

Conservative Judaism

• Emerged out of 19th century Germany• Middle ground to the extreme assimilationist

movement of the Reform Jews• Maintain the basic traditions while adapting to

modern life• Represents 40% of the US Jewish population

What Conservative Jews Believe

• The Bible is the word of God and man and is dynamically inspired

• Divine revelation is ongoing• God is ineffable and impersonal• God concept is flexible and less dogmatic

What Conservative Jews Believe (cont.)

• We can sin personally or morally but they do not believe in a “sin nature”

• Salvation can be achieved through maintain Jewish identity and doing good works

• Messiah is not personal but there is a messianic age

• No life after death

Reform Judaism

• Following the 18th century after emancipation from the ghetto

• Modernization of Judaism in order to be more practical and avoid total assimilation into the daily life in Germany

What Reform Jews Believe

• Torah is a human document preserving the history, cultural, legends and hope of a people. Its value is in preserving moral and ethical insights.

• God is concept with a wide latitude for mystical interpretations

• “The truth is that we do not know the truth”

What Reform Jews Believe (cont.)

• There is no “original sin”. Sin is reinterpreted as the ills of society

• Salvation is attained through the betterment of self and the betterment of society

• There is no personal Messiah but a movement that are are already in towards a Utopian age

• No life after death. We live in in the memories of our loved ones

Affects of Modernism and Post Modernism on the Jews

• Diaspora• Assimilation and Intermarriage• Secularism and unbelief

What’s the Good News?• Here are some key spiritual truths to hold

onto– The gospel is a present priority (Romans 1:16)– Salvation is from the Jews and for the Jews (Jn

4:22, Rom. 10:4) and for everyone– At present we see a remnant chosen by

grace(Rom 11:5)– All Israel shall be saved! (Zach 12:10, Rom.11:26,

Isa. 59:20-21, 27:9)

Why Jews don’t believe: Part 1Problems Facing Jewish Evangelism Today

• Replacement Theology• Dual Covenant Theology• General apathy towards evangelism• Ignorance• Fear• Lack of opportunity

Why Jews don’t believe: Part 2Jewish Reaction to Evangelism

• Fear of the loss of Jewish identity• Self preservation• Hostility• Hardened hearts• Spiritual blindness in part• Jewish objections to the gospel

Top Three Jewish Objections to the Gospel

1. Unwritten social contract, “you can’t be both Jewish and believe in Jesus”

a. Self preservationb. Need for Jewish identityc. “Us and Them” concept

Jewish Objections (cont.)

2. “We believe in one God not three!”a. Incorrect estimation of who the trinity isb. Support the oneness of Echad vs. the

“threeness” of the trinity (Deut. 6:4)

Jewish Objections (Cont.)

• “I’m no sinner. Now Hitler, he was a sinner!”a. No belief in original sinb. Not a strong belief in personal sinc. Personal sin can be absolved by works and

observanced. Unclear picture of judgment/afterlife

Reasons Jews Should Believe in Jesus

Jesus was Jewish

Jesus was Jewish (and he eats Kosher)

Jesus Fulfills the Law and the Prophets

Reconciled to God only through Jesus

Being Jewish and Believing in Jesus makes you a…

You could be Jewish without believing in Jesus. But who’d want to?

Want More?

• Online: Jewsforjesus.org• Dial up: 415-864-2100

• Visit our booth!– Internships– Summer outreach