If Christians don’t have to become Jews but can still keep the torah and be God’s people why do so many in Messianic judaism change their names and act like they are jewish? Even Boaz Michael and Tikva from First Fruits of Zion changed their names and seem to take on a jewish identity. Why do they do it when they teach or say otherwise?
Respect for their heritage
hope this helps
EDIT
Marcuss: ***You still have an Irish heritage but you are now an American. To claim you are Irish is a lie.***
Obviously, you don’t know what it is like to be Irish either.
They’re just wannabes; it’s human nature, I suppose.
References :
Messianic "Judaism" was begun by Baptists. It IS a Christian movement, it isn’t Jewish in the least.
Maybe you’d better read this:
http://www.messiahtruth.com/response.html
References :
No such thing as a Jewish name.
My name originally came from England, but I am not from England.
References :
answer: makes it easier to deceive REAL Jews into converting to their off brand of Christianity.
There’s even summer camps for some of them to attend – they’re instructed on how not to use the name of Jesus or call the Christian bible the "OT" or "NT" but the "complete Jewish bible" and other such nonsense.
References :
Perhaps some should do some research – those falsely calling themselves "Jewish" and "rabbis" often take Jewish names to sound more legit so they can deceive others. They even call their churches "synagogues". Like one person on this forum that used to identify as a "Rabbi" but stopped when Jews asked where he had gotten his credentials. Shameful.
Some Christians don’t like their names either. Some people prefer to use their middle name instead of their first name.
I can think of several names I would change if I was them. Pea brain being one of them, not to mention Fish Face, joke, joke.
References :
messianic judaism is not judaism, is was started by christians. Real judaism is different. read this website: http://www.jewsforjudaism.org
References :
There is no such thing as "Messianic Judaism" within Judaism.
Christians who call themselves Jews have the core beliefs of other Christians, including but not limited to: virgin birth, mother mary, Jesus as the divine son of God, miracles performed by Jesus, the crucifixion of Jesus followed by his resurrection, the holy Trinity, and the entire New Testament.
So, what is it about these people that makes them Jewish? NOTHING. Going through the motions of observing Jewish holidays (while inserting Jesus into every one of them), reciting Jewish prayers (while holding Christian beliefs = blasphemy), calling their ministers "rabbi", etc. does not make them Jewish. Doing all these things while holding dearly to Christian beliefs makes them qualify for the designation CULT. That’s what they are, a bizarre Christian cult. They certainly are not Jewish and the religion they practice is not Judaism.
I await the accusation of "hatred" that will now come from "messianic Jews" and their misguided supporters for simply exposing these people as frauds.
edit to the person below: well, of course if a Jew "decides" to worship outside of the faith, that makes him/her not a Jew. Do you think if a Christian began worshiping Greek gods, for example, he/she would still be a Christian? Also, I see you have been fooled by them. Practically all of them were born and raised as Christians before they decided to begin calling themselves "messianic Jews." Even Devoted1, a regular "messianic Jew" here, admits she is the ONLY one in her entire congregation that was formerly a Jew (she claims she still is a Jew but she obviously is not). All others in her congregation were (and still are) Christians.
edit: Ok, SUCKels, let’s say you are born Irish and then you immigrate to the United States and become a United States Citizen. You still have an Irish heritage but you are now an American. To claim you are Irish is a lie. Do you think if this person went back to Ireland now an American citizen, he/she could still vote in local Irish elections? NO is the answer. Would he/she qualify for government benefits in Ireland? NO. The very few "messianic Jews" who used to be Jewish would fit with this analogy. Now, how about a native-born American who suddenly decides to start calling him/herself Irish? Would they be recognized by the Irish government as an Irish citizen? Certainly NOT. This analog fits perfectly with most "messianic Jews" who were Christians before they decided to call themselves Jews.
References :
Reform Jew
Christians don’t become Messianic Jews, they become Messianics. Out side of your examples I have never heard of a Christian taking a Jewish name except Madonna.
Devoted 1 also says that they are not called Messianic Jews only Messianics.
References :
Messianic Jews do not pretend to be Jews they are Jews that have accepted Yeshua (Jesus) as the Jewish Messiah. Messianic Jews keep the Sabbath and the torah just because they decided to believe in Jesus it does not make them Jews? And as far as I know I don’t remember any Christian changing their name to a Jewish name.
References :
Simply put, there are Jews who accept Christ as the Messiah and by doing so become Messianic Jews. "Name changing"? No. Once a Jew, always a Jew. Some will say that is the deal breaker, but you cannot take away someones heritage and culture. You just cant.
Let’s say, you were born and raised, Irish, that is what you are and who you are. No one can take that away from you.
References :
Maybe because many Jewish people have Hebrew names and the "Christians" want to learn Hebrew since that is the language the NT Messiah spoke. Is it wrong for people to have the desire to learn and apply Hebrew?
Acts 26:14 "And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
Christians trying to act "Jewish" attempting to follow the Oral Tradition of Rabbinic Judaism are going to be humiliated. They’re just asking for trouble unless they reject their belief in the Messiah of the NT writings.
If a Christian decides to forsake the Torah-less Hellenized Jesus messiah and accept the Torah observant Hebrew Yeshua they have every right.
Though they should not bind themselves with the practices of the Oral Tradition of Judaism. They should simply learn and observe the written Torah of their Creator, the God of the Hebrews, as the NT Messiah instructed by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5.
> Jonah, a "Hebrew" instructed to reach out to the gentile nation of Nineveh, is the only sign to be given from the NT Messiah:
Jonah 1:9 And he said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land."
Mat 12:39 But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;
> The NT Messiah quoting the written Torah as the first and great commandment:
Mat 22:37 And He said to him, "’YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’
Mat 22:38 "This is the great and foremost commandment."
Deu 6:5 "And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."
References :
Respect for their heritage
hope this helps
EDIT
Marcuss: ***You still have an Irish heritage but you are now an American. To claim you are Irish is a lie.***
Obviously, you don’t know what it is like to be Irish either.
References :
Converted Messianic Jew