A New Begining

A short while ago I began writing a book.  For years I have thought about writing a book on what it means to be “Messianic.” Of course, there are books already out there.  There’s Daniel Juster’s Jewish Roots[1], David Stern’s Messianic Jewish Manifesto[2] and Restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel[3], but all of these titles were written by Jews, about Messianic Jews.  As David Stern points out in his Messianic Jewish Manifesto, since I wasn’t born to a Jewish mother, nor have I ever converted to Judaism through the Jewish Rabbis, I’m not Jewish.  

So, what am I?  And what are the thousands of other non-Jewish believers who attend Messianic congregations throughout the world.  If we cannot call ourselves “Messianic Jews,” do we call ourselves “Messianic Believers,” even though our fellow congregants call themselves “Messianic Jews,” or are we still just simply Christians?  And even if we are only Christians, aren't our religious roots still in Judaism?  Why don't we still celebrate the Jewish holidays?  Why does Christianity look so different from Judaism? 

I started writing my ideas down in book form.  I wrote chapters on who I am, where the Rabbis came from, thoughts on keeping kosher, the Shabbat, the Jewish Holidays, traditions and how all of these things relate to one another.  You may be asking, "what happened to the book?"  Unfortunately, as I began writing, I got more thoughts and learned more information and had new insights into the subjects I was writing about.  I had to go back and rewrite entire chapters as I found information contradicting my original assumptions, or found a source that I had used to be inaccurate.  The information seemed to take on a life of it's own and became overwhelming.  

With this blog I am attempting to cut the information I've learned into small manageable chucks, which I will post each week.  It is my hope that as the weeks, months and even years pass, I will be able to reorganize all these chunks of information back in to book form, supported by reliable and accurate sources.  Until then, I'd love to hear your comments each week, your opinions and find out if what I have rings true to you or just sounds like a bunch of rubbish.  As we discuss each topic, I'd also love to hear what you have to say from your personal experiences, what you have found out in your own research and I'd love to know what sources of information you use to support your ideas.

Until next week, Shabbat Shalom and Shavuah Tov!

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[1]Daniel Juster, Jewish Roots (Pacific Palisades, California: Davar Publishing Co., 1986)

[2] David H. Stern, Messianic Jewish Manifesto (Baltimore, Jewish New Testament Pulications, 1988)

[3] David H. Stern, Restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel (Baltimore, Jewish New Testament Pulications, 1988)