Rejecting Our Jewish Roots

The Problem:
Even though Christianity started with Jews as a continuation of the Jewish religion, the Church today continues to neglect its Hebraic heritage, as if it were hidden from sight, and continues to give preference to pagan traditions over God-ordained traditions.

The symptoms:

• A long history of anti-Semitism in Church history.
• Church holy days and traditions are based on European pagan traditions (Easter is the name of a pagan goddess, Christmas is a pagan god's birthday).
• The image of a white Jesus.
• Original Hebrew names and terms are either seldom used, or translated so badly that they bear almost no resemblance to the original names. (When we hear "James" we think "Christian"; but when we hear "Yaakov/Jacob" we think "Jewish". more...)
• The idea that Judaism and Christianity are incompatible, or the idea that a Jew must "convert" to Christianity.
• A hostility towards the law (God's law as delivered to Moses).

The results:

• The Church fails to have a proper perspective and appreciation of its roots, and of the Jews, God's Chosen People.
• Christianity is seen as the White Man's religion.
• Jews feel distant and alienated from a Gentile Church, rather than provoked to jealousy (Romans 11:11).
  

The Solution:

• Know the facts:
  • Y'shua is Jewish.
  • Y'shua is the Jewish Messiah (the concept of a Messiah being exclusively Jewish).
  • Y'shua's atoning death is based on the Jewish sacrificial system.
  • The New Testament was written entirely by Jews.
  • Jews brought the Good News to the Gentiles.
  • God will never divorce the Jews; the Church didn't replace Israel (Rom 11:1-4, 28, 29).
  • God gave salvation to Gentiles in order to draw Israel back to Him (Rom 11:11).
  • Jewish Christians can continue to observe the Mosaic Law (Acts 21:20-26).
• Celebrate God-ordained Jewish holidays (like Passover & Yom Kippur), and understand their importance, meaning and messianic symbolism. Do away with Easter and Christmas.
• Reconcile with, and love the Jewish people.
• Understand the Jewishness of Y'shua (Jesus).
• Restore Hebrew names and terms into common usage. (Y'shua instead of Jesus; Yahweh instead of LORD; Messiah instead of Christ; more...)
• You can do all of the above by attending the meetings of a local Messianic congregation!

A White Jesus? So what did Y'shua look like? Well, if the real Jesus walks onto your airplane, don't get too nervous - He looked more like an al-Qaeda terrorist than the tall, feminine-framed Swedish-looking guy you've seen in all of the paintings and videos. The Discovery Channel's theory of what Jesus really looked like (based on a 1st century Jewish skull).

White European artist's interpretation.