Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 9, 1995 TAG: 9502090061
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-16 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FRANK W. MULLER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
While this may be true, one must realize that in absolute numbers, such Messianic Jews, or Jews for Jesus as they formerly called themselves, represent only a minute fraction of Jewish people today. The article may easily lead one to the erroneous assumption that hordes of Jews are rushing to accept Christ as their savior. Nothing could be further from the truth. Out of concern for the mistaken impression that this article may give the public about how the great majority of Jews view Jesus, I felt compelled to respond.
Judaism is a universalistic faith in the sense that it recognizes in every religion an attempt to approach God. We don't share the fundamentalist view that there's only one true religion - the one we happen to belong to.
At the same time, there are certain core beliefs that distinguish Judaism from other faiths. To compromise those beliefs would change the very nature of what Judaism historically has stood for. When comparing Judaism to Christianity, the main area of divergence occurs over how each respective faith views Jesus.
First and foremost, one cannot be a believing, practicing Jew and accept Jesus as the Messiah. The two concepts are mutually exclusive. The very notion of a faithful Jew believing in Jesus as the savior of all humankind is nothing less than a theological oxymoron. It simply cannot be.
In the Hebrew scriptures, ``Messiah'' means ``anointed one.'' It was a title applied to Israel's kings when they were anointed at the time of their coronation. One primary responsibility of these kings was to rescue people from their tormentors. Whenever the Jewish people were exiled from the Holy Land or were oppressed while living within it, they prayed for a Messiah to come. He was to be a descendant of King David, who would expel tyrants from the Holy Land and restore their freedom.
The restoration of Jewish independence would be a signal for the dawning of an age of peace and righteousness for all humanity. The coming of a Messiah would mean an end to all people's troubles, not the Jews alone. Thus, when any Jew is told of the Messiah's imminent arrival, the answer invariably must be: ``If only it were true.'' For when the Messiah comes, there will be no more wars, no more class distinctions, no more racial bigotry, and no more poverty. This will be the day, as it's quoted from Isaiah and inscribed on the entrance of the United Nations, ``When nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.'' Since the world has never seen such a time of universal peace and brotherhood, the Messiah, or Messianic Age as most liberal Jews prefer to call it, hasn't come for us.
While Jews don't accept Jesus as the Messiah, we don't reject the ideals of Jesus the prophetic teacher. We don't reject his social philosophy of love, justice, humility, kindness and mercy. I find his Sermon on the Mount to be an uplifting and inspirational ethical message. To Jews, Jesus was an exalted teacher of morality and a gifted composer of parables. That positive assessment, however, doesn't make him the hottest issue in Judaism.
Altman has no right to imply that Jesus is an issue at all for the great majority of Jews today. His article belonged on the commentary page, and not in the religion section of your newspaper where it could easily be misconstrued as fact.
Frank W. Muller of Roanoke is rabbi of Temple Emanuel.
by CNB