Posts by Russ Resnik
The Two Shall Become One Flesh: The Beginning and End of Marriage
Some Pharisees came to Yeshua, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father…
Read More“Salvation is from the Jews”: An Assessment and Critique of Karl Barth on Judaism and the Jewish People
Introduction It has often been said that, over the centuries, more than the Jewish people have kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath has kept the Jewish people. The idea behind this expression is that Jewish practice is a key factor in the preservation of the Jewish people. Perhaps this should not be all that surprising to…
Read MoreHesed And Hospitality: Embracing Our Place on the Margins
On a recent Shabbat morning, after the Torah reading, the rabbi opened his d’rash by saying: Judaism is a religion of law. In Judaism, we ask the question, ‘What does the halacha say I should do?’ Christianity is different. It likes to ask, ‘What would Jesus do?’ But we already know what Jesus would do-he…
Read MorePeterson, Eugene H, The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways that Jesus is the Way
(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007.) I will start with a disclaimer – I’m biased toward Eugene Peterson. The first article I read by him was “The Unbusy Pastor,” back in 1981,[1] and it remains a favorite, even if I am still not as unbusy as Peterson would recommend. The article opens with a classic Peterson…
Read MoreAbraham’s Promise: Judaism and Jewish-Christian Relations by Michael Wyschogrod
by Michael Wyschogrod; edited and Introduction by R. Kendall Soulen GRAND RAPIDS: EERDMANS PRESS ©2004 Reviewed by Russ Resnik Modern Orthodox scholar Michael Wyschogrod considers Messianic Jews to be all wrong about Yeshua, but he is essential reading for anyone interested in Messianic Judaism. Wyschogrod often seems to understand Messianic Jews better than we understand…
Read MoreMessianic Judaism Is Not Christianity by Stan Telchin
(Chosen Books ©2004 A Division Of Baker Books, Grand Rapids, Mi) You can’t tell a book by its cover, perhaps, but what about its title? Stan Telchin has written the latest in a series of oddly entitled books critical of Messianic Judaism. Last year saw the publication of Judaism is Not Jewish: A Friendly Critique…
Read MoreCompeting Trends In Messianic Judaism : A Response
The mission of the UMJC can be captured in one sentence: We are committed to establishing, strengthening, and multiplying dynamic congregations for Yeshua within the wider Jewish community. This one sentence, however, introduces the tension underlying Gabriella Reason’s article-the inevitable tension of living at the intersection of Yeshua and Jewishness. This tension can be healthy…
Read MoreDefining Messianic Judaism – A Commentary
(Summer 2002, revised March 2004) Recently I was leafing through the catalog of a major Christian book supplier and came across a section they had termed “Messianic Judaism.” There were a few books in this section, but most of its space was given to a nice selection of tallitot and kippot, challah covers and candleholders,…
Read MoreDefining Messianic Judaism
Addendum 1: What Do We Mean By “Jewish“? The UMJC Theology Committee defines Messianic Judaism as a Jewish congregational movement for Messiah: Messianic Judaism is a movement of Jewish congregations and congre-gation-like groupings committed to Yeshua the Messiah that embrace the covenantal responsibility of Jewish life and identity rooted in Torah, expressed in tradition, and…
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