In the bigger social picture, there are two presuppositions that define Jewish culture today. The first, and most important, is "whether or not they believe in Jesus". This fact is quite confusing to most people, for example:
A friend of mine, whose husband is Jewish, told me she was planning to convert to Judaism. Knowing that she had been raised in a Catholic family, I was curious, and asked if she had ever visited a Messianic Jewish congregation. She looked puzzled and asked, "What's that?" So I told her that it is a Church founded by Jews who believe in Jesus. And with wide surprise in her eyes, she replied, "They have those?"
Her response was not too amazing, but my inclination to suggest that Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, or Paul were Jews who believed in Jesus could have been insulting ... so instead, I thought, it would be more appropriate to invite her to a Bible study. Before I could do that, her father-in-law approached us, having overheard the last bit of our conversation. The situations that the Lord puts me in are amazing sometimes.
No matter how much the Jewish people resist the notion that their culture is defined by "whether or not they believe in Jesus", it is perhaps the most defining aspect of their culture today. In fact, for Jews who do not believe in Jesus, it shapes their culture far more than they want to admit. The very nature of the way that they respond to Christian proselytizing, let alone the mention of Jesus in their own home, is quite telling. They might freely talk of satan worshippers, enemies of the state like Bin Laden, or even Hitler, but Jesus is not up for discussion at all. It is easy to understand why they do this, but then one must also see that this is a feature of their culture that distinguishes it from the rest.
The second presupposition that defines Jewish culture today, may not be as important as the first, but it is certainly more confusing, more mysterious, and more widely misunderstood. It is usually stated simply that, "If your mother is Jewish, then you are Jewish". Most Christians have not thought clearly enough about this fact, and I am one of those Christians.
The best way to become acquainted with a subject is to write a book about it. - Benjamin Disraeli
Instead of a book, I am writing this blog entry to clear my thoughts on this subject of matrilineal descent and its impact on Jewish culture.
While many Christians want to talk about evangelizing, I want to love people first, and learn to understand them without forgetting to preach the Gospel. Some Jews have said that they are afraid that evangelical Christians would love them to death ... is there a better way to die?
It is possible, and in fact quite probable, that people who have read the Law, the whole of Scripture, and even an entire history of the Jews, barely notice how this one law of matrilineal descent has shaped the entire Jewish culture. So where does this Law come from? Very few people know its origins, including many Jews. And those who do know, do not want to talk about it much, and I'm not sure why.
I once asked
this question of a famous Rabbi:
Posts
