For almost 2,000 years, Christian missionaries have been trying to convince the Jew to accept their beliefs, and for just as long, the Jew has resisted. The ones who resisted most strongly were those who sought G-d with the most fervor. What was their motivation? Why did we never give in to the missionaries?
WHY ARENÂ’T WE CHRISTIANS?
By Aryeh Kaplan
We hear quite a bit today about a movement called “Jews for Jesus.”
A small number of Jews seem to be finding the teachings of
Christianity very attractive. The vast majority of Jews, however, still reject
these teachings in the most emphatic terms.
For almost two thousand years, the Christians have been trying to
win over the Jew. And for the same period of time, the Jew has resisted all
such overtures. But why? Why donÂ’t we accept Jesus? In short: Why arenÂ’t
we Christians?
In order to understand this, we must look at the origin of Christian
beliefs. Christianity began with a Jew. Jesus lived as a Jew, around the
same time as many of our greatest Talmudic sages. The great Hillel lived
just a generation earlier, and Rabbi Akiba, a generation after. Our own
sources, however, record very little about JesusÂ’ life. Everything that we
know about him is found in the Gospels of the New Testament, a book
written by and for the early Christian church. This book, however, was
written primarily to further the cause of Christianity, and it is therefore
impossible to separate the historical person of Jesus from the “Christ”
required by early Christian theology.
Soon after the death of Jesus, we find a marked change in the teachings
of his followers. Christianity as we know it began during this period in the
work of Paul of Tarsus. Paul, or as he was earlier known, Saul, was a
disciple of the great Talmudist Rabbi Gamliel, and he began his career by
actively opposing the early Christians. In a dramatic incident on the road
to Damascus, Paul converted to Christianity, and later became one of its
foremost leaders. Although he had never seen Jesus alive, he claimed to
have spoken to him in spirit. Under PaulÂ’s leadership, many of the distinctive
doctrines of Christianity were first proclaimed, and, for the most part,
they have never changed. His teachings are recorded in his Epistles, which
form the second part of the New Testament.
WHY ARENÂ’T WE CHRISTIANS? 3
Among PaulÂ’s major teachings, we find the following:
1) Jesus was the Messiah or Christ predicted by the Prophets of the Bible
and awaited by the Jews. He is also the Son of G-d, and like any son, is
essentially the same as his Father.
2)Man is evil and sinful. All mankind is damned because of AdamÂ’s sin.
The Torah cannot save man, since its many commandments make it
too difficult to keep. The only thing that can prevent manÂ’s utter
damnation in hell is the belief in Christ.
3) The Jews were originally G-dÂ’s chosen people, but they were rejected
when they refused to accept His son, Jesus. The name “Israel,” G-d’s
chosen people, is no longer carried by the Jew, but by those who
accept Jesus as the Messiah. Only these share G-dÂ’s love. Everyone else
is damned in hell.
4) There is only one law now that Christ has come, and that is love. One
must follow the example of ChristÂ’s sacrifice, and patiently hope that
G-d will be gracious in return.
It is enough to state these articles of Christian faith to see why the Jews
could not accept them. Taking them one by one, the Jewish viewpoint
would be:
1) Jesus could not have been the Messiah. The Prophets predicted a
world of peace and love after the MessiahÂ’s coming, and this
certainly does not exist today. Furthermore, any talk of the Messiah
as being the “son of G-d” is totally unacceptable. In no place do the
Prophets say that he will be anything more than a remarkable leader
and teacher.
2) Although the Torah does speak of AdamÂ’s sin, it teaches that man can
rise above it. Man might not be able to perfect himself, but it was for
this reason that G-d gave us the Torah. It is absurd to think that G-d
would give a Torah that was impossible or too difficult to follow. In no
place does Judaism teach that one can be saved from damnation by
mere belief. Any true belief in G-d must lead a person to also follow
His commandments.
3) It is impossible to imagine that G-d would ever reject the Jewish
people. In many places, the Bible clearly states that His covenant with
them will be forever.
4) In many places, the Bible says that the Torah was given forever. It is
therefore impossible to say that it has been replaced by a new law or
testament. Love alone is not enough, for one must know how to express
it, and for this, we need the Torah as a guide. Love is only one of the
TorahÂ’s commandments, and good deeds are its necessary expression.
Why do we believe these ideas rather than the ones expressed by Paul
and Christianity?
For one thing, we see no evidence that Jesus was indeed the Messiah
expected by Israel. The Messianic promise included such things as perfect
peace and unity among men, love and truth, universal knowledge and
4 THE REAL MESSIAH? A Jewish Response to Missionaries
undisturbed happiness, as well as the end of all evil, idolatry, falsehood
and hatred. None of these things have been fulfilled by Christianity.
The Christian answer to this is the simple assertion that all things have
indeed changed by the coming of Jesus. If the change is not visible, it is
because man is evil and has not truly accepted Jesus and his teachings.
Thus, the Messiah or Christ will have to return in order to prove his victory.
The Jew refuses to accept the excuse that the major prophecies
concerning the Messiah will only be fulfilled in a “second coming.” He
expects the Messiah to complete his mission in his first attempt. The Jew
therefore believes that the Messiah is yet to come.
But there is also another more important issue at stake than the mere
identity of the Messiah. Christianity teaches that Jesus was also G-d in
human form. The Jew sees this as a totally mistaken idea about G-d. It
makes G-d too small, for in stating that He can assume human form, it
diminishes both His unity and His divinity.
We disagree with Christianity not only with regard to belief, but also
with regard to what man must do. Christianity tends to deny that manÂ’s
actions are ultimately very useful. The only thing that can save man is his
utter despair in his own sinfulness, and total dependence on G-d. The
Jew, on the other hand, believes that man can come close to G-d by
obeying Him and keeping His commandments.
Christianity thus starts with one idea about man, while Judaism starts
with the exact opposite idea.
Judaism starts with the idea that man is created in the “likeness of
G-d.” He therefore does not have to go very far to discover the divine,
both in himself and in others. There is always the opportunity to awaken
the divine in oneself by obeying G-dÂ’s commandments. The Jew begins
with this opportunity.
Christianity, on the other hand, begins with the basic assumption that
man is depraved and sinful. Left to himself, man is utterly damned. He is
naturally involved in evil, and must therefore do something to be saved
from it.
The first question that the Christian asks is, “What have you done to
be saved?” To the Jew, this question is almost meaningless. This is not the
Jewish way of thinking at all. The Jew asks, “How can I serve G-d? How can
I keep His commandments?” The central focus of Judaism is obeying the
commandments of the Torah. We look at man and see his greatness, for
he can obey these commandments and fulfill G-dÂ’s will.
Christianity teaches that man is so evil that he can never really serve
G-d. The Torah is too difficult for man. The only thing that man can do is
believe in Christ and wait for salvation.
The Jew replies that the very fact that G-d Himself gave us
commandments and told us to obey them teaches us that we can indeed
serve G-d and fulfill His will. It is unthinkable that G-d would give His
people a Torah if it were impossible to keep it.
WHY ARENÂ’T WE CHRISTIANS? 5
Although all of JesusÂ’ disciples were Jews, they could not convince
their fellow Jews of their teachings. The early dogmas of Christianity
seemed closer to those of the pagan gentiles than to those of the Jews.
More and more, Christianity was rejected by the Jews and accepted by the
gentiles. It thus gradually developed into a gentile church, and its attitude
toward the Jews became more and more unfriendly. It may have
constantly appealed to the Jews to convert, sometimes even resorting to
cruelty and force, but the Jew stood firm. Christianity may have changed
human history, but it could never win over the Jews. The Jew stood by his
Torah and walked his own way.
In essence, there were two Christian teachings that the Jew could
never accept. Christianity taught that G-d had assumed human form in
Jesus, and that the Torah no longer mattered. The Jew rejected these two
dogmas, even under pain of death.
In rejecting Christianity, Judaism therefore did not reject anything that
it needed spiritually. There was nothing in all the teachings of Jesus that
would have added even one iota to the strength of the Torah. If Christianity
made any contribution at all, it was to the non-Jewish world.
The Jew knew that his Torah provided him with a unique relationship
with G-d. Everything that he saw in Christianity seemed to contradict
this relationship. It is for this reason that throughout the centuries, the
Jew has found it impossible to accept the teachings of Christianity. He
believed with perfect faith that G-d had shown him the way, and he had
no intention of ever leaving it.
