I'm as confused as you. As I understand it, the Jews for Jesus hold themselves out as Jewish, but believe that Jesus is the Messiah. The two are mutually exclusive, as Jews believe that the Messiah has not yet come. :rolleyes:

I like it! :D

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a messianic Jew someone who beleives that Jesus is the messiah but that his coming was not a reason to abandon the Jewish faith. I think they keep all Jewish practices as well as the celebration of Christian holidays.
I rule nothing out and I think this can make sense if you think about it.

Jews for Jesus is a movement funded by Christians. It is not a form of the Jewish religion and it is why many Jews find it so offensive. It is a fact that Christians, specially with large amounts of funding from the South, have taken it as their mission to convert Jews. This is a movement that has a lot of lies in it and many of the facts are veiled and not revealed.

And in Judaism there is no such thing as a Messianic Jew. That is a fundamental aspect of the religion when it comes to conversions and the Moshiach/Messiah.

-Rudey
--And why would it matter how you spell Mohammed since that is a transliteration and not an English name?? Many Arab names and words have slightly different transliterations.

Isn't that a heavy metal band? :D

sororitutes.

Beofre I speak, I should lay out my credentials: I have a Master's in Jewish Studies and presently am working on a PhD in Religous Studies.

Without picking on anyone in particular, most of the comments about Judaism/Christianity are inaccurate, though I am sure the posters are well intended.

For example, there is no reason at all why a Jew can't be a Christian--depending upon how you define a Jew and how you define a Christian.

Who is a Jew? It's not an easy answer, as most Jewish authorities disagree among themselves on the answer. For example, most American Jews are not considered real Jews by most religious Israeli Jews. Huge, thick volumes are available on this issue of Jewish identity. Do we define it legally, culturally, genetically, religiously, or by some other characteristic? Needless to say, there is no consensus.

As far as Christian Jews, when I was attending a lecture, my Rabbi instructor started talking about a number of Jews who believe the Messiah came in the form of a man named Sabbatai Zevi in the 16th(?) century. Likewise, many Jews today believe the Messiah is a Jewish leader who lived in Brooklyn. No one disputes they are Jews, though some people suggest they are, well, a little misguided--though still Jewish.

So, noting the inconsistency on Christian Jews, I ask my teacher -- Why is someone who believes Sabbatai Zevi was the Messiah a misguided soul, but still a Jew, while somone who believes Jesus is a Jew, no longer a Jew? His Answer: 2000 years of Christian persecution. I had to laugh. In other words, politics. And on the question of Jewish identity, all sides in the debate are highly influenced by political concerns.

As an interesting side note, Jews used to procelyte pagans and Christians on a massive scale, until the Roman Empire outlawed such efforts. At that time 10% of the entire Roman Empire was Jewish. Also, it was the Christians who divorced themselves from the Rabbinics, not the reverse. Leavign aside the issue of Kairites, Christians and Rabbinics were the two surviving sects of Judaism after the fall of the second temple in 70 CE.

As far as Jews for Jesus, they consider themselves Jews mainly because they meet halakhic (Jewish Law), cultural, and genetic requirements--among others. Like most fundamentalist-evangelical groups, they can be annoying--at least to me.