Just want to share this to everyone...
Almost everyone who is part of Vineyard Columbus knows that I was raised in a conservative Jewish family in
It is quite clear to any observer that Christianity and Judaism moved in two very different directions after Jesus and his early Jewish followers. In my opinion, many of the most serious problems that the church has experienced over the last 2000 years could have been avoided if the church did not repeatedly cut itself off from its Jewish roots. In bringing correction to the church, many people have tried to remind church leaders that Christianity is Jewish.
In saying Christianity is Jewish, I must immediately communicate what I am not saying:
- In the current political environment, by saying Christianity is Jewish, I am not saying that we followers of Jesus need to support
- In the current worship music environment, I am not suggesting that we need to get back to certain “Hebraic” styles of worship. It was popular, particularly in the 1970’s and 80’s, in certain charismatic circles, to suggest that the use of minor key worship, models of the tabernacle, and Jewish dance steps were somehow more spiritual or more “biblical” than other forms of worship expressions. Saying Christianity is Jewish is not a statement regarding worship style preference.
What would be gained by recovering the Jewish roots of Christianity?
- The beauty of block logic. Greek logic which has been the chief influence on the Christian church over the last 18 centuries uses a tightly contained step-logic whereby one argues from premise to conclusion in a rational, logical fashion. Jews, both in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament, made use of block logic. Concepts were expressed in self-contained blocks of thought. These blocks of thought didn’t necessarily fit together in any obviously rational or harmonious pattern. This way of thinking opens the door for paradox or antinomies (apparent contradictions) as one block stands in tension with another block.
The church has had difficulty with the block logic of the Jewish scriptures. We constantly try to cut the tension by opting for one side of the truth versus the other. So, for example, it says in Exodus that Pharaoh hardened his heart, but it also says that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. We say either God did it or Pharaoh did it. It can’t be both! The same is true with scriptures that deal with divine sovereignty and those that deal with human responsibility, and scriptures that suggest that God is one yet somehow three. By affirming the way Jews in ancient times thought, the church would not be tempted to cut biblical tensions or reject certain aspects of the truth in favor of other aspects.
- God is in everything. Jews in biblical times did not make a distinction between sacred and secular areas of life. They saw all of life as a unity. God was involved in the birth of a baby and God was involved in the death of an old person. Farmers recited special prayers as they tilled the soil. The apostle Paul, reflecting his Jewish background, wrote, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (
When the church has forgotten that Christianity is Jewish, it has drawn a sharp distinction between the sacred and the secular. As a result, many Christians wonder where God is in their work places. Christians often see work as “just tent-making,” enabling them to earn enough money so that they can get onto “God’s work” at church or in evangelism. The Christian world also became divided between clerical and lay people, and between secular and sacred institutions. Imagine what would happen to the average Christian if we saw our walk with God not being exhausted by “spiritual” activities such as prayer and fasting, but as involving the whole of our lives: our entertainment choices, what we ate, our sex lives, our spending choices, our work, etc. Imagine a world in which God is in everything, not just “spiritual” things.
- Unity vs. Dualism. Following the Greeks, much of the church held to the perspective that there are two worlds – the visible material world and the invisible spiritual world. The invisible spiritual world was said to be higher than the visible material world. The Greek philosopher, Plato, likened the body to a prison for the soul. The goal of salvation was to escape the body and to live as a pure spirit forever.
Jews in biblical times had a very different view. According to the Jews, the world was good. Material was good. To the Jews, a human being is a dynamic body/soul unity called to serve God with all of our beings within the physical world. The ultimate goal for Jews was not escaping the body and living forever as pure spirit in a spiritual world called heaven. Rather, the goal was to live in a resurrected body on a new (renewed) earth.
Imagine what would happen to people in the church if we took on a more Jewish view of our bodies and of material creation. Perhaps we would be more mindful of our diets. And since salvation takes place in the body, perhaps sexual holiness would make more sense to us. Since material creation is valued by God, perhaps we would also exercise greater creation care. Environmentalism would not just be for tree-huggers! It would be the natural response of Christians to our understanding of the world.
- The Individual vs. Community. Severed from its Jewish roots, the church has continually tilted towards an emphasis on the individual’s own relationship with God as opposed to the more Jewish emphasis on the community of faith. One of the early movements in Christianity was monasticism, which literally means “to be alone” or to “live in solitude.”
When the church is cut off from its Jewish roots, Christians tend towards “Lone Ranger” Christianity. Christians begin to believe that the church is a luxury, not a necessity and that we can successful grow as believers on our own.
Jews living in biblical times thought of themselves as being part of a people. When they talked to God, they used the plural “we,” not the singular “I.” That’s why Jesus (a Jew) taught us to pray, “Our Father in heaven,” not “My Father in heaven…” The Bible teaches that when a person comes to Christ, they are immediately grafted into the church. Our growth, our learning, and our salvation is eternally bound up with our relationships in the community of God’s people.
In sum, many of the problems of contemporary (and historic) Christianity would be solved by remembering this one simple fact: Christianity is Jewish!
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