Jewish and Christian faith groups

Messianic Judaism

Note:

Jews frequently use the term "G-d" and "L-rd" to refer to their deity. They regard his full name as so sacred that it must not be written in full or pronounced.

Overview:

Messianic Judaism is a religious movement, composed of faith groups that:

	Regard themselves to be committed Jews.
	Believe that Yeshua of Nazareth (a.k.a. Yahshua. Jesus Christ) is the Messiah spoken of in the Hebrew Scriptures (a.k.a. Old Testament), specifically in Deuteronomy 6:4.
	Believe that they are following the teachings of Yahshua which differ from those of the early Christian movement, and differ greatly from Roman Catholicism which evolved from the early Christian movement.
	Follow the Bible, which they refer to as the Tanach -- the Old Covenant Scriptures -- and the B'rit Chadasha (New Covenant Scriptures)

Almost all follow an evangelical Christian theology.

They differ from Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox Jews over their beliefs about the Messiah, the Trinity, salvation, sin, and a multitude of other factors. Jews generally believe that the Messiah has yet to come; they do not accept Jesus as the Messia, nor do they accept Messianic Jews as real Jews.

If one defines a religion according to the deity that they worship, then most Messianic Jews are actually Christians because they recognize the existence of the Christian Trinity and the divinity of Yeshua. However, if one goes by how the membership define their own religion, then Messianic Jews are a part of Judaism.

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Topics covered in this section on Messianic Judaism:

	Introduction
	Beliefs and practices
	Jews for Jesus (JFJ)
	Friction and opposition from within the Jewish community

Finding a Messianic Jewish congregation near you:

The International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues has a directory of synagogues in various countries, from Australia to Zambia at: http://www.iamcs.org/. Included in the listings are E-mail addresses and the URL of the congregations' website (if any).

They can be reached at:

	Email: info@iamcs.org
	Toll free phone at 866-426-2766.
	Postal address: PO Box 20006, Sarasota, FL, 34276-3006.

Messianic Judaism resources:

	Baruch Maoz, "Judaism is not Jewish: A friendly critique of the Messianic Movement," Christian Focus Publications, (2002). Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store.
	Messianic Jewish Communications is a Messianic Jewish publishing company, and a supplier of Messianic Jewish books, CDs, gifts, etc. See: http://www.messianicjewish.net/