Ray Vander Laan

[Steve Petersen]

You're still missing the point. The point is there are teachers out there that aren't Messianic Jews and who happen to be Gentiles who teach Jewish roots. The level they teach is irrelevant and/or observance.

This has been going on for quite a while. Nothing new. The whole 'Greek vs. Hebrew mindset' is already an old cliche and is far from distinct.

If you take the time to really dig into what many Christian teachers are teaching about Judaism you will find they rarely use primary sources but get into 'quote circles' using other Christian teachers as their sources. Much of the information they teach is inaccurate; a mile wide and an inch deep.

 

[Avodat]

Oh dear! I resolve NOT to try and use my iPhone when on CF! What a mess I made, trying to read the sites! I'm back at my desk computer now and can read it all so much better.

Apologies to Macher, Easy, et al.

 

[mishkan]

This has been going on for quite a while. Nothing new. The whole 'Greek vs. Hebrew mindset' is already an old cliche and is far from distinct.

If you take the time to really dig into what many Christian teachers are teaching about Judaism you will find they rarely use primary sources but get into 'quote circles' using other Christian teachers as their sources. Much of the information they teach is inaccurate; a mile wide and an inch deep.

I agree with you completely on this.

I think, though, that Macher's point is to affirm Van Der Laan in his recognition of Yeshua as a Jew, as opposed to the traditional Christian "blond-haired-blue-eyed-Norwegian".

I am no fan of modern church culture or theology, myself. But we need to find a way to affirm those who are not part of the MJ community when they land on a nugget of truth. As the saying goes, "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile". We should encourage those who are finding truth, even if they haven't matured to the point of understanding the whole Messianic package.

We all started somewhere, and we should show grace to those who have not yet arrived at our positions, en toto.

 

[Gxg (G²)]

The point is there are teachers out there that aren't Messianic Jews and who happen to be Gentiles who teach Jewish roots. The level they teach is irrelevant and/or observance.

A lot of times, it seems that it's easier to dismiss something simply because someone who's Christian/in the Church said it and it's assumed that they either recycled material from another or didn't go to primary sources for their information. That isn't logical, as others who do archeology and anthropology have often done much of the work that many Messianics benefit from when it comes to studying the history of the Bible and Biblical backgrounds in culture.....artifacts as well. Much of what Vanderlaan advocated came directly from those sources, as well as his own experiences as well---and thus, he's unique compared to others.

Others, not even saved, have noted some of the same things he has when it comes to simple historical perspective and being researchers...

• Jerusalem – Biblical Archaeology Society
• Ancient Churches in the Holy Land | Biblical Archaeology Reviewjavascript:void(0)
• Israeli Archaeologists Discover Byzantine Quarry and Possible Site ...

There often does seem, sadly, to be a lot of needless prejudice toward anyone not Messianic or assumption that only those who claim to be Messianic know things as it concerns Biblical history/archeology....

 

[Gxg (G²)]

Oh dear! I resolve NOT to try and use my iPhone when on CF! What a mess I made, trying to read the sites! I'm back at my desk computer now and can read it all so much better.

Apologies to Macher, Easy, et al.

iPhones do make a world of difference in what can be seen a lot of times