Was it right to use these words from Judaism in church?

[JoeUK]

This is a question that's been on my mind and I would appreciate some thoughts (as long as they are not rude).

Yesterday in church, the speaker giving the sermon had some literature beamed onto the screen for everyone to read out loud together. He had been invited to some kind of special occasion at a synagogue - I think to do with his paid job. He came away with a poem written by a 15th-century Spanish poet and translated by a senior Rabbi for use in the synagogue. This was what we were all to read out.

The wording of the text was very beautiful and similar to some of the Psalms - talking about how God is the creator, our maker, and watches over us, etc. I started saying the words but stopped about halfway through. The text was being read like a creed but I doubted that it had been originally composed by a Christian. Did it matter?

When I looked closely at the words, I noticed a sentence saying of God, "He is One". Well, that takes us back to the Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4, so what was the problem?

I realised that the words "He is One" may well have been originally included in this poem to refute the Christian notion of the Trinity. And now when they are recited in a synagogue, it may be to affirm the Judaistic belief that God is One in the sense that 'there is no Trinity and therefore Jesus cannot be God the Son'. These words were being brought into my church for all the Christians to speak out.

After the church service, I expressed this concern to the minister and he said that he would have a word with the speaker who delivered that sermon.

Was I right or wrong to be concerned? I feel sure that everyone in the church would have been thinking of the Trinitarian concept of "He is One" as they read those words. I'm certain that the speaker's heart was right too. Did it matter that we used those words? Would it be all right to use them again? What might the Bible have to say on this subject?

 

[SuperCow]

I think those are two separate issues. The Christian based churches that don't believe in the Trinity still believe that Jesus is the Messiah and is the son of God. They just don't believe Jesus is GOD.

This is much different from non-messianic Judaism which doesn't recognize the messiah, or Islam which demotes Jesus to a prophet.

 

[Albion]

Was I right or wrong to be concerned? I feel sure that everyone in the church would have been thinking of the Trinitarian concept of "He is One" as they read those words. I'm certain that the speaker's heart was right too. Did it matter that we used those words? Would it be all right to use them again? What might the Bible have to say on this subject?

This was a one-time experience featuring a guest speaker who isn't scheduled to return, I'm assuming. Based on that, I'd say you weren't wrong to speak to your pastor as you did, but you could also just as easily have let it pass (which doesn't mean that you made a mistake). The thing for you to do now is put it in the past.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

You did the right thing, as this 'seed' might have been planted into the congregation. Your pastor should discuss it openly with the congregation.

 

[Soyeong]

This is a question that's been on my mind and I would appreciate some thoughts (as long as they are not rude).

Yesterday in church, the speaker giving the sermon had some literature beamed onto the screen for everyone to read out loud together. He had been invited to some kind of special occasion at a synagogue - I think to do with his paid job. He came away with a poem written by a 15th-century Spanish poet and translated by a senior Rabbi for use in the synagogue. This was what we were all to read out.

The wording of the text was very beautiful and similar to some of the Psalms - talking about how God is the creator, our maker, and watches over us, etc. I started saying the words but stopped about halfway through. The text was being read like a creed but I doubted that it had been originally composed by a Christian. Did it matter?

When I looked closely at the words, I noticed a sentence saying of God, "He is One". Well, that takes us back to the Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4, so what was the problem?

I realised that the words "He is One" may well have been originally included in this poem to refute the Christian notion of the Trinity. And now when they are recited in a synagogue, it may be to affirm the Judaistic belief that God is One in the sense that 'there is no Trinity and therefore Jesus cannot be God the Son'. These words were being brought into my church for all the Christians to speak out.

After the church service, I expressed this concern to the minister and he said that he would have a word with the speaker who delivered that sermon.

Was I right or wrong to be concerned? I feel sure that everyone in the church would have been thinking of the Trinitarian concept of "He is One" as they read those words. I'm certain that the speaker's heart was right too. Did it matter that we used those words? Would it be all right to use them again? What might the Bible have to say on this subject?

Deuteronomy 6:4 has been used as part of the Shema, which is one of the oldest Jewish prayers that is prayed daily and is part of liturgy, so affirming it was not originally done to combat belief in the Trinity, though it is a verse that has since been used by Jews to combat belief in the Trinity. However, the Hebrew word used for "one" in that verse is "echad", which is is a plural unity, such as one bunch of grapes, so that verse does not counter belief in the Trinity. Furthermore, the Shema is also said by people who believe in the Trinity. I believe that it is possible to learn much that is of value from someone while still strongly disagreeing with them on other matters.

 

[tampasteve]

I don't see a problem, as we believe that God is One. Christians can and should repeat the Shema just as Jewish people do. It predates Christianity, and the substance does not have anything conflicting with the Trinity.

On the contrary, I think it would do well for most Christians to remember that God is one, many tend to hold a loose version of the unity of the Godhead by not understanding the Trinity, many Christians tend to lapse into a lazy Tri-theism or Modalism by mistake.

The Trinity is a very difficult subject, but we do need to remember that God is ONE in three....but God is one.

Orthodox Jewish spirituality and devotion could teach some Christians a lot. Many Christians are almost afraid of Judaism, of exploring the Jewish roots of our faith. We are in fact from a Jewish sect, we should not be afraid to really dig deep into it.

You were not wrong to be concerned, many people are uncomfortable with looking out of even their own denomination. Uncomforting situations can help us learn more about our faith and our God.

 

[JoeUK]

Thanks for all your replies. I haven't found this an easy subject. I've mulled it over throughout the day and not gotten very far. However, my leaning is towards thinking that it was probably dubious to use that poem in church.

The Judaistic notion of "God is One" is not the same as the Trinitarian one. The concept that the author of the poem and the members of the synagogue would have in mind would preclude a belief in the Deity of Jesus.

I would then have to ask whether God is happy for that piece of literature to be used in a church. Of course, I don't know for sure. But various Bible passages do indicate that God cares about the way he is worshipped and does not want elements of other faiths brought in. For example, in Deuteronomy 12:4 and Deuteronomy 12:31 he instructs the Israelites not to worship him in the manner of the surrounding peoples.

I may be wrong but I would go with caution over this sort of thing.

I did appreciate learning about the Jewish roots of Christianity in a study tour of Israel with Shoresh years ago.