COG7, The Bible Advocate, and Messianic Judaism

   In the past issue of the Bible Advocate (Doing Dad Right, May-June 2011 issue), a magazine published by the COG7 (Church of God 7th Day), an article on Messianic Judaism was published. After reading it thoroughly, I was asked by an ex-member of the said church, who is presently Torah observant, to give somewhat of an answer  to the arguments concerning accusations to the Messianic Faith. The author of the article Israel Steinmetz wrote several points as to why the church disagrees with the Messianic Faith; and how the church should approach people with this belief within their church. (Please follow the above link to read the full article entitled Messianic Judaism in the Doing Dad Right issue, pages 20-23)

    From the beginning, my desire  was to clear up any confusion and mistaken assumptions regarding the Messianic Faith. As I clearly stated in my response, that I e-mailed to the Bible Advocate, I made no claim as to being a spokesperson for this faith; but am instead someone who has known it long enough to see the errors argued in the said article. My motive has not been to persuade a church into a certain way of belief, instead my hope was to make a clear explanation as to why such arguments were untruthful and at the same time hurtful to any future Christian-Messianic relations.

    In a future post, I hope to present the false assertions presented in the BA (Bible Advocate) Article. Also, I hope to take each of the points presented in the article, and explain why they are mostly based on assumptions and misinformation. I want to give the main reasons for disagreeing and stating they are in fact based on false assumptions, written in my response to the BA.

    Finally, I would  like to write one last post on the subject. Two nights ago, I received a letter from the editor letting me know they had received and read my response. The editor also mentioned, that I would soon be able to read the new issue within the next couple of weeks, wherein the discussion would continue. As a result of knowing about this follow up on the subject, I would like to write one more post with a follow up and conclusion of my own.

    My determination on writing to the BA, was not only to clear up the confusion being spread out there; but one other thing in mind prompted my response. The COG7, as a church with a large membership and the BA with many readers throughout The States, should be more careful, when writing about believer's of a different faith; and should first make sure, that they have all the facts right. In my opinion, such false statements about the Messianic Faith, will do nothing more than be a source of disdain and contempt for Messianics in general. It is with a hope of a better understanding on the subject, that I'm writing these posts for my blog.