A lady called Susan from Philadelphia emailed me this week. Here is our conversation:
"Zionism is simply the belief that Jews can and should control their destiny. It has nothing to do with exactly where the borders of that state should be. It is perfectly possible to be a Zionist and believe that Israel should exist within the pre-1967 borders. The Christian idea of the Apocalypse has nothing to do with Zionism. It has to do with the theology of some Evangelical Christians. These Evangelical Christians believe that the Messiah will come when Israeli Jews convert to Christianity. Israel would become a "Zionist state" with no Jews in it. Christian "Zionists" are not real friends of Israel. I can live in the US because Israel already exists. If Israel didn't exist, I would be there helping to create a Jewish state."
The next day she emailed again:
"When I wrote to you yesterday. I had not been aware of your statement about sharing Jesus with Jews. First of all, Jesus was a Jew. It is Jews who are sharing Jesus with Christians. You cannot be Jewish and accept Jesus as you savior. If your attempt to "share Jesus" were successful, the planet would be Judenrein. What you call "sharing Jesus", I call spiritual genocide. Then you turn around and call Zionists racists?"
With help from a Messianic friend I responded:
Dear Susan, You are absolutely right! It would be impertinent for me, an ignorant goy, to share Jesus with Jewish people, when he is already Jewish, and Jewish people who believe in him (Messianic Jews) are simply discovering that one of the greatest Jewish teachers is also the Messiah. However, since I have been blessed with this wonderful discovery, and I am not even Jewish, how could I not want to share this good news with everyone I meet. Wouldn't it be antisemitic to deny Jewish people the opportunity to find out about their Messiah? So shall we forget for a moment the easily made allegations of antisemitism, and talk seriously about who Yeshua ha Notsri (Jesus of Nazareth) actually claimed to be, and examine those claims in an open-minded discussion? I recommend you start here on a Jewish website. http://www.jews-for-jesus.org
She responded,
"Jews for Jesus is not a Jewish web site. I am familiar with the literature. You are never going to convince me that I can be Jewish and accept Jesus as my savior. If you are not antisemitic, you would let us alone and keep your "good news" to yourself. You couldn't help using my e-mail as an excuse for proselytizing. Jesus was not the Messiah. The Messianic age has yet to start. We are far alway from the unviersal peace. love and understanding that the Messiah is suppoed to bring. That means that Jesus cannot have been the Messiah. I can't forget allegations of antisemitism as you continue your attempt to make the planet Judenrein. I certainly would not call the Jews for Jesus web site a good place for an open discussion. There is a line in a Sabbath prayer, God is my saviour and redeemer. I need no other. I have read most of The New Testament and it is filled with hatred and contempt for Jews. I live in Philadelphia and the founder of the local Jews for Jesus was a Baptist who changed his name to a Jewish sounding last name."
I replied one more time:
Dear Susan, Can I make you a deal? I’ll pray for you and if you feel able, you pray for me, then if one of us or both of us gets to heaven we will be thankful to the other for their prayers. Blessings Stephen
Susan has emailed again (having discovered that I blogged about our converation).
"I'm the Susan who wrote to you about "sharing Jesus. I now realize that you responded to my e-mail with the idea of posting your response on your web site. It certainly makes you look much better than you are.
I believe that you are an antisemite. Your beliefs contain the anti-Judaism that you rail against. Anti-Zionism if another form of antisemitism. Why should Jews be the only people who shouldn't have a home land? I repeat that if you achived you goal of bringing all Jews to Jesus, there would not be a Jew left on the planet. That is an attempt at spiritual genocide."
I replied:
Dear Susan,
Thanks for your email. I did not reply to you with a view to publicizing the correspondence. That would indeed have been deceitful. I decided to do so subsequently. I am what you see - no more no less. I have blogged a series of dialogues I have had with Zionists (carefully avoiding giving their names or identifying them). You are free to do the same.
I profoundly disagree with you that to oppose Zionism is in any way anti-semitic - to believe so is to abuse the memory of those who have genuinely suffered from anti-semitism. The strongest opponents of Zionism (as well as advocates ) are Jewish people. I happen to agree with the former not the latter.
I also disagree with you, as do hundreds of thousands of Messianic believers, who know that they remain Jewish and recognise Jesus as their Messiah. Again - I respect their position - you do not - further evidence of your own tendency to a form of anti-semitism - denying Jewish people the right to affirm their Jewishness.
I will be adding this further exchange to my blog (as you are free to) except at the moment I am open and above board about doing so and you are not, at least not yet.
Yours warmly
Stephen
