Kineti L'Tziyon

And this is why the Messianic movement should not merely imitate Judaism

noreply@blogger.com (Judah Gabriel Himango) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:20:00 +0000

Amusing post over at Jewish Life & Learning: Is it discouraged or unacceptable for a gentile to keep the sabbath?

The accepted answer, with a boatload of up-votes from the Jewish community, states:

A non Jew is not allowed to keep Shabbos. Those that are in the process of converting make sure to do at least one thing on Shabbos that would normally not be allowed. For example they might carry something in their pocket.

משנה תורה לרמב"ם, ספר שופטים, הלכות מלכים ומלחמות, פרק י, יא - י"ב

Just to restate what's being said here, gentiles are not only forbidden to keep Shabbat, but even potential converts to Judaism must do some trivial thing, such as carrying something in their pocket, on Shabbat, in order to deliberately *break* Shabbat, so that he can successfully convert and become a Jew and observe Shabbat. (At which point, he would most certainly remove said item from his pocket!)

Oh boy.

For those who love Messiah, we know there’s a way that Judaism doesn’t yet see:

Messiah opened up to gentiles the covenants with the forefathers. He made gentiles sons of Abraham. He made gentiles first-class citizens in the commonwealth of Israel. He brought non-natural branches – the gentiles – and placed them alongside the natural branches – the Jewish people. Marvelous thing, really.

(Blessed are you, Lord, for bringing the millions of gentiles to yourself through Messiah’s sacrifice.)

This is a clear fork-in-the-road for those who wish our Messiah faith to be merely an emulation of Judaism. It’s not that the Messianic movement must discard Judaism. It’s that there are clear practical divergences here, divergences besides the deal-breaker that is Yeshua-as-divine-Messiah, Yeshua as Lord. The treatment of gentiles is such a divergence.

In the pre-Messiah days, barring a handful of proselytes and God-fearers, gentiles were without hope, without God, no relationship to Israel or the covenants. But after Messiah’s arrival, all that was turned on its head. (Thank you, Lord, for having mercy on the nations.)

Treatment of gentiles was to be different under Messiah’s reign. People with zero relation to Jacob are now family and first-class citizens and equal branches of the people of God, the commonwealth of Israel.

It shouldn’t surprise us, either. The prophets said as much.

Isaiah parroted God’s command: gentiles will keep shabbat and be given a name better than even Jacob’s children.
Zechariah speaks to a glorious time for Israel, when all the nations will come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feasts.
Isaiah even spoke of a seeming impossibility: first, God shows up and his glory is on plain display for all to see. Then, he’ll bring gentiles from all the nations to serve in the Temple alongside Israel as if they were cohanim, the Levitical priests.

Can you even imagine that? It’s going to be a sight to see, guys. The Temple is going to be rebuilt, Messiah’s going to return, God’s glory will be laid bare, all nations are going to see the King in plain sight. I can’t wait. Let’s persevere until then.

Education does not determine theological correctness

noreply@blogger.com (Judah Gabriel Himango) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:27:00 +0000

There’s been noise made about the lack of scholarship and credibility in the Hebrew Roots movement, criticisms coming particularly from the Messianic Judaism crowd.

To be sure, there’s some truth to that criticism. Numerous Hebrew Roots teachers have made false prophecies, or stated as fact things with no scholarly support. We have clowns on this side of the fence. Pardon our mess.

For many, this leads Hebrew Roots folks into Messianic Judaism or back into Christianity, where there’s less fanaticism, more scholarship. That way, they say, we’ll be set on the right path. Or at least, a more scholarly one.

But there’s an unspoken truth here: a theological education, while valuable, isn’t required for faithful living.

And – don’t throw fruit at me – a theological education isn’t even required for faithful teaching. (Blasphemy, I know!)

And – don’t curse me – a theological education doesn’t guarantee anything in the way of walking a good life for the Lord.

And – don’t stone me – a theological education sometimes does more harm than good!

Yes, religious leaders with higher education often get caught up in the intricacies of religion, theology, philosophy, and they lose sight of what’s important. And they’re worse off for it.

It’s not limited to religious education. I work in technology, and I’ve seen the same thing here: college grads love to write single-threaded command line web servers on Node.js. Fresh out of college, the technology is more important the the real goal, which is writing software useful to regular people. Regular people don’t need single threaded command line servers in Node.js. But the college grads lost focus on the goal.

So it is with religious education. Philosophy and theology and religion is more important than the real goal. Instead of serving, they get caught up in intricate discussions on Bilateral Ecclesiology. They takes sides and dig in and battle it out. They become advocates for a theology, and write long, articulate papers about why their theology of choice is gaining traction among other religious scholars! They write condescending blog posts against alternative views; of course, you’re free to disagree, so long as it’s clear you’ll be made out to be a foolish simpleton who just doesn’t have the credentials to be taken seriously.

Ha.

Biggest problem for higher-educated religious folks is an oldie: pride. You have more reading, more education, more engagement, more grounding in the scholarly world. Granted. And you’ve seen the junk scholarship, and the you-can’t-possibly-be-serious theologies out there. Likewise, granted. So, you’re kind of jaded. Maybe even untouchable. Who can intellectually engage with you? Is there anyone you can take seriously? (Outside your niche circle of scholarly friends, of course!)

See, that’s pride, and I see it all over the Messianic blogosphere.

Paul, the highly-educated, scholarly apostle said that all of his credentials, having been trained as a Pharisee under the most respected rabbis of Judaism – he counted all of it as dung. It’s not that it had no value, or that he hated his former religion; it’s that he came back to the goal: serving God, actually showing love to regular people. The real goodness is in there, and not in being connoisseurs of the latest doctrines circulating the religious world.

Don’t get me wrong, education has great value. It can debunk junk scholarship right off the bat. It can grant a solid ground to stand on. It can give a broader view than the one with which we were raised. It can give us a good command of what other people – smart, wise, scholarly people – think about the Scriptures, and how they interpreted them.

Even so, we should acknowledge that some of the greatest heroes of our faith were simple men. Biblical and afterwards. Fisherman, tax collectors, tent-makers, – these were average people. Called by God. Spirit-helped. According to Scripture, even the first century church was filled with so-called nobodies, all lacking credentials.

Anecdote from my 20 some years in the Messianic Jewish and Hebrew Roots movements: the so-called “dumb” people in the Hebrew Roots movement tend to be ordinary people who can relate to you, treat you kindly, can help you deal with problems in the real world.

Contrast this with so many of the higher-educated leaders who lecture on about airy theological issues, who intellectualize away even the clearest black-and-whites into mucky grays. Let them keep writing detailed theses; my Hebrew Roots friends and I will be volunteering at food kitchens.

I’ve witnessed good fruit from people in the Hebrew Roots movement. That didn’t come from a theological education.

Here’s a lesser-known story for you all. A few years ago, a young, well-educated, intellectual Messianic blogger, a young man who advocated against the Hebrew Roots movement, abandoned Yeshua altogether.

His reason? Pay attention, it’s telling.

He wrote in his final blog-ending post: “I evaluated Jesus, Christianity, Islam, and all other religions and ideologies from this central and defining perspective. Succinctly put, Judaism is more important to me than Jesus is.”

Catch that? He evaluated the diverse ideologies and perspectives. Then abandoned the Messiah for a religion.

God save us from intellectuals.

An embarrassing truth: highly-educated religious people have a terrible track record. Educated leaders within Judaism missed Messiah. Greek philosophers discarded the gospel. Popes and cardinals committed abuses of the worst kind. The Church of England regarded John Wesley and his laypreachers – ordinary people, non-clergy – as a threat, and attempted to suppress them.

Wesley is an interesting case: Though Wesley – like the apostle Paul – received higher theological education, the educated religious leadership of his day put down Wesley’s laypreachers – many of them ordinary people – describing them as promulgators of strange doctrines, fomenters of religious disturbances, blind fanatics, leading people astray, claiming miraculous gifts, attacking institutional religion.

I think Messianic Judaism is making the same mistake: denouncing simple servants of God – Hebrew Roots folks – as blind fanatics, attackers of institutional religion, fomenters of disturbances, lacking of higher education, perceived or real.

I say “perceived,” because the Hebrew Roots movement is not completely void of scholarship – praise God! – as some paint it to be. Yes, we have clowns. We need more solid scholarship, yes. But there exists sound, Biblical teachers in the Hebrew Roots movement. It’s true! Baruch HaShem. Two teachers I look to for instruction, J.K. McKee of Outreach Israel Ministries and Tim Hegg of Torah Resource, both received degrees in theological higher education. I trust these men not because of the degrees they received, nor because of their education credentials, but because the fruit of the Spirit I’ve grown to know them for. And it’s for this same reason I am unable to look to many philosopher-theologian types in Messianic Judaism for leadership and teaching.

Maybe some Hebrew Roots folks are uneducated, blind fanatics, attackers of institutional religion, fomenters of disturbances. But maybe there’s some good people in there, too. And maybe there’s more fruit there than Messianic Judaism might lead you to believe.

God bless the Hebrew Roots folks and Messianic Judaism folks. Maybe we’re to work together sometime.

Introducing MessianicChords.com

noreply@blogger.com (Judah Gabriel Himango) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:45:00 +0000

Hey, fine Kineti readers, I’ve got something I’m very proud to show you today: MessianicChords.com

What is it?

It’s where you go to find lyrics and guitar chords for Messianic music.

Several years ago, in the post, But What Have You Done?, I became convinced that doing good for the Messianic community via my software talents is a fruitful way to spend my 20s. Towards that end, I created Chavah Messianic Radio, the Greatest Commandments Hierarchy, and now MessianicChords.com

Why Messianic Chords?

First, it directly benefits music-playing Messianic congregations in a tangible way: worshipers can find lyrics to songs, leaders can find old classics and new tunes for Messiah while the congregants benefit.

Secondly, it helps to preserve a great legacy of the Messianic movement! In the digital age, old classic tunes like Stuart Dauermann’s Let Us Exalt His Name Together, or Lamb’s Yeshua HaMashiach are fading from memory. Getting the lyrics and guitar chords for these songs onto the opened web helps preserve these great tunes for the Lord.

Finally, I felt this is one area lacking in both the Jewish and Christian worlds: you search for lyrics or chords, you end up with websites with a thousand advertisements, web design straight out of 1996, pop-up ads, a nightmare of a navigation system, proprietary (often Windows-only) chord document formats, and the chords themselves have lost their formatting on the web.

Yuck.

With MessianicChords, I fixed all those problems:

A fresh, clean, HTML5 web design
Zero ads
Chords and lyrics that preserve formatting of the author
Chords that can be viewed on any platform, over the web, without plugins or 3rd party software.

Oh yes! I’m really proud of this work.

It’s the culmination of a few years of building up hundreds of lyrics and chord sheets. The Messianic Chord Stash project, documented right here on the Kineti blog, serves as the backend for MessianicChords. I have to publicly thank a couple folks: Messianic musician Lynne McDowell, and my parents, Bob & Jacquie Himango.

Lynne has contributed numerous chords and songsheets to this project, as well has helped me prepare MessianicChords.com – thanks, Lynne!

Many of the chordsheets I’ve uploaded are courtesy of my parents, who have labored as a Messianic music leaders for 30 some years. Thanks to you both, MessianicChords.com wouldn’t have happened without you guys.

So try it out already! Go to MessianicChords.com, and type in a song name, an artist name, or even some of the lyrics to a song you’re looking for, and we’ll immediately list matches beneath the search box in real time. Click on a song, and you’re immediately taken to a Google Docs page that shows you the chords and lyrics right in your web browser.

Shalom, fine Kineti readers, and good shabbos!

10 Things I Wrote in 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Judah Gabriel Himango) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:46:00 +0000

An end-of-year review for the Kineti blog. These are the highlights from my posts this past year. Enjoy!

Why I can no longer support FFOZ (221 comments over 3 posts) – After First Fruits of Zion’s leader, Boaz Michael, publicly argued that various Hebrew Roots communities are an attempt to diminish Israel and the Jewish people, and suggested that they are supersessionist enemies of Israel, I spoke up. And after phone calls and emails and chats with FFOZ folks, as well as receiving some 90 vicious remarks from FFOZ’s defenders, it became clear to me that I could no longer support FFOZ or stump for their materials as I had for 7 years prior.
A warning to those who follow Yeshua (141 comments) – Having seen several examples of people who love Yeshua and Torah, only to dive wholly into Judaism and eventually reject Yeshua, myself and a Messianic-turned-Yeshua-denier-turned-back-to-Yeshua issue a warning to those who would love Judaism more than Messiah.
The place of Judaism’s traditions in the lives of Yeshua’s disciples (32 comments) – After posting a warning to those who follow Yeshua to avoid loving Judaism more than Messiah, I summarized the 100+ previous comments into 2 succinct positions: halachically-informed (by the rabbis) Torah observance, and sola scriptura (Bible-only) observance. How these 2 positions lead to a major fork in the Messianic movement; taking one side determines your path and outlook within the movement.
Why Messianic services should not be emulations of synagogue services (34 comments) – The Tenakh speaks of praising God with music, outbursts of joy, and exalting God with instruments, singing, rejoicing. The New Testament speaks of the congregation prophesying, ministering to one another, and edifying each other through tongues, interpretation of tongues, and through prophecy. The traditional synagogue service follows none of these. For these reasons, the Messianic Jewish service ought not be merely an emulation of synagogue services.
Be honest about your theology: disclose your assumptions (49 comments) – Religious people who pitch some theological position to you almost invariably do not disclose assumptions about their theology. Why this is a bad practice for Yeshua’s disciples, and what to do about it.
Forming your conscience correctly, Egyptian democracy, and why John Lennon’s lyrics sound good but really aren’t (11 comments) – Follow your dreams, right? Wrong. If your dreams include the invasion of Poland for the restoration of national socialist pride, then by all means don’t follow your dreams. Follow your dreams only if your dreams are for good. Or, never compromise on your ideals, right? Wrong. If your ideals include eradication of the Jewish “problem”, then by all means compromise on your ideals. Form your conscience correctly, then follow your dreams.
Kosher Jello-O, and whether Messiah's disciples need our own ruling body (106 comments) – The Scriptures don’t specify every little thing to govern our lives. Instead, we’re left to make decisions for ourselves, be led by the Holy Spirit, and look to respected authorities to decide the matter. Why Yeshua’s disciples should have a respected authority to rule on unclear religious matters.
Why religious people shouldn’t fear for their privacy online and in the real world (26 comments) – Deleted your Facebook profile? Use a faux name online? Hiding from the “the man”? All because you fear government oversight and privacy intrusion? Why these are silly practices for Yeshua’s disciples, who instead ought to be out in the world helping people and doing good works.
What religious Jews think of the Lord’s Prayer (35 comments) – When Messiah’s disciples asked him how to pray, Messiah answered with a prayer that even the unbelieving Jewish world today can’t find fault with.
Set your hope on Moses (42 comments) – How liberal scholarship’s JEDP hypothesis of Torah composition undermines the credibility of Scripture.

2011 has been a very busy year, fine blog readers!

Between work and a new software programming blog, technology talks, advancing my guitar skills via Messianic music, building Chavah Messianic Radio, building MessianicChords.com (stay tuned next week!), building Weekly Bracha Futures, working the Greatest Commandments Project, I have produced good for Messiah’s disciples. I hope to continue it in 2012.

2012 will be…interesting. Above all, I want to make progress on Weekly Bracha Futures project. I believe it will have more impact on the Messianic community than any project I’ve done thus far.

Here’s to a productive, God’s-blessings-filled, shalom-saturated 2012, fine blog readers. Cheers.

Kosher Jell-O, and whether Messiah’s disciples need our own ruling body

noreply@blogger.com (Judah Gabriel Himango) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:04:00 +0000

I asked over at Jewish Life & Learning, “Who determines the kosher status of new foods, like Jell-O?”

The question reveals a bit about how the Jewish community determines whether something is kosher. But it raises a question for Yeshua-believers: Who determines what’s acceptable for Yeshua’s disciples?

Quick run-down of the kosher Jell-O issue: the gelatin used in these products can be derived from animal bone or animal skin, and those animals may or may not be kosher animals. To muddy the waters further, the gelatin undergoes a chemical separation process that produces a new substance that may or may not meet Orthodox guidelines for kosher status. Further, there’s more debate about the gelatin issue, since the substance is not derived from the flesh of unclean animals. It’s one of those mucky, gray issues.

This official explanation from Kraft Foods, the makers of Jell-O states they’ve received a kosher certification from a recognized Orthodox rabbi:

"JELL-O Brand gelatin is certified as Kosher by a recognized orthodox Rabbi as per enclosed RESPONSUM. In addition to being Kosher, Jell-O is also Pareve, and can be eaten with either a meat meal or a dairy meal."

The person asking the question then received a copy of the kosher certification given by 2 Orthodox Rabbis:

Included [in this response is a] sheet with a copy of "The Halachic Basis of our Kashruth Certification of Atlantic Gelatin and the General Foods Products containing this Gelatin" by Rabbi Yehuda Gershuni & Rabbi David Telsner. The upshot is that since the collagen has been taken apart by the chemical digestion and a new substance has been produced it meets the specifications of the Orthodox Dietary Laws and is Kosher and Pareve.

Essentially, the makers of Jell-O are saying, “We received a kosher certification from a recognized Orthodox rabbi, and therefore, we’re kosher, and we’ll put a ‘K’ symbol on our product.”

Is that enough for the Jewish world, that just one or two Orthodox rabbis regard something as kosher?

As it turns out, no. At least according to the answers at Jewish Life & Learning, most religious Jews go with the way consensus from respected kosher-ruling organizations like the Orthodox Union, which deemed Jell-O as treif, not kosher, going against the ruling of those Orthodox Rabbis who approved Jell-O.

It got me thinking, though: who determines what’s kosher, or on a bigger scale, who determines what’s acceptable for us as Yeshua’s disciples? If we have some disagreement, is there a way to get a ruling from trusted, faithful individuals in our community?

We could use our best judgment based on our understanding of the Scriptures and make a judgment call. Alternately, we could look to some trusted authority on the matter. Both seem reasonable and could be argued from Scripture.

In the Messianic world, these two different options before us have resulted in two different forms of Torah observance: sola scriptura (Bible only), or halachically-informed (Bible, plus rulings of religious authorities). In the broad Messianic world, Hebrew Roots folks tend to be sola scriptura, while Messianic Judaism folks tend to be halachically-informed.

Hebrew Roots and sola scriptura Torah observance

Hebrew roots folks would be quick to go right to the Scriptures. (Praise God!)

But the problem is, the Scriptures don’t provide explicit guidance on this. Is it the flesh of an animal that’s unclean, or anything from the animal? If it’s anything from the animal, does that mean footballs (“pigskins”) are unclean? If so, doesn’t that also make the Tabernacle/Temple unclean, since skins from unclean animals were used in its construction? Some may give absolute answers from the Scriptures, but it’s difficult to give truly absolute answers solely from the Scriptures when the Scriptures were written in a time when, for example, there was no mechanically-produced food, no food industry, no fast food restaurants.

For sola scriptura Torah observance, then, the matter isn’t clear cut.

Messianic Judaism and halachically-informed Torah observance

For many in the Messianic Judaism movement, the answer to this question of how to follow the Torah is, “We are in solidarity with the rest of Israel.” (Praise God!)

In practice, this means following the general Jewish world’s consensus and rulings. In our Jell-O example, since the Orthodox Union (OU), a recognized kosher certification organization, says some food is not kosher, their ruling is accepted by the majority of the religious Jewish world. And if the Jewish world consensus is that Jell-O is not kosher, then neither is it kosher for Jewish followers of Jesus in the Messianic Judaism movement.

The problem with that line of thinking is, the rest of the Jewish world thinks Jewish believers in Jesus aren’t kosher.

“So what?”, you might say, “we’ll just keep on being in solidarity with the Jewish world.”

This creates a logical problem, in which you’re bound to follow the rulings of some trusted authority, but you then must discard the rulings of that authority when it deals with certain issues, like issues about who the Messiah is and who his followers are. In other words, that authority is no longer trusted. Not honestly.

It gets even worse: what happens when the rulings of that trusted body conflict with the teachings of the Messiah? This creates more tension still, because it suggests that the “trusted authority” should not be so trusted, maybe even distrusted, since Messiah rejected at least some of their rulings.

Scripture has a guideline here

If we look at the Scriptures, I know of two examples that serve as a precedent. The first is in the Torah, trusted leaders from the community were appointed to solve religious disputes. This is what the Jewish world has done, and it would then seem that Messianic Judaism folks have it right in following them.

But the second example modifies this: Acts 15 ruling body. In the New Testament, the trusted leaders from the community of Messiah’s followers came together to rule on an unclear matter.

We can glean a few principles from this: first, the Scriptures support the idea of trusted leaders ruling on unclear matters. (Sorry, Hebrew Roots folks!)

And secondly, the Scriptures support the idea of Messiah’s followers making rulings independent of the Jewish world’s. (Sorry, Messianic Judaism folks!)

So, if what I just said is true, if the Scripture does support the idea of trusted leaders from our community ruling on unclear religious matters, for followers of Yeshua, where is that ruling body?

The single most organized attempt for a body of trusted leaders from our community was that of the Catholic Church and it’s cardinals, bishops, and pope. But the abuses of the Catholic Church sent many running far away, wishing they never had appointed that authority in the first place. It set in stone the suspicion of centralized authority that remains with us today, particularly in Protestant Christianity and the Hebrew Roots movement.

Do Messiah’s disciples need a body of trusted leaders to rule on unclear matters? I believe it does, and I believe there’s a Scriptural precedence, but the problem is that it’s damn near impossible to get 2 religious people to agree on anything, let alone 2 billion. The question then becomes whether the improbabily of a success should stop us from trying.

Happy Hanukkah

noreply@blogger.com (Judah Gabriel Himango) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 07:36:00 +0000

Chag sameach, fine Kineti readers!

For your dedicative enjoyment, dear reader, here’s one of my favorite Hanukkah tunes of all time, Marty Goetz - Hanukkah, mixed in with some traditional Hanukkah blessings:

Just one more Kess photo

noreply@blogger.com (Judah Gabriel Himango) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 03:49:00 +0000

Sorry, just had to. Kess’ turned 3 today, and she was enjoying some sweets with her brother:

“I’m three! I big now!”

I’m going to force you to smile

noreply@blogger.com (Judah Gabriel Himango) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:49:00 +0000

There, I succeeded.

Stumbled on this cute photo of my 2 year old daughter, Kess, from this past summer.

Have a good shbbat, fine Kineti readers.

What Messianics think of Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Judah Gabriel Himango) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 23:37:00 +0000

Interesting discussion in the Messianic group on Facebook. I asked what Messianic folks think of Christians celebrating Christmas, and what they thought of Messianic Jewish people celebrating Christmas.

For those that don’t know, Messianics almost universally don’t celebrate Christmas. (Why not?)

What followed really showed the diversity within the Messianic movement – wide range of answers, from “It’s idolatry”, to “I say ‘Merry Christmas’ to my Christian friends.”

Judah Gabriel Himango

How do you guys feel about Christians celebrating Christmas? How do you feel about Messianic Jews celebrating it?

I'm in a tough spot this year with some family wanting to celebrate it, others abhorring it. I'd like to hear how you guys feel about it.

Joseph Robert Applegate I tend to put lights on my Sukkah and play Mendlessons Angels we have heard on high to all my neighbors but I like them to think I am a harmless lunatic
Judah Gabriel Himango My wife, a wonderful Christian woman, decided this year to do the full out Christmas stuff. I'm uncomfortable with it. It's caused some strain.
Furthermore, I run Chavah Messianic Radio, and several folks have complained that Marty Goetz has a few songs on there, like "O Come, O Come, Immanuel", which have become associated with Christmas.

As it stands, my house is decorated with both Hanukkah lights, menorah, etc. but also Christmas elements like pine wrap, Christmas ornaments. I objected to a tree, otherwise that'd be up, too.

Still curious to hear what others think about this.
Rod Emmert Timmons I think it can be a great tool to share with each and come together in the Spirit of Yeshua, My house is in the boat and we are slowly removing some old items that we hold dear. But my wife and I will not do a tree thing, it has been a few years now, and it's nice not having to spending the monies a spruce :)
Judah Gabriel Himango Yeah, the tree is an offence to me. I currently believe it's a kind of idol. I'm not one to find a demon under every stone, but I strongly objected to the tree in my house, which caused some additional headaches.
Gosh, I hate this time of year! :-p
Slade Henson We do not do Christmas but I don't care if anyone else does. I don't see the pagan baggage that some websites espouse.
Judah Gabriel Himango It seems to me there's a lot of "paganoid" folks out there. I used to be in that camp, too. Even with the exaggeration of the pagan connections, I still feel uncomfortable with decorating a tree with silver and gold, making it the centerpiece of the house, opening gifts under it, singing songs around it (or worse, to it, e.g. Oh Christmas Tree). Meh. Doesn't feel like something Messiah's disciples ought to be doing.
Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm overstating it. That's how I feel now, though. My wife vehemently disagreed, caused a lot of strain in our house. I'm not sure it's worth fighting over, you know?
Slade Henson In a thousand years, archaeologists will dig up our houses and will write doctrinal dissertations on how the clock on the wall was an important idol of some kind.
Dani'el Diegmann Heb 13:2 Do not forget to receive strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained messengers.
It's a time of choosing loyalities and showing evidence of whom one is loyal to. Not an easy time of year for sure.
Dawn Sexton Pampel I live with my brother and Mother....they celebrate Christmas (but do not celebrate Chanukkah with me)....However my personal belief is that if you are raising up the name of Yeshua and worshiping Him...is that not what matters the most! As believers are we not to be all things to all men to show the love of Yeshua and to not offend others?
MRav. Avner Solomon Jeremiah 10: 1-5 will give you my opinion of observing C-mas in any form.
Judah Gabriel Himango I understand, Avner. But if your wife was determined to celebrate Christmas, deeming none of it idolatrous, how do you deal? I am telling you it is not easy.
Michael Schiffman The way I understand Scripture, an idol is what you lift your heart to. If you have a tree but don't worship it, its just a tree with electric lights on it. Its a seasonal decoration to me, nothing more. Being a Yeshua follower doesn't mean being anti-Christmas. I don't celebrate it personally, but I feel no compulsion to denigrate those who do. I happen to like the music, because its great music. Some of it even contains the Gospel. I have no problem wishing non-Jews a Merry Christmas either. I'm secure enough in who I am to not worry about it. As for the tree being connected to Jeremiah 10, I honestly don't see the connection. Its anachronistic to make such a claim. I have never met anyone who worshipped the tree. If people feel differently about it, I respect their beliefs, but I don't buy it personally.
Michael Schiffman Heres something I wrote on my blog about it last year.

Oh Tannenbaum, Oh Hanukkah Bush
Steven A. Bernstein Your relationship with your wife is MUCH more important than banning Christmas. Love her and cherish her and guide her learning. When Mashiach returns Christmas won't be important anyway.
Michael Schiffman Noel to that!
Slade Henson I prefer his yartzeit over his birth anyway.
Judah Gabriel Himango Thanks, guys.
MRav. Avner Solomon You can always do the commercial Christmas thing and stress that Yeshua was born on Sukkot, not December 25 (if you need a teaching on that with Scripture references, I can send it to you). You can also show how Yeshua was conceived around Kislev 25 (the Light of the World conceived at the time of the Festival of Lights). Also.... make sure it's turkey, not chazer (ham). :)

Steven A. Bernstein Problems with the Sukkot idea are, 1) on Sukkot it is a sin not to be in Yerushalayim and Yeshua did not sin, and 2) the Romans did not take census during pilgrimage festivals. Rosh HaShana fits better as a birth date.
Michael Mitchel personally, i view all the paganmas stuff nothing more than the 21st century version of the roman holiday of saturnalia. there really is not much of a difference and we have all been brainwashed to think all the trees and elves are all harmless.
Steven A. Bernstein Nevertheless, millions of Gentiles have been lead to Yeshua through Christmas.
Rod Emmert Timmons I agree with Schiffman and as one who is married as well, My wife understands, but likes to add her Christmas mix in every year, and outside of myself I can do nothing, but I can ad all my Hanukkah stuff and I can now feel the sway of doing that every year. I have my Mother in Law that like to tell my wife all the time that she not Jewish!... even to the point of naming my boy. She ask what did you name him?...hum? We name him ASHER!
Dawn Sexton Pampel Dr. Michael Schiffman~Thank you for sharing your Blog....I found it to be of great help to me in this Season....
Michael Schiffman thanks.
Joseph Robert Applegate Okay since Chanukah roaching and falls on the winter Soltice this year, here is an early chanukah present from mattisyahu... a little YidHop video called MIRACLE!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv-7WdpB72o&feature=player_embedded
Linda Bedwell A parable for those clinging to Xmas instead of Sukkot:

The cheerful little girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them, a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box..

"Oh Mommy please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please?"

Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face.

"A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself.. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."

As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.

Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere, Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night as he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"

"Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."

"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess, the white horse from my collection, the one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me. She's my very favorite."

"That's okay, Honey, Daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?"

"Daddy, you know I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."

"Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."

"That's okay. Sleep well. Yahua bless you, little one.. Daddy loves you."

And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.

A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian style.
As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.

"What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?"

Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace . With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here Daddy, this is for you."

With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny.

He had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her the genuine treasure. So it is, with our Heavenly Father. He is waiting for us to give up the cheap things in our lives so that he can give us beautiful treasures.

Yahua will never take away something without giving you something better in its place.
Michael Schiffman Yeshua didn't give Chrstmas, but he didnt take it away either. some of his followers are trying to do that.
Steven A. Bernstein It can only be Sukkot if one believes Yeshua sinned.
Michael Schiffman In the Jewish world, we don't celebrate birthdays, but Yartzeits. ITs the culmination of the life we celebrate, not the beginning
Robert Rubenking Judah G. H.:
There is one Torah for both the native born and for the Christian convert... The ALMIGHTY tells us that we are to have nothing to do with vain celebrations and the practice of false religions.

December 25th is not the birthday of Yeshua; it is the traditional celebration of the birth of Mithras (the Greco-Roman sun-god), so why would any Bible-believing Christian or Jew want to have anything to do with that celebration. More than likely, Yeshua was born on the 15th Day of Tishrei, and Scripture and historical evidence seem to support this. So if you want to celebrate the birth of MESSIAH, then have fun at Sukkot, but have nothing to do with the foolish ways of pagan peoples...

Blessings,
Bob
Joseph Robert Applegate Try not visualising the cup half full and realise that people are walking around shopping malls listening to Mendelsson's (a Jew) Angels we have heard on high and thinking about a messiah in a sukkah (even though they call it a manger! Your mission if you are ready to accept it is to tell them the difference!)
Slade Henson ‎@ Steven Bernstein: your post on the invalidity of a Sukkot timeframe have fallen on deaf ears. I wanted to let you know that some noticed.
Joseph Robert Applegate Slade Achi, do you celebrate the festival of Saturnailia?
Slade Henson No, Joseph, I do not. I don't celebrate Christmas either.
Michael Schiffman I don't celebrate Xmas, but I might start doing it just to piss you guys off.
Michael Schiffman Maybe I'll go to the Salvation Army and donate my time on Christmas, along with the many Jewish people who do it so their christian friends can have the time off to be with their families. Instead of a Christmas tree, how about a lit up palm tree... theres more room for presents. Doesn't make it a christmas tree.. its just a tree with lights on it.. but hey.. wait.. isn't that what a christmas tree is? Just a tree with lights on it? The Soviets had the same thing, only they called it a new years tree.... so is the tree a communist symbol? You guys need to get a grip on reality. How do you guys ever use the calendar.. after all, isn't Thursday named after THOR, the pagan god? how about months? weren't some of them named after pagan gods? if you knew the origins of everything, you would never do anything. Even some of the psalms borrowed words from the canaanites... the key is.. HOW DO WE use them? A tree is just a tree, a kiss is just a kiss, and a cigar is just a cigar.. and I'm going to light one up..... JEEZ! - just a statement of frustration..... not invoking any pagan deity... relax.
Ruby Bender The scripture says not to cut a tree from the forest and decorate it. I think they viewed it as having a spirit- perhaps a reincarnated spirit of a dead person they considered a deity - and they did it in a worship form. A potted plant or tree doesn't oppose scripture as I see it - but to decorate it - might not be the thing to do. Do you want seasonal decorations to brighten up the time? How about white and blue lights around your window to celebrate Chanukah with Israelite colors?
Michael Schiffman what about a palm tree.. they don't grow in forests....
Michael Schiffman the scripture was referrring to a pagan rite that had nothing to do with christmas trees. they didn't even have fir trees in Israel, so it had to be some other kind of tree.
Steven A. Bernstein Where does Scripture say that?
Joseph Robert Applegate Jeremiah 10
Slade Henson Ruby is making reference to Jer 10. This is a common attack against Xmas. However, if a decorated tree is an aveira, then substituting a window would likewise be so. I'm so glad G-d is far more merciful than His followers.
Steven A. Bernstein Wow, Jer 10 doesn't say anything like that. Mitzvot only occur in Torah. The Prophets sometimes reiterate them.
Steven A. Bernstein Jer states the practice is hevel and can cause neither good nor evil. It supports R. Schiffman.
Robert Rubenking Michael S.
They did have cedars, and I have read archeological reports, showing that spruce were imported and decorated by some of the pagan priests... In fact, some reports state that the Asheriym of Jer. 10 were groves of decorated cedars... The term can be equally applied to trees and to obelisks...
Slade Henson Mitzvot only occur in Torah. Excellent point!
Steven A. Bernstein If the practice can cause neither good nor evil, then who cares?
Agudat Bris here is what I think about it. Listen to this http://nazarenespace.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2182335%3ABlogPost%3A161326&xgs=1&xg_source=msg_share_post

The Clear Truth about Christmas - Nazarene Space
Steven A. Bernstein Here is the problem. If Christmas is rejected because it is pagan, then all of Christianity must be rejected for the same reason. Practices such as once weekly services, Communion, pulpit facing the congregation, choir robes, holding hands during prayer, bowing head during prayer, praying before eating, all originate in paganism.
Michael Schiffman robert R.. it still doesnt make it a christmas tree.. totally anachronistic. If pagans ate steak, it doesnt make eating steak pagan.. sorry, its too contrived. We all have our axes to grind, and we all try to make it seem like ours are holy ones, but one thing doesn't equal another. Pagans offered cows on their altars.. it didn't stop God from commanding Israel to offer cows on theirs.

Why religious people shouldn’t fear for their privacy online and in the real world

noreply@blogger.com (Judah Gabriel Himango) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 18:54:00 +0000

A number of my religious friends are coy about their online presence: some have deleted their Facebook profile. Others refuse to join social networks altogether. Some folks refuse to use their real names on the web, opting instead for pseudonyms like christlovr07. Some people refuse to use twitter, figuring someone could see you tweet about your vacation, then rob your home while you’re away.

One Christian friend of mine, driven by the need to keep in touch with family but driven back by her privacy concerns, goes as far as to have created a Facebook profile with a false name, like Christy Smith. "Who's Christy Smith? Oh yeah, that's [real name]. She's using a fake name because she doesn't want her real name on the internet."

It even extends beyond the internet. My religious friends desire to live out in the country, away from the cities, in a self-sustaining community of other religious people. Presumably so that when The System fails, they'll be insulated from the resulting chaos.

These fears stem from a general distrust of authority and a misunderstanding of our responsibilities as Yeshua’s disciples. My religious friends are worried the government will spy on or track them via the internet. If the government goes bad, they don't want to be able to be found/tracked/seized. Thus, they stay "off the grid": anonymity online, never using your real name for services, seclusion from society, and so on.

I will explain why this is misguided thinking at best, and paranoia that folds on our responsibility as Yeshua's disciples at worst.

Privacy doesn’t exist in the 21st century. Really.

Refraining from having a Facebook profile will not save you from The Authorities. If the authorities, whoever they are, truly wish to seize you and your possessions, they'll probably be able do so with or without a Facebook profile. Sorry, that’s reality. I work in tech, I know this stuff.

Refraining from using your real name online? Great, no body knows who you are! Oh, except your ISP, who you’re paying with your credit card, hooked up to your bank, who has your social security number, knows where you live, how much money you make, and who you’re employed with. Oops!

In the 21st century, in civilized nations, you’re public. There is no such thing as the anonymous internet. Hey, even I’m spying on you – did you follow that link to my blog from Facebook? Surprise! I know what town you live ine, what time you clicked on the link, and what page you were on when you visited. Come here from a Google search? Surprise! I use analytics to see what you searched for and how you arrived on this page, where you live, what your IP address is, and who your ISP is. By simply visiting this page, I’ve just destroyed your supposed anonymity on the web. And I’m one of the good guys. Just imagine what people with evil intent could do. Reality: Privacy doesn’t exist today, and anonymity on the web is a façade, a skin-deep illusion.

Heck, if you hold citizenship in any nation, if you have held a job, if you pay taxes, if you vote, if you own a mobile phone, have a social security number, have an account with a bank, if you drive a car legally, if you purchase goods with credit cards – any number of trivial things – you can and will be found. So the idea of privacy, anonymity, independence from the corporations and government, the belief you can be off-the-grid – it’s all an illusion. It's misguided thinking. People in-the-know laugh at people like you. Stop thinking that way.

“I have one goal: to survive the impending chaos!”

But even if privacy is an illusion, at least with all your hoarded supplies, you’ll be able to survive the fallout of a collapsed system, or of a government turned bad. Your goal is to survive and insulate yourself from the chaos, and that’s worthy goal, right?

Wrong.

If you are Yeshua's disciple, you have no business isolating yourself from those things.

The System has collapsed, and now people can't purchase food? Ok. Why are you isolated out in your self-sustaining religious community; shouldn't you be helping those without food? Aiding the injured? No, here you are way out in the country, insulated from the world. Congratulations, you survived while all those injured, hungry fools out in the world are screwed.

Or maybe the government turned sour. Dictator takes power. The government issues laws that infringe on a precious liberty, like your faith. Maybe they are rounding up people they don't like and shipping them godknowswhere, but – ha! – you, you’re feeling all smugy-smug-smug, safe in your insulated religious community, right? And because you never created a Facebook profile, the now-evil government will never find you. Congratulations, you're theoretically surviving the evil government's tyranny, while those undesirable citizens get shipped off to gulags.

Back up a minute.

Sitting comfortably while others are out of food -- is that for Yeshua's disciples? Or resting peacefully while undesirable citizens are being imprisoned -- is that for Yeshua's disciples?

Nah. That's paranoia that folds on our responsibility as Yeshua's disciples to feed and clothe needy people and help people when they’re in trouble.

So why are you fretting your privacy so much? Relax. Let people know you're a disciple of Yeshua who helps people in need. Make it public. Then actually follow through, and help people in need, right now. It'll be good practice if your worst fears are ever realized.

An example from history: Daniel Ben Zion

I'm reminded of the late Chief Rabbi of Bulgaria of the mid 20th century, Rabbi Daniel Ben Zion. He's famous for helping Jews escape Nazi persecution during the Holocaust. Messianics know him well because of he was also a believer in Yeshua.

When I hear about my religious friends being all secretive and off-the-grid, I'm reminded of Daniel Ben Zion's plain openness, first in Bulgaria during the 1940s, then again in Israel during the 1980s.

When the Government-Gone-Bad scenario became real in Germany, then again in Bulgaria, Ben Zion didn't retreat to an insulated, off-the-grid location.

After a vision in which Yeshua appeared to Rabbi Ben Zion and told him to warn the King from delivering Jews into Hitler’s hands, Ben Zion wrote a letter to King Boris, delivered it in-person, petitioning the King to refuse Hitler's demands to deliver Bulgaria's Jews to death camps in Germany and Poland.

(Baruch HaShem, King Boris heeded the Rabbi's plea, and the next day in a face-to-face meeting with Hitler, the King refused Nazi demands.)

Rabbi Ben Zion's righteous example is this: instead of retreating from the Government-Gone-Bad scenario, he took the opposite approach of working everything in his power to influence the government towards righteousness, praying for the deliverance of God's people, all the way up to petitioning King Boris, with a hand-delivered letter, to save Bulgaria's Jews from Hitler. He wrote of his visit to the King’s palace, and delivering the news to the congregants back home:

“Fear not my dear brothers and sisters! Put your faith in the Holy Rock of our Salvation. . . Yesterday, I have been informed that the Metropolite Stephen has agreed to see me immediately and discuss about his conversation with the King of Bulgaria. When I went to see the Metropolite Stephen, he told me, ‘Tell your people that the King has promised that the Bulgarian Jews will not leave outside the boarders of Bulgaria’. . . I explained to the Metropolite that thousands of Jews are waiting for me in the Synagogue to hear this good news. When I returned to the Synagogue, there was full silence in the large crowed that was gathered waiting to hear the results of my meeting with Stephen. As I walked in my announcement was, “Yes my brothers God has heard our prayers . . . “

After the war, having witnessed the worst case of Governments-Gone-Bad, surely Rabbi Ben Zion of all people had every right to go live in seclusion, to go "off the grid", live in a self-sustaining home, windows shuttered, far away from society, hoarded supplies and all.

It turns out, he brought back a lesson, forged in the fire of the Holocaust, much different than the isolationist ideas of religious people today. After the war, having immigrated to Israel, Rabbi Zion's home was always opened. Everything of value, all his goods, he donated to charity. He never even locked his doors. You could walk right in.

Instead of being "off the grid", Rabbi Zion lived in plain sight. When authorities and governments went sour, he worked towards goodness: saving all he could. When persecuted by Fascists during the Holocaust, he didn't run for cover. As one author recalls,

Rabbi Daniel Zion as the spiritual leader of the Jewish community became the object of persecution and ridicule. He was taken and publicly flogged in front of the Great Synagogue of Sofia. During these times, Rabbi Daniel walked upright before the fascists and his only reaction was to call upon God. My own mother and sister were present in at least two of these occasions and they retold this story many times.

Standing up to evil, not cowering? Facing down darkness, not running for cover? Taking their evil and doing good? Doing righteousness in the face of great evil?

Do you want to emulate righteousness like this? Or do you want to be holed up in your Survival Cave with a year’s supply of toilet paper and canned goods?

Stop worrying about who's spying on you. Stop living in fear. The government may eventually turn evil. Yes, the system could collapse at some point. If that ever happens, it will be your once-in-a-lifetime chance to shine as a disciple of Yeshua. When everyone's fleeing and hoarding, you can be serving and working for righteousness when no one else is. It may make you a target, true. But if you don't think that's a good proposition, you're following the wrong King.

Blogs are dying, and I'm not sure it can be prevented

noreply@blogger.com (Judah Gabriel Himango) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:59:00 +0000

Blogs are failing for a couple of reasons:

They no longer serve as a person's online identity.
They are unsuitable for polyglots: blogs tend to attract a particular niche audience; anything that mixes topics is not a good fit for a blog.
People don't comment on blogs.
There's no easy way to follow blogs.

I'll explain these below, and propose some solutions.

Blogs no longer serve as a person's online identity

That is, they no longer represent "you" on the web. When blogs started taking off in the late 1990s, a blog was where you represented yourself on the web. Anything and everything about you was your blog. That's how you got yourself, your identity, on the web.

Example: this very blog you're reading, the Kineti blog, was not called "Kineti" originally, it was just JudahGabriel. Hence the URL. My first and middle name. It's because this blog was to represent me; my identity online. But that's changed; blogs aren't about people, now, they're about topics, so it forced me to take this blog into another direction. More on that in a moment.

Today, Facebook is your identity on the web. Or if you're a tin-foil-cap holdout, email is your identity on the web.

The great thing about the web is that everyone on the web is a producer. You produce things. You produce pictures of your family. You produce status updates, you produce information about yourself. You produce thoughts on theology, or technology, or photography, or whatever interests you. You are the producer. Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of the web is that it made everyone a producer.

And when you produce your stuff, where do you put it? On your blog? Nope. You go straight to the social networks. You'll post pictures of your Thanksgiving holiday on Facebook. You might tweet your pictures. If you're old fashioned, you might email them out. Almost no one uses their blogs for this stuff.

So blogs aren't the place to go for Anything About You. This space used to be owned by blogs. Now it's owned by Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

Blogs are unsuitable for polyglots

You came to Kineti hoping to read about all things Messianic, and all you got was this stupid post about blogging! Argggg!

When I started this blog nearly a decade ago, my tagline was "Tech, life, family, and faith." Initially, that's exactly what I posted about: technology thoughts. Stuff about my life and my family. And occasionally, thoughts about faith in God.

This resulted in a scatter-brained smattering of posts; today, CSS gradient techniques, tomorrow, Torah theology!

Worse, there was no audience for this. Who wants to read a blog where half the posts are [thing I care about] and the other half is [things I don't care about]?

Nobody, that's who.

And that's how the Kineti blog was born. I realized that to get a consistent audience for this blog, I needed to blog about a particular topic. A blog is Place for Topic X, not Person X's Place. judahgabriel.blogspot.com is about the Messianic movement, and is no longer Judah's place for tech, life, family, and faith.

This problem has exacerbated since then. You see, a major part of my life is technology. It's what I do for a living. I give talks on technology. I have insight into the future of technology. If I posted all those technology posts here on Kineti, we'd be back to square one: a smattering of posts on unrelated topics, with no audience caring to read them. It's for that reason I started a second blog: Debugger.Break(), where I post all things on my technologically-inclined mind.

But this is all part of the problem: blogs no longer serve as [Your Place]. They serve as [Place for topic X]. Topic Y goes elsewhere: another blog, Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, whatever, but not on Your Place. This has resulted in a decline in blog relevance.

People don't comment on blogs

Most people with blogs these days will write a post, then immediately spam it on Facebook via a status update like this:

New blog: What's this crap Leman just posted? http://judahgabriel.blogspot.com

But here's the amusing phenomenon: instead of commenting on the blog, Facebook friends comment on the Facebook status update! I've seen this now with several of my latest posts: my Facebook status about the blog gets more comments than the blog itself. Likewise, for other bloggers, I've seen this same phenomenon.

Yes, the status updates get more comments than the blog itself.

Why? I see at three reasons:

Ease of commenting: people are already signed into Facebook; it's easy to comment there. But to comment on the blog, you might have to authenticate with WordPress or Blogger or Disqus, or some other less trusted authority, maybe enter a hard-to-read CAPTCHA, hit preview, then submit. Yikes.
Visibility: everyone checks Facebook a few times a day, maybe more. How often do they fire up their web browser, type in your web address, and hit enter? Rarely. Your Facebook status update is more visible than your actual blog post. Heck, even direct email is more visible than blog posts.
Casual conduciveness: Blogs aren't conducive to casual answers. People are afraid to comment on blogs. "Oh no, I'm going to get sucked into a big debate thread!", or, "Oh no, my 'nice post, I enjoyed the bit about X' comment will look foolish compared to all these multi-paragraph responses!"

These things result in blogs with few or no comments.

There's no easy way to follow blogs

When you log onto your computer in the morning, what's the first thing you do? Check your email. Maybe check Facebook. Maybe you've got some email notifications from Facebook or Twitter. Oh, who sent me funny har har emails? Oh, who wrote on my Facebook wall? Who retweeted my wisdom-filled, perfectly-numbered twoosh?

Where does that leave blogs? Well, some dedicated fellow will eventually load up his web browser, type in the address to your lonesome blog, and hit enter. If you're extra lucky, he might just leave a comment.

On Facebook, you automatically see your friend's stuff: his pictures, status updates, all of it.

On Twitter, the Tweeple you follow show up in the flow of updates automatically.

For email, you automatically get all the stuff your friends send to you.

For blogs, there's no "automatically." It's all manual. There's no easy way to follow blogs.

Truth be told, there is something: RSS. Subscribe to this blog's RSS feed, and you'll automatically be notified of new posts. But most people don't know about RSS, let alone what to do with it. First, you need an RSS reader, like Google Reader. Go sign up for that. Ok. Now come back to my blog, search the page for the little RSS syndication icon, and copy the feed URL. Then go back to Google Reader and hit subscribe. Paste in my link. Hit OK.

Congratulations, with only 17 easy steps, you've subscribed to my blog!

(Gah.)

There's no easy way for people to follow blogs. And for that, blogs suffer.

In the next post, I'll talk about some things we can do to make blogs relevant again. I’ll also make some predictions about future directions for blog publishers like WordPress and Blogger; they are ultimately in control of blogging relevance; it’s important for publishers to evolve, lest they, and us content-producing bloggers, face death-by-irrelevance.

Happy Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Judah Gabriel Himango) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 22:54:00 +0000

Fine Kineti readers, I'm enjoying a much needed vacation for the Thanksgiving holiday. Hope you all have a fine one with friends and family.

Cheers from Judah Gabriel.

Thomas Malloy: Rest In Shalom

noreply@blogger.com (Judah Gabriel Himango) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:21:00 +0000

Life is a fragile thing.

This past Friday, after our erev shabbat service, I was joking around with one of our congregants, Thomas Malloy.

We were enjoying oneg, eating a little food. Thomas always brought some good homemade salsa to share with us.

He and I were joking around, and Thomas was doing some goofy dance. I was laughing and saying,

♫ “Go Thomas, go Thomas, go Thomas…” ♫

The next morning, Thomas was killed by a hit-and-run driver.

Thomas was on his way to another Messianic congregation for morning services, riding his bike to Kehilat Sar Shalom in St. Paul, when a driver in a red pick-up sped through a pedestrian area, hit my friend Thomas, and drove off.

The evening news showed footage of the scene: long tire skid marks before a pedestrian crossing. Thomas’ papers and materials scattered around. And Thomas’ distinctive yarmulke, just laying there on the ground.

A bystander caught the driver’s license plate number, and several hours later, the man turned himself in.

I’m told Thomas survived the initial impact; he even held on through the ambulance ride. When they got him to the hospital, he couldn’t hold on any longer. My friend Thomas Malloy died in the hospital, Saturday, November 12th, 2011.

I’m just in shock, and saddened that this quirky, eccentric, but ultimately joyful man is dead. Can’t believe he’s gone, just like that.

Life is fragile.

I’ll miss you, Thomas.

Chavah Awesomesauce, plus stats on which Messianic artists the community likes most

noreply@blogger.com (Judah Gabriel Himango) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 21:06:00 +0000

I was listening to Chavah Messianic Radio the other day and, one after another, I heard songs I just thought were junk.

Usually, I thumb-down songs I don't like; doing so tells Chavah not to play that song for me. But other times, I'm just lazy, and suffer through the bad stuff. It occurred to me that if I play Chavah to an audience of people, I'd be embarrassed about some of the tunes that play on there. Some songs sound too much an imitation of secular music. Some songs are amateur hour. Some songs are more Christian than Messianic. Personal tastes. Some music just isn't uplifting to me.

And that goes for everyone. One person told me recently, "I have to thumb-down half the songs on Chavah before I hear anything I like!"

I sympathize. When I first started Chavah last year, I was very discriminating in the quality of music I allowed on the station. Over time, however, I became more lenient; even though I don't like some of the modern/secular-sounding music, for instance, some Messianics certainly do. My tastes aren't everyone else's. So, I opened the gates. And with the addition of the Upload Your Music To Chavah feature, a wide variety of music flooded the gates, and with my new lenient outlook, most of those made it onto Chavah.

This flood of music making it onto Chavah has had two effects: one positive, one adverse.

The good: There's a LOT of music on Chavah, and a lot of variety: thousands of songs, live performances, chants, and prayers; everything from well-known artists like Joel Chernoff and Paul Wilbur, to little-known, independent, and rare tunes from Alexander Roytman, Cari Eyres, Star of David Singers, and other artists you've never heard of.
The bad: There's a lot of junk music on Chavah.

By junk, I mean music you probably won't like. It's inevitable: with the vast variety on Chavah, you're going to run into stuff you don't like.

I hold a software philosophy that says, "Build the software you want to use, and others will want to use it, too." Applying this to Chavah, I want Chavah to play less junk, less of the stuff I don't like, and more of the stuff I do.

Towards this goal, last night I rolled out a new version of Chavah that includes a major algorithms overhaul.

Previously, Chavah worked like this:

Look at your song likes and dislikes, and favor playing your liked songs, throw in some unranked songs, and rarely play your dislikes.
Factor in a small percentage if the song has a net positive rating.
Favor shabbat songs during shabbat.

This worked OK, except for the aforementioned problem: it played too much junk.

Songs that were negatively rated by the Messianic community would still play regularly, especially if you didn't thumb it down yourself. And Chavah didn't distinguish between songs with, say, a 5 ranking, and songs with a high (20+ or 30+) rank.

With the new overhaul, Chavah's algorithms for choosing songs to play is more intelligent, more discriminating. It now looks like this:

Apply explicit weights to each song based on popularity: negative songs have tiny weight, little-rated and unrated songs have normal weight, songs with 10-20 rank have heavier weight, and so on.
Apply feast-specific weights: shabbat songs have higher weight during shabbat, chanukkah songs have more weight during chanukkah, etc.
Then all this is governed by a personal preference multiplier: if you dislike the song, it will be unlikely to play even if it was weighty from the previous steps. Likewise, songs you haven't ranked use their given weightiness, and songs you've thumbed-up take on a weightiness multiplier.

The weights are then used in a random selector, with the weighty songs more likely to play.

The end result of this algorithm overhaul is that Chavah plays more of the stuff you like, less of the stuff you don't.

Also since many people are listening to Chavah for the first time, or have never rated songs, Chavah will favor playing songs that are highly-ranked by the Messianic community. The idea is, if lots of people thumb-up a particular song, it's likely you will, too. Chavah will occasionally throw in new music that hasn't had many ratings so as to give new albums and songs a chance to gain popularity. Songs that quickly have negative rankings will be rarely played, unless you explicitly thumbed-up them.

Bottom line: Chavah will play more of the good stuff: things you like, and things the Messianic community likes.

What does the Messianic community like?

Last year, I was flipping through TV channels when I came across a Christian version of American Idol. You know, that television program where hopeful singers audition before expert judges, who then tell the singers whether they have any shot at making it in the Big Time.

The Christian version of the show was laughable: the judges gave everyone the thumb-up. Because none of them wanted to say anything bad about the singers, because of western politeness, and because no one wanted to come off all mean and un-Christ-like, the judges just said nice things about each singer that auditioned.

Laughable.

How does that relate to Chavah and the Messianic community?

Well, as it turns out, the anonymity granted by the internet favors honesty over politeness. No one's afraid to thumb-down a song when you don't have to explain to the artist why you think his music is junk. Chavah tricks polite, Christ-following westerners into being brutally honest.

And yes, unlike the Christian American Idol, the Messianic community has been brutally honest! You, the Messianic community, regularly thumb-down the songs you don't like, and that shapes Chavah's own digital brain, inducing her to play more of the good stuff and less of the bad.

Now that Chavah's been in use for over a year, I thought I'd reflect on the things the Messianic community really does like. I've queried my sweet Chavah for these statistics, and she's graciously responded with the following:

Top 25 songs
Song	Artist	Community Rank
We Delight in Your Shabbat	Barry & Batya Segal	62
Baruch Adonai	Joel Chernoff	59
Enter Into Shabbat	Roman and Alaina	52
Kadosh	Barry & Batya Segal	43
Walk in the Light	Ted Pearce	40
Hodu L'Adonai	Barry & Batya Segal	36
Yom Shekulo Shabbat	Steve McConnell	36
We Delight in Your Shabbat	Aviad Cohen	35
Shalom Jerusalem	Israel's Hope	34
Your Name	Zemer Levav	34
Y'hi Shem Adonai M'Vorach	Steve McConnell	33
They Will Bow	Sharon Wilbur	32
Dance With Me	Paul Wilbur	32
Kineti	Ted Pearce	32
Sha'alu Shalom	Ted Pearce	32
Sukkot Song	Steve McConnell	31
The God of Peace	Marty Goetz	31
Gili Meod	Ted Pearce	30
Babylon	Ted Pearce	29
Congregation of the Righteous	Ted Pearce	29
Gadlu l'Adonai Iti	Steve McConnell	29
The Time To Favor Zion	Ted Pearce	29
Zealous Over Zion	Ted Pearce	29
Shalom	Ted Pearce	29
Shabbat Shleva (Sabbath of Peace)	Meha Shamayim	29

Top 25 Artists
Artist	Community Rank	Total Songs
Ted Pearce	23.7027027027027	37
Steve McConnell	19.4444444444444	45
Sharon Wilbur	18.4736842105263	19
Barry & Batya Segal	18.3571428571429	42
Israel's Hope	18.28	25
Natasha Kraus-Reynolds	17.9	10
Roman and Alaina	17.2941176470588	17
Meha Shamayim	16.3888888888889	18
Marty Goetz	15.0210526315789	95
Joel Chernoff	13.4838709677419	31
Avner & Rachel Boskey	13.3333333333333	54
Paul Wilbur	13.2396694214876	121
Jimmie Black	12.6	25
Sons of Korah	12.2	25
Zemer Levav	12.0540540540541	37
Micha'el Eliyahu BenDavid	11.265306122449	49
Aviad Cohen	11.26	50
Lev Shelo	10.75	16
Maurice Sklar	9.5	12
Benjamin Malgo	9.45454545454546	11
Lamb	9.38650306748466	163
Rivka Whitten	8.91666666666667	12
Yerubilee	8.4	10
Deborah Kline-Iantorno	8	12
Bruce Cohen	7.84210526315789	19

Top 25 albums
Album	Community Rank
Ted Pearce - Zealous Over Zion	25.6923076923077
Ted Pearce - Hallelu Et Adonai	25.0909090909091
Sharon Wilbur - You're My Heart	24
Steve McConnell - Hamoedim	23.7
Steve McConnell - We Delight	23.2727272727273
Barry & Batya Segal - Sh'ma Yisrael	22.7058823529412
Zemer Levav - As Long As I Breathe	22.0909090909091
Barry & Batya Segal - Go Through The Gates	21.5833333333333
Marty Goetz - Hope Of Glory	21.0714285714286
Ted Pearce - Battle For Zion	20.1818181818182
Roman and Alaina - Sounds of Prayer	20.1666666666667
Paul Wilbur - The Watchman	20.1666666666667
Israel's Hope - Arise O Lord	19.2307692307692
Paul Wilbur - Lion of Judah	19.0833333333333
Avner & Rachel Boskey - Ancient Gates	18.5384615384615
Paul Wilbur - Desert Rain	18.3636363636364
Marty Goetz - Songs of Our Heritage	18.3636363636364
Paul Wilbur - Jerusalem Arise	18
Natasha Kraus-Reynolds - Children of the Light	17.9
Israel's Hope - Introducing Israel's Hope	17.25
Joel Chernoff - Come Dance With Me	16.9230769230769
Marty Goetz - I Call You Friend	16.9
Marty Goetz - Sanctuary	16.9
Karen Davis - For Zion's Sake	16.6875
Troy Mitchell - Yoke of the King	16.6363636363636

Top Song Per Artist
Artist	Song	CommunityRank
A B Singers	Hatikva (The Hope)	8
Alexander Roytman	Sim Shalom	5
Ami Shavit	She`Yibane Beit Ha`Mikdash (May The Temple Be Rebuilt)	7
Ann Hilsden	Hal'li Nafshi	8
Aviad Cohen	We Delight in Your Shabbat	35
Avner & Rachel Boskey	Give Us Peace	25
Barak	Eli, Eli (instrumental)	13
Barry & Batya Segal	We Delight in Your Shabbat	62
Barry and Batya Segal	UN Vote	7
Baruch Baoz	Birkat Hachenim (Aaronic Benediction)	3
Baruch HaShem Worship Team	Joel 3:16-18	19
Beit Immanuel Congregation	Come My Love	4
Ben & Lydia Zaslow	Shabbat Shalom	10
Ben & Vera Karlsson	Shalu Shalom Yerushalaim, Hine Mah Tov, Od Yishana	8
Benjamin Malgo	Hatikvah	25
Brian Doerksen	Psalm 13	12
Bruce & Lynne Patterson	Kadosh (Holy)	18
Bruce Cohen	I Will Call	14
CC Jones	My Savior, My God (Psalm 21)	7
Cari Eyres	My Soul's Sunrise	13
Carol Cantrell	Shabchi Yerushalayim (Praise, O Jerusalem)	1
Carolyn Hyde	Od Ve' Od	23
Celeste Mills and Chaim Warshawsky	Comfort My People	5
Celia Whitler	My Heart Is Quieted (Psalm 131)	7
Chaim Warchawsky	Shema (Hear O Israel)	9
Chuck King	Sh'ma Yisrael	13
Daniel Carmel	Jerusalem	10
Daniel Kopp & Sarah Liberman	Hal'lu Et Adonai (Praise The Lord)	6
David Edwards	Strength of the River (Psalm 46)	13
David Loden	Rachem Adonai (Have Mercy, O Lord)	1
Deanne Glenn	Homeward Bound	11
Deborah Kline-Iantorno	Forever Praise Your Name	13
Double Portion Worship Team	Mi Kamoka	15
Dov Zeira	Hevenu Shalom Aleichem	7
Effi Netzer Band	Hava Netze BeMachol (Let Us Dance)	2
Eitan Masuri	Shabechi Yerushalayim (Praise The Lord- O Jerusalem)	5
Elana Watson	Ani Mamina	24
Elisheva Shomron	Ahava Ko Adira (Love So Great)	6
Ephraim Ben Yoseph	Voice of the Innocent	10
Esther 'Eti' Horesh	Hatikvah (The Hope, Israel's National Anthem)	7
Evan Levine	May The God of Israel Reign	22
Grupo Jerusalem	Sim Shalom	14
Hagevatron	Tzion Tamati (Zion My Innocent)	5
Heartsville	Kadosh	16
Hector David	Shema	7
Helen Shapiro	Ha Shiveinu, Seh Ha Elohim	7
Inna Pikman	Baruch Adonai	18
Israel's Hope	Shalom Jerusalem	34
Jarmula Band	Kol Naolam	4
Jeanne Gere	I Am Not Afraid (Psalm 23)	12
Jeanne Gere, Kevin Stokes, Katie Giguere	Sing To The Lord, You Saints of His (Psalm 30)	5
Jerry Marcellino	Arise O Lord	18
Jimmie Black	Holy Unto The Lord	21
Joel Chernoff	Baruch Adonai	59
Jonathan & Cindy Bernd	Va'ani Ashir	10
Jonathan Kegans	Face to Face	10
Jonathan Lane	Come My Beloved	15
Jonathan Settel	Shabbat Medley	23
Jonathan and Cindy Bernd	Hoi Kol Tsameh	6
Jordan Marcellino	Psalm 91	9
Joy Griffiths	Holy is the Lord	13
Jubilare Singers	I Will Serve No Foreign God (Psalm 81-9)	9
Judah & Jennifer Morrison	Ezo Min Ahavah Zot	10
Karen Davis	Ata Tzuri	21
Karen-Or Karni Hirsch	Ki Shem Adonai Ekra (I Will Call On Adonai)	4
Kathy Shooster	Seek The Lord	7
Katie Giguere	Just By Your Mercy (Psalm 5)	5
Katy Giguere	He Who Dwells In The Shelter of the Lord (Psalm 91)	3
Kehilat Ha Ma'ayan Congregation	Ata Adonai (Reprise)	5
Kelly Willard	The Wings of the Morning (Psalm 139-7-14)	7
Ken Lane	Avvon D'bish'Maiya	6
Keren & David Seguin	Kadosh Atah (You are Holy)	24
Kevin Knott	Mayim Mi Shamayim	11
Kibbutz Ha`Ma`apil Trio	Mizmor Le`David (A Psalm Of David)	2
Kirk Dearman	Hear, O Shepherd of Israel (Psalm 80)	11
Kol Simcha	They Who Trust In The Lord	10
LaDonna Taylor	Hava Nagila	20
Lamb	Sh'ma Yisrael	22
Lee Rothman	Aaronic Blessing	9
Lenny & Varda Harris	The Word of Adonai	19
Lenny and Varda Harris	Mashiach Ben-David	17
Lev Shelo	Osse Shalom Bimromav	22
Liberated Wailing Wall	Avinu Malkenu	15
Luanne Sayag	Seh HaElohim (Lamb of God)	9
Lynne McDowell	One Thing I Ask	9
Maranatha Singers	Shaalu Shalom Yerushalayim	18
Marc Chopinsky	Blessed Is The Man	4
Margaret Becker	Create In Me (Psalm 51)	14
Martin Sarvis	Lament	7
Marty Goetz	The God of Peace	31
Mason Clover	Your Prayer	16
Maurice Sklar	Schindler's List, Via Delorosa Medley	20
Maurice Sklar & Hugh Sung	Hebrew Dance and Chant	6
Meha Shamayim	Shebbat Shleva (Sabbath of Peace)	29
Micha'el Eliyahu BenDavid	Shiru L'Adonai (Sing to the Lord)	28
Mijael Hayom	Tob Lehodot	10
Naftsali Imber	Hatikva	12
Natasha Kraus-Reynolds	Hear the Voice	26
New Wine	Kuma Adonai	11
Nomi Pritz & Roy Kendall	Be'Libi Tzafanti	9
Oxana Eliahu	In the Depth of My Heart	7
Paul Wilbur	Dance With Me	32
Philip Stanley Klein	Yisrael My Glory	5
Rachael Washington	Wherever You Go (The Vow)	23
Rachel Boskey	Save Your People	7
Rebecca Weiler	Halo Yadata (Have You Not Known)	14
Regina Zaki	Nigun Atik (Ancient Melody)	4
Renewal	Kyrie	8
Ric Blair	Psalm 95	5
Rivka Whitten	Peace Be With You	14
Robin Mark	Ancient Words	16
Roeh Israel Worship Team	Catch Me In Your Gaze	17
Roman and Alaina	Enter Into Shabbat	52
Roy Kendall	As the Deer Pants	10
Sara Herndon and Jonathan Sacks	Brethren, My Heart's Desire	4
Sasha Roytman	Yeshua Is My Lord	8
Savae	Sounding of the Shofar and Sh'ma Israel (Hear, O Israel)	10
Sha'rei HaShamayim	I Believe	7
Sharon Wilbur	They Will Bow	32
Sheli Myers	Adonai Ahuvi	10
Shmulik Nissim	The Love You Never Had	7
Sons of Korah	Hand To The Plough	18
Sons of Korah	Lift Up Your Heads (Psalm 24)	20
Steve Bell	Remember Me (Psalm 25)	19
Steve McConnell	Yom Shekulo Shabbat	36
Ted Pearce	Walk in the Light	40
Tents of Mercy	Ahavata Oti Rishon	9
The Effi Netzer Singers	Havenu Shalom Aleichem (We Bring You Peace)	4
The Star of David Singers	Weep, Wail	7
Tina Bolinger	Psalm 96	9
Troy Mitchell	Peace	29
Unknown Artist	Ose Shalom	12
Various Artists	Hinei Ma Tov (Behold How Good)	8
Vesna Beuhler	Ana Adonai (O Lord, Please Save Us!)	15
Voices Of Israel	Yerushalayim Shel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold)	5
Yerubilee	Wait on the Lord	24
Yosef Karduner	Hiney Lo Yanum	7
Zamru Lo Singers	Hallelu Hu (Praise Him)	2
Zemer Levav	Your Name	34

Note that these statistics reflect a disadvantage for songs that haven't been on Chavah for very long. Fewer folks have heard the newer songs, artists, and albums, therefore fewer folks have rated them, with the end result of a lower average community rating. This disadvantage will smooth out over time as the 100 people that upvoted a song will eventually hear the lesser-heard song, and more votes will be cast for those.

What can we glean from these results? Here’s a few quick observations:

The Messianic community really likes Ted Pearce and Steve McConnell. The average community rank for their songs puts them as the top 2 artists, and each have 2 albums in the top 5 albums.
Sharon Wilbur sneaks her 5-song LP, You’re My Heart, into the #3 album, however, with just 5 songs on that LP, she’s at an unfair advantage. Even so, her full 14-song album, Mercy Calling, is ranked well by the community at a 16.4 average, coming in at 26th on the albums chart, just beneath Troy Mitchell’s Yoke of the King.
I’m a bit saddened to see Messianic music pioneer group LAMB only made it to spot #21 in the artist ranking – they are #1 in my book. Much of their music isn’t modern-sounding, so it has less appeal to many Messianics. At 163 total songs, they far surpass any other artist in terms of quantity, and for much of their music, quality as well.
A statistical oddity is Troy Mitchell: his first album, a chanting-only, traditional prayers album, Seudat Mashiach, is rated poorly by the community; an average of –2 for the whole album; ouch. But his second album, released last year, rates marvelously, even making the top 25 album list. It may be explained by Chavah listeners preferring music to chanting.
Modern Messianic group Roman and Alaina, and Roman’s former group, Meha Shamayim, are doing quite well. I reviewed their Sounds of Prayer album a few years ago here on the Kineti blog, where I related this album would be one of the best around. Turns out my prediction was accurate: Sounds of Prayer is currently in #11 on the top Messianic albums of all time, as rated by the Messianic community.
Paul Wilbur’s old Messianic group from the 1980s, Israel’s Hope, fares better than Paul’s modern albums. Ditto for Israel’s Hope co-founder Marc Chopinsky. This aligns with my own thoughts that Paul and Marc worked much better together as Israel’s Hope, than they have as independent artists. I suggest Paul and Marc and Rene hook up for an Israel’s Hope reunion album and put together some smash hit tunes for the Lord. (I can dream, can’t I? )
Marty Goetz is some fine wine and cheese - he gets better with age. He’s got several albums in the top 25 albums list, but his latest album, Hope of Glory, is highest ranked at #9. His highest ranked song, God of Peace, is also from his latest album. Go Marty!

There you have it, folks. A new and improved Chavah with more awesomesauce. If you haven't tried Chavah yet, or were discouraged by too much junk when you did, I encourage you to give Chavah a spin. With her new musically-selective brain in place, she's sure to please.

How I Spent My Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (Judah Gabriel Himango) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 20:15:00 +0000

I’m no fan of Halloween, really. I’m no rigid moralist, mind you. I’ve heard Christians argue why Halloween is acceptable for Jesus’ disciples; likewise I’ve considered the arguments against it.

This year, instead of doing Halloween, I decided to volunteer at Feed My Starving Children with a group of other Messianics from several congregations in the Minnesota and Wisconsin area.

That’s me on the left, and my brother on the right, who’s apparently flashing some sort of creepy gang symbol.

Halloween turns out to be a good night to volunteer; while the whole of the US was handing out candy to well-off American kids, there was a sweetened irony as Messianics engaged in packing meals for starving African kids. +1 all around.

Volunteering at Feed My Starving Children is a great way to help a charitable cause without money. Show up, and they’ll put you to work shoveling rice, plopping dry foods into containers, measuring meal amounts and weights, sealing bags, boxing meals. Something for everyone, even young kids can help. And it’s one of those real, tangible things you can contribute to the Kingdom, bringing honor to Yeshua’s name through it.

Jesus, Not Israel

noreply@blogger.com (Judah Gabriel Himango) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:58:00 +0000

How do you feel about the following statement from well-known Protestant preacher John Piper?

When I saw this tweet, I was a bit uncomfortable. When I saw that it was retweeted by 97 other Christians, I squirmed. Then when I read the full blog post by Jonathan Parnell, I face-palmed.

Jesus, not Israel? Is that what Christians really believe?

Hail Jesus, King of not-Israel.

Piper links to his church’s blog, where the post by Parnell starts good: citing Romans 9 as an example of the irrevocable nature of God’s election. (Unspoken: God’s election of Israel.)

But he speaks of election only to suggest that God’s choosing of Israel was done in order to elect Yeshua. Thus, Israel’s election is made irrelevant because God’s purposes for Israel are fully carried out in Yeshua. Roll the credits, because in Jesus, it’s Israel: The End.

Though he cited Romans 9, it’s as if he didn’t read it at all.

I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Messiah for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises.

-Romans 9

To Israel belongs these things. Not belonged. Belongs. The promises of God belong to Israel. They didn’t disappear when Jesus showed up.

The problem with the statements from Parnell is not whether the nations are blessed through Yeshua – they positively are. The problem is that these statements imply a kind of subtle replacement theology: because Yeshua came, Israel is no longer the vehicle of God’s blessing, no longer relevant in God’s plans, and is just another ethnicity, and Judaism just another non-Christian religion.

God’s important people, then, are Yeshua’s followers – the Church – and if they are the important people, Israel is merely an historical vehicle to get us to the Church, and we are left with nothing but a certain replacement theology, where Jesus’ church has replaced God’s Israel.

“Jesus, not Israel” implies Yeshua ended the specialness of Israel. Consider the absurd implications: Yeshua, the King of Israel, Israel’s Messiah, prophesied by Israel’s prophets, the Holy One of Israel and son of Israel’s David, he comes and does his thing, and what’s the end result? Supposedly, the result is Israel becoming irrelevant. Some King of Israel! A King who makes his people irrelevant.

Huh? Is this making sense to anyone, or are we too occupied with retweeting popular pastors to think clearly?

Christians who want to understand why Jesus is an offence to Jews, take note. When you say, “Israel used to be special, but Jesus changed all that, so now instead of being God’s special people, you’re a heathen going to hell! Isn’t that good news?”

Even though it may not have been Piper’s intent, there remains this sense that Christendom still believes that, because of the work of Israel’s Messiah, it has replaced her. Jesus, not Israel.

Fine and chin-rubbing blog readers, am I being too sensitive? What do you think of Piper’s statement, “Jesus, not Israel”?

Death and the Things That Get Remembered

noreply@blogger.com (Judah Gabriel Himango) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:00:00 +0000

Death has a way of sobering you up.

I attended a funeral this morning for a member of our congregation, Patricia. Even though I’ve been in the Messianic movement since childhood, I’ve been in leadership just a few years, and this is the first death within my congregation. Worthwhile to record these thoughts while they’re fresh.

Patricia and her husband, John, have attend our congregation for only the last 3 months. I knew Patricia only a short while, but her death and funeral brought me tears. Funerals have a way of doing that, I guess, as a person’s life is retold through teary descriptions by the people closest to that person. Unless you’re some stone-cold, jaded mind, it’s difficult not to be moved when you hear this stuff.

Though Patricia had lung problems for several years, I didn’t grasp the seriousness of her condition until recently. The whole congregation prayed with her a few weeks ago. When I prayed and laid hands on her, I asked frankly and sincerely of God to have mercy on this servant, to spare this daughter of his. At least one of the families in our congregation was continually praying for her healing.

So, when John, Patricia’s husband, came into our congregation this past Friday night and announced his wife, Patricia, had died, it was tears and weeping all around. Prayer and tears.

I remember each time I saw Patricia, even if she was in a wheelchair, weak, and eventually sporting oxygen tubes, she had this joy and light in her face. Her countenance. Religious people like to put on faces for people. Happy faces. Everything’s-ok faces.

But the light and the joy that was in Patricia’s eyes and face was not something that could be faked, you know? Something real and authentic about that. It’s rare.

In the short time I knew her, Patricia, even in her wheelchair, had been sharp as a tack. I remember how she tested us – when we sang songs like, “How I Love Your Torah”, she would question us afterwards, “You love all the Scriptures, do you not? And isn’t Yeshua the living Torah?” She regularly tested our beliefs and measured them against the Scriptures. Turns out, as I heard today during the funeral, she was more zealous for the Scriptures than I knew.

At the funeral this morning, I discover Patricia, a former agnostic-turned-follower-of-Yeshua, had, in her zeal for the Scriptures, learned Greek and Biblical Hebrew in order to better understand the Scriptures in their original language and to search things out for herself. You wouldn’t know this because she was never one to puff up her knowledge or make you feel beneath her. Humble woman.

This morning, I almost didn’t want to speak to the husband, John; I didn’t know what to say to him. I thought back to Dr. Schiffman’s post how speaking the wrong thing to a widower can be worse than speaking anything at all. There’s nothing a person can say to make sweet the certain bitterness of losing your spouse of 40+ years.

When I saw John in the entry way, his eyes caught me, and I felt compelled, out of obligation, to go over to him. I had no idea what to say. He thanked me for coming. I told him it was no problem, and that I was glad to have made it. I asked him how he was doing. He told me alright, though the months to come would be the hardest, seeing as how his wife of 40 some years was now gone. I nodded my head.

At the funeral, several folks spoke towards her being zealous for the Scriptures, some described her as an old-fashioned Bible thumper, even. Her children said, “Mom always said ‘One day you’ll bless me for all this’, and we said, ‘No way mom, you’re always just preaching to us!’ But here we stand today and we say, “Thank you, mom, we bless you!”

Really moving.

Nearly all the stories told of Patricia this morning were of her zeal for the Lord. Even so, too many people might just dismiss all that as funeral niceties, not real world stuff. In my short time of knowing Patricia, she lived up to the words people were speaking about her: zealous for the Scriptures, faithful to Yeshua, even to the end. I wanted to get up and tell people that’s a real and accurate depiction of her.

Each person will eventually face his death. In a quaint funeral home perhaps, with a soft-spoken chaplain, your family and friends telling stories about you through their tears. Maybe they’ll talk about your life, your friendships, your ambitions, your professional life.

Those things are nice and all, but they don’t make a dent in the universe, and in time, they’ll all be forgotten. Even when famous people do famous things, they, too, will eventually be forgotten. Given enough time, even Steve Jobs will be forgotten, and all his amusing gadgets will be dust.

But if there is something that will not be forgotten, it will be the work you do for the Lord. God is timeless. If anything at all will be remembered, it will be your faithfulness to God. God, the timeless God, will remember your work.

I hope that when I’m the object of the funeral mourning, and the people I love are speaking about me, I hope the things they’ll remember about me are the eternal things, the things Patricia is also remembered for: her zeal for the Scriptures, her faithful-to-the-end devotion to Yeshua.