Reasons Why I
Technically am Not a “Christian”
This is in no way
meant to be an attack, offend, or be derogatory in any way to the small remnant
of believers who call themselves Christians to whom uphold the true 1st
century definition of such.
This is also not
meant to be an exhaustive list, but just a handful of reason that separate the
Nazarene Believer from Modern Day Christianity who rejects the Law of God
(Torah).
1. Because I practice Nazarene Judaism and not
modern day Christianity.
2. Because I am a Jew who believes in Yeshua
and practices Nazarene Judaism of the 1st century and am not a
Gentile who converted to the sect which is the true definition of a Christian
or Messianic.
3. Because I am not a Catholic or Protesting
Catholic (Protestant), the definition of a Christian in the modern day.
4. Because modern-day Christians do not keep
the Torah.
5. Because modern-day Christianity has become
a separate religion from Nazarene Judaism.
6. Because of what modern-day Christianity has
done to my religion and people: Pogroms, the Inquisition, the Holocaust, etc.
7. Because modern-day Christianity practices
and keeps pagan holidays such as Easter and Christmas, which is foreign to
Judaism in 1st century Christianity.
8. Because Yeshua my Messiah did not come to
start a new religion, He came to bring fulfillment and completion to the old
one so we may live it correctly.
9. Because modern-day Christianity is all
about converting, assimilating, and Hellenizing Jews by forcing us to lose our
heritage and identity.
10.Because I do not accept the authority or
dogma of the Gentile “Church Fathers” who were the forerunners of the Roman
Catholic Church.
11.Because I was born a Jew and an Israelite,
discovered my Jewish lineage late in life and officially converted via Hatafat
Dam Brit (ritual circumcision) performed by an ordained Rabbi.
12.Because when I can I do not attend a church
but a synagogue.
13.Because the Star of David and the Menorah
are the symbols of my faith.
14.Because I believe in a modified version of
Rambam’s 13 principles and not any creed formulated by the “Church Fathers”.
15.Because I believe the Torah is the voice of
God in the world today and not the Pope.
16.Because I believe I will not live eternally
in a mystical limbo called heaven, but on a New Earth in the World to Come.
17.Because like Yeshua said that Paradise
(Heaven) and Sheol (Hell) are in the same spiritual plane separated by a gulf,
I do not believe “heaven” is “up there” and “Hell” is “down there”.
18.Because I believe the entire Scripture;
Tanak (O.T.) and the Brit Chadashah (N.T.) were written first in Hebrew/Aramaic
and not Greek and I believe the Hebrew is more reliable, and that both sets of
books do not contradict or negate each other.
19.Because I believe God does not change and
therefore the Torah is still in effect and is applicable for today in the life
of every true believer.
20.Because I do not believe the church is the
new or replacement of Israel.
21.Because I believe all of God’s promises and
covenants are still in effect for His people Israel and that circumcision and
not baptism is the sign of the covenant of Abraham.
22.Because I wear tzitzit and not a WWJD
bracelet.
23.Because the Yeshua of Judaism is
conceptually different from the Jesus of modern-day Catho-Christianity.
24.Because I rest on Saturday and not Sunday.
25.Because I believe in the 613 Commandments
and not just the 10, 9, 7 or 1.
26.Because at times I pray from a siddur and
not a rosary.
27.Because I am not anti-Semitic like Hitler
and Constantine who claimed to be Christians and yet murdered my people in the
name of their Christ.
28.Because I keep most of the customs and
traditions of my people and few of what would be considered Christian.
29.Because I do not believe as some do, in a
wrathful Old Testament God and a Loving New Testament God. Nor do I believe in
a Catholic Trinity where Mary is semi-divine or that the Trinity is actually 3
separate gods.
30.Because no one define my beliefs or who I
am.
I had stopped
worrying about what mainstream Judaism thinks or calls me.
“You’re not
Jewish! You are a Christian! Jews don’t believe in “Jesus”!”
I am a modern
Torah observant Natsarim (Nazarene) Believer who keeps the customs and
traditions of my people.
I believe that
modern-day Catho-Christianity is incompatible in many ways with Nazarene
Judaism, and has willingly broken away from its Jewish roots long ago and is
now a separate and distinct religion apart from Judaism and Nazarene Judaism.
Their western, rome-ish, papal concept “Christ” is fictitious and conceptually
different and even in many ways opposite of Yeshua the Jewish Messiah.
This being
established I have the utmost respect, love and familial ties with my
non-believing Jewish brethren. Some accept me, most do not. However I am not
looking for, nor necessarily desire their recognition in regards to my, or the
Nazarene sect’s legitimacy. Do I want them to see Yeshua is the Messiah?
Absolutely! But I will not and cannot adhere 100% to their rulings, minhag, and
halachah, because of the fact they do not believe or recognize Yeshua as
Messiah and have a plethora of reactionary and anti-Yeshua doctrine and
arguments.
I have noticed a
disturbing trend of Torah Observant Natsarim (Nazarene) trying so hard to be
accepted by Orthodox Judaism. Why? They do not believe Yeshua is the Messiah,
even though it is in part the unintended fault of Christians and how they
portray the Messiah; nevertheless, most of them do not want to know or hear
about Yeshua from us either. So why would I or should I submit myself to a sect
and their rulings or their Sanhedrin who deny and reject my Messiah, Yeshua Ha
Moshiach, especially when Yeshua (foreseeing all this happening) gave His
Sheliachim (Apostles) the authority to form a Nazarene Sanhedrin we see working
and functioning in the Book of Acts? This is what needs to happen; this is what
needs to be restored. We do not need to be a loose confederation of people
fighting amongst ourselves refusing to unite and be a truly whole sect once
again. We especially do not need to run to, and do tricks to be accepted by the
descendants of a sect Yeshua warned us about:
Matthew 23:3 All therefore whatsoever they bid
you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they
say, and do not.
The HRV (Hebraic
Roots Version) takes this passage from the Hebrew version of Matthew from the
Shem Tov manuscripts and it reads, “And all that he says to you observe
and do…” alluding to Moses himself, the Written Torah, not the Pharisees and
Scribes who interpret it.
Messiah points out
that they (Pharisees and Scribes) may talk Torah, but many of them do not walk
it themselves.
“…but do not according to their works, for they
say, but do not.” (Matthew 3:23 HRV)
Clearing up verse three is the lynch pin to understanding and putting into context the rest of Matthew 23. The rest of Matthew 23 shows the contrast of the Torah of Moses and man’s torah, we are not even talking about the true Oral Torah here.
Trying to be
accepted by Orthodox Judaism today is like being a nerd trying to impress the
hot popular girl to like and accept him and go to the prom with him. It just
“ain’t” going to happen, only in movies. And I’m not going to grovel or put
myself in a position where I may be asked to compromise my beliefs or loyalties
to Messiah Yeshua just so I can be accepted and legitimized in the eyes of men.
I have no interest or time for this.
Even if we were
accepted by one group, like let’s say the Breslovers, does not mean we will be
accepted by and seen as a legitimate sect or movement in the Lubavitchers’ or
the Satmars’ eyes. Will we then preoccupy ourselves to try to gain their
acceptance and approval? Look, in this instance it is actually much like
Christianity, just as the Baptist believes the Methodist are Christians, so one
Jewish sect believes the other is Jewish, but both feel they are more right or
correct than the other. It’s only natural. The Breslovers are not worried if
they are accepted by the Satmars or the Lubavitchers, so honestly why should
Nazarene Jews be worried if they are accepted by Orthodox Judaism or not. We
seriously need to organize from within and not try to bring organization from
without to make us so within.
I am a true Jew of
an ancient sect founded by Messiah Yeshua called the Nazarenes, regardless of
what the Orthodox Union says or feels, and I am not ashamed nor do I feel the
need to apologize for that.
Nor do I concern
myself by what Christians say about me:
“You are a
Judaizer! You’re into legalism! You have forfeited your salvation!”
These statements
are made out of fear and ignorance with the backing and coddling of the traditions
and doctrines of men not found in the Canonical texts of the Scriptures.
Though the State
of Israel currently does not recognize my Hatafat Dam Brit (Conversion) or my
Shmicah (Ordination), I am secure and confident in who I am and what I believe
and what the Scriptures say about me and those like me.
You can call a
starfish a starfish, but that doesn’t mean it is really a fish. I suppose that
is why in more recent texts books they are referred to now as “sea stars.”
Just because the
‘church’ once said that the sun revolves around the earth that still does not
make it a fact of truth. I don’t care what official documents of the church and
synagogue say of me, I care what My God says through history and the
Scriptures.
I am a Nazarene
Jew, a Jew of the sect called the Natsari (Branch) who believes Yeshua is the
Divine Messiah, and I keep the Torah and customs and traditions of my
forefathers of the 1st century in a 21st century manner.
