Speaking of Jewish people
In the March issue of The Briefing, Martin Pakula answered the question, ‘Who is a Jew and why should we care?’. As is the case for many ‘why should we care’ questions, the short answer is that the Bible does.
Related to this is the matter of how we should talk about Jewish people when preaching. Out of their concern for this issue, Richard Gibson and James Mendelsohn have produced a Guide For Preachers on behalf of the British Messianic Jewish Alliance. They explain their concern in the introduction:
In recent years many members of the British Messianic Jewish Alliance have been deeply hurt by the negative attitudes towards the Jewish people, thoughtless comments about Jewishness and hostility to the state of Israel they have encountered in churches, university Christian Unions, books and the Christian press. Consequently many British Messianic Jews are beginning to feel disenfranchised from the wider body of Christ to which they belong.
The guide includes the following in its advice to preachers, service leaders, and others who speak in churches:
- Use the term ‘Jewish people’ rather than ‘Jews’.
- When preaching on the Gospels, distinguish between the first-century religious leadership and Jewish people generally.
- Be aware of particularly sensitive issues such as the Holocaust, the Crusades, the Pogroms and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
- Be tactful when mentioning Martin Luther because of his latter-year venomous attacks against the Jewish people.
- Pray publicly for ‘the peace of Jerusalem’ and the salvation of the Jewish people.
- Refer to ‘Israel’ and ‘the Palestinian Authority-controlled areas’ rather than ‘the Holy Land’.
For the reasoning behind each of these points, read the full document.