Oct 22 2009
Got Messiah?
Serendipity – On my way to class this morning, I noticed a table set up on Bedford Avenue outside of the Brooklyn College gates. I stopped and looked and — lo and behold, signs and pamphlets and books discussing the Messiah. I usually ignore these displays. Today I stared, then asked the people behind the table a bunch of Leah-style questions. Here’s what I gathered:
Jessica was born a Southern Baptist. She became interested in Judaism when she came to New York and met a Jewish friend. She learned Hebrew and studied the Old Testament. She even considered converting to Judaism, but that was years ago. Now she keeps many Jewish holidays and a version of kosher. She believes in the Jewish god but also in Jesus. She supports the right of Israel to exist. In fact, she is very pro-Israel. I asked her if this is related to the need for Jews to be in control of Jerusalem for the Second Coming. She squirmed a little bit but I think her answer was yes.
Doug, the man behind the campaign, is also not Jewish. He pays for everything. He also spoke Hebrew. They go to college campuses and try to combat anti-Semitism and anti-Israeli sentiment.
I took two fliers they had on the table. Both have the Hebrew text from Daniel and Isaiah and other parts of the Bible. There are no New Testament references. There is no overt reference to Jesus, only a title on the top of one page that says “Who is this speaking of?”
I told them I attended an Orthodox Jewish high school. He told me I must have gotten an excellent education. I agreed. (The school is accredited by the same agency that accredits Dalton and Horace Mann, etc.) I also told them that I was taking a class about the Apocalypse and End Times. I asked her if she had read the Left Behind series. She hadn’t. She also does not like to call herself “evangelical Christian.” I asked.
I would have been late for an exam so I had to run. Otherwise, I would have stayed and asked more questions. You can take a look at the Web site and tell me what you think. Prof. Quinby, I am particularly interested in your opinion.
http://gotmessiah.com/
It was an interesting experience. I’ll bring the fliers in to class so we can all look at them.
This smells somewhat like cultural appropriation. I have yet to visit the website but the descriptions of the two individuals and their involvement in this organization looks dubious.
Hi Leah, I found your description of your encounter to be really interesting in part because of the way we come to see new things that have been around, once our attention get focused in certain ways. As for the website, it seems pretty well done in terms of access to information that they want to disseminate and the use of repetition to reinforce certain messages. It does not stand up to the standards of logical argument, of course, since it just quotes passages as if they were proof. In other words, citing beliefs and more beliefs often persuades but does not comprise an argument using evidence.
The links between Old and New Testaments make sense, since, as we have discussed, the Book of Revelation draws so heavily form Daniel, etc. The History Channel ran a 2 hour God VS Satan program last night that made lots of these connections. One thing worth pointing out about it was that the critical historians like Paul Boyer and Jonathan Kirsch become a bit indistinguishable from believers like Tim LaHaye and Ed Hinson. All were cut in and out of the material so that their comments become basically descriptive. I always wonder if that reinforces belief for literalists.
Wow… I’m going to keep my eyes peeled now.
There’s also a huge stand inside the Times Square subway station like that, only far more pro-Jesus.