Anglican Pentecostal Perspective on Charismatic Leaders Fellowship 2015
In his presentation, Rabbi Waldman gave a brief overview of how the Church of the first centuries marginalized and then expelled Messianic Jewish bishops and clergy from its councils, while at the same time Jewish rabbis declared that a believer in Jesus could not be a true Jew. Rabbi Waldman believes that the work of Jerusalem Council II would include retracting all Church decrees and restrictions against the Jew, and repenting for all acts of anti-Semitism.
Peter Hocken at the 2014 convention of the Society for Pentecostal Studies.
Waldman has worked recently with Fr. Peter Hocken, the English Jesuit scholar and charismatic leader, to bring reconciliation between Jews and Christians.[8] Recently they went to Spain where they and other intercessors prayed prayers of confession and repentance at the places all over Spain where Jews were mistreated, persecuted and expelled during the Middle Ages.[9]
Waldman’s presentation provoked a host of questions from the CLF audience. For instance, does he believe in following the Old Testament dietary laws? His answer was yes, not as a means of salvation, but as a sign of community. He personally only follows what was written in scripture, not the huge elaborations now practiced in kosher Jewish homes, as in having separate plates for dairy and meat dishes.
I had a reservation about Rabbi Waldman’s presentation that I did not have a chance to voice before he had to leave. That is, that he presented the Messianic Jews of the first centuries as pure victims of Gentile misunderstanding and persecution. Yes, the Gentile Church grievously mistreated its Jewish brethren, but Waldman did not mention that they were also mostly of the Ebonite perspective. That is, they did not accept the writings of Paul as scripture, and although they accepted Jesus a s messiah, they did not believe in his divinity. They also believed that their salvation demanded adherence to the Mosaic Law in addition to trust in Jesus. The Early Church rightly discerned these as error. Although the Jewish/Christian alienation and separation was tragically violent (and demonically energized) it may have had a providential element also. Specifically, it led to the extinction of the Ebonite variety of Messianic Judaism, and allowed (after a period of time much longer than necessary) for the rise of a “Full-Gospel” Messianic Judaism.
The CLF conference of 2015 ended with a session by Dr. Billy Wilson, current president of ORU. He shared how smart, enthusiastic and motivated the present students at ORU are, and how much of an impact they will surely make on the world. He also warmly invited CLF back next year.
Category: Ministry, Winter 2015
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