The Wandering Heretic

As Gentiles we have been engrafted into Israel, and as such are part of the people of Israel. That has been my focus in many of my last posts. Now I think I need to tell you why this has become so important to me. For you see, unlike other nations, Israel was defined as [...]

Unlike most Orthodox Jews, Michael Wychogrod takes the writings of Paul seriously. Even in cases where he disagrees with Paul’s conclusions, he interacts with the writings and gives a historian’s—and specifically a Jewish historian’s—perspective. For the most part, at least in his landmark book, Abraham’s Promise, he appears to agree more than disagree with Paul’s [...]

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One cannot express interest in the implications of the Jewish/Christian connection and relationship without finally encountering the works of Michael Wyschogrod. As a Jewish “Barthian,” Wyschogrod is an invaluable resource in reflecting on the issues involved in the process of bringing Jews and Gentiles together into one body. Though not accepting Christianity himself, Wyschogrod, as [...]

I have determined that the use of the prayer scarf or head covering on the part of women remains a New Testament stipulation. In my last post, I discussed the example of Rabekah and her use of the veil only in the presence of her husband to be. As such, the use of the veil [...]

I have been discussing the discontinuity between the modern Jewish culture and that which existed in the time of Christ. As engrafted Gentiles, we have been fully placed into Israel. We are now as “special” a part of God’s people as are the Jewish people. As such, we are as much a part of Israelite [...]

I am currently discussing the issue on whether the current culture of Israel/Judaism is the same as or even rooted in first century Israel. The object of this quest is to ultimately judge just how much relevance current Jewish practices should have for the Gentile believer in Jesus. The question is not inconsequential since per [...]

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I have argued that being “grafted into Israel,” the believing Gentiles enter into the culture and the governmental structure of the nation of Israel. They have been adopted and fully joined into the People of the Israelite God. In this essay, I want to reflect not so much on what it means to be a [...]

In my last post, I noted that it is to Israel that the believing Gentiles are joined. It is through the Jewish Messiah that Gentiles have “come in,” to use Steve Schlissel’s words. For this statement to mean anything, since it cannot mean that Gentiles have become “genetic” Israelites, it must be put into the [...]