I know a girl here at school who is of the “Church of God.” Amongst other things, they celebrate all the same holidays i do (I’m Jewish).
While i understand the some of the teachings of Jesus’ followers were of the “faith” ilk (circumcision isn’t necessary, you need not follow Jewish rules in everything, just be good, etc.), how did this Church of God come about? She observes all the same rules that i am supposed to observe (same Sabbath, same dietary laws, same holidays, etc.), but worships Jesus, which i don’t do.
Now, i have brought this up to her once, and didn’t get any answer (and it made both of us uncomfortable, to boot). My question is basically this; why do they do this? Is it an attempt to get back to 1st century Messianic Judaism (i.e. early christianity)?
As well, why is the Sabbath on Sunday for Christians anyway (i don’t remember if Cecil wrote about this or not)?
Yep. I dated a Messianic Jew for a year or so a while back. Basically, they just reject the Paulist teachings. The rationale being that the Apostles were all Jewish and if Jesus had really meant for Christians to stop being Jewish, he would have said so.
Cecil has in fact covered the change of Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday in Why do Christians worship on Sunday when the Bible says the Sabbath is on Saturday?
I don’t know about the specific “Church of God”, but there are a small number of Christian churches (sects? cults?) that take Jewish laws (soi-disant “Old Testament” laws) seriously.
Jesus himself (as recorded in the four synoptic gospels) never advocated the repeal of Jewish Law. In fact, he demanded a stricter adherence to Jewish Law than was commonly accepted at the time-- e.g., Jewish law says not to (physically) commit adultery, and Jesus said don’t even THINK about committing adultery. It was Paul who later, after the death of Jesus, had a vision in which Jesus said to forget Jewish laws… and so mainstream Christianity (both Catholic and later Protesant) have cheerfully ignored biblical dietary laws, etc.
Today, there are a few (very minor) sects of Christianity that go back to pre-Pauline Christian doctrines. And, as you say, there are a few tiny sects of Judaism (“Messianic” Jews) who try for some blend of Judaism and Christianity.
***DISCLAIMER: Most of the info below comes from memory. I’m not out to spread false or misleading info, just to add some stuff that may be helpful to anyone wanting to research the subject more…
I believe the “Church of God” you’re referring to was the (then-called) Worldwide Church of God (and several smaller offshoots), founded by the late Herbert W. Armstrong and later led by his son Garner Ted (although I believe he was/is involved in a smaller splinter group later on). The most surprising development was the transformation of the Worldwide Church in the 90s, when the leader, Joseph Tkatch, repudiated the views of Armstrong and the church that were considered to be aberrant Christian teaching and had caused them to be labelled as a cult. Tkach wrote the story in Transformed by Truth (ASIN # 1576731812).
Some of those put out by the “transformation” formed the Universal Church of God (I think it was called), which holds to the observance of the type of Jewish holidays, etc. that you mention.
small nitpick:
There are Three synoptic gospels, not four (Matthew, Mark, Luke) John is not a synoptic. The four gospels collectively are called the canonicals.
Everything else that CK said is accurate.
Is Church of God the same thing as Jews for Jesus? I’ll check it out.
Nope, looks like two different groups.
Yeah, the Jews for Jesus folks (at least those Jewish by heritage) would most likely consider themselves smack in the middle of the Messianic Jews camp.
Someone with more complete knowledge may correct me, but I wouldn’t say that Messianic Jews would consider their faith to be a “blend of Judaism and Christianity.” As I understand it, they are people of Jewish ancestry and/or faith who embrace Jesus as Messiah (and savior in the Christian sense), making them Christians in every way but w/ maybe the added perspective of a better understanding of, or appreciation for, the Jewish roots of Christianity.
FWIW, I’ve never heard the Worldwide Church of God referred to without the ‘Worldwide’ part attached. No adherents I know say they are part of the Church of God. In addition, there are already 2 denominations that use that moniker and are often distinguished by the location of the denominational HQ, e.g., The Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) and The Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee).
[small hijack] Actually, there have been major headaches in Israel when Messianic Jews tried to immigrate there under the Law of Return. Their argument was “we observe all Jewish laws, so we’re Jewish, right?” The Israeli government didn’t see it that way; many court cases ensued. I believe one case made it all the way to whatever the Israeli equivalent of the Supreme Court is, where it was decided that being Jewish by definition excluded believing that Jesus Christ was anything other than an ordinary human being.
Which “Church of God” is this? The World Wide Church of God? Universal Church of God? philadelphia Church of God? I know this was asked already, but we need an answer.
If it’s the World Wide Church of God don’t walk, run!