Introduction to Christian Hebraism

The idea behind this series of teachings is to introduce people to Christian Hebraism and address some of the pertinent questions that keep coming up when this subject comes up.

1. Between the pursuit of authenticity and dogmatism In this article I want to:

• establish the fact that authenticity is not necessarily of great importance to all people. This is important for us who seek the authentic understanding of God the correct meaning of Scripture.
• One extreme is to use what we discover in our pursuit of authenticity as a way to legitimize dogmatism - the tyrannical imposition of “truth” in a way that demonizes others. We can expose without demonizing. When we present what we discover in our pursuit of authenticity, those who are meant to “get it” will get it. Some (many) will not. We need to accept this and not resort to a new form of sectarianism.
• We need to discover meaningful ways to restore authenticity without dogmatism. We are responsible for this, not our opponents and traditionalists. We might fail or succeed but it's on us to give shape and form to what “better”, “more Biblical” and “more normal” Christianity looks like as reflected in our way of thinking, speaking and living our lives.

2. Christian Hebraism - the Forgotten Reformation Hebrew was the language of the Bible and the New Testament. Not Greek, not Aramaic, not Latin. This is of paramount importance. Why? Because we can't believe in a God who equates himself with THE WORD while we ignore what words and languages mean or do not mean.

A return to Hebrew was a major trait of the Reformation of the Middle Ages. But this has been purposely hidden or forgotten by Christians today.

While some non-Jews might develop a “taste” for messianic style liturgy, the restoration of the Jewishness of the faith when it comes to congregational liturgy is perhaps mostly relevant to those of Jewish origin. The majority of non-Jews will probably never choose to become part of a congregation following a messianic Jewish liturgical style.

However, Hebraism transcends liturgical issues and deals with core issues of faith. Those are relevant to all believers: what do words mean (and don't mean), what was their original meaning when transmitted initially, how this relates to us today and so on.

In this article we will look at:

• - A brief history of Christian Hebraism
• - The legacy of Christian Hebraism
• - Practical examples of big ticket corrections most if not all scholars agree on
• - The issue of translations
• - The issue of Greek vs. Hebraic primacy

3. Linguistic, liturgical and spiritual tensions Correcting terms is one thing. Changing the way we perform our services is another. And lastly, seeing a real spiritual benefit from any change is yet a third, separate issue. An article on the difference between these and how we can become aware of the changes the are before us.

4. Hellenism, Romanism and Hebraism - in search of the kernel of God's Truth - How was Hellenism imposed on believers? Brief history - How has Romanism shaped world Christianity: overview - How Hebraism gives us the opportunity to go back to the true essense of the teaching of the Messiah and his apostles

5. The Contemporary Messianic Movement - who is it for - How did the contemporary Messianic movement came about? Overview. - Should all churches become messianic? - Who is the messianic movement for?

6. The national religious landscape and the restoration of Biblical truth in the context of Christian Hebraism - What is the real spiritual condition of the majority of people in your nation? - How can Hebraica Veritas (Christian Hebraism) benefit your people in their pursuit of the truth and God? - What spiritual issues could become resolved if and when we correct the traditionalist forms of Christianity? - What problems can we help resolve? - What problems can this create? - How do we connect with young people and transmit to them a more correct Biblical understanding of God, man and life based on the Hebraic understanding of the Bible and its teachings?