AboutEli Hadar Expertise If you are a Jewish person who has been approached by missionaries and who is considering leaving the Jewish faith, please let me know and I will help you see how beautiful and moreover how right the Jewish religion is. Don't leave the truth of your fathers before you resolve the facts for yourself, and I can help you on that journey.
Experience I have been involved in counter-missionary activity for several years, counseling many Jews who have left or have considered leaving Judaism having been attracted by other religions. I have been able to show the truth to these people through the correct reading of the texts (vs. deliberately wrong translations used by missionaries), through showing how missionaries manipulate the Jewish scriptures to achieve their goals, and through helping you rediscover the beauty and truth of authentic Judaism.
Organizations Chabad synagogue in Atlanta
Education/Credentials Largely self-taught, I still am and will be learning for a long, long time. I have educated myself through a wealth of resources, including Nachmanides' Disputation, Hyam Maccoby's writings on Christianity and Judaism, as well as such vast resources as Outreach Judaism, Torah Atlanta, and a great number of others.
As you may or may not be aware, Orthodox Christianity, which comes from the Apostles and has been handed down intact until our present day, approaches G-d, sin, sacrifice, and salvation in a manner which is much closer to Judaism than that of christianity in the West which broke off of the Orthodox Church near the beginning of the second millennium.
Would you be willing to learn about Orthodoxy and perhaps address the similarities and differences between Orthodox Judaism and Orthodox Christianity, either privately or publicly? I am very interested to hear what you have to say.
Between you and I, most of the information I have encountered in the counter missionary effort has been geared towards essentially Western, schismatic Christianity, which represents a twisted and legalistic approach to G-d which was not taught by the Apostles or their own disciples, who's writings are available today. For example, one of your posts on sacrifice was a demonstration of how christians completely miss the mark when it comes to understanding what the purpose of sacrifice is. As an Orthodox Christian, holding to the 2,000 year old faith of the Orthodox, I completely agreed w/ everything you said.
Answer Hello Jacob,
I have lived for a long time among a nation that widely observes Orthodox Christianity, and I must point out that there are essentially no similarities between it and Judaism. At its core, Christian religion of any denomination worships a dead and resurrected god, whose death brings about salvation of mankind. This tenet is completely foreign to Judaism, and thus any surface resemblance exists for reasons that have to do with different traditions of the nations where Christianity was introduced originally. I will be happy to cover the historical reasons and development of the early Christianity if you'd like; please let me know if you'd like me to cover that detail.
The reason that you've seen most counter-missionary efforts directed towards fundamentalist Christians is because they are the most avid supporters of widespread conversion and getting the Jews into their corner is the hardest (nearly impossible unless the Jew is vulnerable emotionally AND unaware of his own roots) yet the most desired endeavor. Catholics and Orthodox Christians are not as avid in their missionary efforts; we thank you for that by the way. Please let me know if you have additional questions and I will address in a very methodical manner, because knowledge regarding such matters is the primary reason for me being here in the first place. I would prefer doing it publicly, of course, and would welcome a challenge as well, as I am confident of my knowledge and my sources.
