The Stock Show, A Multigenerational Experience

Cattle on display at the North Western Stock Show.

The Stock Show was a yearly highlight for me as a child growing up in Fort Worth, Texas. Since we were city-folk and never got out to the country to actually see livestock, the Stock Show was our chance to see (and smell) God’s creation up close. Since we’ve been in Colorado, we’ve tried to go to the National Western Stock Show every year. It’s fun and it can be inexpensive if you plan for it. Since we’ve been homeschooling our children, we’ve tossed around the idea of gathering like minded families to join us on our yearly visit to the cattle yards. This year we made it official. We registered as a homeschool group, gathered some friends, and went for a trip to the Stock Show.

After our guided tour of the Stock Show grounds, my friend, Duane, made a comment that resonated with me. He noticed that the farm families included every family member in caring for their livestock. Everyone had a job; everyone had a responsibility. The farm family life is a good example of the mentor-apprentice model of education. But for farm families, it's more than just a model of education, it's a way of life. This thought brought me back to our faith and the responsibility we have in making our faith a lifestyle and our children our apprentices or disciples. In the same way that it was obvious that these families were indeed farm families, our lives should reflect the fact that we are indeed followers of Yeshua HaMashiach; and making disciples is an indication that we are one of His followers.

If you are a Believer in Yeshua, who are your disciples?

Related Links:
Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo
National Western Stock Show
What is a Cowboy?
Future Farmers of America
4-H Youth Development Organization



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Jewish Apologetics, Dr. Brown Style

Dr. Michael Brown at Denver Seminary, 01/09/12

So I'm taking this class on Jewish Apologetics with one of my modern-day heros of the faith, Dr. Michael Brown; and I'm really enjoying it. Even though I've read the texts years ago (see list below), I don't mind going through them again. I like to sit in a classroom, watching and listening to a lecture, and interacting with the instructor. I think if I was a single guy without any responsibilities, I'd probably be a professional student. Anyway...

When most folks think of Apologetics a typical image that comes to mind is 'debating in order to win someone to Messiah', in other words 'getting them saved.' However, Apologetics is not necessarily a tool to bring people to faith. Leading someone to Messiah through Apologetics can and does happen, but these instances are not the norm. The goal of Apologetics is to equip the Believer. A study in Apologetics prepares Believers for potential questions and arguments about their faith. This class is on Jewish Apologetics or defending our faith when 'debating' a Jewish person, religious or not. Dr. Brown is an expert in this area. As a Messianic Jew, Dr. Brown has been speaking with and debating religious Jews since he was very young. His five volume book series Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus are based on these personal experiences.

Dr. Brown started the discussion last night by sharing two principles of Apologetics that he finds fundamental. These principles are:

1) Adequately understanding the actual objection. Before we can begin a debate, we need to clearly understand what our opponent's objection is. We need to be patient and spend some time seeking clarity. This could be in the form of repeating their objection back to them but in our own words.

2) Feel the weight of the objection. Once we clearly understand what the objection, it is important that we are sympathetic to their point of view. We should take the time to put ourselves in their shoes; see the world through their eyes. We need to step back and resist 'pulling the trigger' on our response, even if we know we are right.

From Dr. Brown's perspective, the current Christian methods of Jewish Apologetics are nothing more than giving "answers that make us feel good." When Christians respond to Jewish arguments they are not addressing the real issues, and not doing it sympathetically, but rather "getting a monkey off of their backs." In other words, their answers and reasoning sounds good to Christians but the Jews don't buy it and are usually insulted by the Christian response. The Christian answers to Jewish questions are spoken in Christian-ese and not in a way that Jewish people can understand and accept. Christians need to approach Jewish arguments from a Jewish perspective if they want to be effective.

This can be said about any opponent in an argument or debate. When trying to reach any people group, we need to communicate to them in a way that is familiar to them and with respect. I see this all the time when Messianics try to win their Christian friends to Torah by telling them about the pagan origins of their traditions. Is that being sympathetic to their point of view? Messianics will arrogantly ask "What DID Jesus Do?" as if Christians are going to say, "Okay! I will now drop all of my beliefs and traditions just because you asked that clever question." That's an insult; a slap in the face. I'm guilty of this as much as any zealous Messianic, but over the past few years I've taken a new approach; and this class is helping me shape my approach.

In the Messianic camp folks are big on prophecy and prophets. Everyone wants to be a prophet and blow someone out of the water with the word of God and exclaim, "I showed them!" I remember once inviting our Messianic community and our neighbors to a Sukkot party at our house. Two of our Messianic friends blasted an elderly Christian neighbor for worshipping God on Sunday. They later gloated about running this little old lady out of the party. How did that interaction glorify God? It sure didn't win her to Torah.

It would do Messianics some good to keep Dr. Brown's two fundamental principles in mind when answering questions and addressing arguments with Jews and Christians.

I'm looking forward to tonights class—continuing Historical Objections and then on to Theological Objections. Rock'n Roll!

Related Links:
Jewish Apologetics - Christianity's Ongoing and Unique Challenge
Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus: General and Historical Objections (Vol. 1)
Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus: Theological Objections (Vol. 2)
Twenty-Six Reasons Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus



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Richard Merrill Westfall Levi, 1956-2011

I received an email the week before last; someone had just lost a dear friend and they were hoping to honor him with a proper burial. He didn't have any money. He didn't have any immediate family. His extended family was probably not going to show up. All he had were his three cats - ‘King’ Kirk, Tasha, and Trina. He claimed to be a Messianic Jew, descending from the tribe of Levi; so, in keeping with his wishes, I was contacted in hopes that a Messianic Rabbi/Leader would assist in his celebration of life ceremony. How could I say no?

I had no idea who Richard Westfall was; I had never met him. In order to give him a proper eulogy, I invited his friends to come up and share their experiences and memories of Richard. As they spoke, I found out that he was quite an extraordinary person.

Richard was a Colorado native. He graduated from North High School in 1975. He attended and worked at the University of Colorado in Boulder in the Math, Chemistry and Physics departments. Although he went on to be a Nuclear Physicist, Richard never received a degree. He felt that the required Gen. Ed. courses that were necessary to secure a degree were a waste of his time. Richard had a brilliant mind; he was a genius with an IQ of 192. He was the recipient of three US Patents in the field of electrolytic crystal production for use in semiconductor device manufacture and other technologies. He presented many papers at various conferences and conventions in his field. He also co-authored various technical publications. Just prior to his death, his lastest projects were in the area of space mining and colonization.

Because of his superior mind, Richard had a hard time relating to people of average intellect. As a result, depression and loneliness took a toll on him. At low points, he often found solace in substance and alcohol abuse.

Richard left behind a wealth of ideas and concepts that may very well change the future of space exploration and nuclear power. He also left behind many fond memories with his friends and colleagues. As they came up and shared their stories about Richard, I looked around the room and saw the smiles on their faces and eyes beaming with joy as the remembered their dear friend. It truly was a celebration of his life. I was honored to participate.

Related Links:
Richard Westfall, Obituary
Richard Merrill Westfall Levi, Resume
Richard's Website



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Chanukah: It's a Tradition, Not a Commandment

My Chanukiah Menorah

Like I mentioned before, some Messianics pagan-ize everything. I was told that a guest at our Chanukah Fair was making a fuss that Chanukiahs, Dreidels, and other Jewish traditions—are pagan. But I saw this individual playing with a Dreidel, so maybe it's not that pagan? I don't know how this pagan-izing thing works because everything seems to be pagan. How do these kinds of people function in this pagan society? I do admit that some Chanukah traditions have come from other cultures, but it does not mean that they are pagan. I would say they are secular, or neutral. To quote from a previous blog post:

In case you haven’t noticed, borrowing from surrounding cultures is a very Jewish thing. Think about it; Klezmer music, the Yiddish language, gefilte fish, lox and bagels, dreidels, latkes, homentashn, kreplach, kugel – all of these are considered to be Jewish customs and traditions, however they were all influenced by the Eastern European culture that surrounded the Ashkenazi Jews. - Are Chanukah Presents Pagan? Dec 20, 2011

Chanukiahs (9-branched candelabras), Dreidels (spinning tops), Latkes (potato pancakes) and Sufganiot (donuts) are man-made Chanukah traditions. Chanukah is a man-made tradition. Because of this fact, and because of its close proximity to Christmas, you will find all kinds of gimmicks and mixtures out there in order to make a buck. Chanukah Bushes, Chrismukkah Decorations and Santa Dreidels are only a few examples. I’ve seen Chanukiah Menorahs with Sports themes, Disney themes, and even one with a Star Trek theme. I’ve seen Chanukiahs made out of Liquor Bottles, Beer Bottles, Pez Dispensers and Surfboards. I’ve seen them shaped like Automobiles, Animals and even People. But, I guarantee, you will not find a 7-branched Menorah shaped like a person in an Orthodox Synagogue. This is because the 7-branched Menorah represents the Presence of Hashem. However, observant Jews will use the ‘creatively shaped’ Chanukiah Menorahs in their homes during Chanukah. They believe these Chanukiahs are okay to use because Chanukah is not a Biblical Festival.

You typically do not find this same kind of 'mixing' with the traditions of the commanded Biblical Festivals like Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Pentecost), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) or Shabbat (Sabbath). You may stumble upon a grocery store with a sale on ham for Passover, but that is out of total ignorance. Have you ever noticed that the other minor Jewish festival, Purim, does not get as much attention from retailers as Chanukah? Retailers can make much more money on Chanukah because it falls so close to Christmas and it’s 8-days of gift giving, for some anyway; and Purim does not have a popular, nationwide holiday that is close to it. Mardi Gras? Maybe. But we will talk about that later.

Another thing—Chanukiahs, Latkes and Sufganiot commemorate the so-called Miracle of the Oil. Did it really happen? I don’t know. And where are Dreidels mentioned in the books of the Maccabees? They’re not. These Chanukah traditions do not do justice to the real story and the real miracle, which is the Maccabees victory over the Greeks and their fight against forced assimilation. During Chanukah, I focus on the Maccabee story with my family. Yes we do the traditional stuff too, but I make sure that the Maccabee story is central.

While it is true that Hashem performed miracles for the Maccabees and delivered the mighty Greek army into their hands, it was they, the Maccabees—not Hashem, who instituted this celebration. Although we recognize it, celebrate it and participate in the traditional festivities, there is a big difference between Chanukah and the Moedim (Appointed Times). Chanukah is a man-made tradition but Hashem commands us to celebrate the Moedim.

Finally, are Dreidels pagan? No. They're secular. They're neutral. The Dreidel, or Sevivon in Hebrew, is a traditional, cultural toy. The spinning top is not unique to the Jewish people and no, the Maccabees did not invent it. Many cultures have their own version of a spinning top game and some date back to before the time of the Maccabees. Is the Dreidel holy? No. If it is, then so are Latkes, Sufganiot and all of those crazy shaped Chanukiahs. These things are only traditions and most of them are borrowed from and/or influenced by other cultures.

We should not be afraid to enjoy these traditions. However, we do need to be on the lookout for mixtures that would not be honoring to Hashem. Below are some unique Chanukiah and Dreidel ideas that I found on the Internet. Some are pretty cool, some are downright wrong.

Chanukiot

This is nice. I'd use this one. Would be a nightmare to clean though.

I don't think I'd make a Chanukiah like this in my house.

I'm not a Disney fan. Would probably pass on this one.

Very interesting.

Shoes? Really?

I love this country but I'm not too wild about the Eagle or the Lady Liberty image.

Definitely staying away from this one.

Dreidels

Eh, I don't think so.

Again, I'm not a Disney fan.

Reminds me of my D&D days. Not for me.

I've always had a problem with snow globes. 

What is this?

I know it's not a real Dreidel, I thought it was funny.

These guys took the Dreidel game to another level.
I've never tried it but I've been told it's fun.

We bought one of these this year for our family
and we gave 3 away as prizes. This is a blast! 

Red flag. Stay away.

I thought this was a joke but you can actually buy this one—but don't.

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Worship And Praise Are Not The Same Thing

I'm not a fan of the sermon series and, actually, I don't know of too many local pastors who can pull them off well. This past weekend, however, I heard the first sermon in a series on worship and praise and I know it's going to be a great series. I'm really excited about it and I've been thinking about it all day. The pastor started a great foundation for this teaching. I've heard this guy teach before and I know he is good at staying on topic and carefully covering everything he sets out to. That's why I know it's going to be good. Anyway, I wanted to put down some thoughts and visuals that came to mind when I heard this teaching...

Figure 1.1

People usually refer to the 'music and singing' part of a service as 'Praise and Worship.' However,  'Praise and Worship' are not the same thing. Anything you do to honor God as God is worship (Figure 1.1). Obedience is honoring to God. Praying to God is honoring to God. Putting your faith in God is honoring to God. Praising God is honoring to God.

So, praise is a form of worship.

Figure 1.2

Praise isn't just speaking words of admiration and homage. Praise is an emotional expression of delight in God. Praise can come in many forms, to name a few - musically, with singing, with dancing, and with words (Figure 1.2).

Finally, joy is the foundation of our praises to God.

At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, 

“I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth..."

- Luke 10:21, NIV

Where does the joy come from?



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