MembersAre Christian Missionaries Keeping Israelis From Believing in Jesus?

From a Jewish point of view, “missionary” and “Christian” are synonymous terms. It’s understood that Christians are under a mandate to bring people into contact with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, that hasn’t always been done in the spirit of love that Jesus himself preached.

The German tribes of Europe and the natives of South and North America were entirely unfamiliar with the Bible before foreign missionaries arrived and told them about Jesus and the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Same for the peoples in distant Asia and Africa. What they heard for the first time was alien to them, and they were unable to have a discussion with the missionaries on the content of the Bible. Those who felt threatened therefore chased away the missionaries or killed them.

But this “good news” was often accompanied by suffering. Those who refused to accept Jesus as their Savior were sometimes executed. With a pistol to the chest, the Christian faith was enforced in some places for centuries. This is what Jews experienced throughout Church history worldwide,...