Dyrness - Kärkkäinen - Global Dictionary of Theology

A Resource for the Worldwide Church

EDITED BY

William A. Dyrness and Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen

Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008. – 996 p.

ISBN 978-0-8308-2454-0 (cloth: alk. paper)

 

The Global Dictionary of Theology (GDT) was conceived to provide a general overview of theological reflection and practice throughout the world. It was intended to take the form of a conversation, in which voices from various parts of the world responded to common concerns (sometimes literally responding to each other in a single article), in order to offer a sketch of theological issues in different parts of the world. While working in a framework that we have called evangelical and ecumenical, we did not intend, in our choice of subjects and authors, to suggest either a single methodology or particular theological slant. Our hope was that the articles would reflect a rich diversity of contexts and a variety of styles and perspectives.

 

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MESSIANIC JUDAISM

 

Messianic *Judaism refers to a movement primarily associated with Jewish people who have come to believe in Jesus (Yeshua, in Hebrew) as the promised Messiah and who have remained connected or committed in some way to Jewish life and identity. Messianic Jews, and non-Jewish participants who become involved in the Messianic movement, understand Jewish people who believe in Jesus and remain Jewish to be a significant part of God’s ongoing plan of redemption and consummation.

 

Messianic Jews choose to self-identify as Jews. As such, Messianic Judaism maintains the customs, feasts, terminology and language of the Jewish people in its faith-life and expression. While most congregations include traditional prayers and Torah readings, along with New Testament readings, the style and flavor of congregations can vary. Congregations usually meet on Friday evening or Saturday morning in observance of the sabbath day. Many congregations incorporate what has become known as Davidic praise and worship, in the form of group dance and live music. Messianic Judaism distinguishes itself from Hebrew Christianity in that Hebrew Christians are those of Jewish descent who primarily identify themselves with the Gentile Christian church culture and community.

 

The continued witness of the Jewish people is an important aspect of Messianic Judaism. The maintaining of Jewish identity goes hand in hand with Jewish praxis. Within Messianic Judaism there are various positions regarding the extent to which Messianic Jews should follow practices born of the Mosaic Covenant. While for some, certain practices are incumbent upon all Jews, for others one may choose what one finds meaningful. What is agreed upon is the importance of Jewish people coming to know the Messiah while remaining a integral part of Jewish life and heritage. This is seen as a significant step in the salvation of “all Israel” (Rom 11:26) and in the overarching plan of God in bringing mutual blessing between the Jewish people and the nations.

 

Many see the existence of Messianic Judaism as a restoration movement and as a bridge between the church and the Jewish people. Messianic Judaism expresses the faith and life of the gospel in Jewish terms that go back to its roots and provides the Jewish people with the good news from a Jewish perspective. This, in turn, provides the church with new appreciation of the life and faith of the Jewish Jesus.

 

Messianic Judaism subscribes to an evangelical understanding regarding the Godhead and the person and work of Christ. Both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament are embraced as the Word of God. God’s promised restoration of Israel, both physically and spiritually, is understood to be a central theme of God’s work in the world.

 

Messianic Jews are present almost anywhere in the world where there are Jewish people. There are at least eighteen countries, ranging from South America to the former Soviet republics, where messianic congregations exist (International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues: www.iamcs.org/Directory.php). It is estimated that there are tens of thousands of Messianic Jews in the United States alone (Congregation Beth Yeshua: www.cby.org/mj.html).

 

See also JUDAISM; ZIONISM, CHRISTIAN.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. R. Robinson, ed., The Messianic Movement: A Field Guide for Evangelical Christians (San Francisco: Purple Pomegranate Productions, 2005); R. K. Soulen, The God of Israel and Christian Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1996); D. H. Stern, Messianic Jewish Manifesto (Jerusalem: Jewish New Testament Publications, 1988).

 

L. A. Zadurowicz

 

PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR

 

The preferential option for the poor is one of the foundational insights of *liberation theology. It refers to the attitude that churches and Christians should have as they read the Bible, where one observes that God favors those oppressed by Pharaoh (Boff and Boff, 67). God is always attentive to the supplication of the oppressed and hears their cry (Ex 3:7-8). What is more an offense against the poor is identified as an offensive directly against God (Prov 17:5). Biblical testimony presents God as the defender of the rights of the poor (Prov 22:22-23; 23:10- 11). God affirms the rights of the oppressed and the deceived. The concept of God’s sovereignty and transcendence gain meaning in God’s demand for justice. God appears to lack impartiality in history. Exactly because God is sovereignly just, God is partial. If God were impartial in the face of injustice, God would be unjust because God would be treating as the same those who amass fortune and power by means of injustice.

 

Poverty is a key concept with deep biblical roots, though the sociological and political issues have monopolized its scope. God’s preference for the little one—the humble, the childless, orphans and widows—is seen throughout the Bible. They have an important place in the parables, sayings and actions of Jesus. The children (mikron) are a kind of summary of his thinking about the little ones, as a model for those who want to enter into the kingdom of his Father.

 

If one considers poverty—given its characteristics of oppression, marginalization, the culture of poverty and its biblical resonance—as a sign of the times, the struggle for the survival of the planet suggests poverty is a reality to which Christians should be attentive (Carvajal, 141). Nonetheless, the term can be ambiguous because of its material definition, the degradation of the human condition, and the spiritual poverty that designates the option of those who are not tied to material goods (Gutiérrez 1987a, 367).

 

The option for the poor can only be understood from the perspective of the “reign of God.” This kingdom, expressed in the beatitudes, puts its recipients in a situation of antithesis: the poor and the rich, the hungry and the satisfied, those who cry and those laugh, the simple and the clever (Lk 6:20-21; cf. Gutiérrez 1987b, 48). God’s love is directed in particular toward those who are far from what God wants for all, from God’s will, from God’s project for all humanity, indeed far from the kingdom of life, peace, justice.

 

The option merely as a word can seem ambiguous, but from the perspective of liberation theology it refers to a solidarity, a free choice to stand alongside the marginalized of this world. This decision does not only refer to the conveniences of this world or to the sociologically poor who are forced to be poor. It is a free choice to model a way of life where accumulation has no place (Gutiérrez 1991, 309). The sociologically poor may be able to demonstrate personal and structural sin to us, the poor of the gospel must go beyond that to show a new kind of life.

 

So the option for the poor is presented in its two dimensions: the factual and the prophetic, which is the salvific option for the crucified, the “suffering servant” developed by Isaiah (chap. 40-55). He is the “man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering” that depicts the sociological condition of the majority of the poor peoples of the world (Sobrino, 87).

 

See also LIBERATION THEOLOGY; POVERTY; POWER.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. L. Boff and C. Boff, Como hacer teología de liberación (Madrid: Ediciones Paulinas, 1986); L. Gonzales Carvajal, Los signos de los tiempos (Santander: Sal Terrae, 1987); G. Gutiérrez, Teología de la liberación (Salamanca: Sígueme, 1987a; ET, Theology of Liberation [Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1973]); idem, Evangelización y opción por los pobres (Buenos Aires: Ediciones Paulinas, 1987b); idem, “Pobres y opción fundamental,” in Mysterium liberationis: Conceptos fundamentales de Teología de Liberación, ed. I. Ellacuría and J. Sobrino (San Salvador, El Salvador: UCA, 1991); J. Sobrino, El principio de misericordia: Bajar de la cruz a los pueblos crucificados (Santander: Sal Terrae, 1992).

 

M. Higueros