Hello and welcome to my site! Are you interested in Messianic Judaism and live in the Canoga Park, California vicinity? Beth Ariel Fellowship advertises itself as a congregation where Jewish identity is "nurtured." In truth, it is not a Jewish congregation, but a Christian organization. Specifically, it is part of the Evangelical Free Church of America, a Christian denomination. I will demonstrate this, using information from their site and other Christian sites. Reference links will be provided, so you can see the evidence for yourself.
Christian Home Beth Ariel is a full-member of the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA). According to Beth Ariel, they operate under ECFA auspices. Their website states: "We also operate under the auspices of Evangelical Free Churches of America (www.efca.org), a governing body to whom we are accountable theologically, morally and financially."
Here is the link to the quote; the quote is the last sentence from the last section of the page:
Click Here Further, Beth Ariel Fellowship is in the church listing for the EFCA's West Region. Here is the link to the church list, they are listed under "Canoga Park":
Click Here Also, here is the link to the EFCA directory of its churches in Sherman Oaks California. You will find Beth Ariel on the list.
Click Here As a member of the EFCA, Beth Ariel supports their missionary work. This is probably why you can find "Evangelical Free Churches of America" listed on the Beth Ariel webpage on Missions and Outreach. Here is the link to the evidence:
Click Here Let's be logical here: a real Jewish congregation would never be part of the Evangelical Free Church of America-only Christian churches are members of that organization!
Christian Leader Beth Ariel was founded by Louis Lapides, an ordained ECFA minister with degrees from several Christian schools, specifically Dallas Baptist University and Talbot Tehological Seminary. However, he left in 2007 which gave room for another missionary to the Jewish people to take over. Larry Feldman is the current leader of Beth Ariel. He had been well-educated at Christian schools. According to his bio: "He attended the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois and received a diploma in the Advanced Studies Program in 1974. He led a Messianic congregation in Brooklyn, New York for the next five years. In 1979, he enrolled at the Dallas Theological Seminary where he received a Master of Theology degree in Semitic Languages and Old Testament Studies. "
Here is the link to the quote; the quote comes from the first paragraph:
Click Here Now, let's dig a little more to understand Feldman's education. The Moody Bible Institute is a well-known evangelical Christian school (and on a side note, one of the original Christian schools to get involved in the Messianic movement). This is the mission of Moody Bible Institute: "Moody Bible Institute exists as an educational institution with a variety of associated ministries to advance the evangelical Christian faith. The mission of the Education Group is to educate and train individuals to proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, to promote evangelism, and to serve the evangelical Christian church vocationally and/or avocationally in its worldwide ministry."
Obviously, this is not where your leader of a real Jewish congregation would go. Here is the link to the quote, which is at the top of the page under "Mission Statement of the Education Group":
Click Here Much like Moody, Dallas Theological is a Christian school which has been involved in Jewish evangelism for decades. The purpose of Dallas Theological includes: "Dallas Theological Seminary is a professional, graduate-level theological seminary that seeks to provide training at the master’s and doctoral levels to prepare its students for a variety of Christian ministries."
Again, Feldman attended a school for training Christian leaders. Here is the link to the quote; the quote comes from the beginning of the "Expanded Statement of Purpose":
Click Here Larry Feldman does not have the education background to lead a Jewish congregation but certainly has the background for a Christian congregation.
Christian Advertising Although Larry Feldman is currently leading their congregation, Beth Ariel is still looking for help. Since they are a Christian congregation, it should not surprise you to see that they advertise in Christianity Today. I am pretty sure that no real Jewish synagogue would advertise in that publication. Here is the link to the evidence:
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Christian Beliefs If you look at the Beth Ariel Fellowship beliefs, they are identical to standard Christian beliefs. As a comparison, I will provide links to the Beth Ariel Fellowship beliefs and the beliefs of the Denver Seminary, a Christian evangelical school, so you can see that they are practically identical. On a side note, Beth Ariel attempts to back their beliefs with citation of verses, some from the Jewish Bible. If you go to my "Great Sites, Priceless Information" section, you will find numerous web-sites that prove Beth Ariel uses the verses out of context, improperly translated and poorly understood:
Beth Ariel beliefs
Denver Seminary Doctrinal Statement Would a real Jewish congregation have a belief system almost identical to a Christian seminary? Of course not, only a Christian congregation would have these beliefs.
Christian Links As a Christian church, Beth Ariel is listed on other Christian websites: KDAR The Christian Station (On the right side of the page):
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The Christian Business & Professional Directory Inc.:
Click Here Hollywood Prayer Network:
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Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus There are many reasons why Jews do not accept Jesus, and the links below are some of the better explanations on this topic. Of course, if you have questions that are not covered on the links, you can always e-mail me with your questions. An Answer from Rabbi Stuart Federow Click Here
An Answer from Rabbi Shraga Simmons Click Here Ask the Rabbi from Ohr Somayach Click Here An Answer from Rabbi Tovia Singer Click Here Countermissionary Counseling
There are a number of groups that provide Countermissionary Counseling. Here are links to a few of them:
Jews for Judaism Alternatively, you can call them at 1-800-4PROOF1 with general questions about missionary claims.
Torah Atlanta
Outreach Judaism
Torah Life and Living Great Sites, Priceless Information
Here are a number of great sites that counter missionaries and explain the differences in belief between Judaism and Christianity, including addressing the Biblical verses that missionaries try to use against the Jews and explaining why the missionaries are incorrect. For the most in-depth analysis of verse by verse questions, go to Messiah Truth (sections on Counter-Missionary: Multi-media training [this can be read without being "multi-media"], Knowing Your Orchard and Judaism's Answer), Jews for Judaism (in their Reference Section (please note that the Isaiah topics tend to be under "Suffering Servant" part of the "Proof Text" section) and the Q & A section of Outreach Judaism. Messiah Page Messiah Truth Jews for Judaism Outreach Judaism Counter Missionary Reference Torah Atlanta Messianic Verses in Tanach Kosher Judaism Escape From Counterfeit Judaism Talking to Kids About Missionaries
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