|
Thank you for entering my page! Right now, you are probably searching to find out more about Jewish beliefs in Jesus. Perhaps, you are questioning your faith, and are looking at different options. Congregation Beth Messiah of Stafford/Houston is purported to be the largest Messianic Jewish congregation in Texas. Unfortunately, it is not a Jewish congregation, but a Christian organization. I will demonstrate this using information from their web-site and other Christian sites. Each time, reference links will be provided so you can see the evidence for yourself. Christian Leadership Congregation Beth Messiah is led by two "rabbis", Richard Freeman and Ron Aaronson.
Click Here In truth, neither are rabbis. One of my close friends is a former member of their congregation, who eventually left Christianity for Judaism. Both of the "rabbis" are actually ordained Pentecostal ministers. For instance, Ron Aaronson refers to himself as a "rabbi", but he is a Christian-educated leader. Ron Aaronson is a 1975 graduate of William Carey College, a Christian evangelical college in Mississippi. In the Fall 2003 magazine of William Carey College, Ron Aaronson is listed on page 19 as a contributor, in the "Up to $500" category and on page 31 as a graduate of the Class of 1975. Here is the link to the proof (Editor's Note: Your computer must be able to read .PDF files to access this link):
Click Here So what is William Carey College? Why, it is part of the Mississippi Baptist Convention! A real Jewish leader would have attended this school-Here is the link to the proof, the proof is in the "Affiliation" section:
Click Here
Ron Aaronson has also lent his support to Lee Dominigue, a Christian missionary. Ron Aaronson's testimonial is the 5th testimonial on the page:
Click Here Lee Dominigue's goal is to "...is to empower this generation of pastors and business people to unite in order to accomplish God’s purpose for their lives. By working side by side, the world-changing visions within the hearts of pastors can be executed by the provisions supplied by the “Kings,” or the business people within the local church.." Clearly, this is not a person that a real rabbi would support. Here is the link to the quote, the quote is in the 3rd paragraph:
Click Here Similarly, he has been involved in Interfaith Prison Ministry (IPM), a Christian evangelical group. According to IPM, Aaronson was part of their Phelps Crusade (under "Should'a Been There" on page 2):
Click Here IPM also has Aaronson talking at the Crusade in their "Revival DVDs" (under "Revival DVD's Available" on page 2):
Click Here Further, he also officiated at a funeral for Sandra Nell Holifield at the Crestview Baptist Church in Midland. A real rabbi simply would not officiate at a funeral for a Christian woman in a church. It would be entirely inappropriate. Here is the link to the funeral listing; Holifield is toward the bottom of the page and Aaronson is listed in the last paragraph:
Click Here Ron Aaronson was also the guest presenter at Houston Christian High School on April 27, 2006 to teach the students about Jesus. Here is the link to the High School calendar:
Click Here
Hosting Pentecostals Since Congregation Beth Messiah is a Christian congregation, it is not surprising that in 1996 they were one of the churches participating in the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World national general session. According to the Houston Chronicle, Beth Messiah hosted Jonathan Settel as part of the musical/evangelical entertainment for this Christian convention. No real synagogue would host a part of the Pentecostals' convention. Here is the link to the article; Congregation Beth Messiah can be found under the Jonathan Settel listing in the "Music, drama" section:Click Here
Christian Building If you were a Jewish organization and wanted a new building to worship in, what type of contractor would you hire? Probably a Jewish contractor, maybe a secular contractor. What about Congregation Beth Messiah? They hired ARK International. According to the ARK web-site: "Paul Wong is a Christian minister and the President of ARK International.
His ministry also serves as an architectural service company in Houston."
Paul Wong is probably the last person a real Jewish congregation would hire to build for them! He is a Christian leader who views his designs as part of his Christian ministry! Here is the link to the quote, the quote is at the bottom of the page, following the proposed designs for the Congregation Beth Messiah "synagogue":
Click Here Christian Links Congregation Beth Messiah is listed on many Christian sites, sites that would never list a real Jewish organization. Here are a number of Christian sites that list them: Houston Messianic Church
Click Here Christians-In-Houston
Click Here Crossmap Christian Directory
Click Here 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
| 