messianic jews

Messianic Judaism (Hebrew: יַהֲדוּת מְשִׁיחִית‎ or יהדות משיחית‎, Yahadút Mešiḥít) is a syncretic Abrahamist new religious movement or sect that considers itself Jewish (despite the claims to the contrary of all major Jewish groups). Many Jews and Jewish authority figures, both in the United States and Israel, consider it a part of Evangelical Christianity. It emerged in the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier Hebrew Christian movement, and was most prominently propelled through the non-profit organization "Jews for Jesus" founded in 1973 by Martin "Moishe" Rosen, an American minister under the Conservative Baptist Association. Evangelical Protestants who identify as Messianic Jews adhere to conventional Christian beliefs, including the concept of salvation through faith in Jesus (referred to by the Hebrew-language name Yeshua among adherents) as the Jewish Messiah and Savior from sin, and the spiritual authority of the Bible (including the Old and New Testaments). Belief in Jesus as a messianic figure and as divine (i.e., God the Son) is considered by Jews to be one of the most defining distinctions between Judaism and Christianity. Among other evangelical Christian groups, Messianic Judaism is usually accepted as a form of Christianity. However, adherents of Messianic Judaism claim that the movement is instead a form of Judaism.