Mark Kinzer

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Mark Kinzer (born 1952) is an American Messianic Jewish clergyperson, author, and theologian.

Contents

Biography

Mark Kinzer was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1952 to a Conservative Jewish family. He became a Messianic Jew in 1971. [1]

He earned a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies in 1995 from the University of Michigan. [1] [2]

In 1997, Kinzer co-founded Hashivenu, a Messianic Jewish movement that seeks a more serious engagement with the Jewish intellectual tradition. [2] [3] Hashivenu advocates for engagement with post-Biblical Rabbinic literature and discarding certain post-scriptural Christian writings deemed irrelevant[ further explanation needed ]. [4] Kinzer has served as the chair of Hashivenu since 2000.

Kinzer was ordained as a Messianic Jewish clergyperson by the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations in 2001. Kinzer was one of the founding members of the Messianic Jewish Rabbinical Council in 2006. [5]

Kinzer has taught at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Fuller Theological Seminary. [2] He is President-Emeritus and Senior Scholar at the Messianic Jewish Theological Institute, a graduate and Messianic Jewish clergy training institute that he founded in 2002. [3]

He is founder and Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Zera Avraham, a Messianic synagogue in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and led the congregation from 1993 to 2018. [2]

Thought

Kinzer is an advocate for a Torah-observant Messianic Judaism engaged with Jewish tradition and heritage, as opposed to more evangelical strands. [3]

In 2005, he published Post-Missionary Messianic Judaism: Redefining Christian Engagement with the Jewish People, which seeks to refute supersessionist theology. Kinzer coined the term “bilateral ecclesiology”, expressing the idea that the Church is made up of two distinct but united Jewish and Gentile bodies, as God's covenant with the Jewish people is everlasting and cannot be broken. [3] Kinzer therefore argues Jewish law and practice is still binding for Jews. [6] While believing in Jesus, Jewish people should maintain a separate religious and national identity without assimilation. [3]

Kinzer is also known for his dialogue with the Catholic Church. [3] [7] He presented a paper at the Messianic Jewish-Roman Catholic Dialogue Group in Vienna in 2008 which was adapted into a First Things essay. [8] [3]

Kinzer's theology has been explored by Catholic priest Antoine Lévy in his 2021 book Jewish Church: A Catholic Approach to Messianic Judaism. [9]

Works

Related Research Articles

Christianity began as a movement within Second Temple Judaism, but the two religions gradually diverged over the first few centuries of the Christian era. Today, differences of opinion vary between denominations in both religions, but the most important distinction is Christian acceptance and Jewish non-acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Bible and Jewish tradition. Early Christianity distinguished itself by determining that observance of halakha was not necessary for non-Jewish converts to Christianity. Another major difference is the two religions' conceptions of God. Depending on the denomination followed, the Christian God is either believed to consist of three persons of one essence, with the doctrine of the incarnation of the Son in Jesus being of special importance, or like Judaism, believes in and emphasizes the Oneness of God. Judaism, however, rejects the Christian concept of God in human form. While Christianity recognizes the Hebrew Bible as part of its scriptural canon, Judaism does not recognize the Christian New Testament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judaism</span> Ethnic religion of the Jewish people

Judaism is an Abrahamic monotheistic ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of observing the Mosaic covenant, which was established between God and the Israelites, their ancestors. The religion is considered one of the earliest monotheistic religions in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seven Laws of Noah</span> Universal moral laws in Judaism

In Judaism, the Seven Laws of Noah, otherwise referred to as the Noahide Laws or the Noachian Laws, are a set of universal moral laws which, according to the Talmud, were given by God as a covenant with Noah and with the "sons of Noah"—that is, all of humanity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jews for Jesus</span> Messianic Jewish organization

Jews for Jesus is an international Christian missionary organization headquartered in San Francisco, California, that is affiliated with the Messianic Jewish religious movement. The group is known for its proselytism of Jews and promotes the belief that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God. It was founded in 1970 by Moishe Rosen as Hineni Ministries before being incorporated under its current name in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messianic Judaism</span> Religious sect that considers itself Jewish, but which is considered by Jews to be Christian

Messianic Judaism is a syncretic Abrahamic new religious movement that combines various Jewish traditions and elements of Jewish prayer with Evangelical Protestant theology. It considers itself to be a form of Judaism but is generally considered to be a sect of Christianity, including by all major groups within mainstream Judaism, since Jews consider belief in Jesus as the Messiah and divine in the form of God the Son to be among the most defining distinctions between Judaism and Christianity. It is also generally considered a Christian sect by scholars and other Christian groups.

Religious pluralism is a set of religious world views that hold that one's religion is not the sole and exclusive source of truth, and thus recognizes that some level of truth and value exists in other religions. As such, religious pluralism goes beyond religious tolerance, which is the condition of peaceful existence between adherents of different religions or religious denominations.

Christian−Jewish reconciliation refers to the efforts that are being made to improve understanding and acceptance between Christians and Jews. There has been significant progress in reconciliation in recent years, in particular by the Catholic Church, but also by other Christian groups.

Adherents of Judaism do not believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah nor do they believe he was the Son of God. In the Jewish perspective, it is believed that the way Christians see Jesus goes against monotheism, a belief in the absolute unity and singularity of God, which is central to Judaism; Judaism sees the worship of a person as a form of idolatry, which is forbidden. Therefore, considering Jesus divine, as “God the Son”, is forbidden.

<i>Ger toshav</i> Non-Jewish resident in the Land of Israel

Ger toshav is a halakhic term used in Judaism to designate the legal status of a Gentile (non-Jew) living in the Land of Israel who does not want to convert to Judaism but agrees to observe the Seven Laws of Noah, a set of imperatives which, according to the Talmud, were given by God as a binding set of universal moral laws for the "sons of Noah"—that is, all of humanity. A ger toshav, especially one who decides to follow the Noahic covenant out of religious belief rather than ethical reasoning, is commonly deemed a "Righteous Gentile", and is assured of a place in the World to Come .

The Catholic Church and Judaism have a long and complex history of cooperation and conflict, and have had a strained relationship throughout history, with periods of persecution, violence and discrimination directed towards Jews by Christians, particularly during the Middle Ages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Novak</span> American rabbi and philosopher (1941-present)

David Novak, is a Jewish theologian, ethicist, and scholar of Jewish philosophy and law (Halakha). He is an ordained Conservative rabbi and holds the J. Richard and Dorothy Shiff Chair of Jewish Studies as Professor of the Study of Religion and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto since 1997. His areas of interest are Jewish theology, Jewish ethics and biomedical ethics, political theory, and Jewish-Christian relations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dual-covenant theology</span> School of thought in Christianity

Dual-covenant or two-covenant theology is a school of thought in Christian theology regarding the relevance of the Hebrew Bible, which Christians call the Old Testament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hebrew Christian movement</span> 1800s–1900s UK and US religious movement

The Hebrew Christian movement of the 19th and early 20th centuries consisted of Jews who converted to Christianity, but worshiped in congregations separate from denominational churches. In many cases, they retained some Jewish practices and liturgy, with the addition of readings from the Christian New Testament. The movement was incorporated into the parallel Messianic Jewish movement in the late 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad H. Young</span> Biblical scholar

Bradford Humes Young, also known as Brad Young, is a professor of Biblical Literature in Judeo Christian Studies at the Graduate Department of Oral Roberts University (ORU). He is also founder and president of the Gospel Research Foundation, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eugene Korn</span>

Rabbi Doctor Eugene B. Korn is a lecturer, scholar and educator. He lives in Jerusalem and was formerly Academic Director of the Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation (CJCUC) in Jerusalem. He was also co-director of its Institute for Theological Inquiry. Korn was the founding editor of Meorot: A Forum for Modern Orthodox Discourse, based at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in New York City.

Christian mission to Jews, evangelism among Jews, or proselytism to Jews, is a subset of Christian missionary activities which are engaged in for the specific purpose of converting Jews to Christianity.

Daniel C. Juster is an author and advocate of Messianic Judaism. He has served in the Messianic Jewish movement since 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert A. J. Gagnon</span> American theological writer

Robert A. J. Gagnon is an American theological writer, professor of New Testament Theology at Houston Baptist University, former associate professor of the New Testament at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (1994–2017), an expert on biblical homosexuality, and an elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). He holds a BA from Dartmouth, an MTS from Harvard Divinity School, and a PhD from the Princeton Theological Seminary.

David J. Rudolph is an American scholar and Director of Messianic Jewish Studies at The King's University, who has written books and articles on the New Testament, Second Temple Judaism, Messianic Jews, intermarriage, and Jewish-Christian relations. His work A Jew to the Jews: Jewish Contours of Pauline Flexibility in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 won the 2007 Franz Delitzsch Prize from the Freie Theologische Akademie. Rudolph is also a lecturer in New Testament at Messianic Jewish Theological Institute’s School of Jewish Studies and a fellow at the MJTI Center for Jewish-Christian Relations.

The Messianic Jewish Theological Institute (MJTI) is an online graduate school based out of San Diego, California established by the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations (UMJC) in 2002. It seeks to train rabbis, leaders, and laity by providing them with a unique Messianic Jewish education.

References

  1. 1 2 Administrator. "Rabbi Dr. Mark S. Kinzer". ourrabbis.org. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Our Staff". czaa2. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rudolph, David; Willitts, Joel (2013). Introduction to Messianic Judaism: Its Ecclesial Context and Biblical Foundations. Zondervan. ISBN   9780310330639.
  4. ↑ Ariel, Yaakov (2012). "A different kind of dialogue? : Messianic Judaism and Jewish-Christian Relations". CrossCurrents. 62.
  5. ↑ "Messianic Jewish Rabbinical Council". ourrabbis.org. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  6. ↑ Colyer, Elmer (November 2009). "Mark S. Kinzer, Post-Missionary Messianic Judaism: Redefining Christian Engagement with the Jewish People (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2005), pp. 320. $24.99". Scottish Journal of Theology. 62 (4): 516–519. doi:10.1017/S0036930606002997. S2CID   170741256.
  7. ↑ "Rabbi Mark Kinzer Releases New Book". ourrabbis.org. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  8. ↑ "Messianic Gentiles & Messianic Jews | Mark S. Kinzer". First Things. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  9. ↑ Lévy, Antoine (2021). Jewish Church: A Catholic Approach to Messianic Judaism. Lexington Books. ISBN   978-1793633422.
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