More from David Stern

Joshua at Yinon recently posted some choice quotes from Messianic Jewish pioneer David Stern. This morning I pulled his classic book on Messianic Judaism off the shelf and found another great quote I wanted to share from the section entitled Why Jewish History is My History:

The reason why Jewish history is my history is that I am . . . a Messianic Jew. A non-Messianic Jewish objector might ask, "Why is Jewish history important for you? Be Christian and find your place in your own stream of history." No, that is unsatisfactory for several reasons.

First, Jewish history is mine because I am Jewish. I reject the claim that I am not. Jewish history leads to me and explains who I am.

Second, Jewish history is important for me because Judaism has preserved some elements of truth...

And third, Jewish history is mine because if we Messianic Jews are to undertake our task to help heal the split between the Church and the Jews, as insiders to both, we must be fully identified with Jewish as well as Christian history.

So the Rambam is my Rambam, and David Ben-Gurion is my Ben-Gurion, and so are Moses Mendelssohn and Moshe Feinstein and Solomon Schechter and Stephen Wise and Judah HaNasi and the Raba and Abaye and Meyer Lansky and Albert Einstein and the Marxes--Karl and Groucho--and Peres and Shamir and Rav Kahane and Charlie Biton. All mine! And I, a Jew who honors the Jewish Messiah Yeshua, am theirs.

Powerful statement (find it on page 61). What say you, readers? Do you identify with Dr. Stern's words? Do you agree with him?