On Saturday night, Tova and I attended a church service in an apartment in her building. When I had asked Tova about the group, she could only say that they called themselves "believers," talked about Jesus, and also seemed to have Jewish elements to their faith. She said they hoped she would become a believer, but also seemed content for her to remain Jewish and pariticpate in their community.
The group was made up of seven Americans, one Arab Christian, and one Jewish Christian. There seemed to be a clear leader - an older man from Kansas - so I asked him about the group's origins and beliefs. Turns out this is a Pentecostal church (Gospel Tabernacle for the Restoration of Israel, click here for a similar group), complete with tongues and constant appeal to Scripture. The pastor didn't speak in tongues at this service, but he admitted that he has the gift of tongues from time to time. I asked why it was so important for them to be located in Jerusalem. It seems that at the end of times (which is close at hand), God will convert everyone in Israel to Christianity, and it is the mission of this group to be here for the restoration of Israel. "The Jews didn't recognize the Messiah when he came the first time," this man explained, "So we need to be here as an example and to help them recognize the Messiah when he returns." I am still not clear on their reappropriation of Jewish symbols like the menorah (see photographs) or the use of the name Yeshua instead of Jesus, along with other Hebrew terms. It seems very Jews-for-Jesus-like in some respects, but there is no doubt that these folks are hard-core evangelical Christians. The husband of the young couple was constantly pointing to Bible verses to prove his points, and he was a little spooky in his ecstatic approach to reading aloud. His wife was even spookier as she stayed quiet and echoed his last few words every few minutes and said amen.
While the leader told me that they weren't there to proselytize, it was obvious that they had Tova in their sights and were set on turning her into a "believer." One of the women even started talking about how the sacrifice of the six million in the Holocaust and the sacrifice of Christ were pretty much the same thing. I asked Tova if these people knew about her family and her history, and she said they did. Periodically during the service - which consisted of an opening prayer, some testimony, a lot of singing, and a closing prayer - Tova leaned over and asked me, "Do you find this to be ridiculous?" In some particularly ridiculous moments, she whispered, "I think this must be very ridiculous."
It is not surprising that I didn't appreciate the theological outlook of this group, but I am surprised that Tova has put up with them for so long (about a year, I think). They are perfectly nice, and she seems to enjoy the company, so I guess there's really no problem. Tova's father was a rabbi, though, and I know that to some degree, Jewish practice is important to her, so I don't want the Pentecostals to mess with that. We have plans to talk about the whole experience tomorrow, so I'll see what she thinks.
