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This page has been written to answer some common myths about Messianic Judaism and B'rit Hadasha. If you have other questions, feel free to call or write to us with your questions!
Messianic Judaism is a cult
While Messianic Judaism is certainly "outside the box" of conventional religion, it is not a cult. B'rit Hadasha upholds Biblically orthodox key doctrines such as the authority of Scripture, the deity of Messiah, and salvation by faith. Leadership is invested in a group of elders as assisted by a team of deacons, so that no one person is completely in charge. Membership and financial support are voluntary.
Messianic Jews are neither Jews nor Christians
We prefer to say that we are both Jewish and Christian (Messianic), but are neither traditional Jews nor traditional Christians.
Messianic synagogues are funded by mainstream Church denominations
While a small number of Messianic congregations are affilliated with some larger denomination (e.g., Assembly of God, Baptist, Presbyterian, even Seventh-Day Adventist), the vast majority are not. B'rit Hadasha has never been affilliated with any Christian denomination and receives no funding from such groups. The vast majority of our funding comes from our own people. We do not collect dues but rely on the free-will offerings of our members and friends for support.
Messianic Jews reject the Trinity
While a small number of Messianic Jews do not believe that God is triune, most (including B'rit Hadasha) do. We may opt for variant terminology at times but we do believe in the trinity. We see the doctrine of God's triune nature as a reasonable explanation based on Scripture, not as the authoritative creation of a church council.
Messianic congregations believe in keeping the Law to be saved
On the contrary, we believe that salvation is by faith, not works, but that following God's commands is a natural thing if we indeed love Him. On both sides of the testaments we find both law and grace, and we believe we need both still today.
Messianic Jews have their own Bible that is different from the Christian Bible
Yes and No. We affirm the same books of the Bible that are held common to Protestants, and most of us use standard Christian translations such as the King James Version, New King James Version, New International Version, New American Standard Bible, etc. We also use traditional Jewish translations of the Bible (which do not include the New Testament) such as the Artscroll edition and the New Jewish Publication Society Version. Another specialty Bible is the Complete Jewish Bible (a Messianic edition), which preserves the Jewish order of books from the Hebrew Bible. It also uses original Hebrew forms of names such as Moshe for Moses and Yeshua for Jesus.
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