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PCUSA cuts funding to Avodat: Support had been controversial

Officials of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) decided to cut off funding for congregation Avodat Yisrael as of July 1. The funding had been a source of controversy inside and outside the denomination. The March 29 decision, made by a special administrative commission charged with overseeing the Messianic Jewish congregation for the Philadelphia presbytery, stemmed largely from the congregation's failure after two years to attract members and dollars, though the theological debate surrounding the congregation also played a part.

Can a Jew be a Christian? The challenge of Messianic Judaism

Can you be a practicing Jew and also believe that Jesus is the messiah? The customary answer is no. Though Christianity began as a Jewish sect, it quickly became an all-gentile affair. Indeed, Christians came to understand themselves as people who by definition were not Jewish and who believed that Christianity had “superseded” Judaism—that is, “taken its seat” of favor before God. The word “Jew” came to mean those who had denied Christ, even murdered him, having been unable to see their own scripture’s clear prediction of his coming.

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