Yet they did not listen or pay attention; they were stiff-necked and would not listen or respond to discipline. (Jeremiah 17:23)

Jewish Emergents

In his post Jewish Emergent Article at pomomusings Adam Walker Cleaveland refers to “Shawn Landres from Synagogue 3000 (S3K) [who] has a great article about the Jewish version of Emergent.” Cleaveland notes that Landres brings out that:

Jewish and Christian emerging communities practice what one leader called “orthoparadox” – the creative tension that arises when doctrine and intentional practice are given equal weight in organizing a community’s priorities…

Like their Christian counterparts, Jewish Emergent communities are blurring the line between the “sacred” and the “secular”; they are ignoring traditional institutional boundaries to do their work… And perhaps partly as a result, there is room for serious Jewish theology as the ground of both prayer and activism.

Emergents Beget Emergents

You may recall my writing concerning Emergent’s own Doug Pagitt meeting with Landres in Emergent Church: Our Synagogues. In that article I point out what Emergent Guru Brian McLaren said of that “historic” meeting:

“I’m thrilled with the possibility of developing friendship and collaboration in ways that help God’s dreams come true for our synagogues, churches, and the world.”

One can’t help but wonder exactly what are these “dreams” God has that we need to help “come true” for Him? And wouldn’t it also strike you as rather odd for a supposedly born again Christian pastor-teacher to refer to “our synagogues”? It is beyond question that these are places of worship for those who practice the world religion of Judaism. Yet in their mind we need to unite everyone spiritually to be about working to usher in the Kingdom of God. In Emergentese, this is exactly what we just read our Emergent Church “theologian” tell us.

And then Emergent Church leader Tony Jones confirms for us that the goal here is to be active together “in an effort to find a new, third way” for this “Christian” movement to talk about “God’s Kingdom.” And now apparently we have emergent Jewish congregations who wish “to build bridges by engaging and challenging one another.” However, the true Christian needs to ask an important question here: “What exactly are we ‘encouraging and challenging one another’ to do?”

All Faith Traditions Will Come Emerging

The answer is, as Brian McLaren already told you, is: The Emergent Church leaders are going to be working closely with these Jewish leaders in an attempt to find ways to work together in bringing about “God’s dreams” for His Kingdom on earth. Now, with this as your background you’ll better understand that why in his Jewish Emergent Article post Cleveland will then go on to say:

I’m still waiting to hear from the Muslim Emergents, or the Hindu or Buddhist Emergents…are you out there?

However a comment from a reader, offered in the customary sarcasm we’ve come to know and love from Emergents, puts this game of spiritual Russian Roulette in terms that no one should be able to miss. But even in jest the goal of this Emergent rebellion championing their false philosophy of postmodernism, which is nothing but reimagined relativism, still comes emerging: “to have equally dilute[d] the beliefs of all faiths!”

HT: Henry Frueh