Jewish Intolerance of Jesus is Irrational

Asher Meza is a Hispanic convert to Orthodox Judaism. His opinions can be eccentric at times, but he does back his points with support from the Rabbinic tradition. On his view, Jews who keep up their observances, such as the Sabbath and kosher laws, should be embraced as full Jews, even if they believe that Jesus is God.

He supports his arguments with quotes from ancient Rabbinic sources such as the Meiri, who claims that worship of Jesus is not considered idolatry, even for Jews. Many of the famous rabbis, such as Moshe Chaim Luzzato, disagree with Maimonides and some of his principles of faith. Many Orthodox Jews during the Middle Ages believed not only that God could enter into our world in corporeal form, but that God is inherently corporeal. Even some of the sages in the Talmud believed this.

In short, many Jewish sages in the ancient world and in the Middle Ages held to positions far more extreme than Christianity has ever accepted. One cannot consistently reject Jewish believers in Jesus without also rejecting many Jewish sages as well.

It is nearly impossible to give a fair hearing to another belief system, if accepting that belief system will result in rejection from your family and friends. This is a case of the argumentum ad baculum: an informal fallacy where the arguer appeals to force or the threat of force in order to get someone to accept the conclusion.

It is nearly impossible to give an argument a fair hearing when someone has the proverbial gun to your head and threatens to pull the trigger if you accept that conclusion. You need to let people evaluate an argument honestly and fairly without fear of retaliation if the "wrong" conclusion is reached.

Sadly, this problem is not limited to Orthodox Judaism, but includes other denominations such as Reform Judaism, and even secular Jews.

Arguments can be countered with arguments, but political maneuvering must also be countered with political maneuvering. If we can exert enough pressure on Jewish leaders to accept Jewish believers in Jesus, at least to the extent that they accept Jewish homosexual atheists. If we can get this far, then we can have real, productive dialogue where people can make up their own minds, free from group coercion, on who is right.