We will now close our series on this Jewish AM site with a look at a very few points offered on missionary practice. What we offer here will not be so much rebuttal as commentary, since this is not really an "argument" setting. Some matters either require no commentary or speak for themselves, or are covered to some extent in our other material.

Q: What is the missionary's aim?

A: The missionary's aim is to "convert" the person(s) they have targeted to Christianity. To accomplish this aim, the missionary's plan generally consists of two parts: (1) a short-range goal and (2) a long-range goal. The short-range goal is to capture the target's interest and attention with enough of an impact that the victim will desire the continuation of the discussion at some later time and place. The long-range goal of the missionary is to apply a variety of mental, and sometimes even material means to convince the target that Christianity is the only true religion for that individual to achieve salvation ("to be saved").

One might note that there is a "spin" put on this -- one may as well speak of someone trying to convince a person of any truth, whether it be religious, political, social, or practical, and divide it down as though it were some sort of nefarious plan composed of "goals," "mental and material means," etc.

The missionary's enthusiasm is partially the result of training (they are trained to be assertive), and personal emotional arousal vis-a-vis his/her task. Very often, the emotional factor outweighs the logical or intellectual side of the missionary's argument, and inevitably clouds the authenticity of their words. This, at times, leads to a reluctance on their part to provide any clear evidence, scriptural or otherwise, to support their case.

At the very beginning of a young missionary's career, the emotional factor virtually sweeps them away from any systematic study of the refutations made to their claims. It is the word "love" that, at that point, plays an extremely vital role in the justification of the missionary's cause...

To the end of supporting this argument, the AM site offers a sample "Q and A" of an interview with a young missionary who gives their testimony, and concludes:

Judaism, in contrast to the emotionally charged Christianity, is a religion of the intellect, just as much as it is a religion of the heart. In Judaism, both the intellectual side of man, and the emotional side work together in harmony, whereby no one side outweighs the other.

Christianity not a religion of the intellect? We have over 1200 items on this site, with many more snippets, as well as links to other "emotionally charged" sites like the Christian ThinkTank, the belie the anecdotal nature of this presentation. There are Christian intellectuals such as those listed in Men of Science, Men of God, and Christian scholars that would make the people the AM site uses look like Romper Room residents. Any religion can become a matter of emotion, or a matter of intellect, according to preference or personal orientation, and that includes Judaism.

The AM site next misuses Mark 16; see here. However, they do rightly say as a whole of the Christian message:

As can plainly be understood by this, the Christian god and faith cannot tolerate anyone living outside that faith. Anyone who dares to say that there is "another way" in life is condemned to eternal hellfire. The Christian missionary is therefore inspired by a text that inspires religious intolerance. Whatever religious lifestyle you led up until the point when you met the missionary on the street corner, must simply be discarded, no matter how good and righteous you have been in eyes of G-d.

Very interesting words. Now would the AM site agree that God in the OT also did not "tolerate anyone living outside that faith"? Wasn't there a great deal of "tolerance" shown for the Canaanites and their religious practices? What was that said of the gods of other nations?

Ps. 135:15-18 The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths. They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them.

That wasn't very "tolerant", now was it? As for "how good and righteous" you have been, what did Isaiah say?

64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

It is also said, "Judaism doesn't command one to turn the entire world into Jews. Every religion has its own place in G-d's universal scheme, and every individual, no matter what he/she believes in, or how he/she lives can achieve the status of 'righteousness' without any preconditions." Every religion? Including the Canaanite religion? Hmmmmm.

Q: Should missionary activity be ignored, confronted, or reported?

A: When missionary activity is identified, you would definitely be doing a great deed by either confronting it head-on (if you feel you can), or reporting it to an organization or individual who can handle it. It is important to know that taking action against missionary activity can prevent many Jews from falling into its trap. Ignoring this type of activity, when not due to an inability to confront it or report it, is tantamount to giving the missionary the opportunity he wants to evangelize the souls of fellow Jews, and possibly even your own family members. The reason to take action should not be very different from the reason the Jews had to fight the murderous nazi regime in Germany. Whereby the nazis tried to destroy the Jewish body yesterday, the "loving" Christian missionaries are trying to destroy the Jewish mind and soul today.

And needless to say, this AM site is trying to "feed" the Jewish mind and soul by hopping into bed with people like Acharya S, by using such nonsense as the Pope Leo X "fable" quote, by giving a half-baked criticism of the Trinity, by using false information about pagan figures? Um-hmmmmm, again.

We are told in closing that a "counter-missionary" is a person who "actively opposes the ideas and actions of those who seek to convert others to their own faith" and pursues "facilitation of the universally-accepted adage 'Live and let live.'" Last I checked, though, "Live and let live" was not in the OT. Just ask the Canaanites. Just ask the Jews when Jerusalem fell to Babylon and later to Rome. Just ask Nineveh, Edom, and all the other nations judged by God in the OT. God does not seem to take this "live and let live" approach, now does He?