Quick Hit: Promise Keepers 2.0: Women and Jews Invited
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Promise Keepers are some of the more insane, fringe fundamentalists. I was, however, pleased to hear that they might be reaching out to people of other religions, but went to the article, and the Jews in question are actually Messianic Jews (Jewish converts to Christianity.) And they've actually allowed women at select meetings for a few years now, but as far as I know, it has always been for the express purpose of letting the ladies witness the strong male leadership and reinforcing the idea that women are spiritually inferior.
Yeah...as a woman entering seminary, these folks piss me off. Just FYI, these people do not speak for all American Christians.
whenever i think of the promise keepers, i think of my former hair stylist's husband. his hands were in a famous picture used by PK.
he was a pilot and while she was home with three small children kids, he was out cheating on her.
I guess I'm not sure why some people feel it's wrong for Conservatives to criticize their values, morals, and/or choices, but are not willing to check their own criticism of Conservatives in the same manner.
Are the Promise Keepers hurting anyone? Forcing anyone to make the "promise?" Perhaps parents of young girls might be coercing or assuming their daughters want to be involved, but there are plenty of young women who embrace this choice/act of their own free will. I know them.
Additionally, those who were coerced or "forced" often break the promise and walk away, no harm done (unless they feel spiritually guilty as a result).
I'm not saying I agree with their philosophy, nor their methods, but what I am saying is that they have the right to do as they please, just as we all do.
Are the Promise Keepers hurting anyone?
Yes, they are. They indoctrinate, endorse and perpetuate patriarchy and male privilege, which has a ripple effect, which hurts all men and women in society.
Messianic Jews have been used as a cover for churches to convert Jews for YEARS. Some of them are far, far less so than others. The ones at Promise Keepers seem darn near Jews For Jesus (That's the Southern Baptist attempt to convert Jews).
Gah! They have the right to do what they want... but boy, that title of the article is misleading. Most Jews consider Messianic Jews born Jewish to be apostates from the Jewish faith, and those who convert in a Messianic congregation to not be Jewish. (So, the kids of a woman who converted to Messianic Judaism would not be considered Jewish at many non-Messianic synagogues.) It is not true that you can be Jewish according to the mainstream traditions of Judaism, and believe Jesus is the Messiah. Trying to tell people that is LYING.
As a Jewish woman, I'm going to have to RSVP with a resounding "Thanks, but no thanks" for the creeper invite. It's the kind of thing when an all-white organization decides they need diversity for the brochure and attempt to convince POC to join in on the all-white fun. Thanks for the lame invitation, but that tack still doesn't work.
I've been approached by PK recruiters and "Messianic Jews" (God that title makes my blood boil), and have always fended them off. I'm not shopping around, thanks.
Oy, I hear you! It's WAY creepy--fetishizing the Other, with overtones of redeeming the "Christ-killers." I mean, individual Jewish people who end up converting to Christianity are one thing, the Messianic Judaism/Jews for Jesus movements are another entirely.
Naama, you had it right with the comment 'fetishizing the Other" - my father was a card-carrying member of the PK back in the 90's, and a huge right wing, wives-must-submit Christian (still is, but we don't talk...for obvious reasons), and he and his friends always had this strange fascination/obsession with Jews.
The tone of voice when they talked about their Jewish 'friends' as being the Chosen People of God was incredibly creepy - he did it at my wedding when telling a story about attending a Jewish funeral celebration and my husband said it almost sounded like he was talking about his pets it was so condescending.
It concerns me that this organization is trying to make a comeback in the midst of a recession that has hit a lot of men particularly hard (I believe there was a Newsweek article a few months ago about how men have been laid off in this recession in much higher numbers than women). No, I'm not trying to connect two unrelated things, I think that when men are feeling insecure/threatened, or unsure of their self-worth (a layoff can be devastating, regardless of sex), turning to an organization that says they are the spiritual head of their household by virtue of sex, with the implication that women are lesser, is troubling.
And that got way too long!
- D
It's still a male-centered movement--now women are just invited to be part of the "improving the relationship between men and women" discussion. Not the whole thing.
The last invite we got from people like them came with train tickets.
"The last invite we got from people like them came with train tickets."
Wow, really? Yes, the Promise Keepers are extremely conservative, and their theology/politics are kinda screwed up, but do we really need to be comparing them to Nazis? I know that was meant to be a witty, snarky comment, but I think that calling ANYONE a Nazi is a pretty harsh and hateful thing to do.
Agreed. Anti-semitic? Maaaybe. Genocidal? Hardly.
"To the crowd at Folsom Field on Friday night, she thundered, 'Let them rule!' (Leaving me to wonder, of course, who is them?)"
Just in case anyone else was wondering, I'm pretty sure that this was a throwback to Genesis 1:27-28 wherein God tells "them" (men and women) to rule the earth:
"So God created man in his own image ... male and female created he them ... and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."