Am I allowed to say that?

[Silver Wingling]

Ok, so here it is. When people ask my religion, I have a difficult time awnsering. I have three awnsers. The long, and completly true one - I'm not jewish by blood, but I attend a messianic jewish congregation of a mix of jews and gentiles, and I follow many jewish traditions/ keep holidays. The old one, from about 6 months ago - christian. The new one, but I sometimes feel dissonest saying it because of my blood - messianic jew. Which is better?  

[grani4fam1]

If you keep the Torah, you can call yourself a Torah person or Torah-keeper. I just call myself Messianic, especially around Christians, since they understand we believe some of the same things. However, as a whole, Christians don't believe they should keep the Torah because they think Torah-keepers are trying to earn their salvation by obeying the commands in the Torah. Not so. The Apostolic Scriptures and Gospels are totally based on a Torah-keeping lifestyle, not the paganism-infested thing we've been calling Christianity for the last 1800 years (go to www.fossilizedcustoms.com to see what I'm talking about with regards to paganism-infested Christianity). However, when you call yourself Messianic, Jews might think a different thing. I think they wonder which Messiah you're waiting for (and, you can tell them Yeshua). It's a dilemma. You have to think about who you're talking to when you decide what to call yourself.  

[RoseRose]

As a Jewish person, the minute I hear "Messianic Jew", I think of the Messianic congregations. I'd say a Torah-keeping Christian, unless you've gone through a conversion process. I know some Messianic congregations do them, and while they wouldn't be considered valid by most non-Messianic Jews, I think a formal conversion would be necessary to change religions, at least TO Judaism.  

[Silver Wingling]

Torah-keeping Christian. Sounds good. Another thing I've been wondering is, someone told me that in Jewish tradition, bloodlines are carried only through the females, not males. That seems wrong, because of things like "Son of David" and stuff. Was this person wrong? I think he had to be. My great grandfather was a jew, so I'm wondering.  

[chatula]

That's what I've been hearing - Jewish lineage is traced through the female. I wish someone would explain it to me, too.  

[RoseRose]

Easy. Being Jewish is traced through the mother, but tribe and lineage is traced through the father.

So, if your mother is Jewish, you are, but if your mother is a Kohen, but your father is not, you are not. If your mother is Jewish/you're a convert, you don't really have a tribe, and considering that no one keeps track of tribe, other than if you're a Levite (or a Kohen, which is a subdivision of Levites), it doesn't really matter, you're just part of Yisrael.  

[Silver Wingling]

Interesting. I'm glad that was explained to me. My mother is about 1/4 Jewish, so I wouldn't be jewish anyway, I was just curious about the workings of it.  

[RoseRose]

Talmar_Star_Blood

Interesting. I'm glad that was explained to me. My mother is about 1/4 Jewish, so I wouldn't be jewish anyway, I was just curious about the workings of it.

Well, if her mother and mother's mother are the Jewish ones, yes, you are Jewish. If it's in the male line at all, not the female, you aren't.  

[Silver Wingling]

It was my great great grandfather. He was jewish. So I'm not.