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Jews for Jesus Founder Dies

And speaks from beyond the grave!

by
Marc Tracy
May 21, 2010
Jews for Jesus founder Moishe Rosen.(Jews for Jesus)
Jews for Jesus founder Moishe Rosen.(Jews for Jesus)

Moishe Rosen, the founder of Jews for Jesus, died Tuesday (via Failed Messiah). He was 78.

And whoa! He has left one of those “If you’re reading this, then I am dead” messages on the Jews for Jesus Website!

“I hope I can count on you to show love and respect for the Jewish people,” he writes, “but Jewishness never saved anybody. Judaism never saved anybody no matter how sincere. Romans 10:9 & 10 make it clear that we must believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths the Lord Jesus in order to be saved. There are no shortcuts. There is no easy way. Within Judaism today, there is no salvation because Christ has no place within Judaism.”

He also writes a bunch of inside-baseball stuff regarding the movement. And also: “I don’t suppose that I will be writing you any new material, but there are a few articles in the works that might still come through.” Can’t wait!

Born into an Orthodox family in Kansas City, Rosen and his Jewish-born wife converted to Christianity, and he was ordained a Baptist minister. In 1973, he founded Jews for Jesus, which today is the most prominent sect of the Hebrew Christian movement. As its name suggests, adherents believe Jesus was the Messiah but also consider themselves Jewish.

“Mr. Rosen said he modeled his evangelical efforts on Vietnam War protests he saw while living in the San Francisco area,” the Washington Post reports.

De mortuis nil nisi bonum goes the famous phrase: Speak no ill of the dead. Today, what say we leave it at that, hrmm?

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.