Missionary

:The word "missionary" can also refer to the Missionary Generation.

Jewish missions

In ancient times, the Hebrew patriarch Abraham and his wife Sarah were considered to be the prime role-models to "convert" the masses to Monotheism based on the verse in the Book of Genesis:

Related Topics:
Abraham - Monotheism - Book of Genesis

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"God said to Abram, 'Go away from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you ... Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all their belongings, as well as the people they had gathered, and they left, heading toward Canaan..." http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=1&CHAPTER=12 (Genesis 12:1;5).

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"he people they had gathered" is interpreted to mean the people whom Abraham and Sarah had brought over to the belief in the Hebrew God worshipped by Abraham and Sarah themselves.

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In modern times, Jewish teachers repudiate proselytization. One basic argument is that all people have the law of God in their heart to a limited degree, and that to teach them more would be to make them responsible for more than Jewish law requires of them. That is, they would start as virtuous gentiles, protected by their lack of formal Torah observance, but after contact with Jewish teachings they would be held accountable to a higher Jewish religious standard. Non-Jews are therefore encouraged to observe the universal "Seven Noahide Laws" through which they can attain all their pre-destined goals in the world during their entire lifetimes.

Related Topics:
Proselytization - Torah - Noahide Laws

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However, most Jewish religious groups encourage "Outreach" to Jews alienated from their own heritage due to assimilation and intermarriage. The overall movement encourages Jews to become more observant of Jewish religious law (known as halakha). Those people who do become religious are known as Baal teshuvas. The large Hasidic group known as Chabad Lubavitch has internationally promoted such "outreach." Others, such as the National Jewish Outreach Program do the same in North America.

Related Topics:
Jew - Halakha - Baal teshuva - Hasidic - Chabad Lubavitch - National Jewish Outreach Program

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In recent times, members of the Reform Judaism movement began a program to convert to Judaism the non-Jewish spouses of its intermarried members and non-Jews who have an interest in Judaism. Their rationale is that so many Jews were lost during the Holocaust that newcomers must be sought out and welcomed. This approach has been repudiated by Orthodox and Conservative Jews as unrealistic and posing a danger. They say that these efforts make Judaism seem an easy religion to join and observe when in reality being Jewish entails many difficulties and sacrifices.

Related Topics:
Reform Judaism - Judaism - The Holocaust - Orthodox - Conservative

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