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Is it good for Christians to attend Jewish synagogues?

I’ll answer this as succinctly as possible, since this is much more a question of personal preference than it is a question of right or wrong according to the Scriptures. Here are some constructive thoughts:

  1. Christians should not attend Jewish synagogues for the purpose of clandestine evangelism. This is not ethical, and it only will increase negative thinking of “Christianity” as a deceitful faith, feeding into the worst, false stereotypes. How would you feel if someone from a cult began to attend your congregation, posing as a believer, so as to secretly share his or her faith with others? Given the very ugly history of “Christian” anti-Semitism, practices like this should be firmly rejected.
  2. Christians can certainly inform the local rabbi that they are interested in learning more about Jewish practice and Jewish teaching, but that they are only there to listen and learn rather than to proselytize. If the rabbi welcomes them, wonderful. They might enjoy the learning experience and, perhaps, some meaningful dialogue and interaction can come out of this in the long run.
  3. Christians should remember that there is a vast difference between Orthodox and Reform synagogue services. They might be surprised to see the extremely liberal, humanistic attitudes in a Reform synagogue (called a temple), while if they attended an ultra-Orthodox synagogue, they would feel quite left out, since the entire service would be in Hebrew and there would not even be a sermon.
  4. Christians should not attend synagogues thinking that they will find deeper spiritual truths. They might be enlightened and even edified, but to the extent that the Jewish people have missed the Messiah, they have missed the heart and soul of divine revelation, and outside of Yeshua, there is no ultimate spiritual truth.
  5. Christians should avoid the “wannabe” syndrome that is all too common among Gentile Christians, a theme addressed several times already in this book (see especially #54). By this I refer to the practice of Gentile Christians who think that by adding Jewish customs or Jewish dress or Jewish prayers to their lives, they will somehow attain a more legitimate or spiritually higher standing in the Lord. Not at all! (The librarian at a Jewish seminary once commented to me about the “wannabes” who sometimes go in there, meaning Gentile Christians who wished they were Jews; see also #53.) To repeat once more: Everything we need for life and godliness is found in Jesus, and that does not mean that Christian women need to become men (since He was male) or that Gentile Christians need to become Jewish (since He was a Jew). Rather, our spiritual life flows from Him, and His own emphasis was not on being Jewish but on relating intimately to the Father. And, if I may be allowed a moment of complete candor, there is absolutely no good reason for Gentile (or Jewish) believers in Jesus to wear what appear to be ancient biblical outfits (I’ve seen this!) or to dress up like ultra-Orthodox Jews (I’ve seen this, too!). It certainly does not impress the Jewish community—to the contrary, it actually makes our whole faith seem weird, almost like someone showing up for work in a spacesuit—and it completely misses the consistent New Testament emphasis that outward religious things are of no intrinsic spiritual value (see also #50 and #51). This fascination with outward adornments is part of a soulish spirituality that does not flow down from the Head, and they are more unhelpful than helpful.[270]
  6. Christian leaders should be encouraged to reach out to the Jewish community leaders to undo misunderstandings about the Christian faith and to show solidarity with their Jewish neighbors. In some cases, they will be surprised to see that they are more pro-Israel than some of those in the synagogue! I know of many cases where this has been done, and the fruit has been very good in terms of understanding and breaking down walls. If that is all that comes out of the endeavor, it is still worthwhile. If it leads to further proclamation of the Gospel, all the better.