fake synagogues

It's old news that some of the more evangelical Christian denominations are major sponsors of "messianic Judaism" [sic], or dressing up churches and Christianity with the symbols of Judaism in an effort to convert uneducated Jews to Christianity. I'm used to that from the Southern Baptists, but was surprised to hear that the Presbyterian church is now doing this. I don't know all that much about Presbyterians, but I've always perceived them as among the more liberal "live and let live" folks. Is the Philadelphia Inquirer on crack, or is this real?

It's well within the rights of any belief system to try to openly convert others to their point of view. I have no problems with that. If missionaries want to come to my door, that's fine -- so long as they take a polite "not interested" as the end of the conversation. (Or, alternatively, if they want to compare beliefs with the understanding that conversion is not on the table, I'll sometimes talk with them.) All of my encounters with Jehovah's Witnesses, and my recent encounter with Mormons, have been polite.

But pretending to be a Jewish congregation and then slipping communion, salvation through Jesus, and so on into the service is fraudulent, and the perpretrators ought to be ashamed of themselves. If I were a Christian, I would be outraged that they think the argument for Christianity is so weak that they have to disguise it in an effort to dupe people. Any belief that cannot stand up to scrutiny out in the light is not a belief worth holding. And I know that's not true for many of the Christians I know -- they have thought about this, studied it, and come to solid positions, which they can articulate, about why they are Christians. There is obviously something there for them that does not require cheap marketing stunts, and I respect them (while not following the same path). Fake synagogues, along with being offensive to Jews, are a major insult to serious Christians.