Conversion?

I was updating my web review of Tivkvat David/Hope of David, a Southern Baptist Messianic church plant in Georgia, when I ran into the blog of the leader of Tikvat David, Derek Leman. Pastor Leman (who likes to call himself a rabbi) stated that he converted to Judaism through the Messianic Jewish Rabbinical Council.

This is a logical impossibility. Messianic "Judaism" has never actually been a part of Judaism. It began in the 1800's through the Church of England as a method of evangelizing Jews to Christianity and making the evanglized Jews more comfortable at church. The Messianic movement originally called itself "Hebrew Christianity" but later the term "Messianic Judaism" became popularized and replaced "Hebrew Christianity" in most situations. From its Church of England beginnings, the Messianic movement has been embraced by over a dozen Christian denominations worldwide, including Leman's Southern Baptist Convention. Messianic "Judaism" is exactly as connected to Judaism as other branches of Christianity, such as the Pentecostals, Baptists or Methodists. No matter how you dress it up, the history of the Messianic movement proves that it is a Christian movement, not a Jewish movement.

A Christian movement cannot convert a non-Jew into a Jew, just like my rabbi cannot convert me into a Muslim. As Messianic "Judaism" is a branch of Christianity, it has no ability to convert anyone to Judaism. Pastor Leman's conversion ultimately has no religious validity whatsoever and defies even the most basic of logic. But somehow, I am going to guess that he will still falsely present himself as a Jew to others.