Mark Kinzer

Mark Kinzer (born 1952) is an American Messianic Jewish cleric, author, and theologian.

Early life and education

Mark Kinzer was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1952 to a Conservative Jewish family. He became a Messianic Jew in 1971.[1]

Kinzer attended the University of Michigan as an undergraduate and graduate student. He earned a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies from the University of Michigan in 1995.[1][2]

Career

In 1997, Kinzer co-founded Hashivenu, a Messianic Jewish movement that seeks a more serious engagement with the Jewish intellectual tradition.[2][3] Hashivenu advocates for engagement with post-Biblical Rabbinic literature and discarding certain post-scriptural Christian writings deemed irrelevant.[4] Kinzer has served as the chair of Hashivenu since 2000.

Kinzer was ordained as a Messianic Jewish cleric by the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations in 2001. He was one of the founding members of the Messianic Jewish Rabbinical Council in 2006.[5]

Kinzer has taught at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Fuller Theological Seminary.[2] He is president-emeritus and senior scholar at the Messianic Jewish Theological Institute, a graduate and Messianic Jewish clergy training institute that he founded in 2002.[3][6]

He is founder and rabbi emeritus of Congregation Zera Avraham, a Messianic synagogue in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and led the congregation from 1993 to 2018.[2][6]

Theology

Kinzer is an advocate for a Torah-observant Messianic Judaism engaged with Jewish tradition and heritage, as opposed to more evangelical strands.[3]

In 2005, he published Post-Missionary Messianic Judaism: Redefining Christian Engagement with the Jewish People, which seeks to refute supersessionist theology. Kinzer coined the term "bilateral ecclesiology", expressing the idea that the Christian Church is made up of two distinct but united Jewish and Gentile bodies, as God's covenant with the Jewish people is everlasting and cannot be broken.[3] Kinzer therefore argues Jewish law and practice is still binding for Jews.[7] While believing in Jesus, Jewish people should maintain a separate religious and national identity without assimilation.[3]

Messianic Judaism has a long history of cooperation with Jewish evangelistic organizations like Jews for Jesus, but Kinzer's 2005 Post-Missionary Messianic Judaism book provided a theological basis for Messianic Jews to distance themselves from the more overt forms of Christian outreach to Jews.[8] While some reviews of the book were positive,[9] others were more critical.[10][11][12]

Kinzer is also known for his dialogue with the Catholic Church.[3][13] He presented a paper at the Messianic Jewish-Roman Catholic Dialogue Group in Vienna in 2008 which was adapted into a First Things essay.[14][3]

Kinzer's theology has been explored by Catholic priest Antoine Lévy in his 2021 book Jewish Church: A Catholic Approach to Messianic Judaism.[15]

Legacy

Kinzer has been described as one of the major thinkers and innovators in the Messianic Jewish movement, especially in regard to supersessionism and ecclesiology.[16][6]

In 2023, Kinzer was honored with a Festschrift that included 24 essays written by colleagues and friends.[17]

Works

  • Stones the Builders Rejected: The Jewish Jesus, His Jewish Disciples, and the Culmination of History, edited by Jennifer M. Rosner, Cascade Books, 2024.[18]
  • Besorah: The Resurrection of Jerusalem and the Healing of a Fractured Gospel with Russell Resnik, Cascade Books, 2021[19]
  • Jerusalem Crucified, Jerusalem Risen: The Resurrected Messiah, the Jewish People, and the Land of Promise, Cascade Books, 2018[20]
  • Taming the Tongue, First Fruit of Zion, 2015[21]
  • Searching Her Own Mystery: Nostra Aetate, the Jewish People, and the Identity of the Church, Cascade Books, 2015[22]
  • Israel's Messiah and the People of God: A Vision for Messianic Jewish Covenant Fidelity, Cascade Books, 2011[23]
  • Postmissionary Messianic Judaism: Redefining Christian Engagement with the Jewish People, Brazos Press, 2005[24]

References

  1. ^ a b Administrator. "Rabbi Dr. Mark S. Kinzer". ourrabbis.org. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  2. ^ a b c d "Our Staff". czaa2. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Rudolph, David; Willitts, Joel (2013). Introduction to Messianic Judaism: Its Ecclesial Context and Biblical Foundations. Zondervan. ISBN 9780310330639.
  4. ^ Ariel, Yaakov (2012). "A different kind of dialogue? : Messianic Judaism and Jewish-Christian Relations". CrossCurrents. 62.
  5. ^ "Messianic Jewish Rabbinical Council". ourrabbis.org. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  6. ^ a b c Rosner, Jennifer M. (2011). "Introduction to the Thought and Theology of Mark Kinzer". In Rosner, Jennifer M. (ed.). Israel’s Messiah and the People of God: A Vision for Messianic Jewish Covenant Fidelity. The Lutterworth Press. pp. ix–xxviii. doi:10.2307/j.ctt1cg4mbw.4.
  7. ^ Colyer, Elmer (November 2009). "Mark S. Kinzer, Post-Missionary Messianic Judaism: Redefining Christian Engagement with the Jewish People (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2005), pp. 320. $24.99". Scottish Journal of Theology. 62 (4): 516–519. doi:10.1017/S0036930606002997. S2CID 170741256.
  8. ^ Siegel, Jennifer (15 June 2007). "Messianic Jews Find Fertile Ground in the Bible Belt". The Forward. pp. 2-A1, A10.
  9. ^ Garner, Daniel (January 2007). "Post-Missionary Messianic Judaism: Redefining Christian Engagement with the Jewish People – Mark S. Kinzer". Reviews in Religion & Theology. 14 (1): 36–38. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9418.2007.00323_8.x.
  10. ^ Robinson, Rich (2006). "Postmissionary Messianic Judaism: A Review Essay" (PDF). Mishkan (48): 8–21.
  11. ^ Harvey, Richard (2006). "Shaping the Aims and Aspirations of Jewish Believers" (PDF). Mishkan (48): 22–27.
  12. ^ Schnabel, Eckhard J. (2006). "The Identity and the Mission of Believers in Jesus Messiah" (PDF). Mishkan (48): 28–53.
  13. ^ "Rabbi Mark Kinzer Releases New Book". ourrabbis.org. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  14. ^ "Messianic Gentiles & Messianic Jews | Mark S. Kinzer". First Things. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  15. ^ Lévy, Antoine (2021). Jewish Church: A Catholic Approach to Messianic Judaism. Lexington Books. ISBN 978-1793633422.
  16. ^ Harvey, Richard (2025). "Messianic Jewish Theology". In Wolfe, Brendan N. (ed.). St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology. University of St Andrews.
  17. ^ Kaplan, Jonathan; Rosner, Jennifer M.; Rudolph, David J., eds. (2023). Covenant and the People of God: Essays in Honor of Mark S. Kinzer. Pickwick Publications. ISBN 9781666732436.
  18. ^ Kinzer, Mark S. (2024). Rosner, Jennifer M. (ed.). Stones the Builders Rejected: The Jewish Jesus, His Jewish Disciples, and the Culmination of History. Cascade Books.
  19. ^ Mark S. Kinzer; Russell L. Resnik (June 2021). "Besorah:The Resurrection of Jerusalem and the Healing of a Fractured Gospel". WIPF and Stock Publishers. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
  20. ^ Mark S. Kinzer (October 2018). "Jerusalem Crucified, Jerusalem Risen:The Resurrected Messiah, the Jewish People, and the Land of Promise". WIPF and Stock Publishers. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
  21. ^ Mark S. Kinzer (2015). "Taming the Tongue - Softcover". Abe Books. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
  22. ^ Mark S. Kinzer (March 2015). "Searching Her Own Mystery:Nostra Aetate, the Jewish People, and the Identity of the Church". WIPF and Stock Publishers. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
  23. ^ Mark S. Kinzer (January 2011). "Israel's Messiah and the People of God: A Vision for Messianic Jewish Covenant Fidelity". WIPF and Stock Publishers. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
  24. ^ Mark S. Kinzer (November 2005). "Postmissionary Messianic Judaism: Redefining Christian Engagement with the Jewish People". Baker Publishing Group. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
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