This is Mark Powers, whose work as an anti-missionary has spanned four decades:
Mark Powers is one of the most powerful anti-missionaries around, and attempts to convert Messianic Jews ‘back’ to Judaism. Powers is the head of the anti-missionary department of the fundamentalist Root & Branch Association, which seeks to market Third Temple-Judaism to the world.
Powers also wants to eliminate missionaries completely.
Here is Powers making food in a kosher kitchen:
According to one site (from a 2005 article):
Mark Powers use to do catering in the Philadelphia area about 15 years ago as the Chef of Gem Caterers under the Star-K in Baltimore before he became the National Director of Jews for Judaism, also a counter missionary organization.
Powers’ most famous conquests is none other than Penina Taylor.
We read on Penina’s website:
Her search for answers was assisted by Mark Powers, who was at that time, the director of the Baltimore center of Jews for Judaism. Together they examined the scriptural bases for her faith and explored the spiritual beauty of Judaism.
In 2003, a Chabad website reported on Powers’ link with the Magen League in Russia, who team up with the Russian Orthodox Church to combat Messianic Jews, whom he sees as missionaries:
Mark Powers is the director of MAGEN’s recently opened US chapter. Involved in counter missionary activity in America for close to 25 years as director of a local chapter of Jews for Judaism, America’s primary anti-missionary organization, he claims emphatically that Messianic Judaism is “not a Russian problem.” “All forms of missionary activity, including Messianic Judaism, are alive and flourishing in America and Europe, indeed across the world,” he warns.
According to the Chabad article, Powers wants to slow down Messianic Jews before eliminating them:
Plans are in the works for a MAGEN office in Europe, as well. “In the battle for Jewish souls, we are dealing with a force too large, powerful and wealthy, to grow slowly,” Powers says. “We need to direct all our efforts at slowing them down and eventually eliminating them completely.”
Nice guy.
We learn from the head of the Root & Branch Association’s Noahide fellowship Rabbi Yehoshua Friedman in a comment:
My friend Mark Powers of Harrisburg, the director of Magen, a counter-missionary and outreach movement, is a great exemplar of a Jew who is genuine without being accusing to members of the missionary movements. He has had success with individuals, sometimes after many years, because he has earned the respect of those who encounter him. Another person in that category is Moshe Kempinski, whose store in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem is often the scene of all sorts of discussions with people of all sorts of beliefs without getting into a theological food fight.
Powers describes the Messianic Times as his ‘best source of information‘ in an article where he boasts of converting a leading Messianic Jew in America to Judaism.
Powers openly boasts of attending Messianic conferences and conventions – presumably to seek out more potential converts like Penina. Who knows, maybe you too will come across him at your local Messianic fellowship.
So there you go – now Mark Powers isn’t such a mystery.
Groovy baby, yeah!
My goodness, they would go as far as to team up with the Russian Orthodox Church?
Wow!
That has shocked me frankly.
And their coming to Europe?
Yeh:
http://roshpinaproject.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/the-magen-league-the-russian-orthodox-church-vs-messianic-jews/
bizarre!
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Atleast in the west we have human rights laws to prevent holocaust style ‘elimination’ of Chrisitan missionaries, unlike the former Soviet Union or moslem countries.
I don’t hear anything illegal or anti-human rights in his work so far. May he only use words and ideas, and Jesus Christ will continue to win Jewish souls.
A little less hair and he might pass for Dr Evil…………………….. I wonder if there is a Mini Me version of him as well?
There is a reoccuring theme with these anti-missionary types: converting Christians to Noahidism and working with whoever they can, no matter their other disagreements, to fight Messianic Jews as if they were the greatest threat in the world today!
“Plans are in the works for a MAGEN office in Europe, as well. “In the battle for Jewish souls, we are dealing with a force too large, powerful and wealthy, to grow slowly,” Powers says”
How much is wealth , power and largeness buying??????
I love this quote. Stupid and wrong. Is this man intelligent? Does he not know that the number of Messianic Jews in the world is miniscule? Do the math, How many Jews in the world? And how many religious Jews in the world? and finally, and how many messianic Jews in the entire equation? I would say Hari Krishnas/mystical number more followers, or how about eastern Buddhist Jews, or hellenist Jews, or Jews who hate God??? And I am talking about born Jews, not non Jews who adopt Jewish practices. In the cooperate world this would make a great but deceitful fundraiser for a office, the numbers would not make the money.
And they are all doing it. Exaggeration, emphasis on billions (tell me where the billions are, it an extreme waste) out there to convert so and so, so many resources they have, blah blah blah. There is a huge industry in Judaism doing this, saying this, spending mountains of money ( not billions, I would be more rational, logical, and realistic than they are)
I wish there was more honesty and intelligence.
Anyway, tired of it all me. Thank you RP for making me laugh. I just about laughed my feet off at that vicar picture posing as a possible undercover anti missionary! Hope he was civil to you, and honest (he he he).
“How much is wealth , power and largeness buying??????
I love this quote. Stupid and wrong. Is this man intelligent?”
I’m please that you loved the quote. Stupid? Well, you are entitled to your opinion. Am I intelligent? Again, you are entitled to your opinion. Wrong? Let’s see.
“Does he not know that the number of Messianic Jews in the world is miniscule?”
From my perspective, any Jew led astray, whether to the Krsna’s or Christianity that you espouse, is one too many. However, if you were to just count the number of Hebrew-Christian congregations in Israel, vs. the number of Krsna Ashrams in Israel, Europe and the US, the former far exceeds the later. Do the math.
As far as unattached, “helenistic” Jews or Jews for nothing, then you might have a point, and I to am talking about Halachic Jews not “Jewish wannabees.”
In what way is that deceitful? My focus is on Jews who have gone astray, not necessarily Jews for nothing. There are hundreds of other organizations who have made that segment of the Jewish population their lives work, and I don’t have to repeat it.
“And they are all doing it. …There is a huge industry in Judaism doing this, saying this, spending mountains of money ( not billions, I would be more rational, logical, and realistic than they are)
Just look at some of the claims from Jonathan Bernis, and then re-examine your statement.
“I wish there was more honesty and intelligence.”
Sigh. Me, too!
Anyway, tired of it all me. Thank you RP for making me laugh. I just about laughed my feet off at that vicar picture posing as a possible undercover anti missionary! Hope he was civil to you, and honest (he he he).
that’s the archbishop of canterbury!
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When I was in Russia for a few weeks in 1994, I used to go with missionaries to the Jews into the forests for secret gatherings.
It’s a longish story, which I will write about in my bogRaphy. Praise Bog. No not me. Dodo. Have to Rush.
Let me tell you my story about a forest in Russia. My grandmother, may she rest in peace, was one of five children. Four of them emigrated to America. The fifth had gone out to play with some Christian children. He was never seen again. The Christian children told my great-grandparents that my great-uncle had eaten an apple in the forest, and fell ill. There was no search, no police to report his loss to. The community’s rabbi told my great-grandparents what they already knew: going to the authorities was an invitation for another pogrom, not a rescue.
We don’t know if he was killed, or if he was grabbed by a Russian whose Christian love motivated them to raise my lost relative as one of their own.
From Anon’s Web site:
“Any committed Jew who has ever attempted to reach out and to play a role in the dialog at Jewish-themed Christian Web site………..”
“dialog” -so that’s what he is calling his abusive rants now? Ahh the power of marketing!
As a Jew for Jesus, I am amused by this article. I would love to hear exactly what Mark does believe about G-d rather than simply that he doesn’t believe Jesus is the Messiah. To be honest, Mark’s work doesn’t seem all that effective.
Hi Aaron,
Why not drop me a line? I’ll be happy to answer your question.
Mark
magenusa@comcast.net
Well, two weeks and no response. I guess Aaron wasn’t honest when he said that he would ” love to hear exactly what Mark does believe about G-d”. Typical.
Go on I’m listening
Oh, are you Aaron as well?
No I mean, go for it Mark, it’s interesting to hear what other people think about God, I’m all ears.
Yeah, ANON is back. Sock it to ‘em – and me, ANON.
Oops, he;s not back. Jo get him back.
I think that he meant that Mark should tell us all here what he believes, two weeks and he has told us nothing. Typical.
Nice try, but Aaron certainly didn’t communicate that. However, I’m pleased that you know what he meant.
Are you trying to use this (differing perception of what we thought was Daniels intent )as an excuse not to tell us all what you believe then Mark? We are all ears waiting with baited breath. Though I guess we should not hold our breath nu?
Since Aaron was the one who suggested that he would be interested in the information, I was waiting for him to ask. But you can feel free to hold your breath, Leon.
I’m not holding my breath, Mark. I knew it would be a surprise to get a straight answer out of you.
The deny we are something. Something that isn’t nothing, you would ignore, wouldn’t you. But if you are even going to team with your former archenemies to get rid of our status, selfconscient Jewish and believing in Yeshua Tzidkeinu Adoneinu Moreinu w’Rabbeinu Mellech haMashiach.
They try to make us teshuva, and in doing so the expose that it is a lie that we are Jews no more, because if so, how could we become so easily again what was not? We are Jews and we are no idol worshippers. We love HASHEM and believe Yeshua is His promised Mashiach leolam waed.
Amein!!
Is food an idol, because I worship food? Chowmein!
Haha, well, I read that in connection with food the belly might be (Phil.3:19). For the Yisraelites it was a view times a reason to rebel against G-d even showing their delight for it while Hakadosh, Baruch Hu, was among them, even so far that some mentioned going back to Egypt.
I think the work which Mark has done and is doing is fantastic and is rather underrated. There are too many people today who follow atheism and other non-religious beliefs simply because it’s the “cool” thing in today’s society. I notice it among many of my own friends who were raised Jewish and have gone astray from their parent’s and past generations’s beliefs. I also see many Jews marrying outside the faith and not raising their children to be Jewish. It is truly a shame. Thank G-d for people like Mark =]