Reflections on New Perspectives on Judaism Luncheon

The discussion at the luncheon was interesting in terms of evangelism and interaction with contemporary Jews worldwide, but very little was said that pertained to the topic of global health concerns. The majority of the discussion focused on relating as Christians to people of the Jewish faith or Jewish ethnicity. What was helpful, was the emphasis on research and contextualization. We have to know where HIV/AIDS is most affecting people and the means by which it is affecting them. For example, as we have seen in our research, the spread of HIV in rural Thailand primarily occurs via sexual intercourse. If a group wants to devote the majority of their HIV-fighting resources to supplying that region with clean needles would be an example of missing the point. Just as the speakers emphasized going where Jews are, we have to go where HIV is spreading and focus our efforts to combatting its effects on the specific regions. And just as the gospel message must be contextualized between different groups -- e.g., Eastern European Jews vs. North American Jews -- we must contextualize the educational efforts to different groups.