Penina Taylor

Penina Taylor is a countermissionary speaker, counselor and author. She is the Executive Director of the Shomrei Emet Institute for Counter-Missionary Studies and the founder of Torah Life Strategies.[1] Shomrei Emet was briefly affiliated with the counter-missionary organization, Jews for Judaism, Jerusalem during 2008.[2]

Early life

Conversion to Christianity

Penina was born into a secular Jewish home in Lakewood Township, New Jersey.[3] After a traumatic childhood, Penina embraced Christianity in high school, and then went on to Miami Christian College (Now Trinity University) where she obtained a Bible Certificate. In college Penina became certified in the Evangelism Explosion (EE) program, was trained and served as a counselor with the Billy Graham Crusade several times and was certified as a crisis pregnancy counselor.

Shortly after leaving Miami Christian College, Penina married Paul Taylor, who had attended Moody Bible Institute and the two of them continued to serve in lay leadership positions in a variety of churches.

Messianic Judaism

In 1991, Paul and Penina became involved in the Messianic movement and in 1994 Paul and Penina, along with Penina's parents, started the Messianic congregation, Knesset Hashuvim in Bowie, Maryland. During this time, Penina began reading books about Orthodox Judaism and the four leaders adopted the concept of "Torah Observant Messianic Judaism." Penina's father, Yeshayahu Heiliczer, established the "Association of Torah Observant Messianics" or ATOM.[4]

From Messianic Judaism to Orthodox Judaism

After moving to Baltimore, Maryland in 2000 - while still Messianic Jews, Paul and Penina began to attend an Orthodox synagogue where they were introduced by the rabbi to the (then) director of Jews for Judaism, Mark Powers. As a result of their discussion with Mark, Penina rejected all forms of Christianity, including Messianic Judaism, and adopted Orthodox Judaism.[5]

Later career

In 2009 Penina published her first book, Coming Full Circle: A Jewish Woman's Journey through Christianity and Back, which narrates her spiritual journey through Evangelical Christianity, Messianic Judaism and finally Orthodox Judaism.[6]

Since publishing her book, Penina lectures and teaches around the world at centers for traditional Jewish seminaries and yeshivas, discusses her religious conversions at synagogues and youth groups, engages in Jewish polemics against Messianic-Christian interpretations of the Hebrew Bible, and opines on the nature of the relationship between Israel and Evangelical Christianity.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Machon Ma'ayan
  2. ↑ Jewish Tribune
  3. ↑ Gros, Michael. "The Teshuvah Journey: Making Up For Lost Time", The Jewish Press. August 19, 2010. Accessed February 10, 2011. "Penina grew up in a turbulent, loosely affiliated Jewish home in Lakewood, New Jersey."
  4. ↑ SA Jewish Report
  5. ↑ Hadassah.org
  6. ↑ Association of Writers Featured Authors
  7. ↑ Jewish Israel

External links

Website

Articles

Lectures