MORIEL is a teaching ministry to believers stressing the need to rediscover the Scriptures as Hebraic literature (as opposed to Hellenistic literature),
demanding the hermeneutic models of Second Temple Period Judaism as a basis in biblical interpretation. Essentially this means an attempt to rediscover the methods of interpretation used by the New Testament writers.
We note the Sitz in Leben of Biblical Jewish culture along the lines of various scholars, but in order to see the greater depth of contained meaning we adopt an understanding of early midrashic models in addition to conventional grammatical-historical models of interpretation.
However, we reject as Gnostic any attempts to build doctrinal theology on symbolism or typology, although we press the need to use typology and allegory to illustrate and illuminate doctrine.
- MORIEL is an evangelistic ministry to people of other faiths, beginning with the Jews and nominal (non-evangelical) Christians, such as Roman Catholics and liberal Protestants. We also hold seminars on Messianic apologetics, Islamic evangelism, and cult evangelism.
- MORIEL seeks to plant Messianic fellowships where none exist. These are "fellowships" and not congregations, designed to evangelize Jews and to provide a practical way for Jewish believers and those who are called to the Jews to preserve and express their identity in Yeshua as Messiah.
- MORIEL helps believers to plant churches in situations where Bible-based congregations do not exist. We call this Misgav Ladach, a Hebrew term meaning "shelter for the oppressed".
- MORIEL will stand against serious doctrinal error where it threatens the credibility of the Gospel or undermines the authority of Scripture. This will be particularly true concerning areas likely to prove detrimental to Jewish evangelism - such as "Dual Covenant Theology", "Christian Anti-Semitic", and "Anti-Zionism".
The Moriel Council comprises: Jacob Prasch and Dave Royle.
