Great thorough compendium, thanks for publishing it; I have just one point:
The Torah, summarized in the ten commands and written in the Pentateuch (first five books of the Old Testament), is not The Talmud which is only an anthology of sayings, customs, traditions, and misinterpretations of The Torah compiled by rabbis which together jewish lore has termed "the orally received law".
The Talmud only addresses The Torah to misread, twist, and subordinate it to the misinterpretations, sayings, traditions, and customs of the rabbis writers.
In other words, The Torah is Biblical whereas The Talmud is not. The Pharisees advocated (oral) customs and tradition (i.e. which once written became The Talmud) above The Torah, the rabbis writers of The Talmud supersede The Torah with it, and modern practicing jews obey The Talmud and not The Torah.
The Messiah chided the religious authorities of His day about the oral traditions and flaunted many, often, while always keeping The Torah. And when Paul waxes against "the law" in his Epistles he's writing against the oral traditions not against The Torah.
It appears thar most nominal Christians (i.e. those who read the bible in small, out of context, chunks without cultivating the habit of diligently studying Scripture) find this clear distinction difficult to grasp.
Although today's jewish religious authorities relish nothing more than having as many goys as possible continue perpetrating the fallacy that The Torah = The Talmud but as demonstrated by history and Scripture nothing is further from the truth.
Therefore it is of the outmost importance that the distinction between Torah (not oral, found in the Bible) and Talmud (oral, promoted by Pharisees and eventually written by rabbis) be thoroughly understood and the clear delineations maintained in our minds.
I understand, yes. Having the distinctions between Christian and Judaic teachings is very important, especially as regards modern Judeo-Christian thinking. The Evangelicals believe they are serving Christ by supporting Jews when really they are defying him.
I neither support Christianity nor Islam nor Judaism. I contend that all the Abrahamic religions were and are forces of evil. The institutions are responsible for the enslavement of mankind. With that said, figures like Jesus and Buddha are like flashes of brilliant light showing the way by their own example. People who follow Jesus and not the institution are certainly my kind of people. Real conviction. Real faith.
Mostly, folks are just riding the wave of life, trying to hold onto something, anything, that appears like it might be safe. They see others holding onto Christianity or Judaism or Islam and they get onboard with it to fit in and feel safe.
The only real safety is in introspection... inner awareness and honesty.
More folks should focus no this, and less on religious concerns. Lots of the issues of the world would fade with this inner focus.
I’d like to say the concept of “Jesus and Buddha” being flashes of brilliant light is a new age made up concept. The teachings of Jesus are impractical and destructive. He deserves no respect and the fact he is likely a midrashic literary invention, not even a historic person.
Buddha is certainly real. But Jesus is an invention, baseed on older religions. That is my conviction. But, I often allow for the possibility that he ws real, and that he provided a spark for the Jews to overcome their diseased behaviors.
I never support the institutions of Abrahamism, but I give a biut of leeway for those who live honorably in action, and use jesus as a resresentation of doing so.
That doesnt mean that I support the story, or the cherry-picking. I just accept that many people do, and they can make their lives honorable, even within that container.
I have been mulling over your response since I read it and I understand your point except the term «modern judeo- christian thinking».
Although a) all believers in The Messiah used to originally be Hebrews and after resurrection many more from around the then-known-world came to be believers and b) modern practicing jews share the some of the written Word of Wod (i.e. The Old Testament) with christians there's no such thing as «judeo-christian thinking» because jewish thinking has not been christian thinking and vice-versa since the very early years AD.
Modern day, religiously observant jews follow The Talmud and not The Torah (written in the Bible) or The Old Testament whereas christians–at least a great portion of those that profess Protestant (Martin Luther et al) beliefs–do believe in «sola scriptura» (scripture alone) and do follow The Bible in its entirety (which includes the New Testament) in the way they lead their lives.
Therefore since there's no belief that unites modern day religiously observant jews and christians there's not at all any «thinking» in common between these two sets of beliefs.
Number 1 ⚡⚡
Great thorough compendium, thanks for publishing it; I have just one point:
The Torah, summarized in the ten commands and written in the Pentateuch (first five books of the Old Testament), is not The Talmud which is only an anthology of sayings, customs, traditions, and misinterpretations of The Torah compiled by rabbis which together jewish lore has termed "the orally received law".
The Talmud only addresses The Torah to misread, twist, and subordinate it to the misinterpretations, sayings, traditions, and customs of the rabbis writers.
In other words, The Torah is Biblical whereas The Talmud is not. The Pharisees advocated (oral) customs and tradition (i.e. which once written became The Talmud) above The Torah, the rabbis writers of The Talmud supersede The Torah with it, and modern practicing jews obey The Talmud and not The Torah.
The Messiah chided the religious authorities of His day about the oral traditions and flaunted many, often, while always keeping The Torah. And when Paul waxes against "the law" in his Epistles he's writing against the oral traditions not against The Torah.
It appears thar most nominal Christians (i.e. those who read the bible in small, out of context, chunks without cultivating the habit of diligently studying Scripture) find this clear distinction difficult to grasp.
Although today's jewish religious authorities relish nothing more than having as many goys as possible continue perpetrating the fallacy that The Torah = The Talmud but as demonstrated by history and Scripture nothing is further from the truth.
Therefore it is of the outmost importance that the distinction between Torah (not oral, found in the Bible) and Talmud (oral, promoted by Pharisees and eventually written by rabbis) be thoroughly understood and the clear delineations maintained in our minds.
I understand, yes. Having the distinctions between Christian and Judaic teachings is very important, especially as regards modern Judeo-Christian thinking. The Evangelicals believe they are serving Christ by supporting Jews when really they are defying him.
I neither support Christianity nor Islam nor Judaism. I contend that all the Abrahamic religions were and are forces of evil. The institutions are responsible for the enslavement of mankind. With that said, figures like Jesus and Buddha are like flashes of brilliant light showing the way by their own example. People who follow Jesus and not the institution are certainly my kind of people. Real conviction. Real faith.
Mostly, folks are just riding the wave of life, trying to hold onto something, anything, that appears like it might be safe. They see others holding onto Christianity or Judaism or Islam and they get onboard with it to fit in and feel safe.
The only real safety is in introspection... inner awareness and honesty.
More folks should focus no this, and less on religious concerns. Lots of the issues of the world would fade with this inner focus.
I’d like to say the concept of “Jesus and Buddha” being flashes of brilliant light is a new age made up concept. The teachings of Jesus are impractical and destructive. He deserves no respect and the fact he is likely a midrashic literary invention, not even a historic person.
Buddha is certainly real. But Jesus is an invention, baseed on older religions. That is my conviction. But, I often allow for the possibility that he ws real, and that he provided a spark for the Jews to overcome their diseased behaviors.
I never support the institutions of Abrahamism, but I give a biut of leeway for those who live honorably in action, and use jesus as a resresentation of doing so.
That doesnt mean that I support the story, or the cherry-picking. I just accept that many people do, and they can make their lives honorable, even within that container.
I have been mulling over your response since I read it and I understand your point except the term «modern judeo- christian thinking».
Although a) all believers in The Messiah used to originally be Hebrews and after resurrection many more from around the then-known-world came to be believers and b) modern practicing jews share the some of the written Word of Wod (i.e. The Old Testament) with christians there's no such thing as «judeo-christian thinking» because jewish thinking has not been christian thinking and vice-versa since the very early years AD.
Modern day, religiously observant jews follow The Talmud and not The Torah (written in the Bible) or The Old Testament whereas christians–at least a great portion of those that profess Protestant (Martin Luther et al) beliefs–do believe in «sola scriptura» (scripture alone) and do follow The Bible in its entirety (which includes the New Testament) in the way they lead their lives.
Therefore since there's no belief that unites modern day religiously observant jews and christians there's not at all any «thinking» in common between these two sets of beliefs.
Yup. There is nothing in common between Jew and Christian. They are closer to opposites than to similar.
That is if proper Christian. Juat someone who goes to church to fit in is not a Christian.
But true Christian v true jew. Opposites