With palms together,
There is an interesting article in the N Y Times today about a stone tablet found amid the Dead Sea Scrolls. Apparently it suggests that the notion of a suffering messiah who would rise in three days was a common belief in the century prior to the Christian Jesus.
The article suggests:
If such a messianic description really is there, it will contribute to a developing re-evaluation of both popular and scholarly views of Jesus, since it suggests that the story of his death and resurrection was not unique but part of a recognized Jewish tradition at the time.
Hmmm. The death and resurrection myth prior to Jesus' birth? It would seem this adds to the notion advance some decades ago by a Jewish scholar suggesting this whole Jesus script was a scheme to get Jesus recognized as the Messiah, that Jesus was aware of the things that needd to happen before they happened in order to meet the criteria.
And later:
Mr. Knohl said that it was less important whether Simon was the messiah of the stone than the fact that it strongly suggested that a savior who died and rose after three days was an established concept at the time of Jesus. He notes that in the Gospels, Jesus makes numerous predictions of his suffering and New Testament scholars say such predictions must have been written in by later followers because there was no such idea present in his day.
But there was, he said, and “Gabriel’s Revelation” shows it.
“His mission is that he has to be put to death by the Romans to suffer so his blood will be the sign for redemption to come,” Mr. Knohl said. “This is the sign of the son of Joseph. This is the conscious view of Jesus himself. This gives the Last Supper an absolutely different meaning. To shed blood is not for the sins of people but to bring redemption to Israel.”
Strange.
Link
Be well
This is one of the most difficult things for Christians to understand as in their world religious affiliation is about belief. Judaism involves belief, but is not necessarily defined by it, nor are Jews. A central aspect of Judaism, like Zen Buddhism, is practice, hence the question many Jews will ask is, "Is he (or she) "Observant". The degree of "observance" tends more to define the "type" of Jew we are talking about, but not the fact that he or she is a Jew. It is common to have Jews today who are completely non-observant and non-affiliated who are considered Jews both by themselves and others.
Be well.
Lula, If we were to anthropomorphize, I suppose He would be unhappy, but belief is not a part of the covenant. Moreover, God does not define Israel, Israel defines Israel and Israel enters into the covenant with God.
Yes, its a challenge. We are not an "either/or" people. Involves belief does not mean requires belief.
Yes, I am aware of this, but this is not our way at all. Jewish religious sense is about the practices of prayer/meditation, study, and deeds of loving-kindness. Moreover, a Jew does not have to do any of these to be still considered a Jew.
Lula, you just don't understand, but I cannot fault you for this lack of undertstanding. Rabbis can designate all they want and it would not make a wit of real difference. There is NO central authority. Not even rabbinic councils like the Central Conference of American Rabbis have a say that extends beyond themselves. Congregations are free to accept or reject their decisions. Belief has nothing to do with whether a person is a Jew.
Judaism does not have a salvific mentality. Its closest approximation might be tikkun olam, a kabbalistic notion (gone mainstream) of being God's partner in repairing the world. Judaism does not believe human beings need redemption, as they are not lost in the first place. There is no original sin, no fall from grace. We are each born just fine and perfect in God's eye. So, you could say a Jew does not ever need to be redeemed or saved as he was never lost in the first place.
This is a place where different cultural and religious world views are so important to be undertstood. Our world view: no fall from grace, no need of salvation. Christian world view: fall from grace, need salvation. These are essentially paradigms worlds apart from each other so while we share a common language, the various meanings of those languages are often very far apart.
I hope this helps.
See ya.
As Leauki and I have pointed out, Christians and Jews have very different understandings of Bereshit (Genesis). BTW, an orthodox Jew wpould not say the Torah was "inspired" by God, but actually written and delivered to Moses directly by God. The promises you Christians keep holding onto for dear life were not about a Jesus, period. That's Christian spin. They were about a person or persons, sometimes about a nation itself, who would bring an end to the suffering of the people. We have completely different understandings of a messiah and what a messiah is. I accept that you have a right to your belief, I am sure it is true for you. I believe that there will be no messiah as has been commonly understood, but rather that we will develop a messianic age (unless we kill ourselves off first) wherein the lion will indeed lay down with the lamb.
God requires our help. His promise requires human beings to gather together and work for a common cause, the welfare of the planet and its inhabitants. Its not about salvation after death, Lula, its about salvation and redemption in this life.
There is no inherited guilt, no stain, and the Torah doesn't say there is. While I understand your need to believe your church's world view, I feel sorry that it is what it is, as it itself has caused enormous psychological and emotional suffering.
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