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To those of you who will read this document – It is a rough study guide. It contains a lot of information on a number of different topics, much of which is presented in a choppy manner which gives a thumb nail view on the topic. I really didn’t know how else to break it down, so please forgive me. While the subjects represent beliefs you may not have previously heard about, or been taught, I think they are worthwhile ideas to be familiar with, as the roots of our faith are worth knowing about. The ideas presented here are not necessarily intended to sway you into moving into a different doctrinal direction, but simply to educate you about the beliefs, many of which helped formed Christianity as we know it today. We must remember that there are about 400 different denominations, most of which were born in the last couple of hundred years. Taking that into consideration, one sees that people don’t agree on a number of different issues/positions concerning their faith. Maybe a look further back, at our Hebrew roots, is a worthwhile endeavor. Basic Biblical Study Points Jewish Ideas/Concepts The Book We Call The Bible and Other Jewish Scriptures I thought it would be good to discuss a few historical points about the book we call the Bible. The Bible: There are no original biblical manuscripts. The earliest known manuscript fragments date back to the 2nd century of the CE. Additionally, there are differing manuscripts which don’t always agree with each other. A group called the Masoretes added punctuation to the text somewhere between 500-1000 CE. In any event, the various fragments which were put together and which now form our Bible, while not perfect, are very close. Further, biblical scholars agree that the biblical text is without a doubt, divinely inspired, and I would agree with them. So while there may be some issues with the biblical text, and there are, most really aren’t very significant. But I’d tell those who point out textual issues, that while it’s imperfect, the text reveals Him who is perfect. An example of this imperfection is found when one looks at the story of Jesus’ final words on the cross. "E’lo-i E’lo-i la’ma sabach-than’i?" which is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" is recorded in Mark 15:34. Yet Matthew 27:46 reports that Jesus said, “Eli, Eli, la’ma sabach-tha’ni? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” The latter translation is likely the correct, as we see some in the crowd saying, it looks like he’s calling on Elijah. Eli is the shortened version of Elijah, just as Tim is the shortened version of Timothy, etc. I’ve also noticed in my English translation passages like that in Exodus 9. Here it records that during the plagues on Egypt, God killed all the Egyptians cattle. A little later in chapter 9 God declares he’ll rain down hail and has Moses warn everyone that they’d better get their cattle and other livestock under cover or they’d be killed. Weren’t the Egyptians cattle already dead? A little after that God declares that the first born, (even of cattle) will die during passover. Again, aren’t the cattle belonging to Egypt already dead? Then there are other passages that make the Bible, especially in it’s English translation, even more confusing or murky. For example, in Genesis 32 we have the story of Jacob wrestling with…somebody. The Bible sometimes calls angels men. Here, the being Jacob is wrestling with is first called a man, then a bit later, he’s called Elohim (God). However, in Hosea the being is called a malach (an angel or messenger). In Genesis 18, Abraham greets what the Bible initially says are three men. But when they sit down to eat with him Abraham calls them YHWH (Yahweh). Two of them leave to go visit Lot, and Lot calls them my lords (addonai), and the one who stays behind Abraham calls YHWH, and Abraham discusses the issue of Sodom with him face to face. So the Bible doesn’t always clearly distinguish between God and one of his messengers. Hagar, the handmaiden of Sarah, mother of Ishmael encounters an angel (Genesis 16-17) but then later says it was the Lord who spoke to her. I could go on, but you get the point. The first five books of the Bible are called the Torah, meaning ‘instruction’. For many years it was believed that these books were written by Moses. This is no longer the case. Some scholars, according to a Jewish magazine/newspaper called “Haaretz”, think that Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers were written by four different hands somewhere between 1600-1200 BCE. Deuteronomy was written much later, somewhere between 600-800 BCE. The Written Torah totals 24 books, including the Five Books of Moses and the prophetic writings – e.g. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Psalms, Proverbs, etc. The five, so called Books of Moses – comprised of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy – include all 613 commandments (mitzvahs) of the law. And the five, so called Books of Moses have many names. It is referred to as the Bible (meaning "book" in Greek), the Chumash (Hebrew for "fifth"), the Pentateuch (Greek for "five scrolls"), or generically "Torah" – Hebrew for "instructions," because its purpose is to instruct. (Jews consider it insulting to call it the Old Testament, as this implies a New Testament, which Jews reject.) But whatever the name, it refers to the best-selling, longest-running book in the history of mankind. It was the first book to be printed on a printing press (1450 CE). About 5 billion copies have since been sold per Wikipedia. Then there is the Oral Torah. Its name derives from the fact that it was not allowed to be formally written down but had to be taught orally. It contains the explanations of the Written Torah. The Jew believes that one cannot be understood without the other. In 190 CE, persecution and exile of the Jewish people threatened the proper transmission of the Oral Torah. Therefore, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi compiled written notes on the Oral Torah called the "Mishnah" (Hebrew for "teaching"). Rabbi Yehudah arranged the Mishnah into six sections: Laws of Agriculture, Festivals, Damages, Marriage, Purity, and Offerings. Rabbi Yehudah wrote the Mishnah in code form, so that students would still require the explanation of a rabbi – since this information was meant to remain oral. In 500 CE, the Jewish people suffered an uprooting of their communities, and two Babylonian rabbis – Rav Ashi and Ravina – compiled a 60-volume record of rabbinic discussions on the Mishnah, called the "Gemara." Together, the Mishnah and Gemara comprise what is commonly called the "Talmud." The Oral Torah also includes the Midrash, an explanation of the Written Torah, comprising both ethical and legal components. Much of this material is also contained in the Talmud. The Oral Torah also includes the works of Kabbalah, a tradition of mystical secrets of the metaphysical universe received by Moses at Mount Sinai. It was first published as "The Zohar" by R' Shimon bar Yochai (170 CE), and elucidated by the Arizal (1572 CE). Torah is not to be regarded, however, as an academic field of study. It is meant to be applied to all aspects of our everyday life – speech, food, prayer, etc. Over the centuries great rabbis have compiled summaries of practical law from the Talmud. Landmark works include: "Mishneh Torah" by Maimonides (12th century Egypt); "Shulchan Aruch" by Rabbi Yosef Karo (16th century Israel); "Mishnah Berurah" by the Chafetz Chaim (20th century Poland). So the question I think any Christian should ask is how did we get so separated from our Jewish roots? Romans 11:17-18 says, “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the richness of the olive tree, do not boast over the branches. If you do boast remember, it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.” So again, what happened? Some say that the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah. But who were all those people who followed him by the hundreds and thousands during his ministry? Who were the 3,000 on the day of Pentecost? I’m told that by 90 CE, there were more believing Jews than non-believing. The ten severe persecutions certainly caused the demise and thinning of the believing Jew. Rome had 54 emperors between 30-311 CE. About a dozen of them went out of their way to persecute believers. You can google these persecutions if you’re interested, but I mention this to say that it is now estimated that there have been more martyrs killed, or beaten, or jailed or tortured in the last 50 years than during the first 3 centuries of this current era. Persecutions aside, there’s more to the story than that. Early in the fourth century Constantine I was involved in a civil war with his brother in law. In 312 he won the war and gave God the credit for it, declaring the official religion of Rome to be Christianity. Almost overnight Christianity gained global status. Other religions were then outlawed. The First Council of Nicea (in modern Turkey) was called by Constantine in 325. The purpose of the council was to resolve some doctrinal issues. The primary focus was on the nature of Christ. There was a group of believers who called themselves Arians, who believed that since Jesus was created by the Father, he was therefore a separate being. Another group who called themselves the Orthodoxy, believed that the Father and the Son were of the same substance or essence. The Orthodox belief won out. Although the council came to the correct conclusion, there were a number of ‘Christian’ texts of various kinds floating around, some of which confused doctrinal issues. To resolve these conflicts, a Council of Rome was convened in 382. Here, a group of scholars decided on which books were going to be canonized. Following the canonization of those books we now call the Bible, there remained hierarchical issues in the leadership of the ‘church’. In 451 the Council of Chalcedon was convened to establish a defined hierarchy, or a centrally operated Christian church. Even though Christianity had been stronger in the east, places like Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem and Constantinople, the council awarded the ‘Bishopric of Rome’ the headquarters position. As time went on, the power of Rome began to dwindle, and along with it the education of its people. The church, which was evolving into the Roman Catholic Church, was relied upon for knowledge of the world. The clergy were typically among the rare who were literate and educated. The Roman Catholic Church served as libraries for both religious and secular books, including non-religious philosophical writings, such as those from the Greek philosophers. The Catholic priests controlled the flow of information and had a strong say in secular politics. They helped make kings and were rewarded with more power, and money and property, leading them into corruption. In 1054 the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox church based in Constantinople, officially split, excommunicating each other. There’s more to the story than this, but I think this gives you a good idea of how we got so separated. It would be good if everyone picked up a copy of a little book called, “Every Man’s Talmud.’ It covers a lot of the Jewish beliefs. For instance, did you ever wonder why, on several occasions Jesus spits in someone’s eye, or in the dirt to make clay for the eye (John 9:6)? Y’shua (Jesus) is making a claim about his parentage and his position as sole legitimate heir to his father’s inheritance. In biblical times a man could have different children to different wives and the eldest son of a father was usually the heir. The people of the second temple period (Jesus’ time) were well aware that the saliva of the eldest son of a father had healing properties against injuries or disease. Hence, Jesus was making a silent claim that God was his father. I’ll throw in a quick history lesson here. When I mention the second temple period, I’m talking about approximately 530 B.C. (BCE) to 70 A.D. (CE). The first temple period covered about 832 BCE to about 586 BCE. Solomon built the first temple, but it was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II when they invaded Judah and carried many of the Israelites off into captivity. The temple was rebuilt around 530 BCE and was again demolished by the Romans about 70 CE. It was during this second temple period that the sects of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Essenes, the Zealots and a few other sects were born. (In modern Israel you have the Orthodox, the Conservatives and the Reformed sects). Did you ever hear that Jesus tried to hide his Messiahship? This was not the case. Remember that at age 12, after his parents found him in the temple in Jerusalem, upset at him for staying behind, Jesus told them he had to be about his father’s business, implying God was his father. (I’m sure this rattled them). Much later, during his ministry years, every time he healed someone he forgave them their sins. The Jews knew that only God could forgive sins, hence, they understood he was declaring himself to be God. Most of the Bible was originally written in Hebrew, the holy language. The only parts of the Old Testament written in something other than Hebrew, were a few chapters of Ezra and Daniel, and one lonely verse in Jeremiah, which were written in Aramaic. As for the New Testament, the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, along with the first 15 chapters of Acts, were written in Hebrew. My research is inconclusive, because I’ve read differing opinions on different web sites, but based on what I’ve learned, I believe that the book of Hebrews and much of the book of Revelation were also originally written in Hebrew. The rest is Greek to me. Jesus, his disciples and most of the early church spoke in Hebrew. Now you may have heard that Jesus spoke Aramaic, and while he may have known Aramaic as most folks from that era and part of the world were multi-lingual, but he didn’t teach or typically speak in that language. An example of a proof for an original Hebrew text, is Matthew 6:19-24: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." In these verses we have Yeshua speaking about money, and not making it more important than God. Note that He begins speaking about money, then says something about "an evil eye," then finishes His statement about money. If this were penned in Greek originally, you would have to ask, "Why this odd verse about an "evil eye" in the midst of a money topic?" It makes no sense. However, if you happen to know that having an "evil eye" is a Hebrew idiom of that time for "being stingy with your money," then, a) the passage makes sense, and b) you realize it HAD to have been written in Hebrew first, then whoever translated it into Greek, (unaware of the idiom), simply took it word-for-word from Hebrew into the Greek. The LAW Let’s talk about law for a few minutes. Notice the Law God gave to Moses at Sinai. It consisted of 1: The Written Law, consisting of the Moral (10 commandments), the Ceremonial, and the Civil laws and 2: The Oral, consisting of Haggadah (Legends), and Halachah (Laws). Jewish law is comprised of 613 commandments, both positive and negative. This of course is far more than the 10 commandments which most Christians are somewhat familiar with. Law is a very important subject when it comes to understanding God, as some believe that God is the sum and total of His law. This doesn’t take away anything from understanding God as he bestows grace on us, but I think it should actually help us understand Him better. The law was very important to the men of Jesus’ time. I want to mention that it took at least 10 men to be recognized as a community in Jesus’ time. In any of these very small communities there was appointed 3 men to be a court of law and decide on (mostly) religious matters. In larger towns and cities there existed a court called the ‘Lesser Sanhedrin’ which consisted of 23 members. This court decided on crimes and other local matters as they came up. Then there was the Great Sanhedrin, comprised of 71 members. The Great Sanhedrin decided on nationalistic matters, things like whether to go to war, or how to deal with threats against the country. Jesus’ Method of Teaching/ The Synagogue Jesus taught in a rabbinic way. In his time, there weren’t any books. If the community or town was large enough to have a synagogue, the synagogue may have had one scroll of each of the books of what we call the Old Testament. Again, I think it’s interesting that in order for a town/community to have a functioning synagogue (Beit K’nesset – literally ‘house of assembly’) there had to be at least 10 men of independent means who could devote themselves to prayer and study. That’s all they did. They were called the ‘batlanim’. They were considered men of leisure, but I’m not sure how accurate a representation that name paints. Formal education for Hebrew children (mostly men) began at age 5 and by the time you were in your mid-teens you’d have memorized the entire biblical text. Further, study was considered a life-long task. The church, or synagogue also had a group of men called the ‘zagen’, (the word literally translates beard or chin) a word that’s been translated into English as ‘elder’. These men were in charge of ministering to the spiritual affairs of the body. Feeding the flock, visiting the sick, taking care of the poor, and setting a proper spiritual example. They were typically the older, more mature and more spiritually developed of the members of the congregation. Pastor also comes from the word ‘zagen’, but our ‘minister’ or ‘shepherd’ comes from the Greek word, ‘Diakoneo’ or ‘diakonos’. In English that’s where we get ‘deacon’. The idea of the deacon was one who serves, or is a servant. That’s where the apostles got the idea for the original 7 deacons in Acts 6. The synagogue was overseen by a man called the ‘Nasi’, or president. The only thing special about this guy was the fact that he was usually a good administrator of affairs. There was also a man called the ‘Maggid’. Maggid translates ‘teacher of righteousness’. He was the silver tongued guy who usually travelled around and spoke on various subjects. Jesus fit into this role on many occasions. Another man was called the ‘Hazzan’. Today the Hazzan (or Hazan) is called the Cantor. He had a number of roles, but primarily he was a prayer and song leader. But he was also the man who was charged with meting out the stripes should you be found guilty of some portion of the law which called for lashes. (That would go over good today, right?) What was the fundamental reason for attending synagogue? It wasn’t for praise or worship. You went to synagogue for study and instruction. Worship happened at home. Probably the first verse a little child learned was the Shema, but another very important verse was Proverbs 22:6 which says (paraphrased), ‘Bring up your children in the way they should go, and when they are old they will not depart from it.’ Understanding Textual Issues / Translation vs Transliteration As an aside to Proverbs 22:6, I will be mentioning periodically problems which we have to overcome in understanding the Bible based on translational issues from Hebrew or Greek into English. You see, one of the big issues we have in understanding the Bible is due to the fact that in its English translation, many words have been transliterated, when they should have been translated. There are many examples of this. Remember Enoch back in the early part of Genesis? Well his name literally means, ‘to masticate the date’. (Now why would you name someone Enoch???) It portrays the notion of a mother, who’d masticate the date, turning it into something sweet and nourishing, which she could rub on the gums of the newborn babe to induce the nursing action. This same idea was portrayed spiritually in Proverbs, where parents were urged to teach the sweet things of God to their children so that they’d want more of the same. But many names have meanings. Isaac, “Laughter”. There is a Jewish town called Bethel. Bethel means, ‘house of God.’ If one were to go back to the original text, one would see some Aramaic words. But that said, Hebrew, like English and many other languages, borrows words from other languages. We might see Cristos, a Greek word, which we transliterate in English to Christ. … But the problem with this transliteration is that it doesn’t give us the meaning of the word. Christ is the Greek transliteration of Cristo, while Jesus is the English transliteration of the Hebrew Yeshua. But we don’t see the meaning in English from both languages which is ‘Anointed One.’ It is this language issue which makes it difficult for us to understand some of the Bible. For example, the word, Adam. When we see the word Adam, we think of some guy out streaking around in the Garden of Eden. But his name is comprised of two parts. In all the Semitic languages, ‘dam’ is the word for blood. But the letter A (Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet) is sometimes used as an abbreviation in Hebrew for ‘Elohim’, one of the names of God. So Adam could be literally translated as God’s blood. But others have postulated that it could also be literally translated as ‘mankind’. But I like the translation, the blood of God, because I think that’s why Jesus is called the second Adam. He initially had that same incorruptible blood of God. A little later, in Genesis 6, we see a guy named Methuselah come on the scene. We don’t really understand who he was. But his name means, ‘his death shall bring judgment.’ He was the son of Enoch, and the Grandfather of Noah. When he died, the flood started. When we see the word gentile, do we understand that it means heathen, or pagan? The word disciple actually is better translated as student. The word repentance is actually our English translation of the Greek word, ‘metanoya’ from which we also get, metamorphosis. It also means ‘change’. So to repent actually means to change from what we’re doing. The officer (eunuch) from Ethiopia was black and a Jew. Here is another translation issue exacerbated by a lack of knowledge of Jewish law by the translators. If one was a true eunuch, he couldn’t go to the temple in Jerusalem or elsewhere. He was considered unclean. But the Hebrew word for eunuch is also the same word for officer. Why the translators of some English versions of the Bible translated the word as eunuch shows us that even these men didn’t always have a good grasp of the history and/or traditions of the Jews when they did their translations. This only scratches the surface of what challenges we have in truly understanding the biblical text. But we live in a great time in that there are fantastic study aids available to us. I would strongly encourage all to get a numerically indexed lexicon like Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, or a Brown Driver’s Briggs Hebrew lexicon, and another book, ‘Theological Dictionary of the New Testament’. They can help you search out difficult passages in your studies. JESUS’ Words and Methods of Teaching Jesus says very, very little that is original with him. When he taught he usually used a method called ‘Remez’, or hinting. (See the handout on The Beatitudes) Actually, as you read through the gospels, if you see Jesus saying something, you can ask yourself, where did he get that? If one takes a good cross reference Bible, or a Concordance, you can find the parallel passages that he’s quoting from in the Old Testament most of the time and then put what he’s saying into context. In Genesis 14 we have an interesting story where we’re introduced to Melchizedek. His name means ‘My king is righteous’. He was the priest king of Salem (ancient Jerusalem). In this chapter we see a story of a bunch of bad kings and their men, who’ve been looting Sodom (Sodom comes from the Hebrew word siddim, meaning demon) and who’ve taken Lot and his family captive. Abram pursues them and defeats them in battle with 318 of his fighting men, freeing his nephew Lot. Shortly thereafter, they meet Melchizedek and the evil king of Sodom. During this meeting Sodom offers Abram a lot of money or booty if Abram would just give him his ‘soul’. It’s an ante type of the devil tempting Jesus in the wilderness. Even the word Satan is a mystery to most Christians. It means, ‘the accuser’. (And by the way, the name Lucifer is never used in the Bible…ever. It is a poor translation of a word taken from the Latin Vulgate which wasn’t published until the 5th century of the current era by Gerome). Historically, during these early times in biblical history, many kings and kingdoms were associated with various heavenly bodies which were worshiped by the people. If one takes a look at the original text the word which is later translated as Lucifer is translated as ‘the bright shining star of the morning’, or Venus. This star was associated with the reign of Belshazzar. So you can see why we get so many things wrong in our understanding of the Bible. It illustrates one of the issues we have when studying the Bible. Our understanding of words and how they should be interpreted based on multiple meanings, historical context, and knowledge of the culture. There was a story once told about a kindergarten teacher at a private Christian school who had been teaching the children about the great heroes of the Bible. She told them about David fighting Goliath, Noah and the flood, Daniel down in the lion’s den, and Joshua and the battle of Jericho. When she finished she told the children to get out a piece of paper and draw and color their version of their favorite story. Going around the room she looked at Judy, who’d colored a picture of Daniel in the lion’s den, and Billy’s depiction of David with his slingshot standing over a fallen Goliath, and so on. But when she came to little Timmy she saw a picture of a red Cadillac convertible with a couple in the back seat of the car, and an old man with a long white beard sitting behind the steering wheel. The confused teacher asked little Timmy, “I thought you were going to draw me a picture of a Bible story?” Little Timmy looked up and said, “I did. This is God driving Adam and Eve out of the garden.” So we laugh, but the story illustrates just how in the dark we can be without study of this book we base our faith on. Another example can be seen when we look at Paul telling the Corinthians that he wished people would stay single, as he was doing, he didn’t intend this as a biblical injunction to marriage. Their country was under siege by Rome, and in fact the city of Jerusalem was laid waste numerous times from the mid first century until about 125 CE. Paul didn’t want men or women to be burdened by each other, or their children, should they be attacked and have to flee, which many did during the years following his letter. When Paul tells us that women are to be silent in the church, he was addressing a group of new believers, who lived near the foot of Mount Herman, who had just given up worship of the fertility goddess, Artemis (Acts 19). Those who worshiped Artemis maintained temples where over a thousand cult prostitutes, mostly women, ruled the people. Paul wanted the new believers to separate themselves from this type of activity. Understanding Our Roots /Historical Issues/ Types and Ante-types Why did God choose Abraham as the father of his people? He wasn’t that hot of a guy. He was a liar, a cheat, an adulterer, faithless… In Genesis 18:19 we read, “For I have chosen him that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice…” God chose Abraham because of his ability to teach and pass along his faith in God to his children. Bethel, a city in the southern portion of Israel, just north of Jerusalem, and north of Judah, is a word meaning ‘House of God’. I assume most of you know that for several centuries, the 10 northern tribes split off from Judah and there were two independent countries. This occurred because King Solomon, who had created the wealthiest and most powerful central government the Hebrews would ever see, did so at an impossibly high cost. Land was given away to pay for his extravagances and people were sent into forced labor into Tyre in the north. When Solomon died, between 926 and 922 BCE, the ten northern tribes refused to submit to his son, Rehoboam, (over high taxes) and revolted. From this point on, there would be two kingdoms of Hebrews: in the north, Israel, and in the south, Judah. The Israelites formed their capital in the city of Samaria, and the Judeans kept their capital in Jerusalem. These kingdoms remained separate states for over two hundred years. Assyria, under Sargon II, conquered Israel in 722 B.C. and the Babylonians, under Nebuchadnezzar, conquered Judah in 586 B.C. In both instances many of the Hebrews were carried off into captivity. The Assyrians then took many of the Hebrew women for wives and the dreaded half-blood Samaritan race began to populate that area between Assyria and Israel. It was also during this captivity that Zoroaster was born in Assyria. He lived between about 630 BCE to 550 BCE, and was the founder of Zoroastrianism. It was probably the first religion to be dualistic in nature. The religion itself taught a lot of good, noble things, but in it there were two gods, one good and one evil, who were always fighting over people (and in the end the good god will win). With exposure to this religion, some scholars believe that the Jews began giving Satan a more prominent, powerful lot than before. Yet Satan really has no power, he’s the accuser, and by the way, he’s not in hell…yet. In Exodus 32 we see the story of the golden calf. When Moses came down off the mountain and saw what the people were doing, he ordered the Levites to kill the idol worshipers. They killed 3000. On the day of Pentecost, 3000 were saved. In Numbers 21:6-7 we see vipers sent among the complaining Hebrews. After many died, Moses commanded a fiery serpent be set upon a standard, and when the people looked up at it, they’d live. In the N.T. when the Lord was raised up on the cross and people looked to Him for saving, they live. John 3:14 says, As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so shall the son of man be lifted up. Isn’t it interesting that Jacob had 12 sons and later there became 12 tribes, and Jesus chose 12 disciples? O.T. has ceremonial washing for cleansing from sin. N.T. we have Baptism for cleansing from sin. Matthew 12:40, “As Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the son of man spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” As Abraham offered to offer up his son on an altar, the Father offered up His son on the cross. Again I remind you that in Genesis 14, after Abram rescues Lot, he meets Melchizedek and the king of Sodom, and Abram offers up a tenth of the spoils. (This is not where the idea for the tithe came from). But the king of Sodom says, ‘give me the persons (but it’s the Hebrew word for soul). We see the devil doing the same thing to Jesus during his temptation in the wilderness. Theological Differences between Judaism and Christianity/Tzedakah One of the most important words in the Bible is the word ONE. We could go so far as to say it is one of the principal words in the Bible, reflecting one of the most important concepts of the God of the Bible. That God concept is monotheism. Monotheism comes from two Greek words, mono (one) and theos (God), and means one God. The central theme of biblical faith is that God is one. Monotheism is such an important biblical God concept, and is so radically different from the God concepts of the other great nations and peoples of the Bible, that it stands as a marvelous indication of one of the internal evidences for inspiration shown in the biblical text. In other words, this concept of monotheism is so radically different from all other prevailing religious systems that it cannot be accounted for on purely natural grounds. It demands the supernatural to explain such a lofty God concept. And it is this concept of God that becomes the foundational tenet upon which Biblical faith is based. "Hear O Israel, The Lord your God is One." The Shema (pronounced sssh-ma), as it is known is still recited twice each day by religious Jews. (The Shema is taken from Deut 6:4, ‘Hear O Israel. The Lord our God is one Lord, (5) and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your might). However, this one God has manifested Himself in history in so many multifaceted ways. He is known by a myriad of names as recorded in the biblical text, during many varied circumstances, and for many different reasons or purposes. A clear picture of Him begins to emerge only when we examine the names by which He is known, as each will reflect some aspect of His nature. Insert - The Names of God2.doc Although God is known by many names it is of the utmost importance to stress that He is One. Many parallels can be found in this concept of oneness. For example: Law is one, and it is God’s revelation of Himself and His will for man, to man. However, there was the Law God gave to Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel before the flood. There was the Law God gave to Noah after the flood (The Seven Laws of Noah. I encourage you to do a Google search on this subject). There was the Law God gave to Abraham and his seed, and there was the Law God gave to Moses at Sinai. But it was all ONE. The One Law of the One God. As God Is One, the Law is one, and so also man is One. The Biblical concept of man is that God created man in His image. Therefore, as God is, so man is. God is one, so man is one. Although man consists of a body (of earth or earthly) and a spirit (of the heavens), the two form an inseparable unity. The spirit and the flesh will never be separated, but both are made for eternity. This idea of man constituted a basic belief of Jesus, the Pharisees, and the Apostle Paul, who all taught on the resurrection of the dead. Although flesh and blood will not enter the eternal realm of the world to come, "we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and this mortal shall put on immortality and this corruptible shall put on incorruptibility" (I Corinthians 15). Scientifically, we know that once matter has been created it can never be destroyed. Only its form can be changed. This concept of ONE as the coming together of two or more parts to constitute a whole is first introduced to us in the first chapter of Genesis: "And there was evening and there was morning, ONE day" (Genesis 1:5). Notice it takes both the evening and the morning, two parts, to come together or to be joined together, to form the one day. Let’s look now at some of the over 30 names I have chosen to share with you. Each reflects some attribute or characteristic of the ONE God of the Bible. It’s interesting that Jesus never calls himself the Messiah. Only one time, when he talked to the Samaritan woman at the well, did he agree with her that he was the Messiah, but he never calls himself that. He calls himself the ‘Son of Man’, one of the most supernatural beings mentioned in the bible (Daniel 7:13), or he calls himself God. Yes, he prays to the Father, but he also says that, ‘if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the father,’ and ‘I and the Father are one.’ But when he heals someone, he almost always starts off forgiving their sins. Every Jew knows that only God can forgive sins. So how can we understand passages like Isaiah 9:6 which reads, ‘For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Might God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’ How can the son be the father? It’s hard for us to understand. But let me say that the Jew can’t accept God in a Trinitarian form, three persons making up one God. There is one God who manifests Himself in different ways at different times. In other words, thinking back to the names of God, God is YHWH, the covenant making God, but that’s not all that he is doing. God is El Elyon, the highest God, but that’s not all He is doing, God is El Shaddai, the nourishing God, but that’s not all he’s doing, God is Ruach Elohim, the Holy Spirit, but that’s not all he is doing, God is El Yeshuat, the saving aspect of diety, but that’s not all God is doing. It’s interesting too that the Jew won’t speak the name of God, or even write it, without corrupting it a little. We all think of that commandment that most of us remember as, ‘Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain.’ That doesn’t mean that we aren’t supposed to cuss. The commandment is, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord your God lightly, or in a light manner.’ You see, Hebrew has no cuss words. If you want to cuss you have to go over to Aramaic or some other Semitic language. (Now in Matthew 12:35-36 it does say we’ll be judged for every careless word we utter). The reason we see YHWH as the tetragrammaton is because it wasn’t supposed to be verbalized. Jews call God, Addonai, meaning Lord, or they corrupt god as g-d. So is God male or female? Obviously male because we pray, ‘Our Father who art in heaven…” Well, He’s a spirit, so actually sexless, but the Jew has always seen God as having both masculine and feminine attributes. The YH is masculine, the WH feminine. But words like El Shaddai offer up a female attribute of God, because it means, the God who suckles me, or nourishes me from his breasts. Shaddaim in Hebrew is breasts. One of the most fundamental, foundational tenets of biblical faith to the true Jew is derived from the meaning of the word "Tzedakah" "Tzedakah" (pronounced ‘say-da-caw’) is the Hebrew word for the acts that we call "charity" in English: giving aid, assistance and money to the poor and needy or to other worthy causes. However, the nature of tzedakah is very different from the idea of charity. The word "charity" suggests benevolence and generosity, a magnanimous act by the wealthy and powerful for the benefit of the poor and needy. The word "tzedakah" is derived from the Hebrew root Tzadei-Dalet-Qof, meaning righteousness, justice or fairness. In Judaism, giving to the poor is not viewed as a generous, magnanimous act; it is simply an act of justice and righteousness, the performance of a duty, giving the poor their due. It is done to make the person more whole. The Obligation of Tzedakah Giving to the poor is an obligation in Judaism, a duty that cannot be forsaken even by those who are themselves in need. Some sages have said that tzedakah is the highest of all commandments, equal to all of them combined, and that a person who does not perform tzedakah is equivalent to an idol worshipper. This is probably hyperbole (exaggerated truth), but it illustrates the importance of tzedakah in Jewish thought. Tzedakah is one of the three acts that gain us forgiveness from our sins. The High Holiday liturgy repeatedly states that G-d has inscribed a judgment against all who have sinned, but teshuvah (repentance), tefilah (prayer) and tzedakah can alleviate the decree. A world of difference exists between Judaism and traditional Christian theology when we come to the subject of sin. Judaism teaches that man is born good. He is not born a sinner. He becomes responsible for his sins at the age of 13 (12 for girls) when he becomes a "man of duty" (Bar-Mitzvah). Until this age, a child's sins are the responsibility of the parents. From the age of 13, he is considered a responsible adult who can choose not to sin. It is taught that man is born good, but has two opposing inclinations in him: One leads to the good, and the other to the bad. Paul dealt with the concept of the good and bad inclinations in Romans 7:17-21. Even the bad inclination is not evil in and of itself. If properly directed and controlled, it serves a useful purpose. In contrast to this biblical concept, Christianity offers the doctrine original sin, beginning with Augustine (355-430), bishop of Hippo in Africa. He was the architect of an ideology that taught that the act of sex was the vehicle of original sin. (See D.J. Bailey, "Sexual Relations in Christian Thought," pg. 53-56; D. Feldman, Marital Relation, Birth Control and Abortion in Jewish Law, pg. 83-84) Augustine taught that the consequence of this sin is transmitted through the sexual act from one generation to the next. Because of this, a child, he said, was literally conceived in the "sin" of its parents. The connection between this idea and the doctrine of Immaculate Conception and Virgin Birth should be obvious. Sin should be understood as defiance and rebellion to divine law. It is not a hereditary evil. It should be clear that if there did exist such a thing as "original sin," transferred from one generation to the next, this would undermine man's divine right to a free will. Man would no- longer be a free moral agent. Man, contrary to this, has to choose the good and reject the evil; overcome the evil with good. (For an analysis of this see S. Schechter, Aspects of Rabbinic Theology, New York: Schocken Books, 1961, pp. 242-263.) In Judaism the concept of salvation relates more to the here and now than in Christianity. Some Jews kind of think of Christianity as a religion of death in that salvation means you get to go to heaven. So Christians must look forward to dying so they can finally get to heaven and be with God. The Jew relates more to this picture of salvation as portrayed by the story of the little woman with the issue of blood in Matthew 9:18-22. In this story, the woman was already a part of the family of God, but she needed saving in the here and now. This story also begs the question, ‘why did Jesus come?’ The answer is found in Ezekiel 34, and I’d urge you all to read the entire chapter. But here is a couple of verses which give you a taste of what God says. 15 I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign LORD. 16 I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak. But I will destroy those who are fat and powerful. I will feed them, yes—feed them justice! (So if we’re supposed to be imitators of Christ, shouldn’t we be doing more to bandage the injured, helping to strengthen the weak, trying to lead back those who’ve gone astray?) In Judaism, the devil is a created being subject to God. He cannot do anything he wants. He has no power or authority of his own. He almost becomes a non-entity. He is more identified with the inclination towards evil, the yetzer ha-ra. Judaism spends very little time (if any at all) even discussing him. "The Satan" is man's adversary that accuses him before God. He is not given in Judaism the emphasis that he is given by modern Christianity. In Christianity, Satan has become almost a god of equal force for evil as God is force for good. Dualism is the foundation for this kind of thinking. It is a thought contrary to pure monotheism. As far as monotheism is concerned, God is God and there is none to even compare or challenge Him. Satan is not omnipresent, omniscient, nor omnipotent. Satan is a deceiver and a liar. (John 8:44, 11 Corinthians 11:3). Satan is not the god of this world as is taught in Christianity. II Corinthians 4:4 has been seriously misunderstood, and erroneously translated. In Judaism sex is good, appointed by God. The marriage bed is undefiled (Hebrews13:4). Marriage is considered a great honor. Having children is considered as the fulfillment of "be fruitful and multiply." The husband is to satisfy his wife and give her pleasure in sex. Sex is to be engaged in a certain amount of times per week or month depending upon one's profession. No prescribed maximum number of times for engaging in sex were given. Sex, within its prescribed limitations, was considered holy, because it was created by a Holy God. Sex in marriage was considered so holy that the pious Jew was enjoined to have sex with his wife, especially on Sabbath, because it is holy unto the Lord. Sex was so highly valued that a man or woman that denied their marriage partner sexual relations could sue for divorce and get it. If one withheld sex for two weeks, according to the school of Shammai, and one week, according to the school of Hillel, a divorce could be granted. The school of Hillel prevailed. (Ketuboth 5:6) Now compare this with the "Christian" sex ethic traditionally taught for centuries. There has always been a certain stigma or taboo about sex in Christianity that is inherent in its theology, dating from the second century. Many consider sex as inherently sinful, though in marriage, for the purpose of procreation only, it is not a "mortal" but a "venial" sin. The idea developed in Christianity that it was meritorious to abstain from sex in marriage. It's no wonder that, among believers, there have been so many marital problems in this area. If the Church had retained the Jewish understanding of the marital relationship, many problems would have been avoided. In recent times, there has been some progress and correction among Christians concerning marital sex and the marriage relationship in general. It is too bad the progress has been so slow. Still, much error is being taught by selfproclaimed "teachers," and some are being carried away by their ignorance. Judaism considered marriage a mitzvah--a religious duty. Delaying marriage had to be justified with legitimate reasons; when one is married, "sin comes to an end." (Yeb. 63b) He that was not married was considered to be without joy, blessing, good, protection, peace, or life. It was said that it is correct for a man to love his wife as himself, that he respect her more than himself, that he be compassionate with her, that he take care of her as he would care for one of the members of his own body; and she should love him because she came out from him. This is why the Creator commanded the husband to never subtract from her what is rightfully hers; food, clothing, shelter, and conjugal rights (marital relations), that should include joy and intimacy. (See Maurice Lamm, The Jewish Way in Love and Marriage, New York: Harper and Row Publishers; 1980, p.124. This entire book is an excellent exposition on the subject.) As an aside here, this brings up a very good Jewish biblical position that more Christians should pay attention to. Unequally yoked. What does this mean? The Jew believes that God doesn’t recognize marriage if it’s with an unbeliever. The Jew had very little to do with the gentile (pagan). You weren’t even to go into business with them. This leads us to this idea that we shouldn’t sue someone. Remember, if one is dealing with a fellow Jew, yes you should work out your differences without taking it to a court, but this didn’t apply to how we may or may not react to someone who was not a believer, just as those teachings of Jesus about turning the other cheek or giving someone your coat, generally applies to how we treat a believer, not the world. Today, Church has become a building or something one does on Sunday, a religious service rather than a community. (As another important aside, the believer is the church, not some building. God lives in you. The building is just that, a building, a meeting place for us to gather). It does not have the same organizational structure and functionaries as ancient Judaism and the early Church. It has become ecclesiastical and hierarchical. The Synagogue and It’s Functionaries (Insert Handout of The Synagogue and It’s Functionaries) In every synagogue there was a room adjacent to it called bet hamidrash. It was a room for study, considered to be even more important than the synagogue. With this, we come face to face with the great emphasis placed in Judaism on study and teaching. The Church has almost completely lost the idea of the importance of study to biblical faith. It has been terribly negligent in this area. According to the work of Jewish oral law known as the Mishnah, a boy began study of the scripture at 5 years of age, at ten--Mishnah, at fifteen--Talmud, etc. The point is that study and teaching were of primary importance. The Church today is woefully ignorant because she has emphasized preaching and evangelization, and almost completely ignored teaching and study. Instruction for growth has been sadly lacking. She has forgotten the commission of the Lord to go and teach and make disciples. "Disciple" is a word best understood by its Hebrew counterpart, talmid, a talmid is a student (Matthew 28:19-20). The Church must study to show itself approved unto God. In Judaism it is understood that the earth was not created in six literal days. The Hebrew word for day, yom, can be understood in a number of different ways. The best definition for "day" in the first chapter of Genesis, could be a creative day, however long that was. One translation is "period" as in an unspecified period of time. (Solomon Schonfeld, The Universal Bible, London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1955, pp. 13-16) It could not have been a literal day of twenty-four hours. If it was, the biblical text would have to be thrown out as fiction. Science has proven the process, involved in creation through astronomy, physics, anthropology, archaeology, etc. The age of the earth is certainly much more than the fictional six thousand year theory that was introduced by Bishop Usher. He estimated, through the genealogies in Matthew and Luke, that the earth was created in 4004 B.C. Any time you begin to try to figure dates by the use of biblical genealogies, you are in trouble. The genealogies in the Gospels are incomplete, yet they fit perfectly into the Jewish understanding of them. In Matthew 1:8-.9, of Jesus' genealogy, these kings are left out: Ahaziah, Athaliah, Joash, Amaziah, Jehoahaz and Johoiakim. With this we learn an important lesson in Jewish genealogy. To the Hebrew mind it was as correct to say "A" begat "Z," and leave out all the others, as to say "A" begat "B." Remains have been found of Homo sapiens that go back one hundred thousand years or more at the Border Caves in Africa. At the Carmel Caves in Israel there have been found very old remains of humans that go back sixty or seventy thousand years. The human family is much older than 4004 B.C. The Hebrew text of the Genesis account would admit this understanding of creation. We must understand that Genesis chapters one and two are not scientific accounts. It is a simple narrative that did not in any way have "science" in mind. When we look at it in Hebrew, we see that the best that is known scientifically fits perfectly with the biblical text and does not contradict it. Creation theology in Christianity simply does not have a leg to stand on in the Hebrew account of the Genesis narrative. A translation endorsed by numerous rabbinic authorities is the modern targum by Isaac Elchanan Mozeson. If space permitted we could quote the entire passage of Genesis chapter one, but a few verses will suffice for our purposes. "From the beginning of this creation for revelation the Lord balanced the spiritual and the material. (1) And the Lord willed energy and it radiated. (3) And the Lord summoned the energies of day and entropy of night and there was mingling before examination in millennium one. (5) and the Lord willed vegetable from the mineral, perennial greening... (11) And the Lord willed that there evolve from marine plants mobile, organic life; amphibians emerging until fin and wing fly through the skies... (20) And the Lord created the dinosaurs and all reptilian life that evolved from aquatic species and all species of feathered birds... (21) And the Lord willed that the material and spiritual together make up human form and essence... (26) And Cro-Magnon was created from its Neanderthal mold, body and soul a divine creature; hermaphroditic were they created. (27) (From the Beginning, A Modem Targum) Christianity has become a very exclusive religion. If one is not a member of the Church, or sometimes even of one particular denomination, then it is taught one is bound to go to hell, or be separated eternally from God. In Judaism there has always been the principle that the righteous of all nations will have their place in olam-haba, the world to come. These are the righteous, being neither Christian nor Jew, who will have a place in the world to come. They are the ones that have been obedient to the minimum demands of God upon all the human race. God expects every human being to at least adhere to the basic commands and prohibitions incumbent upon all mankind. In Judaism, these are known as the Noachide Laws or the Laws to the sons of Noah. They were derived exegetically (explanatively) from the commandments and instructions God gave Adam and those given to Noah when he came out of the ark. The Noachide Commandments are basically seven in number. The Hebraic tradition attached to the Hebrew Bible has taught throughout its history the existence of a biblical code of "Seven Laws" for all the children of Noah. (See Aaron Lichenstein: The Seven Laws of Noah.) This would include all humanity because, according to the biblical text, we all descended from Noah and his three sons. (This concept is not to be confused with the seven deadly sins of medieval philosophy.) In the Talmud there are many references to these, (e.g., Sanhedrin 56-60). The seven laws are in reality six prohibitions and one command which are as follows: 1) Idolatry, 2) Blasphemy, 3) Murder, 4) Theft, 5) Sexual Immorality, 6) Eating maimed animals or portions severed from living animals. The Seventh law is an injunction to establish a legal system of justice to enforce the prohibitions and mete out punishment to the violators. We have three clear witnesses that this was taught in the New Testament. This will prove that the faith of Jesus was not to exclude the rest of the righteous of the world from a place in the world to come. The three witnesses are none other than Jesus, Paul, and James. Jesus' teaching is in Matthew 25:31-46, where he gives the parable of the gathering of all nations (Gentiles) before God, and he separates the righteous from the wicked. The righteous of the nations (Gentiles) were not Jews. No Jew would call himself or another Jew a Gentile. (Even Paul distinguished between Gentiles and the followers of Christ.) Jesus' reference could not be to Christians because there were none in his day. It was to those that followed the Noachide Laws, the righteous of the nations. The clarity of his teaching here is unmistakable when seen in its Jewish context. Paul's teaching is found in Romans 2:5-15. He refers to God dealing with those without the laws, the nations (or the Gentiles). The nations without the law do by nature those things of the law. They have no law, yet are a law unto themselves. The law to the nations, being that which God spoke to Noah and his three sons. This law has been written in their hearts, their conscience witnessing to them, and the thoughts between one Judge who will give to every man according to his works. Everlasting life, or a place in the world to come, will be to those persisting in good works. Those disobeying the truth, because of self-interest and obeying unrighteousness, will receive God's anger and be eternally separated from Him. The Jew has more responsibilities before God than these seven laws of Noah. He is subject to the 613 mitzvot in the Torah. In Christ, the believer is not subject to the 613 mitzvot. He is subject to Christ and to the basic laws incumbent upon all mankind as they are amply expanded upon by Paul in his epistles. Yet, the believer in Christ also has the privilege and liberty to practice those mitzvot (beyond the basics) if he wants to, but he is not under obligation to them. The leaders of the community of the faithful in Christ at Jerusalem, with James presiding, came to an important conclusion at a meeting called to settle the question, "Do the Gentiles that come to God through Jesus need to be circumcised and keep the law?" (See Acts 15) They concluded that it was completely unnecessary for a pagan converted to God through Christ to be circumcised or obligated to the 613 mitzvot. (They were all still in force at this historical period of time.) They arrived at the same conclusion many rabbis of the period would have come to, especially those of the school of Hillel. It was determined to prohibit converts from their old pagan forms of worship. The possibility that these prohibitions were taken from the laws of Noah are undeniable. (See D. Flusser, Judaism and the Origins of Christianity, pp. 630-631; and W.D. Davies, Paul and Rabbinic Judaism, 4th ed. p. 118; Encyclopedia Judalca, see "Noachide Laws".) They prohibited idolatry, fornication (sexual immorality), eating blood and that that was strangled. Paul taught this to his gentile converts. The prohibitions of the Jerusalem Council were evidently only representative. Later Paul greatly expands them in his letters to the churches that were mainly composed of converts from paganism. The Jewish follower of Jesus continued to be a Jew in all respects and maintained his religion. He did not "convert" to another religion. Jewish followers of Jesus were practically indistinguishable from those Jews who did not believe in him. Even in the days of Hadrian (second century), the Christians were still generally considered to be Jews. The Jewish idea of spirituality is very different than the Christian one. Judaism understands the sanctity of all life and is down-to-earth rather than otherworldly. Christianity compartmentalizes life into categories of spiritual and secular. So much importance is laid on that which is supposedly spiritual, that some become of no earthly good. Probably this is what has contributed to the low ethical quality of some Christians. The spiritual has been divorced from the physical. Once again, this is evidence of pagan philosophy--dualistic thought that has permeated the Church. (An excellent treatment of this subject is found in M. Wilson, Our Father Abraham, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1989. The entire book should be required study for every follower of Jesus.) Judaism sees the world as divided into Jews and Gentiles; those chosen and those that are not. The idea of chosenness excludes racism and is not to be identified with it. Judaism is a matter of religion, not race or nationality. Anyone can become a Jew through conversion. Any person of any nation, or any color, can convert to Judaism and will be considered to be a Jew just like the one born of a Jewish mother. The charge that Judaism is racist is completely without foundation and is a slanderous fabrication of modern anti-Semitism. Again, I remind you of the Ethiopian officer who traveled to Jerusalem to worship, and who was later baptized by Philip. The Church has rarely ever understood that the faith of Jesus brings the believer into a union before God with the Jew. We become grafted into the olive tree which is Israel, the people of God. Therefore we should not boast against the branches, (the Jews), because we (talmidim of Jesus with a past gentile background), are held up by the root (Judaism), and it is not we that sustain it. (Romans 11) The Church has nevertheless indulged not only in boasting, but in the persecution, repression, forced conversion, and even the murder of the Jew. The Christian Church, down through history, has done its best to destroy the Jew, culturally, politically, financially, socially, and in every other way it could dream up. The twentieth-century Church is far removed from the historical and religious roots of the Judaism of the first century. Christianity has become a religion that would have been totally foreign to Jesus and the apostles. Today, the Church universal sees itself as gentile in composition and not a part of Israel. (But I urge you to read Galations 3). It believes that the Jews have been rejected by God and that the Church has replaced them as the chosen people. Replacement theology, as this ideology is known, is widespread. The belief is that the Church is the "New Israel." Israel has been spiritualized by the Church. "Spiritual Israel" is what some call themselves. The references in the Scriptures to Israel have been terribly twisted and reinterpreted to mean the Church and not physical Israel. All the blessings are for the "Real Israel," the Church, and all the curses are for the Jews. This is a grotesque perversion of the Scriptures that is still being taught by certain Christian groups. In Christianity, faith in God is elevated to a belief system that is above tangible action. The word for "faith" in Hebrew does not exclude tangible action, and is not to be understood as intangible belief alone. Faith without corresponding action is dead; it has no life and is not pleasing to God. Faith is better understood as faithfulness to God and His Word, doing that which is right in His sight. It is faithfulness to God via good deeds. (cf. James 2:14-26) The idea is best summed up in the words of Jesus when He said; "By their fruits you will know them ... every good tree produces good fruit; but the corrupt tree produces evil fruits.... Not everyone who says to me; "Lord, Lord" will be those over whom God (or Heaven) rules, but the ones who DO the will of my Father in Heaven." (Matthew 7:16-21) "Good fruits" are good works. The Scriptures emphasized works above creeds or dogma. God considers actions to be of more importance than beliefs. In Christianity beliefs became the central demand. Deeds became less important than creeds. Though belief became the priority and essence of Christianity, this idea was not practiced by Jesus or his disciples. Jesus' emphasis always lay in doing the will of the Father. The Church has come to judge people by beliefs plus the sacraments. The Father of Protestantism, Martin Luther, in disagreement with the Church, (though not because he placed more importance on good works), emphasized that belief alone, without the sacraments, was what saved. In his pamphlet "Christian Liberty" (published 1520); Luther declared, "Above all, understand what I have said, that faith alone, without works, justifies, delivers, saves." (By faith he meant belief.) What has been the result of this heresy? Millions of Christians are convinced that in God's eyes, a person's conduct is less important than his beliefs. This mentality has led to the development of the doctrine of eternal security prevalent in many evangelical circles, and the "union" and "communion" theology, which is basically identical to the former. God is the Creator of Everything Everything in the universe was created by God, and only by God. Judaism completely rejects the dualistic notion that evil was created by a Satan or some other deity. All comes from God. As Isaiah said, "I am the LORD, and there is none else. I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil. I am the LORD that does all these things" (Isaiah 45:6-7). God is Incorporeal Although many places in scripture and the Talmud speak of various parts of God's body (the Hand of God, God's wings, etc.) or speak of God in anthropomorphic terms (God walking in the garden of Eden, God laying tefillin, etc.), Judaism firmly maintains that God has no body. Any reference to God's body is simply a figure of speech, a means of making God's actions more comprehensible to beings living in a material world. Much of Maimonides’ ‘Guide for the Perplexed’ is devoted to explaining each of these anthropomorphic references and proving that they should be understood figuratively. We are forbidden to represent God in a physical form. That is considered idolatry. The sin of the Golden Calf incident was not that the people chose another deity, but that they tried to represent God in a physical form. God is Neither Male nor Female This followed directly from the idea that God has no physical form. God has, of course, no body; therefore, the very idea that God is male or female is patently absurd. We refer to God using masculine terms simply for convenience's sake, because Hebrew has no neutral gender; God is no more male than a table is. Although we usually speak of God in masculine terms, there are times when we refer to God using feminine terms. The Shechinah, the manifestation of God's presence that fills the universe, is conceived of in feminine terms, and the word Shechinah is a feminine word. God is Omnipresent God is always near for us to call upon and He sees all that we do, wherever we are. Closely tied in with this is the idea that God is universal: He is not just the God of the Jews, but the God of all nations. On the subject of kingdom, take a look at Luke 17:21. “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (KJV) There has been a lot of confusion about the subject of the Kingdom of God. But to the Jew, God has been mentioned/recognized as king regularly throughout Jewish prayer books. There is a maxim in Judaism that any benediction that has no reference to God’s divine kingship, is no benediction. From the Jews point of view, and many Christians as well, God’s kingdom is comprised of those who are ruled by Him. It should not be viewed as futuristic, and furthermore, there is very little in the Bible that deals with the future. The Bible mostly deals with the here and now. Where is life? When you think about life, what do you think? To the Jew, life is in the blood (Lev. 17:11). Further, Ezekiel 18:20 says, ‘the soul that sinneth shall surely die.’ So when we see in Jewish law that an animal had to be sacrificed, its blood shed, to pay for the sins of the sinner. We see death of an innocent as payment for the sins of the sinner. Yet we see at least two examples in the Bible of men who didn’t die. This implies that they didn’t sin, although one could argue that point. But let’s suppose, that those two men didn’t sin. Why couldn’t they have died on the cross for our sins? The answer is, they had the corrupted blood of Adam. When we look at the birth of Jesus, we see a human mother, but God is the father. A fetus (baby) is fed, or nourished, by the mother through the placenta, which is attached to the umbilical cord. In the placenta, the mother's blood and the fetal blood both flow through vessels that are very close together, yet independent. The mother's blood does not mix with the fetal blood. When the mother's blood is close to the fetal blood, oxygen and nutrients move from the mother's blood into the fetal blood. As the blood flows through the fetus, it picks up waste products and returns to the mother through the umbilical cord. The blood (with waste products from the fetus) goes through the mother's lungs and liver, where waste products are removed. In other words, Jesus’ blood was never tainted by the mothers. His blood was divine. The bible teaches also that God intended for all of us to be priests of God. In Exodus 19:6 God told Moses that he wanted his people to be priests. But when the people came to the foot of the mountain, they became afraid and high tailed it out of there. Exodus 20:18. They told Moses, we’ll listen to you, but don’t have God talk to us. But then look at the picture of the temple veil into the holy of holies tearing in two upon the death of Jesus.