Explaining Judaism to a Teenager

Posted on July 7, 2011 by yourphariseefriend

Explaining Judaism to a Teenager

I don’t have to tell you that teenagers ask questions.  – How do you answer them?

There is only one way to do it: Honestly.

So when your teenager asks you: How do we know that Judaism is true? – What are you going to answer?

Here is a suggestion:

By definition, a religion is going to be telling you information about the realm of the unknown. Each world religion claims to possess the truth about things that we cannot see, feel, hear, touch or taste. Judaism claims that there is One God who demands that we live a moral life. You can’t see this God and the benefits of living a moral life a moral life aren’t readily apparent to a teenager. Christianity claims that Jesus is divine and that if you don’t believe in him you will live to regret it in the afterlife. The alleged divinity of Jesus is not something that anyone ever saw. Islam claims that Mohammed is a true prophet. No-one ever touched or felt the prophecy of Mohammed.

In order to get you to believe their respective claims, each religion must present a bridge through which the information passed from the realm of the unknown to this physical world. Each religion points to a conduit through which they receive their information from that unseen and untouchable world.

The Christian points to Jesus. Jesus, it is said came from the world of the unknown, and told us what he learned there. Jesus is the conduit of communication that the Christian must rely on in order to bring the information from the world of the unknown to our physical world.

The Moslem points to Mohammed. Mohammed, it is said, peered into the world of the unknown and taught his followers what he learned.  For Islam, it is Mohammed who bridges the gap from the world of the unknown to this material world.

Judaism is the only world religion that does not bridge this gap through an individual. The two foundational precepts of Judaism; the perception of God and the knowledge that Moses is His prophet, both came from God directly to the nation, as a whole, from the realm of the next world (Deuteronomy 4:35, Exodus 19:9).

Judaism is the only belief system that lays claim to obtaining information from the realm of the unknown on the level of a nation. The fact that this claim is unique to Judaism is something to consider.

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in Faith Structure | 3 Comments

Explaining Judaism to a Child

Posted on July 7, 2011 by yourphariseefriend

Explaining Judaism to a Child

Children ask questions. That is how God created them. The interaction that is generated by the questions children ask is a key component in the education of the child (- adults can learn a lot form these interactions too).

So what do you do when a child asks you: “how can I know that we are right? If I would have been born into a family of a different faith, I will probably believe as they do. Does the fact that I happen to have been born into Judaism make it right?”

How do you explain the foundations of Judaism to the child?

You always have the option of pointing the child to books like the Kuzari or the books of Rabbi Avigdor Miller, and encourage him or her to read them. However, in most cases, the child is capable of asking the questions before he or she is capable of understanding these books.

You could point to the experiences of Judaism; the sanctity of the Sabbath (Exodus 31:13), answered prayers and connecting to God through the observances of Judaism, but for some children, this answer will not work. Some children will continue to press you, they will ask: “don’t the members of other religions also claim to encounter deep spiritual experiences in the context of their respective faiths? Do I have to taste the experiences of every faith and compare them to each other before I can be confident that we have the truth?”

Here is one way of presenting Judaism to a child:

“You know my dear how much I love you. You can surely recognize that all parents love their children. The love that parents have towards children is one of the most powerful forces that exist on this planet. It wouldn’t make sense to assume that a nation of parents will knowingly teach their children to live and die for a lie. Perhaps one or two crazy people out of a million may intentionally mislead their children, but we cannot believe that a nation of parents would deliberately deceive their children.

We can therefore be confident that Christian parents and Moslem parents are telling their children the truth. And they are. The Christian parent tells his or her child that 2000 years ago some men came to our country and taught us a teaching that we accepted and believed. And this is indeed true. 2000 years ago the apostles of Christianity came to the world and delivered their message, and by and large, people accepted their message.

The Moslem parent is telling his or her child the absolute truth. About 1500 years ago a man came out of the desert and taught us a teaching and we accepted that teaching. This is indeed absolutely true. 1500 years ago a man did come out of the desert and he did present a teaching that many people accepted.

The Jewish parent is not telling his or her child that someone presented a teaching to them. The Jewish parent is testifying – this happened to us. WE were taken out ofEgyptwith signs and wonders, WE wandered in the desert for 40 years while God sustained us with open miracles and God spoke to ALL OF US at Sinai. No one told us the story, it happened to us.

If you want to reject our testimony you will be saying that the Jewish nation is the only nation in the world that knowingly passed on a lie to her children. It doesn’t add up.”

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in Faith Structure | 13 Comments

The Exodus versus the Resurrection

Posted on July 7, 2011 by yourphariseefriend

The Exodus versus the Resurrection

Most world religions look to various miraculous events as the foundations of their faith. Judaism and Christianity both share this quality. Both of these belief systems see certain supernatural occurrences as the pillars of their respective faiths. Judaism looks to the Exodus experience, while Christianity looks to the resurrection of Jesus. Each of these belief systems points to their own “foundational miracles” to justify their respective beliefs.

How do these two claims compare to each other? Is Christianity’s claim that Jesus was resurrected in any way comparable to Judaism’s claim that the miracles of the exodus were real events in the history of the nation? Are these two claims equally credible?

The answer is a thunderous NO! There is no way to compare Christianity’s resurrection claim to Judaism’s exodus. These two are as far apart from each other as east is from west.  This is true on several levels.

Impact

The Exodus impacted the lives of two nations in a concrete way that is measurable in practical terms. Egypt lost it slaves, Israel was freed from slavery. Egypt was devastated by a series of plagues, while Israel was sustained in the desert for 40 years. The Egyptian army drowned in the sea, while Israel was saved from its pursuers.

To understand the impact of the exodus in modern terms try to imagine the Mississippi turning to blood for a week, the entire USA plagued with frogs, lice, locusts, darkness and the death of the firstborn. Then imagine the entire army drowning in the sea. The impact of these events touches so many people.

Who is impacted practically by a resurrection?

Duration

The exodus miracles lasted for 40 years, the resurrection of Jesus is limited to a few “sightings”.

Witnesses I

Those who testify to the truth of the exodus are the physical descendants of the people who were impacted by this event. There is no one alive today claiming to be a physical descendant of those who witnessed Jesus’ resurrection.

Witnesses II

The witnesses for the exodus include an entire nation, a nation that was large enough to capture the land of Canaan. The witnesses for Jesus’ resurrection are the few individuals who followed him in his life-time.

Witnesses III

The community of witnesses that testify to the verity of the exodus had no predisposition for this story. There are no motivating factors that we could point to that would explain why the Jewish people “needed” to produce the exodus story. The followers of Jesus desperately “needed” a resurrection story. These people had already committed themselves in devotion to this charismatic leader. They believed he was greater than Moses and wiser than Solomon, and now he was dead. With this psychological backdrop, it would be a historical aberration if these people wouldn’t come up with something along the lines of a resurrection story.

Direct versus Implied

The foundational events of Judaism directly prove the theological truths that they are called upon to support. God introduced Himself to the nation at Sinai with the words: “I am the Lord your God”. They were shown that there is no power aside from God (Deuteronomy 4:35). The nation heard God speaking to Moses, thus confirming that Moses is indeed a prophet – i.e. one to whom God speaks (Exodus 19:9). The two pillars of Judaism, the perception of God and the knowledge that Moses is a true prophet came directly from God to the entirety of the nation.

Even if we were to assume that the resurrection actually happened, it would still not  confirm the theological claims of Christianity in a direct way. Just because someone was resurrected does not make him or her the second person in the godhead or the Jewish Messiah. The Jewish Scriptures record several instances of resurrection (1 Kings 17, 2 Kings 4:8-37, 13:20,21). No one ever claimed that the people who were resurrected by Elijah and Elisha were divine. It is only through the interpretation of the theologian that one moves from a resurrection claim to the trinity.

Philosophy

There is a fundamental difference between the ideas that the exodus and the resurrection are called upon to support. The concept that there is One Supreme being who is above all of nature is a concept that many philosophers came to believe in through human reasoning. There is no inherent “mystery” in the concept of One Creator to whom all are beholden.

The Christian trinity, on the other hand, is a theological absurdity. The concept that a human being, who walked the earth like everyone else, is somehow divine; is not a logical conclusion that anyone would come to on his own. Christian theologians admit that this concept is a “mystery” that cannot be readily understood.

Consistency versus Conflict

The theological claims of Judaism do not conflict with any other claims that Judaism accepts as valid. There is no room for potential conflict. The exodus establishes the basis of a belief that does not conflict with any other previously established claim in any way.

The theological claims of Christianity, on the other hand, conflict with the claims of Judaism that Christianity claims to accept. The exodus miracles taught the Jewish people to worship no one beside the God that they were introduced to at Sinai. This obviously excludes Jesus. Christian theologians found the need to exert themselves for 2000 years to reconcile the monotheism of the Jewish Scriptures with the trinity of the Catholic Church, coming up with conflicting solutions to this problem. In other words the faith that the resurrection is called upon to support needs a plethora of complicated theological arguments to defend it from the charge of idolatry. The faith that the exodus is called upon to support does not.

Who is Obligated

According to Judaism, the only people that are bound to the teachings of Moses are the physical descendants of those who experienced the exodus and those who choose to join them. Judaism does not believe that the rest of the world is separated from God if they do not accept the teachings of Judaism. Judaism teaches that as long as one follows their conscience that God implanted into every human being they can enter into a relationship with God.

In sharp contrast, Christianity teaches that anyone who does not accept Jesus is condemned to the fires of eternal hell, their relationship with the Creator of heaven and earth notwithstanding.

Conclusion

In order to establish that there is One Supreme Being above all of nature; God turned the Nile into blood, plagued Egypt with frogs, lice, wild animals, pestilence, boils, locusts, hail, darkness, and the death of their firstborn. This wasn’t enough, he had to split the sea, and drown the Egyptian army. Still not enough. He had to sustain a nation in the wilderness for 40 years leading them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of cloud by night. Still not enough. He had to speak to the entirety of the nation to establish the only claim for a national revelation in the history of mankind. All of this; for the purpose of establishing a truth that the philosophers of many disparate cultures discovered on their own.

Yet Christianity would have us believe that to establish the idea that a certain human being is deserving of all of our worship – the same God produced a resurrection that was only verified by the few believers?! And Christianity doesn’t stop there. Christianity would have us believe that the same God condemns everyone to hell for not believing the theological claims of the Church.

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in Faith Structure | 27 Comments

Jeremiah 22:16 – I

Posted on July 5, 2011 by yourphariseefriend

Jeremiah 22:16

We are born with the capability of total surrender. It is possible for a person to give themselves over completely, body and soul, to anyone or anything.

Many people go through life without exercising this capability. They may perhaps give over a part of themselves; to their spouses, to their country, to an ideal, or to the deity that they believe in, but they will not submit themselves in complete surrender to any of these entities. They hold on tight to their inner self and that deepest part of their psyche never bends to anyone.

There are others, who do exercise the human capability of total surrender. At some point in their lives they encounter an entity that captivates them to the degree that they pledge their very existence to that entity. Others are persuaded to surrender their lives to someone or something for hope of eternal promise or for fear of punishment. (This last scenario cannot truly be considered total surrender; after all, the motivation behind this surrender is selfish, but that is a separate discussion.)

These two groups of people; the ones who will not surrender themselves completely, and those who surrender themselves to the entity of their choice, are both making the same mistake. Both of these groups of people assume that it is their prerogative to surrender themselves when they chose and to whomsoever they chose. This is not the truth that is taught by the Jewish Bible. The Bible clearly teaches that we already belong, completely and totally, body and soul, to the One who brought us into existence and who is constantly sustaining every facet of our lives. (Psalm 95:1-7). It is not for us to choose to whom to direct our devotion to, nor is it for us to withhold our submission. It is for us to recognize that we already belong to the One Creator of heaven and earth.

It is not easy to come to a clear recognition of God’s absolute sovereignty over ourselves. We have a tendency to see ourselves as masters, as self-sufficient and independent beings. It is difficult for us to acknowledge that we possess absolutely nothing; not our wealth, not our bodies not our souls and not our lives. There is a part of us that refuses to see that we are absolute paupers before God. Many of us carry this knowledge in our minds, but few of us actually live this truth with every breath.

The prophet points to King Josiah as a man who recognized the reality of existence. He lived with the knowledge that he possessed nothing before God. Every fiber of his being pulsated with the truth that he, as well as everybody else are but beneficiaries of God’s kindness and that in no way can we consider ourselves deserving of that kindness.

When Josiah saw a pauper, when he saw the need of the weak people in society, he saw a reflection of himself. Josiah was never able to tell himself: “I am different than these destitute people; I have and they don’t, I am master and they are subjects, I possess and they are needy” – because Josiah lived and breathed the truth that we are all equally beholden to God; completely and absolutely.

The prophet points to Josiah’s activities on behalf of the poor: “This is knowing God”.

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in Basic | 3 Comments

Usurper in Triplicate

Posted on June 30, 2011 by yourphariseefriend

Usurper in Triplicate

Who is the book about? Who are the main characters in this story? What is the central theme of the narrative?

These are the questions that we ask ourselves when we read any work of literature.  It is important for us to distinguish between the fundamental and the peripheral, between the center-stage and the back-drop.

There is no reason that we should treat the Jewish Bible with less consideration than we would treat any other written work.

So who is the Jewish Bible about? Who are the main characters of this story? What is the central theme of the Bible narrative?

The Jewish Bible is about God and the people of Israel. God and the nation of Israel are the central characters in the book. The central theme of the Jewish Bible is the ongoing relationship between God and the Jewish people.  God’s law stands at the center of this relationship.  By presenting His holy and perfect law to the Jewish people, God gave them the path through which they can express their loyalty and their love to the God of their fathers.

To recap: God is the Divine lover, Israel is His bride, and the Torah is the heart of their relationship. This is the focus of the Jewish Scriptures.

Enter Christianity.

Christianity attempts to reject God’s bride; Israel. They proclaim to Israel: “you are NOT the children of Abraham”.  Christianity attempts to teach mankind that the God of Israel is unapproachable. And Christianity attempts to malign God’s law with the contention that it is impossible.

In place of Israel, Christianity attempts to insert Jesus; who they claim to be the embodiment of everything that is good about Israel. In place of God, Christianity proposes Jesus; an approachable man. And in place of the Torah, Christianity advocates Jesus as: “the way, the light and the truth”.

Jesus demands the reverence that is coming to the God of Israel, Jesus claims the blessings of God’s bride; Israel, and Jesus seeks the obedience that belongs to the Torah.

Usurper in triplicate.

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in General | 8 Comments

Jeremiah 10:23

Posted on June 26, 2011 by yourphariseefriend

Jeremiah 10:23

Justice and kindness are prominent themes in the Jewish Scriptures. Jeremiah, Micah (6:8) and Moses (Genesis 18:19) all put these concepts at the center of our relationship with God.

Why?

Here is a thought.

The basis of our relationship with God is the fact that He created us (Psalm 100:3, Isaiah 42:5, 44:24). So what? Well, if He created us then we belong to him. When I say: “we belong to him” – I mean – everything – our lives our souls, our ability to love – everything. We owe every facet of our existence to the One Creator of all.

The concepts of: “belong” and “owe” only talk to us to the degree that justice is important to us. If justice is not important to us, then we cannot appreciate the idea that we “owe” everything to God and that we “belong” to God. It is only to the degree that we internalize the concept of justice, giving to each what rightfully belongs to them, that we can begin to feel where we stand in relation to God.

God is the Ultimate Giver. He gives and there is no taking on His part – pure kindness. To the degree that we do not love kindness, we are prone to confuse “giver” and “taker”. Every idolater is by definition worshiping a “taker” – a beneficiary of God’s overflowing kindness. This confusion is only possible where kindness is not appreciated. To the degree that we love kindness, to that same degree – and only to that same degree can we love the true God, the ultimate source of all kindness.

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in The Ultimate Truth | 2 Comments

Supplement to an “Open Letter”

Posted on June 26, 2011 by yourphariseefriend

Supplement to Rabbi Eli Cohen’s Open Letter

I received varying reactions to Rabbi Cohen’s letter. As usual, Sharlee’s comment was insightful, encouraging and to the point. But not all reactions were so friendly.

In light of this, I figured a bit of education never hurt anyone – except the cause of falsehood – so here goes.

John Adams, the second President of the United States wrote: “I will insist that the Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation. If I were an atheist, and believed in blind eternal fate, I should still believe that fate had ordained the Jews to be the most essential instrument for civilizing nations.”

(From a letter to F. A. Van der Kemp [Feb. 16, 1808] Pennsylvania Historical Society)

Now – I am quite aware that many Christians do not value the accomplishment of “civilizing” nations. They consider this accomplishment to be fleshly, earthly and material. I would argue that moving people from the jungle to a civilized democracy where everyone enjoys equal rights is quite a Godly accomplishment – but let us talk the language of the Christian.

I imagine that most Protestant Christians would consider the reformation of the Catholic Church to be a Godly accomplishment, and perhaps some Jews could also admit that it is a step in the right direction. A tiny step, but a step nonetheless.

Martin Luther, the most prominent figure of the reformation was heavily influenced by a Franciscan theologian; Nicholas of Lyra. Lyra’s influence on Luther was so strong that the saying went: “if Lyra had not played his lyre, Luther would not have danced”. Lyra, in turn was heavily influenced by Rashi, the Jewish Bible commentator. Lyra wrote: “I usually follow Rabbi Solomon (Rashi)”. Those Christians who could not stomach Lyra’s dependence upon Jewish scholarship, ridiculed Lyra with the term: “Rashi’s ape”.

In other words, no Jews, no reformation.

Are you still looking for a light?

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in Correspondence, History | 5 Comments

An Open Letter from Rabbi Eli Cohen

Posted on June 23, 2011 by yourphariseefriend

Where do the Jews play a role in G-d’s plan?

“Israel has not fulfilled in any measure its role to be a priestly nation for over 2,000 years. That’s the charge against G-d’s people.” I would say that such a charge is saying that G-d made a mistake when choosing the Jewish people , no?  Oh No! is the reply, G-d HAS a purpose for the Jews……. yet to be seen in the future.

OK, so let me ask you, what was the purpose of the nation of Israel from 400 ce –  1500 ce in G-d’s plan? To prove that G-d can preserve a nation?  Is this a silly game where Israel is just a guinea pig so G-d can prove Satan wrong?  The Jews are butchered just to prove a point?  Were the people of G-d just put on earth so that they can reject Jesus so that the message can be preached to the gentiles?

Paul teaches that the Jewish rejection was a blessing to the nations, but at what cost to Israel? The blessing for the gentiles was at the expense of the murder of millions of Jews for centuries. Does that sit well with you?  I know it doesn’t sit well with me.

How about G-d’s covenant with Israel in Isaiah 59:21 where G-d promises that His spirit and words will never depart from Israel? Was that including a break of 2,000 years? Can one totally ignore the supernatural preservation of Judaism despite all of the attempt (past and present) to eradicate Judaism?

I’m sorry if I’m a bit emotional, but I often feel that there’s an attempt to try and highlight all the “blessings” the gospels have brought the world and play down all the destruction it brought by conveniently placing the blame on “Christians who never knew Jesus” but that a cop out and simply not true.  Some of the people that were behind the terrible suffering brought upon the Jews were people who spent hours on their knees praying to Jesus. They studied the scriptures and believed they were doing what G-d wants them to do.  How can the Gospel that is supposed to be such a “blessing” be the source and root of such a curse?

The fact that today millions of Christians love Israel etc. won’t ever reverse past.  Today so many Christians are coming to see the error of Church and the validity of Jewish teachings that were preserved at the pain of death.  One needs not go that far, just look at replacement theology.  Many Christians today admit that replacement theology is a stain on Christian history, but why stop there? What else is part and parcel of that same stain?

Is anyone out there????

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in Correspondence | 40 Comments

Goldberg vs. Brown

Posted on June 16, 2011 by yourphariseefriend

My article entitled ‘Response to the Line of Fire 9″ ended with the following appeal to Dr. Michael L. Brown:

I would like to end this critique with an appeal to Dr. Brown.

The myth of the “blindness of the Jew” is an ugly stain in the history of mankind. Dr. Brown, instead of working to perpetuate this myth, I appeal to you to educate Christians of the fallacies of this myth. Explain to your audience that as long as the Jew sees the teachings of Christianity as a contradiction to the Scriptures with which we were entrusted by God – it is the moral duty of the Jew to REJECT those teachings. Encourage your audience to try to read the Jewish Scriptures as a Jew would have read them before the advent of Jesus. Encourage your listeners to attempt to acquire a complete world-view on the basis of the Jewish Scriptures alone – and ask them – how would they view the doctrines of Christianity in the light of the Jewish Scriptures.

Dr. Brown responded to this appeal on his blog with the following post:

Rabbi Blumenthal, to be sure I’m following your proposal, you are also willing to discard all Jewish tradition from your thinking — as much as possible — and look at the Tanakh alone to ask: What should the Jewish people been expecting 2,000 years ago, even though, from your own testimony, you ultimately know the Tanakh to be God’s Word because of that very tradition, and without that tradition you cannot rightly understand the Torah? Is that correct?

Also, we don’t have to speculate about what Jewish people were expecting 2,000 years ago, since we have numerous writings from different Jewish groups — the Pharisees being one of them — indicating a wide-range of beliefs (including eschatology as well as how to understand Torah). More importantly, our people often strayed from the path and God had to send prophets to bring us back to truth. Yeshua came in that respect as Prophet as well.

I could write much more (time escapes me again), but I don’t see the rationality of your proposal as you see it. Furthermore, for Christians here, they know the Tanakh is true because of Yeshua. If your arguments against him were true and he was neither Messiah nor Savior nor Son of God, they would have no reason to continue to believe in the Tanakh either. They have come to know the God of Israel through him, they have received forgiveness of sins through him, their lives have been transformed through him, and if he was not who he claimed to be, then for them, the Tanakh would be another book of myths and fairy tales. I might as well tell you, “The Torah is true but there is no God, so follow the Torah.”

Yes, we have the Tanakh in common, both you and I believing it to be God’s Word, but I ultimately recognize it as God’s Word because of Yeshua — the one who saved me from my sin and rebellion and darkness — not because of other important, but ultimately secondary reasons. (This is parallel to a counter-missionary rabbi telling me that he is ultimately sure that God exists because of the Jewish people.)

A Jewish fellow named “Goldberg” posted the following response to Dr. Brown’s response – I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Hi Dr. Brown.

Let me make clear up front that I am an Orthodox Jew. Not that there will be any doubt.

I think that your last response to Rabbi Blumenthal seriously blurs the basic ground rules of what these dialogues are all about. With that said I’d like to take a step back and reestablish for your readers what I believe to some of the axioms of these discussions

1)Countermissionaries, like Rabbi Blumenthal, exist ONLY because there are missionaries like yourself. Jews do not believe in a compelling need to undo the belief systems of non-Jews. It is only because Christian missionaries engage in what they believe to be their sacred responsibility to persuade Jews to embrace Jesus that countermissionaries engage in their efforts to “counter” that activity. Fair is fair. Put more simply – and it is extremely important that your readers understand this – if there was no one engaged in any effort to convert Jews to Christianity, the likelihood is that almost all of the countermissionary works that we are discussing and that your readers find so puzzling, if not offensive, would never have been written. While Jews obviously don’t believe Christianity to be truth, they also don’t believe Islam, or Hinduism to be truth. One need ask then, why is there so little – if any – counter-islam and counter-hindu Jewish literature out there, despite the fact that the two faiths together outnumber Christians. To be honest, I find the title of your series “Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus” to be itself misleading and a tad offensive. (As if Jews, by their nature, walk around muttering the objections to Jesus. How medieval.) Jews don’t walk around “objecting to Jesus”. The more honest, if not market-friendly, title should have been “Answering Jewish Objections to Christian Evangelical Overtures” You know very well that it is almost exclusively in this context that Jews “Object to Jesus”. I received 17 years of Yeshiva education and I’m not sure I can recall a single instance of any teacher devoting any time to a serious discussion of Jesus. It’s a non-issue – untill the missionary raises it.

2)Sophisticated missionaries, like yourself, know very well that the theology of Judaism is based on the scriptures as defined by the OT canon. Moreover, sophisticated missionaries – like yourself – acknowledge that this belief system of the Jew is valid which is why sophisticated missionaries – like yourself – have written so many thousands of pages of material with the intended to demonstrate that belief in Jesus is not only justified but inescapable, purely on the basis of the OT on its own terms.

3) Therefore:

a. This is a fight picked by the Christian not by the Jew.

b. The burden of proof is therefore on the Christian not the Jew.

c. If the proof is there in the OT as you believe it is, then

d. You must concede that Rabbi Blumenthal’s challenge to those who would engage in this debate, to read the OT purely on its own terms and then and only then consider the case for Jesus, is not only a resonable challenge but a necessary precondition, or there is really no point to the discussion.

4) If however, the real point is, as you so eloquently put it in comment number 44 above is that “…we have the Tanakh in common, both you and I believing it to be God’s Word, but I ultimately recognize it as God’s Word because of Yeshua – the one who saved me from my sin and rebellion and darkness – not because of other important, but ultimately secondary reasons…”, then my response to you is, I am happy that you found a basis for cleaning up your life and living meaningfully.

So have I.

Have a nice day.

You can view all the comments on Dr. Brown’s blog here – http://www.lineoffireradio.com/2011/06/09/dr-brown-answers-the-rabbis-part-2/#comments

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in Correspondence | 71 Comments

Response to the Line of Fire 9

Posted on June 13, 2011 by yourphariseefriend

Response to the Line of Fire 9

On the June 9 2011 edition of his Line of Fire radio show  http://lineoffireradio.askdrbrown.org/ , Dr. Brown interacts with an audio clip of a talk by Rabbi Michael Skobac of Jews for Judaism. The full presentation of Rabbi Skobac can be downloaded at http://www.divshare.com/download/14994437-329

Rabbi Skobac’s presentation is brief and to the point. Rabbi Skobac contends that if we would search the Bible for a description of the Messiah – without any preconceived notions about Jesus – we would never end up with Jesus. It is only after Christians accept Jesus that they then see Jesus in the Jewish Bible.

Dr. Brown did not find enough time in his two-hour radio program to present any substantive response to Rabbi Skobac’s argument. Instead of responding to Rabbi Skobac’s contention, Dr. Brown spends the time speaking about spiritual blindness, telling his audience how he encourages people to hear both sides of the story, accusing Rabbi Skobac of using “circular reasoning” and putting words into Rabbi Skobac’s mouth – words that he never said.

1 – Rabbi Skobac brings up the Christian belief that it is only a supernatural spiritual blindness that prevents Jews from seeing Jesus in the Jewish Scriptures. Dr. Brown counters Rabbi Skobac’s point by telling his audience that Jewish people would have to believe that the Christian people are spiritually blinded to the truth of Judaism.

Dr. Brown’s comparison is completely inappropriate. First of all, the traditional texts of Judaism don’t spend too much time judging the mindset of adherents to other religions – in sharp contrast to the Christians Scriptures and the writings of Christian thinkers since then – who spend an inordinate amount of time teaching their audience about the “blindness” of the Jew. Furthermore, the Jewish people do not have to assume that the Christian is “blinded” by anything more than the natural bias that affects every human being on earth with equal measure. The Christian on the other hand, must believe that the “truth” of Jesus could be staring you in the face and that a “supernatural” veil prevents you from seeing it. In his own radio program (May 20 2011) Dr. Brown maintained that Jesus explicitly taught his disciples about his impending death – in other words he told them “black on white” that he is going to die – and they “didn’t get it”. He then goes on to compare this with the “spiritual blindness” of the Jew. Dr. Brown is not talking about a natural bias – he is talking about not hearing explicit words that are spoken into your ear by your beloved teacher.

2 – Rabbi Skobac makes the point that if you search the Jewish Scriptures for a job description of the Messiah, you will never end up with Jesus.

Dr. Brown counters this point by stating that the Jewish Scriptures do not lay out the role of the Messiah in a text-book format. The Messianic prophecies, according to Dr. Brown, are not clearly laid out but rather they are the subject of debate.

Dr. Brown has inadvertently verified Rabbi Skobac’s argument. Before Jesus appeared on the scene, people had a clear idea of what the Messiah is supposed to accomplish – and until this very day – no student of Scripture has ever attempted to argue that the Jewish understanding of the Messiah that preceded the advent of Jesus was incorrect. What Christianity has done instead, is that they have presented the argument that there are some additional accomplishments that the Messiah must also fulfill. But these “additional accomplishments” are not clearly laid out in the Bible. The prophecies that Jesus did NOT fulfill ARE clearly laid out in the Bible – to the degree that no one ever dreamed of disputing the meaning of these explicit prophecies.

So to put Rabbi Skobac’s argument into Dr. Brown’s words: The Jewish expectation of the Messiah is clearly laid out in the Jewish Bible – to the degree that even if you are spiritually blinded (because you have not accepted Jesus) – you will see it. But the Christian expectations of the Messiah – is not clearly laid out in the Bible, is the subject of debate, and you can only see it if you are “cured” of your spiritual blindness through acceptance of Jesus. – Thank you Dr. Brown.

3 – Dr. Brown accuses Rabbi Skobac of using “circular reasoning”. Dr. Brown bases this accusation on the fact that Rabbi Skobac believes that the prophecies that Jesus did NOT fulfill are the ones Rabbi Skobac considers “Messianic” – while Rabbi Skobac dismisses the “prophecies” that Jesus did fulfill as “non-Messianic”.

Dr. Brown has already refuted himself, but for the benefit of the reader we will reiterate. Those prophecies that Jesus did NOT fulfill were always considered Messianic prophecies by all students of the Jewish Bible – spiritually blinded or not. The prophecies that Jesus did “fulfill” can only be seen by those “cured” from their “spiritual blindness” by acceptance of Jesus. If this is not circular reasoning, then what is?

4 – Dr. Brown assures his listeners that Matthew is a very sophisticated writer. He compares the inability of many to appreciate Matthew’s sophistication to the inability of one who has no understanding of science to appreciate Einstein’s theory of relativity.

Another inappropriate comparison. All who understand science appreciate Einstein’s theory of relativity – whether they are spiritually blinded or not. Not every student of the Jewish Scriptures appreciates Matthew. It is only those who are “cured” of “spiritual blindness” through acceptance of Jesus that have the ability to appreciate the sophistication of Matthew. Those who are “cured” of “spiritual blindness” through acceptance of Mohammed and Joseph Smith see unbelievable depths of sophistication in the Koran and in the Book of Mormon respectively. This is not science.

5 – Dr. Brown tells his audience that Rabbi Skobac is arguing that Matthew misquoted Scripture in order to “trick” his readers. This is a false accusation. In all of Rabbi Skobac’s lengthy presentation (of which Dr. Brown only played a small segment) he says nothing of the sort. Towards the end of his presentation Rabbi Skobac discusses various possibilities as to what Matthew was thinking when he misquoted the Jewish Scriptures, and trickery is not the option that Rabbi Skobac advocates. Dr. Brown’s accusation is unfounded.

The fact is that Dr. Brown himself explains Matthew’s misquotation of Scripture. In the 5th volume of his series; Answering Jewish Objections (page 61), Dr.Brown quotes an Israeli professor who offers the opinion that Orthodox Jews are incapable of reading Scripture literally. While the broad brush of this accusation is clearly inaccurate, but on a limited level, this accusation holds true. Since the sermons of the Rabbis often employed homiletical and non-literal interpretations of Scriptures there have always been ignorant Jews who saw Scripture through these homiletical readings. These were people who never studied Scripture in a formal setting, but rather acquired their knowledge through listening to these inspiring but non-literal sermons. This explains the mentality of the gospel writers. None of these men claimed to have had any formal training in Jewish scholarship. In all probability their understanding of Scripture was acquired through listening to the local preachers – thus they never picked up the necessary tools that would enable them to read Scripture contextually and literally.

6 – Dr. Brown argues that it is “preposterous” to believe that Matthew quoted the Jewish Scriptures but didn’t expect his audience to look up the text he was quoting. Dr. Brown argues that this would be a “self-defeating” exercise on Matthew’s part.

As Dr. Brown himself has explained, it is entirely possible that Matthew was misquoting Scripture in all innocence. There is no need to assume that it ever dawned upon him that a contextual reading of the Scripture will refute his imaginative interpretations. Furthermore, throughout history, until this very day, these misquotations of Matthew are presented by Christians as if they were the contextual and literal reading of Scripture. As a member of the Jewish community I receive mailings from various missionary organizations that attempt to persuade me to believe in Jesus. (– The fact that these organizations do not live up to the basic concept of justice – do not do  unto others what you hate for yourself – and they deliver this literature to people who find them offensive – is living testimony that these people are not representatives for the God of truth and justice – unless they would like to have literature delivered to their own communities that presents arguments for another faith.)

These tracts that I receive list the hundreds of prophecies that Jesus “fulfilled”. Matthew’s misquotations of Scripture are always present in these “educational tracts”. These followers of Matthew obviously still cannot distinguish between literal contextual interpretation of Scripture and the imaginative interpretations of Matthew. So much for “preposterous” and “self-defeating”.

I would like to end this critique with an appeal to Dr. Brown.

The myth of the “blindness of the Jew” is an ugly stain in the history of mankind. Dr. Brown, instead of working to perpetuate this myth, I appeal to you to educate Christians of the fallacies of this myth. Explain to your audience that as long as the Jew sees the teachings of Christianity as a contradiction to the Scriptures with which we were entrusted by God – it is the moral duty of the Jew to REJECT those teachings. Encourage your audience to try to read the Jewish Scriptures as a Jew would have read them before the advent of Jesus. Encourage your listeners to attempt to acquire a complete world-view on the basis of the Jewish Scriptures alone – and ask them – how would they view the doctrines of Christianity in the light of the Jewish Scriptures.

You did open your talk with the truth that experience is no proof for truth – all we have to go with is the Scriptures. Please encourage your audience to understand the Jewish people’s rejection of Christianity in light of your own teaching. You have my full permission to use my article “1000 Verses” – I am sure that your audience will find it helpful.

https://yourphariseefriend.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/1000-verses/

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

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