Originally posted by Neo Christian Mystic
Originally posted by justamomma
For the record, the Torah is not narrow ..
Yes it is.
Matthew 7:13: "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
Given that Jesus only was calling to the house of Israel, it means that few are willing to except the covenant of the People.
Noone has yet, still been able to live wholeheartedly by the law without breaking (or sinning against) it.
Yes there has and are those who successfully live by it. Listen, let's take a common law here in America. Say you are driving over the speed limit ..
you get fined. If you pay the fine, you have fulfilled the conditions of the Law so as to be restored to the status of law abider. Same thing with the
Laws given to the Jewish. Most focus only on what they are told and don't take time to understand it ... there are ways to make restoration for the
commands broken. And the way the judgments are set up, they are meant to teach... to make one wise.
There have been many just and rightious Hebrews and other people, though, but they would all have to confess their sins before the One Lord of
the Shining Ones.
Well, I don't know what you mean by the "shining ones" but true ... if you confess and accept the judgment, you are still abiding by the Law.
We are all sinners. Jesju included.
Well, if I could hug you for your common sense here, I would.
The thing with Jesju, though is that he COMPLETED the law, by adding his simple contribution: You shall love one another. But he would still at
some point have to explain himself about why he brought shame uppon his mother and family, saying they were not his true family (Matt 12:46ff,
Mark3:31ff and Luke 8:19ff). He would also have to explain a minor thing like why he stole a parked donkey around Passover, 30 AD. Another thing would
be to have an explanation as to why destroying a sand castle should be punnished by death, if the story is true, that is (According to apocryphal
writings Jesju killed the son of Annas the Scribe when he was a young lad. And how making his alef-bet teacher disabled just because he wanted to go
from the letter alef to bet too soon accorsing to young Jesju's ideas of how to teach the alef-bet.

WOW! I am really impressed. Most choose to ignore these parts of the NT. If Jesus wasn't a liar by saying he fulfilled the Law (Matthew 5:17) then
we must assume that Jesus made restitution by accepting the judgments. Otherwise, these are very good examples of the inconsistency of the Christian
doctrine.
All in all, the point is .. we were created human. Without these (what we label) mistakes, we would not learn. In essence, we would be robots. This is
why the "grace for grace" that is talked about in John and what Jesus meant by pointing out what is said in the Tanakh .. that God desires mercy
over sacrifice .. that we should not condemn the guiltless. Non-belief in a man as God is not a sin. In fact, non belief in God is not a sin worthy of
condemnation. Truth doesn't require faith to still be truth.
Jesju tells us it's essencial to observe, live by and teach the Torah in order to gain entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. He also says that
unless we practice the Law atleast as just and rightious as the Pharicees (who were extremely Law abiding), and if we had managed that, we must sell
everything we own to enter God's kingdom.
Agreed ... but a Gentile is not made righteous by obeying the Laws given to the Jewish. Their commands are touched upon in Genesis 9 .. 7 common sense
commands that merely separate man from the animals. Obey these (which again, most do in all honesty), you are considered righteous.
Jesus' main focus though was to the Jews and to the house of Israel. Thus why he emphasized on the Laws given to the Israel, the People.
Still, there is much wisdom to learn from our Laws for those willing to look at them and understand them. Just most are made to feel guilty before
they even study them .. thus, they assume they ARE guilty already. This is not necessarily true. A Gentile is free to learn from the Laws without the
condemnation that is through the Law. That only comes if a Gentile decides to accept the covenant. We are not a barbaric or unfair People.
I'd say the way of Jesju is even narrower than the Torah. He would also have to wxplain himself regarding him calling the family and friend of
a mourning man dead and lure him into following him and his pack instead of showing his dad the last respect and to another guy that he shouldn't
tell his family that he was going to be out in a boat an especially stormy night, and how Jesju in this portion of the Gospel tempts God in the most
obvious manner (Matt 8:18ff, Luke 9:57ff), and there is much more. Still, none of these crimes against his own law, should result in or justify
execution, given the appropriate contexts, and referances.
You are correct that Jesus had a narrower view of the Law ... but he was merely trying to set up fences around the Law to prevent his own from
breaking the commands. Personally, I don't think that it is wise he did this because it gave a misconception about the Laws. No where in our Laws
will you find condemnation for natural human behaviour such as thinking on another to lust after them. That is something that is natural. Thoughts
aren't sin.
Jesju, like the Pharicees and many of his counterparts, except for the Saduchees and a few other sects and political parties, believed in the
ressurection of the dead and a final judgement, and even a second death.
The Pharisees believed in the two different resurrections as seen in Acts. They believed in the one where the ignorant become aware and then, of the
People back to their land. Jesus believed this as well as is evident in Mark 12. If you read it carefully with understanding of the Tanakh, this much
is obvious.
This following point may not be adressed to you personally, but to all Christians who claim Jesju (or 616: "Jesus") had to die for our sins,
and that the Gospel says he did. BUT: What kind of rightiousness and mercy do you show when you sum up using the prophecy of Jesju and the Law he was
under, that he had to die for your sins, so you can live forever in eternal bliss? Why would Jesju have to die for our sins?
I am enjoying your insights. You are correct again to ask such questions. The Torah and the rest of the Tanakh say explicitly that one man cannot die
for another's sins. Ezekiel 18 does well to explain this. It sounds barbaric to me that so many find the sacrifice of a Jew to their god a proper
atonement for sin.
Certain people back then were members of Moloch cults, who demanded human sacrifice. Many of these were Jews or Hebrews otherwise.
This is much like the Jews for Jesus crowd .. I Kings 18 is where Elijah deals with such who were calling themselves Jews (perhaps, Jews for Baal).
Just because one is born Jew does not mean that keep their Jewishness no matter what. And the truth of the matter is, a person converted to judaism
because of understanding is often more of a Jew than most.
Jewish is not a race as most assume, it is a religion (though one that some are born into).
Anyway .. thanks for sharing your thoughts. I have enjoyed reading them.
[edit on 29-9-2009 by justamomma]