Friday, June 4, 2010

Early Jewish Christianity vs. Paul

Early Jewish Christian communities had three defining characteristics:
1. They faithfully adhered to the Law of Moses;
2. They exalted James, the brother of Jesus, and denigrated Paul the Apostle; and
3. They all believed that Jesus was the natural son of Joseph and Mary and he was adopted by G-d as His Son at His baptism by John.

How do the beliefs of the first Jewish Christians compare with the teachings of Paul? Paul taught original sin; Yeshua and the early Jewish Christianity did not. Paul taught that the law has been nailed to the cross and is no longer binding; Yeshua did not. He said He did not come to destroy the law. Paul taught imputed righteousness. This is a form of "make believe." Yeshua taught that we should obey the commandments of G-d. Paul said, if you do, you have fallen from grace. Yeshua taught an ethical method of living that pleased the Father by adhering to the Torah. Today, the religion of Paul has become Orthodoxy. Any movement that insists that the Law of Moses is still obligatory is declared heretical. It is time for honesty to abound in our churches. It is time to quit twisting the plain and unambiguous words of Paul to be consistent with Yeshua. They are not consistent. It is time to admit it. Paul is the founder of Christianity, not Yeshua. The article below entitled, "Was Jesus A Christian," makes the obvious point.

I have noticed in church, that most all songs glorify Jesus as G-d with little reference to YHWH. I wonder what Yeshua thinks about what is being done in His name. The Holocaust, the Inquisition, and the Crusades are all rooted in Antisemitism. That Antisemitism developed in part with the victory by Paul's theology that emphasized teachings about Jesus as opposed to the teachings of Jesus which were practiced by early Jewish Christians. The victor writes history and gets to decide who is the heretic. Do you realize that if you lived in Jerusalem in 35AD and believed what Paul taught, then you would be declared the heretic? Perhaps it is time to discover who the historical Jesus really was. Perhaps it is time to decide who you are going to follow.

1 comment:

  1. The term, "Jewish Christians" is not an oxymoron. It is a phrase used to describe those that follow the Torah and follow Yeshua as the Messiah. It is used by several prominent scholars and I believe has validity.

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