- there are 70 faces to 
Post by alon on Jun 17, 2021 7:28:07 GMT -8
People in the 2nd century CE and before did not think of religion in the same terms as we do now. Religion then was tied to a sense of community, of “being.” You were Jewish, Greek, Roman, etc. Even though there was sectarian or regional diversity you still had a shared language, the same genetic makeup, and the same God or gods. Politics and religion were intertwined.
In Judaism, members of vastly different sects still worshiped together. The Notsarim worshiped in the local synagogue with other sects until after being blamed for Bar-Kochba’s defeat and subsequently being driven out. Before this a Jew was not Jewish by religion or faith. He was part of a nation, a people with shared ethnicity, lifestyle, traditions, a land with shared history and stories, and a God who had chosen them of all the people on earth. They had a shared Torah which bound them together.
But something happens in the 3rd and 4th centuries. The Diaspora and the Roman system of roads, shipping, mail, and the protection of the army created conditions favorable to the congruent development of Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism. While these took almost polar (different) paths as far as interpretation and doctrine, both became more and more dogmatic in their beliefs and controlling in their application. One had to ascribe to certain beliefs and submit to the authority of a rabbi or bishop or some other religious figure to be “IN” with the faith.
There was no “church” until after the 1st Council of Nicaea in 325 CE. Before this there were many “churches,” all preaching their own doctrines. The purpose of the council was to unify these churches and form a catholic, or “universal” church. Several doctrinal issues were discussed, chief among them the nature of God. Some preached One God, as the Jews did. Others two members of a Godhead, and a very few taught three members of the Godhead. Constantine, who was in charge of the council even though he had not yet converted said “Three,” and voila! Trinitarianism became the Christian standard. Constantine also fanned the already growing flames of anti-Semitism:
“Let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd; for we have received from our Savior a different way.”(Eusebius, Life of Constantine, Vol III Ch. XVIII).
Christianity eschewed everything Jewish while becoming more pagan Greek. Clement of Alexandria @ 150-200 AD said “All the churches were Greek religious colonies. Their language was Greek, their organization Greek, their writers Greek and their ritual Greek. Thus the church at Rome was but one of a confederation of Greek religious republics rounded by Christianity.”
Origen of Alexandria was one of the most influential and knowledgeable of the early Church Fathers. He excelled in the fields of theology and philosophy and stressed Greek philosophy rather than the "Old Testament.” This played a very important role in severing the Jewish roots of Christianity. Origen came up with a new way of interpreting Scriptures, called the allegorical method. The "New Webster's Dictionary" describes the word "allegory" as: a narrative in which abstract ideas are personified; a description to convey a different meaning from that which is expressed. Rather than teach the "Word of God" literally, he chose to twist and change it.
One of the chief of the Christian dogmas to come out of the Council of Nicaea was Sunday worship. Here is what Sylvester I (314-337 A.D.) the Bishop of Rome (Pope) said of the Biblical Sabbath: "If every Sunday is to be observed joyfully by the Christians on account of the resurrection, then every Sabbath on account of the burial is to be execration [loathing or cursing] of the Jews."-- S. R. E. Humbert, Adversus Graecorum calumnias 6, in Patrologie Cursus Completus, Series Latina, ed. J.P. Migne, 1844, p. 143.
So Christianity, while far from completely unified in the 4th cen CE was well on its way to becoming so. Meanwhile between Christianity and Rabbinical Judaism the Notsarim continued as Jews had for centuries. But they were their own entity, set apart from both mainstream Rabbinical Judaism and this new religion called Christianity:
"But these sectarians... did not call themselves Christians-but "Nazarenes," ... However they are simply complete Jews. They use not only the New Testament but the Old Testament as well, as the Jews do… They have no different ideas, but confess everything exactly as the Law proclaims it and in the Jewish fashion-- except for their belief in Messiah, if you please! For they acknowledge both the resurrection of the dead and the divine creation of all things, and declare that G-d is one, and that his son is Yeshua the Messiah. They are trained to a nicety in Hebrew. For among them the entire Law, the Prophets, and the... Writings... are read in Hebrew, as they surely are by the Jews. They are different from the Jews, and different from Christians, only in the following. They disagree with Jews because they have come to faith in Messiah; but since they are still fettered by the Law -- circumcision, the Sabbath, and the rest-- they are not in accord with Christians...they are nothing but Jews… They have the Good News according to Matthew in its entirety in Hebrew. For it is clear that they still preserve this, in the Hebrew alphabet, as it was originally written.” (Epiphanius, AD 370, Panarion 29)
These were the Jewish sect of the Notsarim, or Nazarenes- the same group Paul was said to be a ringleader of (Acts 24:5). The sect of the apostles, which according to the writings of the church fathers themselves coexisted unchanged for centuries thereafter. This while Christianity continued to become more dogmatic and controlling until, through ecumenical council after council the Roman Catholic church gained absolute control of Christianity and Gentile believers. Its doctrines continue today, even in Eastern Orthodox and Protestant denominations.
But what about the Jews? Well, they did little better. Rabbinic Judaism developed in the post-Biblical period (2nd-4th centuries CE). It became dominant, but never the only form of Judaism.
Rabbi Akiva ben Yoseph (@ 50-132 CE) created the thinking that eventually became Rabbinic Judaism. The Mishnah, which is the basis of the Talmud was compiled after his death, @ 200 CE. The Gemara, which includes many commentaries and discussions on the Mishnah was compiled about the year 500 CE. Rabbinic Judaism has been mainstream since the 5th to 6th century CE, coinciding with the codification of the Babylonian Talmud. Its roots are in Pharisaic Judaism, based on the belief Moses received the "Written Torah" and the "Oral Torah" at Mount Sinai. The Oral Torah (Mishanh) is an explanation of the Written Torah, transmitted word-of-mouth. It was forbidden to write down the Oral Torah because the rabbis feared it would lose its flexibility. While Torah is absolute and immutable, the Oral Torah was meant to make Torah workable in everyday life for all people of all places and times. It could be changed by competent authority; it had to remain flexible.
But with theTemple gone and then loss of the Bar’Kochba revolt and subsequent diaspora, the rabbonim feared losing the cohesion of Judaism altogether. So they codified the Oral Torah in the Talmud and other rabbinic texts. While we do see differences among different sects of Rabbinic Judaism regarding halacha, all come from the tradition of the Oral Torah and follow the rabbinic method. Some, but not all by any means hold the Oral Law to be equal to or higher than Torah itself, and just as arbitrary. Just how far did they take this?
There is a midrash about whether a specific oven was clean or unclean. Everyone except R Eliezer says it’s unclean:
If he cut it into separate tiles, placing sand between each tile: R Eliezer declared it clean, and the Sages declared it unclean; and this was the oven of Achnai [snake]. Why Achnai?- Said Rav Yehuda in Shmuel’s name: [It means] that they encompassed it with arguments as a snake, and proved it unclean. It has been taught: On that day R Eliezer brought forth every imaginable argument, but they did not accept them. Said he to them: If the halacha agrees with me, let this carob tree prove it! Thereupon the carob tree was torn a hundred cubits out of its place- … Not proof can be brought from a carob tree, they retorted. Again he said to them: If the halacha agrees with me, let the stream of water prove it! Whereupon the stream of water flowed backwards- No prof can be brought from a stream of water, they rejoined. Again he urged: If the halacha agrees with me, let the walls of the academy prove it, whereupon the walls inclined to fall. But R Yehoshua rebuked them, saying: When scholars are engaged in halachic dispute, what have ye to interfere? Hence they did not fall, in honor of R Yehoshua, nor did they resume the upright, … . Again he said to them: If the halacha agrees with me, let it be proved from Heaven! Whereupon a Heavenly Voice cried out: Why do ye dispute with R Eliezer, seeing that in all matters the halacha agrees with him? But R Yehoshua arose and exclaimed: It is not in heaven [Deu 30:12]. What did he mean by this?- Said R Yirmeyahu: That the Torah had already been given at Mount Sinai; we pay no attention to a Heavenly Voice, because Thou hast long since written in the Torah at Mount Sinai: After the majority one must incline. [Bava Metsia 59a-b]
Like a biblical prophet Rabbi Eliezer shows miraculous signs, yet they don’t believe him. The Bat Khol, or Heavenly Voice told them R Eliezer was correct, but they would not to listen. Instead they said the majority opinion ruled- a very good example of the thought process introduced by R Akiva. Torah was already given, so no attention was paid, even to the Heavenly Voice. The original text they quoted actually said “This word is not too hard for you,” you don’t have to go to heaven to know what to do. So the quotation “It is not in heaven” was taken out of context in order to prove an idea not in scripture. Then they tell The Almighty ‘You have no right to interfere. You told us we must incline with the majority,’ therefore we no longer listen to you, even to God. Strange, because Ex 23 says ‘You shall not incline after the majority to do evil. And you shall not go after the majority to pervert justice.’
So we see both Judaism and Christianity becoming more dogmatic. Both pervert scripture, changing meanings to their own ends. And both try to control every waking moment of their followers lives, cradle to grave and even beyond. Most here would agree with that, and to develop it as a thesis would be far beyond the scope of this short essay, so I’ll leave it at that and you can agree or not. My point here is this is the difference in religion and a halacha, a walk with our Creator. A relationship with the Almighty. I in no way mean to downplay the importance of either Torah or an Oral Tradition. But both are to be understood for what they are and not for what men, either Christian or Jewish have made them. We today are blessed to have access to both. We each have a mind to search out what is important. What we more than any previous generation do not have is an excuse!
In Judaism, members of vastly different sects still worshiped together. The Notsarim worshiped in the local synagogue with other sects until after being blamed for Bar-Kochba’s defeat and subsequently being driven out. Before this a Jew was not Jewish by religion or faith. He was part of a nation, a people with shared ethnicity, lifestyle, traditions, a land with shared history and stories, and a God who had chosen them of all the people on earth. They had a shared Torah which bound them together.
But something happens in the 3rd and 4th centuries. The Diaspora and the Roman system of roads, shipping, mail, and the protection of the army created conditions favorable to the congruent development of Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism. While these took almost polar (different) paths as far as interpretation and doctrine, both became more and more dogmatic in their beliefs and controlling in their application. One had to ascribe to certain beliefs and submit to the authority of a rabbi or bishop or some other religious figure to be “IN” with the faith.
There was no “church” until after the 1st Council of Nicaea in 325 CE. Before this there were many “churches,” all preaching their own doctrines. The purpose of the council was to unify these churches and form a catholic, or “universal” church. Several doctrinal issues were discussed, chief among them the nature of God. Some preached One God, as the Jews did. Others two members of a Godhead, and a very few taught three members of the Godhead. Constantine, who was in charge of the council even though he had not yet converted said “Three,” and voila! Trinitarianism became the Christian standard. Constantine also fanned the already growing flames of anti-Semitism:
“Let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd; for we have received from our Savior a different way.”(Eusebius, Life of Constantine, Vol III Ch. XVIII).
Christianity eschewed everything Jewish while becoming more pagan Greek. Clement of Alexandria @ 150-200 AD said “All the churches were Greek religious colonies. Their language was Greek, their organization Greek, their writers Greek and their ritual Greek. Thus the church at Rome was but one of a confederation of Greek religious republics rounded by Christianity.”
Origen of Alexandria was one of the most influential and knowledgeable of the early Church Fathers. He excelled in the fields of theology and philosophy and stressed Greek philosophy rather than the "Old Testament.” This played a very important role in severing the Jewish roots of Christianity. Origen came up with a new way of interpreting Scriptures, called the allegorical method. The "New Webster's Dictionary" describes the word "allegory" as: a narrative in which abstract ideas are personified; a description to convey a different meaning from that which is expressed. Rather than teach the "Word of God" literally, he chose to twist and change it.
One of the chief of the Christian dogmas to come out of the Council of Nicaea was Sunday worship. Here is what Sylvester I (314-337 A.D.) the Bishop of Rome (Pope) said of the Biblical Sabbath: "If every Sunday is to be observed joyfully by the Christians on account of the resurrection, then every Sabbath on account of the burial is to be execration [loathing or cursing] of the Jews."-- S. R. E. Humbert, Adversus Graecorum calumnias 6, in Patrologie Cursus Completus, Series Latina, ed. J.P. Migne, 1844, p. 143.
So Christianity, while far from completely unified in the 4th cen CE was well on its way to becoming so. Meanwhile between Christianity and Rabbinical Judaism the Notsarim continued as Jews had for centuries. But they were their own entity, set apart from both mainstream Rabbinical Judaism and this new religion called Christianity:
"But these sectarians... did not call themselves Christians-but "Nazarenes," ... However they are simply complete Jews. They use not only the New Testament but the Old Testament as well, as the Jews do… They have no different ideas, but confess everything exactly as the Law proclaims it and in the Jewish fashion-- except for their belief in Messiah, if you please! For they acknowledge both the resurrection of the dead and the divine creation of all things, and declare that G-d is one, and that his son is Yeshua the Messiah. They are trained to a nicety in Hebrew. For among them the entire Law, the Prophets, and the... Writings... are read in Hebrew, as they surely are by the Jews. They are different from the Jews, and different from Christians, only in the following. They disagree with Jews because they have come to faith in Messiah; but since they are still fettered by the Law -- circumcision, the Sabbath, and the rest-- they are not in accord with Christians...they are nothing but Jews… They have the Good News according to Matthew in its entirety in Hebrew. For it is clear that they still preserve this, in the Hebrew alphabet, as it was originally written.” (Epiphanius, AD 370, Panarion 29)
These were the Jewish sect of the Notsarim, or Nazarenes- the same group Paul was said to be a ringleader of (Acts 24:5). The sect of the apostles, which according to the writings of the church fathers themselves coexisted unchanged for centuries thereafter. This while Christianity continued to become more dogmatic and controlling until, through ecumenical council after council the Roman Catholic church gained absolute control of Christianity and Gentile believers. Its doctrines continue today, even in Eastern Orthodox and Protestant denominations.
But what about the Jews? Well, they did little better. Rabbinic Judaism developed in the post-Biblical period (2nd-4th centuries CE). It became dominant, but never the only form of Judaism.
Rabbi Akiva ben Yoseph (@ 50-132 CE) created the thinking that eventually became Rabbinic Judaism. The Mishnah, which is the basis of the Talmud was compiled after his death, @ 200 CE. The Gemara, which includes many commentaries and discussions on the Mishnah was compiled about the year 500 CE. Rabbinic Judaism has been mainstream since the 5th to 6th century CE, coinciding with the codification of the Babylonian Talmud. Its roots are in Pharisaic Judaism, based on the belief Moses received the "Written Torah" and the "Oral Torah" at Mount Sinai. The Oral Torah (Mishanh) is an explanation of the Written Torah, transmitted word-of-mouth. It was forbidden to write down the Oral Torah because the rabbis feared it would lose its flexibility. While Torah is absolute and immutable, the Oral Torah was meant to make Torah workable in everyday life for all people of all places and times. It could be changed by competent authority; it had to remain flexible.
But with theTemple gone and then loss of the Bar’Kochba revolt and subsequent diaspora, the rabbonim feared losing the cohesion of Judaism altogether. So they codified the Oral Torah in the Talmud and other rabbinic texts. While we do see differences among different sects of Rabbinic Judaism regarding halacha, all come from the tradition of the Oral Torah and follow the rabbinic method. Some, but not all by any means hold the Oral Law to be equal to or higher than Torah itself, and just as arbitrary. Just how far did they take this?
There is a midrash about whether a specific oven was clean or unclean. Everyone except R Eliezer says it’s unclean:
If he cut it into separate tiles, placing sand between each tile: R Eliezer declared it clean, and the Sages declared it unclean; and this was the oven of Achnai [snake]. Why Achnai?- Said Rav Yehuda in Shmuel’s name: [It means] that they encompassed it with arguments as a snake, and proved it unclean. It has been taught: On that day R Eliezer brought forth every imaginable argument, but they did not accept them. Said he to them: If the halacha agrees with me, let this carob tree prove it! Thereupon the carob tree was torn a hundred cubits out of its place- … Not proof can be brought from a carob tree, they retorted. Again he said to them: If the halacha agrees with me, let the stream of water prove it! Whereupon the stream of water flowed backwards- No prof can be brought from a stream of water, they rejoined. Again he urged: If the halacha agrees with me, let the walls of the academy prove it, whereupon the walls inclined to fall. But R Yehoshua rebuked them, saying: When scholars are engaged in halachic dispute, what have ye to interfere? Hence they did not fall, in honor of R Yehoshua, nor did they resume the upright, … . Again he said to them: If the halacha agrees with me, let it be proved from Heaven! Whereupon a Heavenly Voice cried out: Why do ye dispute with R Eliezer, seeing that in all matters the halacha agrees with him? But R Yehoshua arose and exclaimed: It is not in heaven [Deu 30:12]. What did he mean by this?- Said R Yirmeyahu: That the Torah had already been given at Mount Sinai; we pay no attention to a Heavenly Voice, because Thou hast long since written in the Torah at Mount Sinai: After the majority one must incline. [Bava Metsia 59a-b]
Like a biblical prophet Rabbi Eliezer shows miraculous signs, yet they don’t believe him. The Bat Khol, or Heavenly Voice told them R Eliezer was correct, but they would not to listen. Instead they said the majority opinion ruled- a very good example of the thought process introduced by R Akiva. Torah was already given, so no attention was paid, even to the Heavenly Voice. The original text they quoted actually said “This word is not too hard for you,” you don’t have to go to heaven to know what to do. So the quotation “It is not in heaven” was taken out of context in order to prove an idea not in scripture. Then they tell The Almighty ‘You have no right to interfere. You told us we must incline with the majority,’ therefore we no longer listen to you, even to God. Strange, because Ex 23 says ‘You shall not incline after the majority to do evil. And you shall not go after the majority to pervert justice.’
So we see both Judaism and Christianity becoming more dogmatic. Both pervert scripture, changing meanings to their own ends. And both try to control every waking moment of their followers lives, cradle to grave and even beyond. Most here would agree with that, and to develop it as a thesis would be far beyond the scope of this short essay, so I’ll leave it at that and you can agree or not. My point here is this is the difference in religion and a halacha, a walk with our Creator. A relationship with the Almighty. I in no way mean to downplay the importance of either Torah or an Oral Tradition. But both are to be understood for what they are and not for what men, either Christian or Jewish have made them. We today are blessed to have access to both. We each have a mind to search out what is important. What we more than any previous generation do not have is an excuse!
