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RHETORICAL BIBICAL QUESTIONS

JEWS and CHRISTIANS

Chuck Klein, Copyright 2011
 

I   SIMILARITIES, DIFFERENCES & HISTORY

PREFACE: Because of inter-faith marriages within our families and the introduction of spiritual teachings to the next generation, a brief comparison of the two religious groups is being tendered.

A)   SIMILARITIES OF THE TWO RELIGIONS. Jews and Christians are one in the same inasmuch as we all share and believe:

 1) There is only one G_d and he is all-knowing and all-powerful.

2) The Old Testament of the Bible and all that it contains:

a) The Ten Commandments. These Judeo-Christian Values: Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother, Thou Shalt Not Murder, Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness, etc., found in the Ten Commandments, is the basis for our common moral and ethical aspirations;

b) The concept of reward and punishment both on earth and in the hereafter;

c) We both have symbols and watch words - words we live/pray by - Holy Words;

CHRISTIANS. Symbol: The Cross. Words:  “In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Ghost).”

JEWS. Symbol: Star of David. Words:  “Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our G_d, The Lord is one” (Hebrew: Schema Yisraeil: Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad).

B)  BIBLICAL HISTORY: We are all descended from Abraham, the first Jew, who lived in Canaan (modern day Israel).

G_d makes a covenant with Abraham, that if his male descendants are circumcised, these descendants shall inherit the land of Canaan and G_d shall be their G_d.

Isaac, Abraham's son, marries Rebekah and they have twin boys: Esau and Jacob. G_d renames Jacob, ISRAEL. When Jews say the Holy Words, “ Hear, O Israel....” they are not referring to the country Israel, per se, but to all those who are descendants of (seed of) Jacob/Israel - all Jews. Jacob/Israel has a son, Joseph,

who is sold by his brothers to Egypt. G_d comes to him and gives him the power to interpret dreams. He is called to interpret the King of Egypt, Pharos’s, dreams. Joseph tells of seven years of  plenty to be followed by seven years of famine. He is put in charge of hording food and when the famine comes he is able to not only save Egypt, but his family and his fellow Jews; all of whom came to Egypt from Canaan/Israel when they ran out of food. Joseph ignored the opportunity for revenge against the people who had forsaken him by including them in the distribution of the horded food. Was this not the first example of turn-the-other-cheek moral, ethical and charitable behavior? Now, however, all the Jews are in Egypt and become enslaved by the Pharos.

Between 1500 and 1000 years before the birth of Jesus, Moses, an Egyptian Jewish slave leads his people out of Egypt when G_d parts the Red Sea to allow them to escape. They wander the desert for 40 years during which time Moses receives the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. He then leads his people to the Jordan River where, as promised, all, except Moses, enter the Land of Milk and Honey - their homeland, Canaan/Israel, as promised by G_d to Abraham.

Jacob/Israel also had a son named Judah. Fourteen generations later (over 1000 years), Judah’s descendent is Joseph, the husband of Mary (mother of Jesus). In a dream, Joseph is visited by an angel who tells him that the Holy Ghost has conceived, in Mary, a son whose name will be Jesus and he shall save his people from their sins.

As Jesus grows into manhood, he labors as a carpenter until the age of 30 when he is Baptized by John the Baptist. Jesus then began to preach and some, though not the majority of the Jews, followed him and his teachings. At about the age of 34, the Romans, who controlled most of the known world and were not Jewish and were not followers of him, feared he would become more powerful than they, so they killed him. Jesus is risen from the dead, ascends to Heaven and then appears to his disciples telling them to go forth and preach the gospel.

Though many followed Jesus during his life, the word of his being the Son of G_d spread and many, many more became believers after his death. Those who accepted his teachings became Christians and, eventually, even the very people who had murdered him, the Romans, became followers.

C)  SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN JEWS AND CHRISTIANS:

1) Christians believe the Messiah has already come to earth (Jesus Christ). Whereas the Jews believe he is yet to come. Jews don't deny there was such a person as Jesus - a Jewish man - it's just that Jews don't believe that he was the Messiah. This difference may be insignificant because the Christians believe Jesus will return and, when he does, he may then be accepted as the Messiah by all (since no one knows what he looks like).

2) Jews only accept the Old Testament (Genesis thru Malachi) portion of the bible, which includes the first five books called: The Torah. Christians, in addition to the Old Testament, believe the New Testament (St. Matthew thru Revelation) is part of the Bible.

D)  WHAT/WHO ARE WE?

1) A Jew is anyone who is born of a Jewish mother or father or one who has acknowledged that they are a Jew. A Jew is one who believes in the historical teachings of the Jewish people, that the Messiah is coming and the State of Israel is their homeland as promised by G_d to Abraham.

2) A Christian is a person professing belief in Jesus as the Messiah and one who also believes in and accepts his teachings.

E)  DIFFERENT BRANCHES OF JEWISH PRACTICES:

There are basically four slightly different branches of the Jewish faith:

1) ULTRA ORTHODOX: They live the Old Testament, literally. They practice separation of men and women in the synagogue, wear only black clothes, fully comply with the Sabbath and strictly observe the dietary laws including the slaughter of animals for sacrifices. Very few live in the United States.

2) ORTHODOX: Very religious. They closely follow the Old Testament excluding animal sacrifices.

3) CONSERVATIVE: Not a well defined contingent. Some congregations read most of their prayers in Hebrew, some comply with not working on the Sabbath or other Talmud and Torah rules. Their religious practices are a compromise between the extremes of the Orthodox and the Reform.

4) REFORM: The Reform movement was developed less than 200 years ago. The reason for this breakaway from a stricter life was mostly to allow the American Jews to assimilate - to get along better with their Christian neighbors - without giving up their faith. Here in Cincinnati, the birth place of Reform Judaism, two of the reform congregations are Rockdale and Wise Temples.

F)  THERE ARE MANY SECTS OF CHRISTIANITY, INCLUDING:

1) ROMAN CATHOLICS: One of the oldest Christian faiths dating to about 200 c.e. The head of the church is called the Pope and their headquarters are in Rome;

2) EPISCOPAL: The U.S. Protestant church historically related to the Church of England;

3) BAPTISTS: A Christian denomination that baptism should be given only to believers after confession of faith and by immersion rather than sprinkling of water. Followers of John the Baptist;

4)  PRESBYTERIANS: Followers of 16th Century Protestant Reformation leader John Calvin;

5) MORMON, AMISH, CHRISTIAN SCIENCE, JEHOVAH'S WITNESS, METHODIST and others.

G)  PERSECUTION:

1)  None of us are perfect. All humans, individually or in groups - from the Garden of Eden to today - have, at times, failed our fellow man. Surely, where Jews and Christians are concerned better efforts could have been made to live up to the Ten Commandants. For example: The Jews might have united behind Jesus and protected him from the Romans - whether they believed him to be the Messiah or not. The Christians could have been a better model than what was exhibited during The Inquisition. If we are to survive as a people we must all learn from past unJudeo-Christian behavior.

2) Though both religions have experienced their share of persecution, today they share a common threat. Christians and Jews must be united in their efforts to protect themselves against another religious group that has made it clear that they intend to destroy us by converting us to their faith or by killing us.

H)  GUARDIAN ANGELS:

1)  Though not a religious matter, per se, many Jews and Christians firmly believe spirits/angels not only exist, but are active in our lives. This guardian angel is our conscience – that inner voice that tells us right from wrong. My personal belief is that when a person dies their soul becomes the guardian angel of a new-born.

2) The devil may be inborn due to Eve’s eating the apple in the Garden of Eden and thus guardian angels are in a constant battle to keep the soul righteous. 

“When it comes to discovering the origins of the universe, all the earth/orbit telescopes, X-ray/radio scopes and infrared/laser gizmos are inconsequential should man conquer the 4th dimension (time).

However, G_d may not have provided mere mortals with the ability to conquer the 4th dimension, as thus empowered, man might be tempted to alter His plans and designs." ( Klein’s Laws)

II  BIBLICAL QUESTIONS

A)  SOME ISSUES RAISED BY THE TEN COMMANDMENTS:

1) In the very beginning, it says that G_d made Adam and Eve and that they had three sons. Two of these three men proceeded to produce many children. Where did their wives come from? It doesn't say G_d DID or DIDN'T make other people or that Eve produced other children - female(s), of which at least one (a sister) married Cain and Seth. Or, were the other people, Canaanites and/or other races and/or on other continents? Did our G_d make other people? Or did different G_ds make people in this other G_d’s image, i.e., Africans, Orientals,  Indians . . . ?
 
2) One of the Commandments says: “Thou shall have no other G_d . . . .” Is our G_d acknowledging there are other G_ds? 

3) Christians and Jews believe There is only one G_d and he is all-knowing and all-powerful. Other peoples, Buddhist, for example, have their own G_d, they call Buddha. Are they worshiping the wrong G_d? Or, are we?

4) The 6th Commandment has a major difference of agreement between the Jew's Torah and the King James (and other) versions. In the Torah, the Commandment is not to commit murder while in non-Jewish bibles, it is written “Thou shalt not kill.” Is this significant difference due to interpretation and/or the result of copying the bible (early verbal or later print versions) from one language to another?

a)  The “words” of the Ten Commandments could have been only hieroglyphics - a hard to understand series of pictures?
 
b)  The bible is a historical accounting of the human race as we know it. Its history was passed - verbally - human to human for thousands of years before the first printing press recorded these stories. The people living and passing these events along did not have a dictionary and thus the meaning of words could have changed over time. The question is: What other meanings and events have been changed due to semantics, re-telling inaccuracies or to adjust for the political correctness of the times?

c)  Regardless, Kill/Murder seems to be not only committed by G_d himself killed people who were gluttonous, Numbers 11:33,34) and ordered Moses to have his followers ...kill every male Midianite (Numbers 31:7). What does this say about living the Ten Commandments today? Are they commandments or merely suggestions?

 

5) Throughout the world today Christians and Jews are the epitome of decent, law-abiding, productive citizens. And as such, we have raised the moral, ethical and living standards of all peoples. Is raising the standard of living something we should be proud of when it creates pollution and wars over finite resources? Is the world over-populated and dying in its own pollution because we have learned to live longer, waste more and not control our population? Or, is the globe dying because we have become so jaded and unethical, that we promote and condone abortion on demand?

B)  BIBLICAL HISTORY:

 1) We (Christians & Jews) are all descended from Abraham, the first Jew, who lived in Canaan (modern day Israel). 

2) One of the usual sticking points is the declaration by the “scientific community” that the earth is millions of years old and thus the claim that the bible dates our globe at 5772 (in 2011) years old is wrong. As so interestingly pointed out in the 1960 movie, “Inherit the Wind,” the earth was created BEFORE the sun, moon and earth were in synchronization. Thus the first “day” could have been millions of years long. Perhaps there were other G_ds that produced people, plants and certain animals long before the G_d of Abraham made night and day - and Adam and Eve.

C)  PAST TO FUTURE:

 1)  When Moses leads his people to the Promised Land, he is under G_d's orders to take this land from those who are living there, the Canaanites and to kill them all.  What does this say about a G_d who hands down a set of commandments forbidding murder/killing and then ordering the taking of an entire country? What about these Canaanites, don't they have the right to this land? Today, the Palestinians claim this land. Are they the descendants of the Canaanites? Were the Canaanites made by a different G_d?

 2) Islamic Muslims have made it clear they intend to destroy all non-Muslims by forcing conversion to their faith or killing those who refuse. Why? Is their G_d using them to fight our G_d’s people? In other words, is this a battle between various G_d’s who are using earth’s inhabitants as the combatants to determine which G_d is superior?

D)  OTHER OBSERVATIONS/QUESTIONS:
 1) Is the G_d of the Israelites unforgiving, jealous and vengeful?  In Genesis it was clear that G_d made man in his own image [1:27]. G_d's image could be described as one of vengeance, jealousy and spite. He kills many Israelites for their lust of food [Numbers, 11:33]. He kills many Israeli Princes because they complained [Numbers 13:4]. Warmongering is evident by his orders to Moses to arm the Israelites and go to war against the Midianites [Numbers, 31:4] and later in Joshua he orders most all killed in all the cities of the promised land. G_d seems to lack compassion in his orders that any man with a "blemish" shall not approach the alter of G_d [Leviticus, 21:16]. Times were not easy for the Israelis, first they were slaves to the Pharaoh only to become slaves to a vengeful, jealous [Exodus, 20:5; Deuteronomy, 4:24] and unforgiving G_d: "And Joshua said unto the people, “Ye cannot serve the Lord: for his is an holy G_d; he is a jealous G_d; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins." [Joshua 24:19]. Our G_d appears to be murderous by his ordering of the killing of so many by the Israelites especially when they came into the land he promised them [Joshua].

 2) The seed of the man determines the race [religion] of the child - regardless of who the mother is.  It is clear that the power, and emphasis is on the male offspring. The evidence is in the Lord telling Adam and Eve to go forth and multiply, but all other times he only tells the males to go forth and multiply. Of the number of people listed in the "FAMILY TREE," all, with very few exceptions, are men. The term "begat" means to "FATHER" a child. The Lord talks about the "seed" of the male to propagate the Hebrews. Further, reference is made almost exclusively to males. The most conclusive evidence is that JACOB's sons by EGYPTIAN handmaids are 4 of the 12 tribes of Israel. Moses talks of how G_d "[He] loved thy fathers, and chose THY seed...to give thee their land for an inheritance...." [Deuteronomy 4:37]. Also, G_d tells the Israelites that if they conquer an enemy, they may take a wife of the captives [Deuteronomy 21:10]. Pharaoh Ramses [Numbers 33:3] orders only the MALE children killed. Killing males only means that the seed cannot be perpetuated - it kills/stops the race.
(In a conversation with orthodox Rabbi Yoseph Talmanson, 5 Jan 1999, he indicated that tradition, which is the foundation of verbal laws, is where most of our rules come from. The verbal heritage, according to Talmanson, is that the mother is the determining factor. He did not deny that the reason for making the woman the determining factor is that, before modern DNA type tests, it was much easier to match children to mothers than to their fathers just because mothers "mother" the children.)

3) Was the Nazi Holocaust G_d's revenge upon the sons of Jacob for failing to keep the covenant and for failing to follow the laws he laid down? When was the last time a Jew brought a sacrificial animal to the alter to be killed,  “dashed its blood around the alter, the Rabbi to dip his finger into the blood etc?”  Perhaps, the G_d of Jacob has forsaken us because we have not lived up to his expectations? It seems G_d did a lot of talking back in the old days, but nothing has been heard from him in thousands of years. Why? Further evidence that Israelis have fallen from favor is their imperfect lives, i.e., they like everyone else, are susceptible to disease as per Deuteronomy 7:15. Perhaps the Nazi Holocaust was G_d's message to the seeds of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that they have not lived up to his expectations?

III TORAH/BIBLE READING NOTES

GENESIS: G_d . . .

Day 1:  Created heaven and earth and light
Day 2:  Divides water and firmament
Day 3:  Creation of grass, fruit, trees
Day 4:  Synchronizes the sun and moon
Day 5:  Creates fish and fowl
Day 6:  Creates cattle, creeping things, beasts and Man. G_d places Man in a garden in Eden. the river that  flowed from Eden split into: Pishon, Gihon, Tigris & Euphrates.
Day 7: G_d rests and hallows the 7th day.

Abram is son of Terah; his siblings are: Nahor and Haran All went to live in land of Canaan.
Haran is father of Lot. Lot goes to live in Sodom with his wife who is turned into a pillar of salt when she looks back at Sodom and Gomorrah - after an angel told them to leave and not look back.
Abram is Hebrew - first mention [14:13]. Also noted Deuteronomy. 15:12
Abram is renamed Abraham, by G_d
Abraham is married to Sarah [renamed by G_d from Sarai]
Sarah is barren so she bade him to lay with her handmaid, an Egyptian named Hagar, who bore Abraham a son, Ishmael. Abraham was 86 years old.
G_d makes a covenant with Abraham when he is 90.  Covenant is that every male of your seed shall be circumcised on the 8th day of birth. In return Abraham, and his seed, gets all the land of Canaan and G_d shall be their G_d.
Isaac is their son, born when Abraham is 99.
At the insistence of Sarah, Abraham casts handmaid Hagar and her son, Ishmael, out.
Sarah dies. Abraham takes another wife, Keturah.
G_d commands Abraham to take his son, Isaac, and make an offering. When no lamb is found, Abraham prepares to offer his son, but is stopped by the Lord who is impressed that Abraham is G_d-fearing [12:22].
Abraham has a servant take Isaac to the city of Nahor to find a wife for him. He sees Rebekah, son of Milcah, wife of Nahor [sister of Abraham]. Rebekah has a brother, Laban.
Isaac and Rebekah have twins boys, Esau [the hunter], the first born, and Jacob. The Lord told her that the twins are two nations, separate people and the first born shall serve the younger.
Isaac sends Jacob to Canaan for a wife. He arrives at the house of Laban, Rebekah's brother. He falls in love with Rachel, but because she was younger than her sister, Leah, Laban says Jacob must labor 7 years before he can marry Rachel. At the end of 7 years, Laban gives him Leah but, says if he labors 7 more years he will then give him Rachel.
G_d renames Jacob: ISRAEL. Israel, as in "Hear o Israel" is not the nation or country of Israel, per se, but the seed of Jacob, i.e. all descendants [seed] of Jacob - all Jews [Deuteronomy 5:1].
Joseph, son of Rachel/Jacob, is sold by his brothers to Egypt. G_d comes to him and gives him the power to interpret dreams. He is called to interpret Pharos’s, King of Egypt, dreams. He tells of 7 years of plenty followed by 7 years of famine. He is put in charge of hording food for the coming famine. When it comes, he is able to not only save Egypt, but his family and those in Canaan [Jews]. Joseph marries an Egyptian and has two sons.
The 12 tribes of Israel [Jacob] are the 12 sons of Jacob.

EXODUS:
First month is Passover.
Moses leads his people out of Egypt 14:15-32
G_d orders an alter of stones - not hewn and no steps [20:22]
G_d orders no covenant with the Philistines. Moses reminds the Israelis (referring to the 7 enemies), "thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them; neither shalt thou make marriages with them...." [Deuteronomy 7:1-4]

LEVITICUS:
Day of Atonement is the 10th day of the 7th month [7th month AFTER the Exodus]. The Jewish calendar begins after the Exodus, but the years begin with the creation.
Most of this book is details of how sacrifices shall be made and procedures for being clean. A lot of "shall not" laws.
G_d says we, the children of Israel, will be a Kingdom of Priests - a holy Nation. [19:6]

NUMBERS:
 G_d is male: [16:5] All references are to "he," "him," or other such male gender pronouns.
Amount of burnt offerings is staggering [29:12]. The Lord orders a series of burnt offerings to acknowledge the seasons. For 8 days, beginning on the 15th day of the 7th month, a total of 198 animals are to be offered. Who does this today?

DEUTERONOMY:
Man doth not live by bread only, but by everything that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live [Deuteronomy 8:3].
Moses dies after leading his people to the Jordan River. He is not permitted to cross because he trespassed against G_d. He, at the instructions of G_d, appoints Joshua, son of Nun, as the new leader.
So far, nothing about the afterlife has been mentioned. The 1st five books appear to be of three components: Genealogy of the Hebrew people; G_ds promises/covenants and what G_d will do if the covenants are not adhered to.

JOSHUA:
After the death of Moses, G_d dries up the Jordan so as Joshua can lead the Israelites into the promised land [Canaan] on dry ground.
At G_d's instruction, on many raids of cities and towns, including Jericho, G_d orders the warriors to kill all the inhabitants of  Canaan. The sun stands still as Joshua leads the warriors.
Joshua builds the alter for the covenant of the ark with unhewn stones and writes a copy of the law of Moses. It is located between Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebac [8:30].
Joshua divides the land between the 12 tribes.

 See also: WHOSE GOD? by Chuck Klein