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The Bible is a basis for passing Death Penalty and supports Death Penalty

Debate Information

Hello to everyone! I have no class today so I might as well throw a debate. Good job with the new features. They are amazing. 

   A lot of us perceive that the Bible is an absolute pro-life collection of books. It's not entirely as pro-life as how priests positively orate it during mass. I will claim right now that there are times God DID and LET things he knew were against life.

   He laid laws written from the chapter of Exodus 21 which were roughly made after The Ten Commandments according to the narration of Exodus. A lot of chapters talk about death as punishment but I will be mainly focusing on Exodus 21. Across all Bible versions, the concept within the chapter stays the same that for committing such an act, the wages of the act is death or another punishment. I will only give two version examples. All the acts mentioned in this chapter do not only result to death for the perpetrator but another punishment less lethal.

Exodus 21:16
“Anyone who kidnaps someone is to be put to death, whether the victim has been sold or is still in the kidnapper’s possession."
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus21:16&version=NIV

"A kidnapper, whether he sells his victim or still has him when caught, shall be put to death."
NAV with New Catholic Translation

   The commandments were given to the people and even harsher specifications of that ten-rule basis was made. This is a good consequence since we basically take someone away from their current life and sell them, keep them or beat them. Many countries only give prison time for kidnapping and here we have, our own Bible, telling us kidnapping should already result to a capital punishment. I do recognize countries who do impose capital punishment upon kidnapping which are Singapore, USA and many more. 

All information contained in this paragraph will be taken from 18 U.S.C. Code § 1201
 
  USA specifically only imposes a capital punishment when the victim during kidnapping is harmed. Kidnapping alone cannot and will not be governed by the capital punishment during any hearing.

   The Bible here already declares death as the punishment for kidnapping alone. It took kidnappers crossing state lines and acts of harm to come up with a capital offense for these people when reading the Bible is enough to come with the idea of a death penalty for kidnapping. I will informally state that according to the Bible under Exodus 22:18, we put anyone who has sex with an animal to death. We are now a more considerate generation of people such that we shut off others' ability to judge because it offends others. I'd get a comment that I'm as heartless and mindless as an animal if I would agree on imposing death to people who have sexual relations with animals. That I am quick to kill a sinful child and slow to realize I could've educated that child.

Well, these were God's olden laws. Other religions may only follow the New Testament but these laws or words were still written and still came from God. I wouldn't put to death someone who has intimate relations with animals but send them to organizations that may offer help. 

P.S.- I'm still atheist. I just don't like how people use the Bible to oppose death penalty when it can indeed also support death penalty.
SlanderIsNotDebate1995Pogue



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  • Well I think it's pretty clear the Bible calls for the death for many crimes, that's no secret. 
    Pogue
    I am no longer active on DebateIsland or any debate website. Many things I have posted here and on other sites (Such as believing in the flat Earth theory or other conspiracy theories such as those that are about the Las Vegas Shooting or 9/11) do not reflect on my current views. 

    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p6M-VgXHwwdpJarhyQYapBz-kRc6FrgdOLFAd3IfYz8/edit

    https://debateisland.com/discussion/comment/18248/#Comment_18248 (Me officially stating that I am no longer a flat-Earther)
  • JudaismJudaism 180 Pts   -  
    Okay, nice post. Now let's get back to reality here.

    I feel some light has to be shed on this very important issue. Critics, in their eternal attempt to loath a G-d they don’t believe exists, call Him a monster for demanding the Israelites to commit the death penalty on anyone they suspected as breaking the law. I’d like to further mention that these people, such as you, don’t know any better because you’ve been offered a lack of information in the first place. In other words, it's not your fault you're disturbed by this Bible quotes, because you're just parroting from atheists such as Christopher Hitchens (who I admire by the way). But it is right to do so, without a proper understanding of Torah, I applaud you. . . go on and vomit. . . the death penalty is a very cruel one, and for a perfect G-d to condone it is beyond my imagination of worship.

    With that said, we can finally set things straight. I believe the evidence I'm about to offer here are irrefutable. Here's the proposition: The Bible is against the death penalty. We get it, you're shocked, how can this be so when keeping Exodus 21 in mind? You'll soon find out!

    ARE WE TO TAKE STONING FOR BREAKING THE LAW LITERALLY? 

    Orthodox Jews have never done so, and while such passages may seem like metal gymnastics to Christians, it has an easy solution for us. The following comes from my piece on the Oral Law I wrote a while back:

    On punishment:

    "But if there is a fatality, you shall give a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot." (Exodus 21:23-24)

    Without the Oral Torah to teach us that these are actually moral and pecuniary compensations as opposed to Lex talionis (see Bava Kama 84a, B.T. for details), we would translate this as a literal code which would only reap old wounds and adopt a schism between moral attributes in our modern society.

    Such a barbaric legal code would simply not be accepted in today's enlightened world and as a consequence, the G-d of Israel would be a very angry G-d.

                                                   ***

    The point I’m making in the paper is that the Oral Law is of divine origin, and has been transferred to Moses and the children of Israel the day he stepped down from Mount Sinai. If this is true, which I believe it is and provide sufficient evidence for, then that means for the whole span of three-thousand years, since the Hebrew year of 1312 BCE, Jews have never viewed these legal actions as binding from a literal point of view, this is very much unlike Hammurabi's code however.

    It appears at first, that the Torah is full of “don’t do this and that or die. . .” claims, but this is false, for example, homesexuality - even though I’m Orthodox, I have no quarrel with these people, in fact, some of them I know to be very bright! - but the point is, it hardly ever happened in history. Wow! You’re probably shocked to hear that, aren’t you? . . . because one of your accusations against Judaism is now paper thin. Let me explain. In Deuteronomy, we hear a lot about the law of evidence whereas one not only needs a Jewish court (or Bet Din of 71 judges present on the Temple Mount which no longer exists), but an extensive amount of evidence that, for the most part, is virtually non-existent. . . meaning, no one was ever stoned to death.

    Aside from this, you’d need two impeccable witnesses who are Orthodox Jews and have no family ties or relations to each other, or the person guilty of such crimes. The plaintiff must have first then gave a warning to the person committing the crime beforehand, and again, there must have been two witnesses to have seen this person, for example, lighting a cigarette on Shabbat. Interesting enough, in Jewish law, the guilty would have to tell them that he knows he’s breaking divine law, if he chose to ignore them or didn’t concede, then case closed because perhaps he just forgot! It now seems that one would have to be almost suicidal to want to admit to any of this! The two witnesses are then given their testimony to the court independently. If they’re testimony is different, than the whole case is dropped, but if the witnesses repeated the exact same story, it’s again dropped because of collusion. Also, circumstantial evidence doesn’t old up in a Jewish court.

    We further know that stoning was hardly ever done because of the ancient records, including the Talmud and Dead Sea Scrolls. The Talmud specifically said that once the court put to death one person in 70 years, for an extremely rare crime because everyone knew right from wrong in a Torah driven society. Rabbi Akiva however said that if he were part of that Sanhedrin on the Temple Mount at that time, he would have never put anyone to death. To him, that court was a mark of shame on Jewish pride.

    . . . “He shall surely be put to death. . .” the standard given to us in Deuteronomy and Exodus is so high it was almost impossible to ever stone anyone. But what’s the point? . . . for example, if you were to go into any supermarket in the world, and buy a pack of cigarettes, every package world wide warns you that smoking kills. . . now why do they do this? Because they want to protect us.

    Another example, you go and buy an ice-pick, it warns you not to accidentally stab yourself in the head, and that’s far more deadlier than smoking! But unlike cigarettes, we hardly ever find a picture of this, why? Because it’s obvious, but that’s not always the same with smoking.

    The same goes for the Torah. . . when it says in there not to light fires on Shabbat, or sleep with a fella of your gender, it’s warning you this because you’re killing yourself spiritually. . . and the “picture” is spiritual death through physicality because it’s not obvious! Simply put, G-d is warning us not to commit these divine crimes or we’ll be put to death. . . but does He really want that? No! That’s why in Ezekiel 18:23, the Creator said: “Do I desire the death of the wicked? says Adonai. Is it not rather in his repenting of his ways that he may live?”

    Lastly, you could ask me why should a person suffer reading through all this for a sin he or she wishes to commit privately in their own home? The reason is simple. The choices we make not only affect ourselves, but the world at large.

    “Moses once exclaimed to G-d, ‘One person sins, and You are angry at the entire community?’” (Bamidbar, 16:22).

    Later, in the Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 4:6), Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai used an allegory to explain the answer. He taught that there are three people on a boat, and one suddenly picks up a drill and starts drilling underneath himself, the others look on in shock:

    "What are you doing?" demanded his friends.

    "What concern is it of yours?" he responded. "Am I not drilling under my own seat?"

    They said to him: "Yes, but the waters will come up and drown the entire boat!"

    The Mishnah (Sanhedrin 4:5), asks “Why was the first human created alone? . . . To teach you that every person mustn't say: ‘For me the world was created.’"

    Moses Maimonides, one of our great Sages, taught us in his Sefer Hilchot Teshuvah 3:4, that "A person should always view himself and the entire world as if it is exactly balanced. If he does one mitzvah (a good deed), he is meritorious, for he has weighed himself and the entire world to the side of merit, and he has caused for himself and for all, salvation and redemption."

    If we work together, and do what is right, may the Messiah come speedily in our day.

    The problem with atheists, and I predict you'd have stated this next, is that they invents all sorts of stories around the Torah, one of them is to cite Numbers 15:32-36, where they will claim an “innocent” person was stoned to death simply. . . you guessed it, for breaking Shabbat, a ritual infraction. According to them, the man either forgot or didn’t care to heed the warnings of Exodus 20:8-10 and 31:14-17. The reason why this is such a problem is because the Talmud prohibited stoning and enacted such standards that it was almost impossible to ever carry it out. Of course, I, as a religious Jew, believe the Talmud (halachic section only) to be of divine nature, given to Moses alongside the Torah. But if the man in Numbers 15 was stoned to death without trial, would that somehow prove that the Oral Law wasn’t given at Sinai, but invented out of necessity much later, and even more important, stain Judaism’s moral code as a religion of peace?

    Firstly, some errors must be corrected, the man in Numbers 15 was not Jewish by birth, but a convert, if my memory serves me right, I believe an Egyptian. But what was his crime? He supposedly snubbed his Creator.

    But if you thought he was unlawfully put to death, you'd be right in your assertion! His execution wasn’t legal based off Oral Law. In fact, Oral Law teaches us that the man wasn’t even to by hurt in the slightest!

    This is because of two reasons. For one, Rashi, a great commentator of the Bible, attests to the fact in Sanhedrin 41a that the man was clearly warned by the surrounding witnesses but ignored them - since he didn’t acknowledge his sin, he couldn't be punished. Secondly, the Torah is not always told in chronological order. One can find examples of this, for instance, in Exodus chapter 19, where we read about the preparations made by the people prior to receiving the Torah - but then the opening to chapter 25 reads, "And HaShem [G-d] said to Moses on Mount Sinai. . . ." According to Rashi, this happened first. It's why the people committed sins they didn't know they were committing - because the Torah wasn't yet in their hands! This is why when a man cursed G-d (Leviticus 24:10-23), he wasn't punished immediately - because that Torah precept wasn't known then. Though the Jews knew it was bad, they knew not what to do with him. Another example is Shabbat, it too was given before the Torah, but what was the first time it was ever breached? (I’m talking about times when such sins couldn’t be helped, so Shemot Rabbah 5:22 and Exodus 16 don’t count).

    Numbers 15:32-36. The second Shabbat.

    Then there are some who have recently suggested that the concept of an Oral Law unravels because Moses should have known everything beforehand, however, this theory has no backbone for support. Moses only asked G-d for legal advice once the court was in action, and only if the questions were too difficult for him to answer alone. If the theory held any water, then the latter would have to had to been nonexistent. As Orthodox Jews, we have no doubt that the Oral Torah was given to us at Sinai.

    Let's get back to the issue at hand. This is our parashat sh’lach after all!

    There are two sins in the biblical worldview, one is when you commit it voluntarily, otherwise known as intentional sins, knowing full well the consequences, while the other is when you sinned unintentionally. According to Judaism, unintentional sins required a blood offering, not the other way around, with few exceptions. For instance, an example of G-d requiring a sacrifice for intentional sins can be found in Leviticus 5:20-26 for a particular case of robbery. On the flip side, we find no sacrifices for sins such as involuntary manslaughter in Numbers 35:25.

    In the Torah, blood sacrifices חַטָאת קָרבָּן (Korban chat - the "sin sacrifice") were used only for unintentional sins meaning, if a person sinned unknowingly, only then could he or she bring a sacrifice in the name of G-d. This was used as a means to an end, in order that the person would learn a lesson: A poor creature was punished for his animalistic sins, it died in his place because he failed to do good. This system helped the person understand just how severe some sins were, plus, he'd have to (as in most cases) pay for the sacrifice.

    In doing so, this person would soon realize for future reference that such sins shouldn't be recognized as mere 'accidents.' They should be paid attention too and the Mitzvot kept so that he or she is more careful in their actions and not have to take the life of an innocent animal again. An example of an unintentional sin would be violating Sabbath or eating non-kosher food on accident.

    But what happens if a person can't afford a sin offering? No worries, G-d, in His infinite wisdom, has made sure such a case would never occur.

    If one could not afford an unblemished lamb or bull, he or she was allowed to bring two doves (Leviticus 5:7), or even flour (5:11-12). This is because it’s called a “guilt offering” (or “asham”).

    And the list goes on, G-d offers more than just flour, one could just as easily use charity as a means of atonement (Proverbs 10:2, Exodus 30:15). Moreover, this Hebrew phrase, "atonement" is כפר (kappar), since we find it used not only in verses which do mention blood atonement for intentional sins, but also in verses like Numbers 17:11 and 31:50. Furthermore, the phrase, "to make atonement for yourself" is "L’Kaper al Nafshotechem” – (נפשתיכם על לכפר). There is no better example of this than Exodus 30:15, where we're told that money can make "atonement for yourself." "Yourself," is the Hebrew conjunction for "soul." Soul in Hebrew is "Nefesh" - ( נפש), and that's exactly what we find in the text.

    Christians, unaware of such passages, equate blood atonement with blood offering as the only means of salvation, but this is untrue as shown above.

    There are more examples, but we’ll stop here.

    The point to all this being, such unintentional sins don’t require a death penalty from the person, it’s just a mistake!

    Rashi later commented that the events in Numbers 15:32-36 happened a month after the exodus of Egypt. R. Nahman (Nachmanides) said it happened after Moses sent out the ten spies to the land of Israel. The convert broke Shabbat, via melacha (labor), but which? Was it the gathering of wood (prohibited by Exodus 35:3, though later resolved by the Mishnah in Shabbat Ch. 7). The rabbis asked: If gathering is permitted by Oral Law, how is it forbidden by the written standard? (Note: had the Oral Law been invented during Second Temple Judaism, I’m sure such an apparent “error” wouldn’t have ever appeared).

    Here’s a better example, from the Talmud itself:

    ר’ חייה בר גמדא שאל מקושש משום מאי מיחייב משום תולש או משום קוצר נישמעינה מהדא [במדבר טו לב] ויהיו בני ישראל במדבר וימצאו מלמד שמצאוהו תולש עצים מן הקרקע.

    אמר רב יהודה אמר שמואל: מקושש, מעביר ארבע אמות ברשות הרבים הוה.

    במתניתא תנא: תולש הוה.

    רב אחא ברבי יעקב אמר: מעמר הוה.

    Rabbi Chiya bar Gamda asked: “What did the wood gatherer violate? Was it detaching (tolesh) [plucking, a sub-category of harvesting] or was it reaping (kotzer) [sheaves]? Let us learn from this quote: “when the Israelites were in the wilderness, they came upon [a man gathering wood].” This teaches that they found him detaching wood from the ground.” (j. Sanhedrin 5:1). [See note below]

    Rav Yehudah said in the name of Samuel: “The mekoshesh carried [the wood] four cubits in a public domain.”

    A Tannaitic source taught: “He chopped [the wood] off [the tree].”

    Rav Acha son of Rabbi Jacob said: “He bound them together.” (b. Shabbat 96b).

                                            ***

    Note: ר’ חייה בר גמדא שאל מקושש משום מאי מיחייב משום תולש או משום קוצר נישמעינה מהדא [במדבר טו לב] ויהיו בני ישראל במדבר וימצאו מלמד שמצאוהו תולש עצים מן הקרקע.

    Also, Sifrei Numbers 113 says,

    וימצאו איש מקושש עצים, תולש מן הקרקע אתה אומר תולש מן הקרקע או אינו אלא איש ושמו מקושש ת”ל ויקריבו אותו המוצאים אותו מקושש עצים הא מה ת”ל וימצאו איש מקושש עצים תולש מן הקרקע.

    Was the man gathering wood (mekoshesh) - or was he detaching it from the ground, or perhaps it was his name? Based off the verse, “They found a man mekoshesh eitzim.” Hence, it can be inferred that he was detaching the wood.

    His real name was identified later by R. Akiva in Rashi, B’midbar 27:3, as Tzelofechad.

                                            ***

    So what was his violation? Was it “carrying” (ma’avir), “detaching” (tolesh), “reaping” (kotzer), or “binding” (me’amer)? Kotzer (cutting the plant at the stem) and tolesh (uprooting it) are almost identical, (תולש היינו שעוקר הדבר עם שרשו וקוצר היינו שגומם מעל הארץ), so which sin are we dealing with?

    Based on oral tradition, once the law had been established (see the law of 39 melacha or “restrictions”), nothing further could be added; since the above categories weren’t on the list, the people had to find a way to link his sins to the familiarity of the Oral Law they knew at the time. According to tradition, binding the sheaves is a violation by halachic standards, which he didn’t do, what was done was actually “bringing together” - from the root ע-מ-ר, which didn’t include binding. If so, then “gathering” would have been included originally - if one supplements it for “tying” (qosher - קושר). Note too that the perpetrator didn’t light a fire (a cardinal sin in Judaism during Shabbat). Regardless, according to the text, he didn’t care to commit an unintentional sin, what he wanted was death. He wanted to be caught. He didn’t need the wood, it was only a tool for him to break Shabbat - and remember - this happened after the parting of the Sea of Reeds! So he knew well the G-d of Israel existed.

    The convert was in jail until death, approximately a year. Why did they wait a year, because he was on trial to see whether or not he knew what he was doing (intentional) or not (unintentional).

    Now, of course this would only work for ignorant people, but not a rabbi, so you’d first think! So do we then just kill the rabbi? No. Talmidim aren’t to be executed either, every person must get a trial first. We can’t read minds to know for sure if someone was indeed ignoring the commandment or mistook it for something else. To Jews, we have a concept called Ahavat Yisrael, meaning, every Jew, even a convert, should help his fellow Jew and do everything in his or her power to encroach them not to commit sins. Plus, the court cannot execute a person if the vote is off by one (the court was made up of exactly 23 judges when reviewing such cases), and remember R. Akiva once said the court never killed anyone until that one time in seventy years and even that was considered a wicked court! Remember, if the court agreed unanimously, the perpetrator was acquitted, thus why it was almost impossible to ever carry it out! Even then, you, the witness to the crime, must lay your hand on the head of the supposed purpetrator, taking full responsibility for his death if you were wrong.

    This is Torah principle, and G-d was sure to add extensive bulwarks to the law - remember, He gave you a brain, and you must be willing to die a horrible death - by stoning, burning, beheading or strangulation, it’s nothing less than suicide! According to this law then, if x killed y before you could offer him the Torah’s position, it’d be too late, and he couldn’t be executed because you didn’t offer him the lecture in time. . . he couldn’t be killed!

    What happened to this convert, who purposely asked to die? Did he have a big reward awaiting him, or was his punishment extended into the afterlife? We do know this, the convert wanted to make a point, he didn’t care if he’d be punished in the next world, all he wanted to do was to sacrifice his own life, to be a l’shem shamayim so that others wouldn’t break Shabbat. The logic for this is simple: Tell a murderer not to commit murder isn’t enough, give him an example and he’ll listen forever. It is the same logic here, and we find this idea accepted in the Talmud (specifically the Targum Yonatan).

    The Gemara says many years later, that a Jew once saw his fence broken, and he thought about how he could go about fixing it tomorrow, after Shabbat - he then had the sudden realization that making plans on how to work after Shabbat on Shabbat was a crime all of its own! It brought him back to the story in Numbers 15:32-36. The man then penalized himself never to fix the fence so that he would always remind himself of his error. Years later, a tree grew where the fence broke. As it turns out, this same man was the convert reincarnated. . . he had fixed his mistake and afterwards, was taken to the place with his Creator. G-d never cheats people, if they give up their lives for a moral cause, they’ll live another, while at the same time, a blissful world is still reserved for them.

    Since then, the last death penalty ever carried out in Jewish history was for the death of SS officer Adolf Eichmann for crimes against humanity in 1962. He died by hanging. Currently, there are more death sentences handed down by the court, but in Israel, none have been carried out as of yet (not even a terrorist has been put to death), though the winds of time are changing, both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Beiteinu party are pushing for the death penalty in “severe cases.” In America, both the Reform and Conservative movements co-opted with the Orthodox Union to sign a petition pertained to abolish the death penalty, or at the least, offer reforms. Moreover, polls have shown that Christians are more apt to side with capital punishment than Jews, whether religious or secular. This is just a universal Jewish value.

    By and large, I have just analyzed the passage in Numbers 15:32-36 and have shown to all our readers how to correctly interpret this passage for a Jewish point of view.

    In conclusion, my question to you, the reader of this short post, is: Did you actually devote some time studying the text before making up your mind and judging the Torah as an evil work promoting the death penalty simply because you're an atheist and just want to demolish it? If the answer is yes, then I hope I have shed some light on the issue, especially when it comes to interpreting these passages in Exodus and Deuteronomy as metaphorical, as Jews have for centuries, and hence, why a single stoning was hardly ever carried out.


    AmpersandSilverishGoldNovaEvidenceSlanderIsNotDebate1995
  • AmpersandAmpersand 858 Pts   -  
    You're referencing the Old Testament which is outdated. Compare:

    Old Testament: eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot

    New Testament: 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you

    Evidence
  • JudaismJudaism 180 Pts   -  
    @Ampersand

    Shalom, my "Old Testament" is not outdated, it is just as relevant to Jews in 2018 as it was in Moses' day, 1312 BCE. To say otherwise is an insult to the Holy Scriptures. I'm assuming your a follower of Jesus? If so, please dare to show me one verse in the entire corpus of Jewish literature which says clearly and unambiguously the following: The Messiah will come, he'll die, and then resurrect on the third day.

    There is not one verse you can point to me which states this clause. If this is the case, which I believe it is, then that, by default, makes your New Testament invalid. There is only one G-d, my friend, I advise you to read your Scriptures carefully and compare your theology of Paul with that of the Torah, after all, it is truth. 

    Good luck in your investigation, Baruch HaShem
  • JudaismJudaism 180 Pts   -  
    @tudied ianonymousdebater 

    While it is true that we all share the right to interpret the Bible as we wish, Isaiah 53 has nothing to say about Jesus when studied in depth. Rather, it is the children of Israel.
  • EvidenceEvidence 814 Pts   -  
    Judaism said:
    @Ampersand

    Shalom, my "Old Testament" is not outdated, it is just as relevant to Jews in 2018 as it was in Moses' day, 1312 BCE. To say otherwise is an insult to the Holy Scriptures. I'm assuming your a follower of Jesus? If so, please dare to show me one verse in the entire corpus of Jewish literature which says clearly and unambiguously the following: The Messiah will come, he'll die, and then resurrect on the third day.

    There is not one verse you can point to me which states this clause. If this is the case, which I believe it is, then that, by default, makes your New Testament invalid. There is only one G-d, my friend, I advise you to read your Scriptures carefully and compare your theology of Paul with that of the Torah, after all, it is truth. 

    Good luck in your investigation, Baruch HaShem
    • Messiah was to be born at Bethlehem: Micah 5:2 (Micah 5:1 in Hebrew Bible)
    • Messiah would be from the tribe of Judah: Genesis 49:10
    • Messiah would present himself by riding on an : Zechariah 9:9
    • Messiah would be tortured to death: Psalm 22:1-31
    • Messiah would arrive before the destruction of the Second Temple: Daniel 9:24-27
    • Messiah’s life would match a particular description, including suffering, silence at his arrest and trial, death and burial in a rich man’s tomb, and resurrection: Isaiah 52:13-53:12

    Top 40 Most Helpful Messianic Prophecies
    https://jewsforjesus.org/answers/top-40-most-helpful-messianic-prophecies/

    There is One Possible Infinite and Eternal Creator, the Lord God "I Am", the God of Abraham, Isaak and Jacob, so even logically there can be no other, unless someone can tell me how they can put another Infinite besides our God?
    And the God of the O.T. is the same God of the New One as this time revealed not by a Prophet, by by His Only Begotten Son Word aka Jesus the Christ which as it says in the O.T. that the Jews will reject and kill.
    2,000 years later and the hate for Jewish Jesus is still raging, until the end, when everyone will see that O.T. God again, raging in vengeance against everyone who rejected His Beloved Son.

    But there are other gods too, ..  33 million gods in Hinduism alone,

    https://www.huffingtonpost.com/gadadhara-pandit-dasa/the-33-million-demigods-o_b_1737207.html

    so there are many gods, but for us there is just One, the Only Possible One mentioned above.
    And God had a Son whom He named "Word", who was the first of all Gods creations. John1:1 (whole chapter) explains all about the Son and how God created all things through him.

    For a Jew not to believe the Prophesies, then your G-d is not the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.


    Matthew 24:15-16 King James Version (KJV)

    15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

    What's that doing on the Temple mount, and why would Jews allow that to be there? It's in almost every tourist picture of Israel!?

    Visiting the Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem


    SlanderIsNotDebate1995
  • AmpersandAmpersand 858 Pts   -  
    Judaism said:
    @Ampersand

    Shalom, my "Old Testament" is not outdated, it is just as relevant to Jews in 2018 as it was in Moses' day, 1312 BCE. To say otherwise is an insult to the Holy Scriptures. I'm assuming your a follower of Jesus? If so, please dare to show me one verse in the entire corpus of Jewish literature which says clearly and unambiguously the following: The Messiah will come, he'll die, and then resurrect on the third day.

    There is not one verse you can point to me which states this clause. If this is the case, which I believe it is, then that, by default, makes your New Testament invalid. There is only one G-d, my friend, I advise you to read your Scriptures carefully and compare your theology of Paul with that of the Torah, after all, it is truth. 

    Good luck in your investigation, Baruch HaSh
    Well you're wrong in your assumptions.

    The OP is arguing from a Christian perspective. If he'd been arguing from a Muslim perspective then the Quran would supercede the Old AND New testament. If he'd been Mormon the book of Morm would.

    In Christian theology the New Testament supercedes the old in many ways and it explicitly takes a different tack. What the OT says on its own is irrelevant in this context.

    Evidence
  • FredsnephewFredsnephew 361 Pts   -  
    1) The bible was written by men. Fallible men.

    2) At best, the bible is a collection of writings which may be loosely based on fact.

    3) God is an archaic theory which may or may not be true.

    4) Biblical evidence is ambiguous and contradictory.

    5) For many people, the god of the bible has no significance.

    Five simple reasons, which render the proposition untenable.
  • WilliamSchulzWilliamSchulz 255 Pts   -  
    I'll keep the post short, but one thing to keep in mind is that divine law is very different than Earthly law. It would not be right to equivocate God's plans to punish man versus a government's way of punishing man. For instance, in the food with Noah, God pretty much wiped out the human population because of their sin, but saved Noah's life, and I believe 8 others. This does not support a death penalty, because God is referring to sin which man does to other men. God is not punishing the kidnapping itself, he is punishing the motive behind the kidnapping and the choice to follow through with such a deed. You could argue that kidnapping is a sin today and that is why the death penalty is okay. However, we aren't punishing the sin, we are condemning the action itself, similar to what God does, but God additionally punishes the sin itself. Therefore, we can't compare divine law to earthly judgement, however similar they might be.
    A good debate is not judged by bias, but in the context of the debate, where objectivity is key and rationale prevalent. 


  • JudaismJudaism 180 Pts   -  
    @Evidence

    You have yet to provide evidence why this is so. G-d, in Deuteronomy, said that His commandments and love for Israel would be everlasting, would the Divine lie? Secondly, I answered this question because I wanted to show where the truth lies, Jews have always taken stoning metaphorically, I don't know what you're imaging, but a G-d condoning death is not my G-d.
  • JudaismJudaism 180 Pts   -  
  • JudaismJudaism 180 Pts   -  
    Fredsnephew 

    Empty assertions and opinions. . . is that really the best you can do, come on?
  • JudaismJudaism 180 Pts   -  
    Evidence 


    Are you saying you believe in multiple gods then? If that's so, no wonder you're so far off from the real truth and the ONE and ONLY ONE G-d of Israel. 
  • AmpersandAmpersand 858 Pts   -  
    @Judaism

    You provide (one) answer to your own question. You ask how God could lie in one sentence and then in the next state that sections in the Bible don't have to be accepted literally but can instead be metaphor.
  • EvidenceEvidence 814 Pts   -  
    Judaism said:
    Evidence 


    Are you saying you believe in multiple gods then? If that's so, no wonder you're so far off from the real truth and the ONE and ONLY ONE G-d of Israel. 

    Infinite:
    limitless or endless in space, extent, or size; impossible there is no 'thing' to measure or calculate.
    "the infinite mercy of God"
    synonyms:boundless, unbounded, unlimited, limitless, borderless

    God IS Infinite, .. Infinite IS God, and for me and my house He's the Only God we worship, since there is Only One Infinite, and He is conscious as in "I Am", so how do you figure that I believe in "multiple gods"?

    Thank you.
  • EvidenceEvidence 814 Pts   -  
    Judaism said:
    Evidence 


    Are you saying you believe in multiple gods then? If that's so, no wonder you're so far off from the real truth and the ONE and ONLY ONE G-d of Israel. 

    Oh, .. you mean because He beget/created a son for Himself called the Word?
    (please read this carefully several times, and match it up with other Bible verse so you can see that it is true!)

    Look, It's like when God told His son Word: "Let us make man in our own image, in our own likeness", .. so what did God do?

    Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

    Adam was created in Gods image, and Eve in the image of His son Word.

    Collations 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

    As through Eve all mankind came forth, so through the Son Word all things came forth, ..  all things were created.

    Here it explains the beginning with God, NOT God's beginning, but the beginning of all creation:

    John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

    You see, God is Infinite and Eternal, He has no beginning, nor end, but the son Word aka Jesus Christ IS the beginning and the end.

    Revelations 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”

    The Son Word was with God in the beginning, and before that he was God, or actually there was only God, .. just as Eve was Adam before God took her out of Adam.
    The son Word is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 

    John 1:
    14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

    You see, now you have the whole story; who God is, who His son Word is, how God created everything, why, and for whom!?

    Shalom.

  • JudaismJudaism 180 Pts   -  
    @Ampersand

    You're mixing the two, lying and interpretation are two different things. If G-d said metaphorically that the sea of Reeds opened, then He's trying to give out a moral message, if He said so literally, then it really happened. Either way, He isn't lying.
  • JudaismJudaism 180 Pts   -  
    @Evidence

    I just got confused of your mentioning of Hinduism. But yes, you do believe in two gods: G-d and Jesus. And your interpretation of Genesis 1:26 won't help you here. . . the rabbis have always taught that G-d was talking to His angels, beings He wasn't scared to mention earlier. . . so how come He had no problem saying such, but then had second thoughts when it came time to mention a co-creator, Jesus? Why did G-d wait till John 1:1? We all know there is no such thing as progressive revelation, so why the wait? G-d could have easily ended all the debate had He took the time to mention Jesus by name in Genesis 1:1. Hence, your god is imperfect, but the not the real, true G-d of Israel.
  • AmpersandAmpersand 858 Pts   -  
    Judaism said:
    @Ampersand

    You're mixing the two, lying and interpretation are two different things. If G-d said metaphorically that the sea of Reeds opened, then He's trying to give out a moral message, if He said so literally, then it really happened. Either way, He isn't lying.
    Yes, that's the point - lying and metaphor are separate and it can be viewed as metaphor.
  • JudaismJudaism 180 Pts   -  
    Ampersand 

    I feel that's not the point you were making, you're now just using it to disguise your faulty reasoning. In fact, your comment doesn't even make any logical sense. The whole stoning thing was viewed as metaphorical from the beginning, the very day HaShem drop off Torah on our shoulders, which is a great responsibility. 

    G-d never lied, the Christian god did, however, when he told the world that JC was their Messiah, when he really never had the attributes in the first place. Our G-ds are not the same. Marcion of Sinope was right.

    Again, if you don't bring out any real evidence that JC was the Messiah than this conversation is over. Honestly, we should really debate the issue somewhere else, not on a thread about stoning. 

    But still, Christians have no good answer when it comes to this, all they can think up is this: "I don't know, G-d got more merciful later on?" But really, how pathetic is that? I'm not attacking anyone here, I'm just saying these are some of the responses from the other side, and they're not good ones. Did you read my post? I hope you have, it's a good answer, and actually, one which makes sense. 

    Again, I am open to debate you on the matter of Jesus. We can do it on any site/format you want. I won't convince you, but perhaps the best I'll do is make you think a little.
  • FredsnephewFredsnephew 361 Pts   -  
    @Judaism ;

    I simply asserted five undeniable pieces of information.

    I didn't feel that the proposition was worthy of a more complex response.




  • AmpersandAmpersand 858 Pts   -  
    Judaism said:
    Ampersand 

    I feel that's not the point you were making, you're now just using it to disguise your faulty reasoning. In fact, your comment doesn't even make any logical sense. The whole stoning thing was viewed as metaphorical from the beginning, the very day HaShem drop off Torah on our shoulders, which is a great responsibility. 

    G-d never lied, the Christian god did, however, when he told the world that JC was their Messiah, when he really never had the attributes in the first place. Our G-ds are not the same. Marcion of Sinope was right.

    Again, if you don't bring out any real evidence that JC was the Messiah than this conversation is over. Honestly, we should really debate the issue somewhere else, not on a thread about stoning. 

    But still, Christians have no good answer when it comes to this, all they can think up is this: "I don't know, G-d got more merciful later on?" But really, how pathetic is that? I'm not attacking anyone here, I'm just saying these are some of the responses from the other side, and they're not good ones. Did you read my post? I hope you have, it's a good answer, and actually, one which makes sense. 

    Again, I am open to debate you on the matter of Jesus. We can do it on any site/format you want. I won't convince you, but perhaps the best I'll do is make you think a little.
    Why would I argue Jesus is the Messiah when I don't believe Jesus is the Messiah and it isn't relevant to the debate?

    The issue is not whether people should believe the Bible, but for those who do whether it gives a position for or against the death penalty.

    Your position is that people must be claiming God is a , which would be wrong. However your claim is not true as there are many alternate explanations one of which, it being metaphor, you have already accepted. It could also be viewed as fallible men's interpretation of the divine instructions, old commandments that were correct being superceded by new ones, etc.

    It is not that there is no answer it is that there are many different potential answers depending on sect and personal interpretation, just like in the Jewish faith where a fundamentalist and reform Jew would have very different interpretations.
  • JudaismJudaism 180 Pts   -  
    Fredsnephew

    1) The bible was written by men. Fallible men.

    Prove that, can you back in time? did you know what these men and women were thinking?

    2) At best, the bible is a collection of writings which may be loosely based on fact

    With a lot of wisdom too

    3) God is an archaic theory which may or may true

    You're uncertain, are you going to base your life on such uncertainties?

    4) Biblical evidence is ambiguous and contradictory.

    Which, the Exodus? Look closer

    5) For many people, the god of the bible has no significance.

    That's okay - in Judaism, no one goes to hell for sins/crimes they didn't know. Hindus have a place in heaven as any Jew, this is unlike any Christian or Muslim believers who've pushed for conversions throughout history, a lot of it ending in useless bloodshed

    6) Five simple reasons, which render the proposition untenable.

    Your reasons were based on uncertainties and you now expect me to give up my faith for uncertainties? 
  • AmpersandAmpersand 858 Pts   -   edited February 2018
    Judaism said:
    Fredsnephew

    1) The bible was written by men. Fallible men.

    Prove that, can you back in time? did you know what these men and women were thinking?

    2) At best, the bible is a collection of writings which may be loosely based on fact

    With a lot of wisdom too

    3) God is an archaic theory which may or may true

    You're uncertain, are you going to base your life on such uncertainties?

    4) Biblical evidence is ambiguous and contradictory.

    Which, the Exodus? Look closer

    5) For many people, the god of the bible has no significance.

    That's okay - in Judaism, no one goes to hell for sins/crimes they didn't know. Hindus have a place in heaven as any Jew, this is unlike any Christian or Muslim believers who've pushed for conversions throughout history, a lot of it ending in useless bloodshed

    6) Five simple reasons, which render the proposition untenable.

    Your reasons were based on uncertainties and you now expect me to give up my faith for uncertainties? 
    You seem to want to argue "Is Jehovah real". That isn't this debate.

    The question is not will you give up faith based on uncertainties, but rather should people be condemned to die because of uncertainties.
  • JudaismJudaism 180 Pts   -  
    Ampersand 

    Well, based on your arguments, you sounded like you were trying your best to protect Jesus. I never heard of a Christian NOT believing in Jesus, but I guess I accidentally stumbled upon on. Well, COOL to that!

    I never said we should debate Jesus here, but perhaps on another thread. Read my post again. I understand that it isn't relevant to this current one, but you some other guys kept pressing the matter over and over again, and I feel like I should respond to those Messianic claim because they're wrong.

    I believe in the Torah with my full heart (not discounting any logic here though, obviously I'm not those Mormon types who just take everything at face value, they're scientific reasons why I think it's true too) and to my understanding of it, and to the understanding of Jewish tradition, which we count as sacred too, Torah law forbids the death penalty, and you simply just cannot quote isolated verses mindlessly and call them pros for some modern institution. You have to look at context and tradition, those are the real values when dissecting a case. The point is: Judaism has always been against it, and the Torah is our foundation. It's not about a guy out there "choosing" for a metaphorical interpretation, it's the whole Jewish community. In Judaism, alternative options don't exist, I'm afraid you've failed to recognize that, if so, bad me, I should have been a little clearer. This metaphorical option is the ONLY option. All the rabbis of the Talmud believed in this option. It is sacred.

    The rabbis have never stated, not once, that we could interpret these passages as "fallible men blundering" or "old commandments that were archaic", no, this is not an option for us. There is only one interpretation, one law, one G-d. The reason I was calling the Christian G-d a is because HaShem stated His laws were forever, and Christians believe JC abolished them or whatnot. This G-d, by default, would be a because the Torah is clear there is no such thing as 'progressive revelation,' meaning, G-d will never change His mind theologically, nor choose another nation outside Israel.

    To my knowledge, you'd get the same response out of a Reform Jew. I hope you weren't hoping to find many bad interpretations from Christians so you could further laugh at them? Atheists (I'm not sure what you are now lol!) love to laugh at people with faith, they have this built-in theory that they're smarter - what arrogance - but now that you've found a real answer, could we end it at that? Could we stop the "attack" on a G-d these people hate so much yet don't believe in? And why are they so mad anyway?

    Find me a Reform Jew with a different approach, and THAT would be interesting.
  • JudaismJudaism 180 Pts   -  
  • JudaismJudaism 180 Pts   -  
  • JudaismJudaism 180 Pts   -  
    Ampersand


    Anyway, I must prepare for Shabbat. See you Sunday.
  • FredsnephewFredsnephew 361 Pts   -  
    @Ampersand ;

    Exactly. 

    There are so many uncertainties. 

    The bible is an unreliable text, based on an unreliable theory.

    The proposition is therefore untenable.


    Whether god/Jehovah is real or not, is wholly relevant to this debate. 

    The existence of a god is the basis of the bible and the bible is central to this debate.

    The existence of a god is theoretical, therefore the bible is based wholly upon supposition rather than truth.

  • FredsnephewFredsnephew 361 Pts   -  
    @Judaism ;

    All people are fallible. 


    There is one thing that I am certain of and that is I am not certain of anything.

    I am certainly not prepared to accept something with blind faith.


  • JudaismJudaism 180 Pts   -  
    @Fredsnephew

    "There is one thing that I am certain of and that is I am not certain of anything." Isn't that a contradiction? If you're so uncertain of anything, then how do you know G-d doesn't exist? Then you'll argue that we can't be certain of anything, but are you uncertain if you love your wife? Your kids? Are you uncertain that you have a job or not? Are you uncertain we're here on earth? Come on! You can't live life like that, no matter how philosophical. What you're saying is mindless bogus lol!
  • FredsnephewFredsnephew 361 Pts   -  
    @Judaism ;

    I don't know that god doesn't exist.

    In just the same way that you do not know that god does exist.

    God is theoretical.

    There is no reliable or verifiable evidence to prove this theory.

    If you believe in god. You have a blind faith based on a personal assumption that the god theory is accurate.

    That's your choice and a choice you have every right to make.






  • JudaismJudaism 180 Pts   -  
    @Fredsnephew

    This earth is all we need to prove G-d exists, but thanks for giving me an option, most atheists I suspect wouldn't. Plus, Jews don't go on pure "blind faith." When a G-d tells you the the earth is round, that there are 10^ of 18 stars in the universe, and that the universe is 15 billion years old. . . I think I'm pretty sure G-d exists.
  • EvidenceEvidence 814 Pts   -  
    Judaism said:
    @Evidence

    I just got confused of your mentioning of Hinduism. But yes, you do believe in two gods: G-d and Jesus. And your interpretation of Genesis 1:26 won't help you here. . . the rabbis have always taught that G-d was talking to His angels, beings He wasn't scared to mention earlier. . . so how come He had no problem saying such, but then had second thoughts when it came time to mention a co-creator, Jesus? Why did G-d wait till John 1:1? We all know there is no such thing as progressive revelation, so why the wait? G-d could have easily ended all the debate had He took the time to mention Jesus by name in Genesis 1:1. Hence, your god is imperfect, but the not the real, true G-d of Israel.


    Shalom Judah-ism,
    how is Gods son Word not mentioned in Genesis 1:26?

    Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

    Did God create Adam first, and then Eve? Why did God create Eve?

    Genesis 2:18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.

    And still yet: 
    Genesis 2:20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.

    Twice mentioned, must have a deeper meaning don't you think?
    God tried to create for Adam something that would entertain him, keep him company. So if God really did create Adam in his image, then this is what must have been with God also.
    God was always God, there was, and can be no one besides Him, .. until He decided to create within Himself, .. which He started with His son Word to keep Him company I believe, which is what we get reading about Adam being alone. v18, 20

    Ask yourself,
    1. did God create Adam in His own image or not?
    Yes, as it is written.
    2. Did Adam complain that he was alone?
    No, God knew that, just as He knows Himself.

    @Judaism said- We all know there is no such thing as progressive revelation, so why the wait?

    Daniel 12:4 “But you, Daniel, the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”

    Never in human history has "men run to and fro"   like we do today, cars, planes and bullet-trains
    also in 

    Hebrews 4:6 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, 7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said:

    “Today, if you will hear His voice,
    Do not harden your hearts.”

    8 For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. 10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

    You see, you (and the Rabbi's) are ignoring plain facts within the pages of our Bible as to why God created Adam, and why God knew that Adam was alone, .. obviously because God felt the need to surround Himself with children, with all kinds of creatures, Seraphim and Cherubim, and us, .. created in His image. So as I shown, the son of God "Word" was always there in the O.T., but because of the "hardness of the hearts" of the Children of Israel, they did not see it,
    John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

    They did not want to see it, and even today continue to walk in darkness rejecting the Messiah.

    And finally the time was ripe, the time of the end has come, starting 2 days ago, well that is Gods days, but for us; 2,000 years ago.

    Judaism said: G-d could have easily ended all the debate had He took the time to mention Jesus by name in Genesis 1:1. Hence, your god is imperfect, but the not the real, true G-d of Israel.

    The Son's time to shine has not yet come in Genesis 1:1.
    It was after Adams fall  where the Son of God shines, in his humility, in his servitude, void of any pride or boasting, and this is what the Jews did not expect, .. for the Messiah, the King of the Jews, .. the King of kings to show up as a common poor kid growing up in the poor neighborhood of Jerusalem, with brothers and sisters like any of the poorer families of the time.

    Luke 9:57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

    also:
    Hebrews 4:

    Our Compassionate High Priest

    14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

    There has never, in the history of man been a "time of need" as there is today. Never has man been more absorbed in himself (selfies, checking how many likes, or followers they have, the I, I, I agenda where children are brought up being told that: "The most important person in the whole wide world is "you"



    It's time to Wake Up Judah! Stop looking up to the Rabbi's, they're the ones who helped crucify the Lord, so you think they will tell you the truth about him now?

    Mathew 27:11 Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?”  Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.” 12 And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. 13 Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” 14 But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.

    15 Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. 16 And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy.

    20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?”

    They said, “Barabbas!” 22 Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?”  They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!” 23 Then the governor said, “Why, what evil has He done?  ”But they cried out all the more, saying ; “Let Him be crucified!”

    24 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.”

    25 And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.”

    Now can you tell me please, .. of all the things you heard of Jesus, what are the things that he did, or said that makes you want to deny him as your Messiah?

    Thanks.

  • JudaismJudaism 180 Pts   -  
    You're confusion with Genesis 1:26 is. . . bad, let's just put it that way. And you expect me to give up my faith in one G-d for Jesus? You've got to be meshuggeneh!

    This verse is clearly about the creation of Adam, not Jesus, notice how it mentions Eve after. Did Jesus have a sister who was just as divine as him? If you're asking my to look up verse 8 and 20, again, they have nothing to do with Jesus. G-d was alone, fair, so He created humanity. Genesis never mentions an eternal co-creator/Jesus. You've got to admit it and just move on.

    Progressive Revelation:

    Daniel 12:4 is about prophecy, it has nothing to do with revelation on the nature of G-d. G-d didn't mention His triune nature to Daniel, He would't trick or lie to him either. He wouldn't tell the prophet to pray to one G-d when He really meant to say three, this is ridiculous. That verse won't help you, and don't go around quoting me from the Book of Hebrews, we both know it has nothing to do with the Jewish Bible.

    To claim that Jews are walking in blindness is to be wearing Christian lenses over your eyes. G-d will not hide Himself in vain, nor screen Himself to His children. My people have studied the Scriptures for over 2,000 years, what do we not see? The "Christian spin" on our Bible?

     You claim after Genesis 1:1 Jesus showed up, if so, where is he? Is he to be found in Genesis 1:2, or 1:3? What about in the Book of Exodus, or Deuteronomy? What about in any of the prophets? Where is he in Daniel and Isaiah? Where is he in the rabbinic writings? . . . . . . . . Nowhere.

    You claim the rabbis killed Jesus? What bogus, this couldn't be further from the truth! The Romans killed him, Pilate was a monster who wasn't embarrassed to nail 2,000 Jews to the cross, he had to be called back to Rome! Tell me about it!

    You ask: Why do I reject Jesus? . . . Do you really want to know? It's nothing personal. It's just the Bible. Yes, the Bible REJECTS Jesus. G-d REJECTS Jesus, and therefore, so do I and the rabbis. He died 2,000 years ago, he's no man's Messiah.

    The following is from a piece of mine on my upcoming blog, I think it'll answer your question in full:

    ". . . We’ve now seen that it is an impossibility for anyone to be G-d. But the question still stands, was Jesus the Messiah?

    To Christians, the answer is an obvious yes, but when one looks at the evidence, the sudden realization dawns that it just can’t be.

    After all, Christians believe in a few false clauses, 1.) that all mankind has inherited a genetic abomination against G-d (sin), 2.) that Jesus is the only expedite to cleanse you of that sin, and 3.) without his help, we are all damned to a dark place to be burned eternally in hell fire (in Christian mythology, this is the fate of at least 70% of the world’s population, talk about a mean God. Note that Jewish tradition teaches that all men have a share in the World to Come as long as they led decent lives).

    But to the Jew and his Bible, this is as foreign as taking up Hinduism. Why do I say this? Because the notion of one dying for the sins of another is unbiblical, and worse, you won't find a single verse of it in all Tanakh to support the theory that the Messiah would die for the sins of the world, rise from the grave, and be back for his second coming in order to fulfill the rest of the Messianic requirements.

    Nowhere in the Jewish Scripture is there mention of a second coming, this is simply a Christian invention to cover up the fact that Jesus died, failing in his mission. To the Jew however, the Hebrew Bible is unambiguously clear about the Messiah's role in the future Messianic Age. This is just a short list of what the Messiah will do when he arrives:

    1.) He will restore the Jewish people to the land of Israel, and, if I may add, every last one of them (Isaiah 11:11-12, 27:12-13, 43:5-6, Jeremiah 16:15, 23:3, 23:8, 30:3, Zechariah 8:3-8, 10:6-10, Ezekiel 34:11-46, 36:24-28, 37:21-22, Hosea 3:4-5, Joel 4:1-2, Amos 9:14-15, Micah 2:12, Zephaniah 3:18-20). When Jesus was alive, there was no Israel to restore to the Jewish people, they were already living there!

    2.) When the Messiah comes, he will rebuild the Third Temple (Exodus 25:8, Isaiah 33:20, 56:7, Jeremiah 33:17-18, Ezekiel 37:26-28, 43:7), not only did Jesus fail in this respect, but the Jewish Messiah will have physical children and offer a bull for his own sins (see Ezekiel 37:25, 45:17-22). Something Church teaching abhors at!

    3.) The Messiah will cause a world-wide recognition of the G-d of Israel, all hearts will turn to Him and He will initiate a new covenant with His people (Isaiah 2:3, 11:9-10, Micah 4:2-3, Zechariah 8:23, 14:9, Jeremiah 31:33, Zephaniah 3:9). If Jesus had any potential to be the Messiah, he would have had to accomplish this task, since the advent of Christianity however, the Jews were exiled from their land as the Temple was laid waste. After that horrific event, Jews have been killed, raped, and driven out from practically every country in Europe. The people of the world don't acknowledge one G-d, in fact there are more world religions today than ever before, with Christian missionaries spending billions of dollars each year just to convert the Jew.

    4.) All the dead will rise (Isaiah 26:16, Daniel 12:2, Ezekiel 37:12-13). Only the New Testament claims to have witnessed five-hundred people resurrect with Jesus (what happened to the rest?) furthermore, this claim doesn't exist in outside sources, you'd think someone else would have noticed such an extraordinary event and kept record!

    5.) Finally, there will be an everlasting world peace among the nations and sin, for the most part, will crumble (Isaiah 2:4, 11:6-9, Zephaniah 3:13). I ask you, is there world peace? Just seventy-two years ago, as of this writing, World War II ceased, and finally, the casualty list of six million innocent lives were revealed to mankind. Is this the Christian version of world peace? To me, these passages are meant to be taken literal, they are what we call "graphic texts," meaning they don't have to be interpreted. The Scriptures are all too clear on this issue and Christianity's Messiah has not brought upon a physical world peace.

    In fact, any prophecies Christians claim Jesus did fulfill are of minor importance, for example, he was born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14). This prophecy is of course mistranslated and taken out of context. Regardless, even if such a prophecy was fulfilled, what good would it do? Such an event would only excite social media, but it would not shake the foundations of world leaders.

    In short, not only did Jesus not fulfill a single major messianic prophecy, he also chose not to follow the law (John 9:16) and yet, said it was best to observe the Mitzvot, for this is what earns salvation (Matthew 19:17), and that "Whoever breaks one of these commandments shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 5:19). Furthermore, he commands us to follow the rabbis, who, after all, sit in Moses' seat (Matthew 23:1-2); all of which, of course, contradict John 9:16.

    Surprising, isn't it?

    I'd also add that in Christianity, Jesus is not only the claimed Messiah, but G-d Himself. Therefore, all emphasis is focused on him. But the Hebrew Bible tells us a very different story. . . there are hundreds of verses which relate to the Messianic Age, but roughly ten speak of the Messiah himself (as an example, Isaiah 11:1-5 and Jeremiah 23:5). This is because the Messiah, as seen in the Jewish Scriptures alone, is nothing more than a mere man, whose own sins need forgiveness. He is a tool in the hands of G-d, hence, all glory rightly goes to Him, the maker of Heaven and Earth."

    That, my friends, is why Jews would rather die first than accept a dead man, with all the respect in the world, as even the "potential" Messiah.

  • JudaismJudaism 180 Pts   -  
    Evidence

    You're confusion with Genesis 1:26 is. . . bad, let's just put it that way. And you expect me to give up my faith in one G-d for Jesus? You've got to be meshuggeneh!

    This verse is clearly about the creation of Adam, not Jesus, notice how it mentions Eve after. Did Jesus have a sister who was just as divine as him? If you're asking my to look up verse 8 and 20, again, they have nothing to do with Jesus. G-d was alone, fair, so He created humanity. Genesis never mentions an eternal co-creator/Jesus. You've got to admit it and just move on.

    Progressive Revelation:

    Daniel 12:4 is about prophecy, it has nothing to do with revelation on the nature of G-d. G-d didn't mention His triune nature to Daniel, He would't trick or lie to him either. He wouldn't tell the prophet to pray to one G-d when He really meant to say three, this is ridiculous. That verse won't help you, and don't go around quoting me from the Book of Hebrews, we both know it has nothing to do with the Jewish Bible.

    To claim that Jews are walking in blindness is to be wearing Christian lenses over your eyes. G-d will not hide Himself in vain, nor screen Himself to His children. My people have studied the Scriptures for over 2,000 years, what do we not see? The "Christian spin" on our Bible?

     You claim after Genesis 1:1 Jesus showed up, if so, where is he? Is he to be found in Genesis 1:2, or 1:3? What about in the Book of Exodus, or Deuteronomy? What about in any of the prophets? Where is he in Daniel and Isaiah? Where is he in the rabbinic writings? . . . . . . . . Nowhere.

    You claim the rabbis killed Jesus? What bogus, this couldn't be further from the truth! The Romans killed him, Pilate was a monster who wasn't embarrassed to nail 2,000 Jews to the cross, he had to be called back to Rome! Tell me about it!

    You ask: Why do I reject Jesus? . . . Do you really want to know? It's nothing personal. It's just the Bible. Yes, the Bible REJECTS Jesus. G-d REJECTS Jesus, and therefore, so do I and the rabbis. He died 2,000 years ago, he's no man's Messiah.

    The following is from a piece of mine on my upcoming blog, I think it'll answer your question in full:

    ". . . We’ve now seen that it is an impossibility for anyone to be G-d. But the question still stands, was Jesus the Messiah?

    To Christians, the answer is an obvious yes, but when one looks at the evidence, the sudden realization dawns that it just can’t be.

    After all, Christians believe in a few false clauses, 1.) that all mankind has inherited a genetic abomination against G-d (sin), 2.) that Jesus is the only expedite to cleanse you of that sin, and 3.) without his help, we are all damned to a dark place to be burned eternally in hell fire (in Christian mythology, this is the fate of at least 70% of the world’s population, talk about a mean God. Note that Jewish tradition teaches that all men have a share in the World to Come as long as they led decent lives).

    But to the Jew and his Bible, this is as foreign as taking up Hinduism. Why do I say this? Because the notion of one dying for the sins of another is unbiblical, and worse, you won't find a single verse of it in all Tanakh to support the theory that the Messiah would die for the sins of the world, rise from the grave, and be back for his second coming in order to fulfill the rest of the Messianic requirements.

    Nowhere in the Jewish Scripture is there mention of a second coming, this is simply a Christian invention to cover up the fact that Jesus died, failing in his mission. To the Jew however, the Hebrew Bible is unambiguously clear about the Messiah's role in the future Messianic Age. This is just a short list of what the Messiah will do when he arrives:

    1.) He will restore the Jewish people to the land of Israel, and, if I may add, every last one of them (Isaiah 11:11-12, 27:12-13, 43:5-6, Jeremiah 16:15, 23:3, 23:8, 30:3, Zechariah 8:3-8, 10:6-10, Ezekiel 34:11-46, 36:24-28, 37:21-22, Hosea 3:4-5, Joel 4:1-2, Amos 9:14-15, Micah 2:12, Zephaniah 3:18-20). When Jesus was alive, there was no Israel to restore to the Jewish people, they were already living there!

    2.) When the Messiah comes, he will rebuild the Third Temple (Exodus 25:8, Isaiah 33:20, 56:7, Jeremiah 33:17-18, Ezekiel 37:26-28, 43:7), not only did Jesus fail in this respect, but the Jewish Messiah will have physical children and offer a bull for his own sins (see Ezekiel 37:25, 45:17-22). Something Church teaching abhors at!

    3.) The Messiah will cause a world-wide recognition of the G-d of Israel, all hearts will turn to Him and He will initiate a new covenant with His people (Isaiah 2:3, 11:9-10, Micah 4:2-3, Zechariah 8:23, 14:9, Jeremiah 31:33, Zephaniah 3:9). If Jesus had any potential to be the Messiah, he would have had to accomplish this task, since the advent of Christianity however, the Jews were exiled from their land as the Temple was laid waste. After that horrific event, Jews have been killed, raped, and driven out from practically every country in Europe. The people of the world don't acknowledge one G-d, in fact there are more world religions today than ever before, with Christian missionaries spending billions of dollars each year just to convert the Jew.

    4.) All the dead will rise (Isaiah 26:16, Daniel 12:2, Ezekiel 37:12-13). Only the New Testament claims to have witnessed five-hundred people resurrect with Jesus (what happened to the rest?) furthermore, this claim doesn't exist in outside sources, you'd think someone else would have noticed such an extraordinary event and kept record!

    5.) Finally, there will be an everlasting world peace among the nations and sin, for the most part, will crumble (Isaiah 2:4, 11:6-9, Zephaniah 3:13). I ask you, is there world peace? Just seventy-two years ago, as of this writing, World War II ceased, and finally, the casualty list of six million innocent lives were revealed to mankind. Is this the Christian version of world peace? To me, these passages are meant to be taken literal, they are what we call "graphic texts," meaning they don't have to be interpreted. The Scriptures are all too clear on this issue and Christianity's Messiah has not brought upon a physical world peace.

    In fact, any prophecies Christians claim Jesus did fulfill are of minor importance, for example, he was born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14). This prophecy is of course mistranslated and taken out of context. Regardless, even if such a prophecy was fulfilled, what good would it do? Such an event would only excite social media, but it would not shake the foundations of world leaders.

    In short, not only did Jesus not fulfill a single major messianic prophecy, he also chose not to follow the law (John 9:16) and yet, said it was best to observe the Mitzvot, for this is what earns salvation (Matthew 19:17), and that "Whoever breaks one of these commandments shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 5:19). Furthermore, he commands us to follow the rabbis, who, after all, sit in Moses' seat (Matthew 23:1-2); all of which, of course, contradict John 9:16.

    Surprising, isn't it?

    I'd also add that in Christianity, Jesus is not only the claimed Messiah, but G-d Himself. Therefore, all emphasis is focused on him. But the Hebrew Bible tells us a very different story. . . there are hundreds of verses which relate to the Messianic Age, but roughly ten speak of the Messiah himself (as an example, Isaiah 11:1-5 and Jeremiah 23:5). This is because the Messiah, as seen in the Jewish Scriptures alone, is nothing more than a mere man, whose own sins need forgiveness. He is a tool in the hands of G-d, hence, all glory rightly goes to Him, the maker of Heaven and Earth."

    That, my friends, is why Jews would rather die first than accept a dead man, with all the respect in the world, as even the "potential" Messiah.

  • SlanderIsNotDebate1995SlanderIsNotDebate1995 45 Pts   -   edited March 2018
    @Judaism I must say, I did not get to read everything you wrote, but whatever you did write is pretty impressive it seems. I was actually in yeshiva for a few months myself. I never really liked studying Torah or prayer too much, but I do remember a bit that the Rabbi told us: "A court that has one death penalty in 100 years is a cruel one." It wasn't exactly that line, but very similar. Although, a friend of mine also wrote a very comprehensive report against the death penalty not even citing the Torah once, but still would agree anyways. And this comes too, from secular sources. Him and I both agreed that death penalty should be avoided unless really needed. And personally, I'd prefer to shorten or get rid of "death row," as it only costs the tax payer more so much so, that according to his paper, it ends up often MORE expensive than a life sentence, or something among those lines.

    I must add though...

    Judaism, that you come off as a bit pompous and pretentious. "Okay, nice post. Now let's get back to reality here." Is this suggesting the guy you refer to does not live in reality while you do? And I am not actuallly too suprised by this "I am in reality and you are not, hahahaha" kind of mindset, as I was given a book from one Rabbi called "Out of the Woods and Into Reality," in which an Atheist debates with a Rabbi. Ironically, I think the Atheist actually won. Si much for that attempt at persuading me through books. Really, I think your argument may have had some good points, but I do not think that is a good way to start at all. Being in Israel myself for yeshiva and then college, I actually came to know plenty of Jews, whether Orthodox or super secular. And I can tell you right now, the Orthodox, by no means, are any better than the Christian preachers or especially the Atheists they laugh at. Plenty of corruption within the orthodox community, it is very hard to leave that community, to argue with that community, and to make them see any view besides their own. Basically, plenty of snobbery and things that make NON orthodox people's eyes roll. So for you to come off as "I am better than you" is quite ridiculous. Although, now saying a critique of you, I am prepared for the subtle insults, mockery, etc that you are prepared to lash my way am I right? If your background, which as it seems, is Orthodox Judaism, is so highly questionable, then why believe a single thing you state? This is not meant to insult or mock, but rather to critique. I know most people here are likely not Jewish and I do feel Torah has argumentative advantages over the New Testament as many Rabbis do over many preachers.  I think that's quite an advantage you start out with.That being said, it's quite ironic to see Orthodox Jews side and ally with these preachers, who they claim worship Jesus as a from of IDOLATRY, then to side with reasonable Atheists, Desists, and skeptics, whom really, they can find a good load in common with. They even prefer these "idol" worshipers often over other JEWS that ya know, can't AFFORD to keep kosher or have NO TIME or RESOURCES or that prefer NOT to go to shul and pray at ALL but instead do Judaism their own way. It is only the strangling and pressure towards these people that make them marry outside of Judaism as so feared. 
    http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/11/nonreligious-children-are-more-generous

    I realize I went quite off topic, but I do so for good reason. If this was of Orthodox Judaism has it's own fallacies, then how trustworthy is it as a source on anything including death penalty? I do think plenty of secular law may have been influenced by the Torah, but whatever tweaks were made over time were likely quite important. 


  • SlanderIsNotDebate1995SlanderIsNotDebate1995 45 Pts   -   edited March 2018
    @Evidence Hi there. So, at first, I thought you were arguing from an Atheist perspective. My mistake. I noticed a source you had was "JewsForJesus.org," and so I looked more at what you typed and immediately, I saw some fallacies. First, "Jews for Jesus" is messianic organization that tries to get people of the Jewish faith to become Christians. As this is already happening automatically with only so many Jews left in the world, this organization eats away at what Jews remain even more. Such a problem that it is, that there is even now a counter site, https://jewsforjudaism.org/. Of course, my argument on why this site likely doesn't do well is because it only goes in areas where it feels safe to do so. Big cities like LA are the targets while smaller ones that Jews For Jesus are still plentiful get left behind. I experienced this first hand. "Not much Jewish resources in the city you live? Oh well, move somewhere else more Jewish or you are a lost cause to Judaism as whole and considered not really Jewish anymore, even though, that is a SIZABLE portion of Jews among the world." But that is another matter that I am sure me and Judaism can maybe discuss later on. Anyways, second, I would be quite careful on debating anything on Torah law as Judaism seems to have quite an advantage at least on that, if your sources are directly from the new testament. Keep in mind, although with the negative things I said about Orthodox Judaism, there have been cases were Rabbis were both complimented by both the skeptic community and some by the Christian community as impressive. As I stated, they do have a sort of relation to the Christian community often. However, just by looking at comments on, I think it was, this video,

    You can see skeptics quite impressed on how much more respectful and intelligent the Rabbi seemed then the Christians that Hitchens debated. I am sure in the general skeptic community at large, Judaism is likely preferable over Christianity. I have no doubts on that cause as you can see, Judaism and the skeptics are somewhat aligned on the death penalty. There are plenty of other things Judaism, even Orthodox,agree on with the secular world as well that Christianity purely does not. I advise you to really know the Torah before daring to debate somebody like Judaism, because, as I don't agree with everything, I agree with parts. And I am part of the secular community that wants physical hard proof on everything. Judaism surely seems like a sort of Torah Scholar and no offence but unlike some Christian debaters, Torah Scholars don't get wiped out in a debate as easily when they debate skeptics. Remember that Torah is ORAL and questions, at least most, are ENCOURAGED, compared to the Christian Bible which is all written and questions are often declined. That being said, it is no wonder Torah Scholars are not as easy to debate. Consider too, that it is all SO old, yet, many things from SOOOO long ago are EXACT SAME as today. Even as a sort of Deist, I have to say it's quite impressive. So again,when debating an Atheist, it may be a bit more black and white. But when debating a Torah Scholar, few of the few in the world can really get a good analysis of the Torah. It's quite a complex book. And as I said, it is so much so complex yet, in some ways, actually seems correct on some things, or secular law wouldn't have sourced it for many thinsg of today like say the US Constitution. That, was based on the Magna Carta. And that, was based on TORAH. That's a quote from a Chabad Rabbi I knew, but if not fully true, I believe full heatedly, there are true points in there. And to answer your other points, Judaism, congrats on meeting a sort of "reform Jew"/Deist. I do not think my argument was that bad was it? 
  • JudaismJudaism 180 Pts   -  
    @SlanderIsNotDebate1995 ;

    Shalom!

    Thanks for your post. Real quick, is there anyway you could perhaps share your friend's report on the death penalty with me? My email, which I'm not afraid to hand out on here on DebateIsland.com, is defendingthetalmud@gmail.com

    Honesty, I don't recall when I ever said, "Okay, nice post. Now let's get back to reality here." Perhaps the reason was because @Evidence doesn't have his Judaism straight? He takes the Christian trinity out of context, misuses Kabbalah as New Age theology, and spins his own version of Satan which isn't compatible at all with the biblical description of him (which I've shown above before, if you haven't read it yet, I cannot recommend it enough). Evidence appears to me to be part of a small minority cult, he does not, yet, belong in mainstream Judaism. Hopefully someday, he'll see the truth. I hope.

    . . . And I'd be careful in calling him Reform, he is 100% Christian. 

    This is what I meant by "not living in reality," because when one allows him or herself to rip passages out of context and spin their own web of theology when the passage is clear in its message, that's fiction theology. It's not reality, and it's definitely not what the Hebrew Bible teaches.

    Thank you for the book recommendation, but it's not about "who loses", "who wins." It's the wrong mentality. Nobody wins. G-d wins.

    From my experience, Catholics can be more arrogant than Orthodox Jews, it really just depends upon the individual. When there is corruption in the Orthodox community, my heart breaks, this is because we're meant to be a "light to the nations" by example. 

    SlanderIsNotDebate1995, I'm sorry you would ever think that my intention would be to mock you. I always try to keep a level head in these things and not let passions get in the way, for nothing there can ever be logical and convincing. But I will say this, you claim that my background in Orthodox Judaism is "questionable." How so? Also, it's not about what I believe in, it's about truth, about what G-d thinks. That's so important in these debates. What does G-d think of all this?

    The reason rabbis and preachers aligne together against atheism is because we're all theists. If we bicker, and are divided, they've already won. In Judaism, we have a belief that all people, even atheists, have a place in Olam HaBa. As long as we can have a peaceful dialogue with each other, there is no problem. The days of nailing people on the stake are over, 1492 was finished long ago. Hopefully, though I doubt, we can move on to more civilized times.

    Rashi, by the way, did not view Christians as pagans. What do say to that? He saw no difference between us and them, we're all people, right? So why should I?

    All Gentiles will worship the L-RD of Hosts when the Messiah arrives. "My house is a home for all nations." This is straight out of Torah, my friend. You will only find falsehoods in anti-Semitic sites, and by falsehoods, I mean such as the likes that the Talmud is racist against Gentiles. It's all bogus. I have written three papers on that alone.

    You claim that we would prefer idol worshipers than Jews who can't afford tefillin couldn't be further from the truth! If a Jew cannot afford the rituals for Pesach or Shabbat, we're to step in and help him. If a Gentile is lying on the street, wounded, even on Shabbat, we're still to help him on the basis of humanity and G-d's commandments. Anyone who claims otherwise is a fanatic and is again taking Talmudic passages way out of context. Have you ever read Leviticus? In one verse specifically, it tells us to treat strangers as our own because we were strangers in the land of Egypt. That's a very important verse all people of all faiths and nationalities, should follow.

    You further claim that some Jews intermarry because their fellows won't look after them in time of need is sheer bogus. I'm sorry to say it, but it is. Most intermarriages are done in the Reform camp, because they don't care much for keeping our traditions and such (to marry a Gentile in an Orthodox community, your partner has to convert). Moreover, I saw your link, and it's untrue. What statistics have they done? This article from the Washington Post says the opposite:


    And it's not because Jews and Christians are scared of hell, it's because we know what's right, we have Torah, and we know what G-d commands.

    The problem with @Evidence, as I've read your post after, is that he's full of contradictions. He says he's a follower of "The Way," but then isn't crestfallen to quote from Jews4Jesus (Messianic Jews/Christians, worshipers of the trinity he despises so much).

    You claim Jews4Judaism only plays safe, where? I'd like to see your arguments against them, for I have never found their site, or others, to be insufficient. On the contrary, it's the exact opposite. Jews4Jesus claims, for instance, that the Rambam used "yachid" when quoting the Shema, but it's entirely untrue! He used "echad," an absolute one. They also claim that the Zohar preaches a trinity, but this again, is bogus. Not one page of the Zohar ever mentions a triune G-dhead, in fact, if you read the previous page, it cites Isaiah the prophet, who knew only one G-d and no savior before Him.

    Again, this is just my experience. I'd love to hear yours, maybe we can work it out?

    One doesn't have to live in a city with less Jewish resources, that's why the internet is here.

    Again, it has been my pleasure conversing, I hope we can continue and come to terms with Torah. The ultimate truth. 

    Thanks for the kind words :)

    Judaism
    SlanderIsNotDebate1995
  • @Judaism Hi. I've been meaning to respond back for a while now. I think I got a bit confused what Evidence was defending as I thought he/she was arguing as an Atheist, not as a Christian. It was a misconception as I easily saw later when I saw him use JewsforJesus as a source. That made my eyes pop out a bit because you and I both know how damaging that stuff can be for the Jewish population in existence. I do not exactly recommend the book, but it was an interesting read. Many pages were missing and I never finished it. That's very admirable that you keep a certain respect level as you should know that I never felt more distant from people in my life than now that I have way more Jews around me. Should be the opposite, but ironically, it is not. I don't remember 100% what I said, but any religion, Judaism or whatever, gives a bias automatically. And if Orthodox, a quite heavy one. I saw quite a lot of with my time in Yeshiva. Sure, there was well meaning people. but their heads seemed quite messed up. One Rabbi suggested that we cannot rescue non Jews on the Sabbath while another was questioning me heavily for researching Satanism, which he does not seem to understand himself. I completely understand the problem of Reform Jews intermarrying, but really, I think the world in general is slowly losing religion anyways. The children will likely be raised plain secular anyways. ANd with quite some Jewish influence on common law, I don't see much of a problem. What need to happen if we are to REALLY stop intermarrying is shake up whats allowed in Judaism and make it a lot less stringent. Things like keeping kosher and refusing to work on the Sabbath BANKRUPTS families and no prayer is a guarantee out. Worse yet, the children then go through psychological trauma of things like not eating real meals for 10 hours cause "it's not kosher." Really? Come on. I've seen this kind of thing in front of my eyes before. Worse yet is Shabbat, that should be about being relaxed and enjoying everything. No. It seems it almost never is. Because this and that have to be prepped this way or that as well as making sure not one electronic makes trouble on top of kid care etc, the STRESS in traditional shabbat is SO HIGH that it puzzles me people even bother. Why should you bother to keep kosher and keep shabbat, SO MUCH STRESS for them BOTH causing families to STARVE before, go BANKRUPT, tear families APART over religious ideals and then say its for some fuckin god? Yah right. And really? No phones? No cooking??? No electronics??? No excersize?? ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? You expect younger people to just accept that? HAH! A JUST god would not give TWO SHITS about the sabbath or keeping kosher as much as he does about lying, cheating, stealing, respect, etc. Period. Why would god care SO MUCH about all this PHYSICAL stuff when GOD THEMSELVES are NOT physical???? Answer? A JUST God or spiritual force if out there, I believe, sides with the more NON religious Jews as well as more SECULAR people AS LONG AS they keep HUMANISM, ALTRUISM, and UTILITARIANISM as TOP priority. Truth is too, it seems God is truly up to personal definition at the end of the day. We have NO CLUE how each person defines God and the laws with it EVEN WITH as much control as possible, it's IMPORSSIBLE, meaning, people who have a religion and pray, each pray to THEIR VERSION of God, which would explain why MANY orthodox Jews, not ALL, but MANY, would prefer to be little arrogant SHITS about the sabbath, kosher laws etc, then simply NOT BEING AN ASSHOLE like most people! It's LAZY! It's EASIER to be able to boss people around that this or that is kosher, pray your own way, shabbat your own way, etc, than simply not being shitty towards people. The SAME little SHITBAGS that are SO STINGY about SHABBAT and KOSHER and the CRAP are the SAME IDIOTS that would refuse HUMAN DECENCY like SITTING NEXT TO A WOMAN, or rescuing a non Jew on the SABBATH! The Torah to some is interpreted THEIR WAY in the end and it turns into a book of EXCUSES and CHERRY PICKING, and NOT the text and law of a JUST God.  If I had to say who was more just, a Native American that planted a tree on Friday or a Jew keeping Shabbat on Friday, 100% I would say the Native American seems wiser. Why? Because a TREE is good for EVERYONE. SHABBAT helps NOBODY except the people celebrating it IF there is EVEN A GOD which, IF THERE IS NOT, then it is just a bunch of false happiness, and likely, a dumb excuse for SEX, WINE, SHITTY SONGS THAT BLEED EARS and CHILDISH dancing! But I will get back to that later, as I got off track... and a bit angry as this is a touchy subject I've been to several counselors for as you could guess.  Yes, the net does exist. Does that make being Jewish in a barely Jewish area easier? No, it doesn't. I will NOT move from my HOME area leaving my FRIENDS behind just to be kosher or some . The internet doesn't magically transport me to synagogue on Shabbat or prints Jewish people to be around. I would LOVE to see one or two Orthodox Jews from Jerusalem more to a random place in the states (not rabbis, just ultra orthodox) and raise a orthodox Jewish family off of limited money. See how well that works out. Cause.... it doesn't. America doesn't give a about kosher of Shabbat neither does 99% of the world. It's time to get over it and start adjusting Judaism for it, or we can kiss it good bye. 
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