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Weekly Bracha 19

This week in the Messianic blogosphere, plus related items:

  • Are Messianics Commanded To Keep Kosher? (…or even keep shabbat?) – Joseph takes the usual Christian view: no, we don’t need to keep kosher or keep shabbat. 350 comments (!) later, we’re still debating. I will be posting my own thoughts on this matter later this week. One bright spot is I think most of us did particularly well in our treatment of each other. Wasn’t completely devoid of “whack you over the head”, but it was better than usual.

  • The Church, the Law, and the Gospel – An outsider’s journey through Christianity into the Messianic movement, and his wrestling with the law and the church and all the questions that have been raised lately within the Messianic movement.

  • Jesus Legitimized – Some have argued that if Yeshua was conceived out of wedlock, he would have been dismissed as a mamzer (illegitimate child). However, the author argues that a child conceived during betrothal may not have been considered as such.

  • Did I Find King David’s Palace? – Biblical archaeologist Eilat Mazar discusses her discovery in the northern part of the city of David, where she looked after studying 2 Samuel 5:17, which suggested David’s palace was to the north of the Fortress of Zion.

  • Why did Jesus write on the ground? – Many scholars have dismissed John 8’s famous story of Jesus and the adulterous woman (“he who is without sin…”) as inauthentic. While it may not originally be part of John, the story itself is paralleled in other early literature, and may be an authentic story inserted into John 8, argues this author.

  • Conversion Day – Messianic rabbi Derek Leman and his family, after many years of working toward this goal, has converted to Judaism through a Messianic Jewish organization.

  • Which branch of Judaism would Jesus belong to? – Daniel wonders what Judaism branc most closely aligns with Yeshua’s teachings.

JBOMs

Podcasts

  • Does the Bible provide an adequate answer to the question of suffering? – Jewish Christian apologetic Dr. Michael Brown debates agnostic scholar Dr. Bart Ehrman at Ohio State University.



  • Pastoral Epistles, part 4 – John McKee dissects 1 Timothy 1:1-7 and addresses some Christological issues raised through Timothy and Titus, in which both Father and Son are deemed ‘savior’. 

    He also suggests Messianic leaders today are undereducated, and suggests they ought to at least have a college education. 


  • Beatitudes and Hope – Derek Leman on the essential message of Yeshua.

Hope these tasty bracha bits will keep you satisfied during the upcoming week. Enjoy!

25 comments:

  1. Nice posts Judah! But I must object:

    "Joseph argues in the Christian tradition: no, we don’t need to keep kosher or keep shabbat."

    It's not a Christian tradition any more than you arguing for Sabbath observance is a Seventh Day Adventist tradition.

    I didn't cite tradition anywhere, I am fairly anti-traditionist when it comes to Christianity too.

    As I've said before, I want to think and write freely, to criticise those aspects of Christian and Jewish theology with which I disagree, while defending both Christians and Jews, and indeed any people who are suffering persecution.

    If I'd said something like "The Holy Church Father Origen said don't keep the Sabbath, do don't do it either!", then I can see how that would be arguing in the Christian tradition.

    Anyway, perhaps you'll find this panickity, but I think it's important.

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  2. My intent was to say, "Joseph takes the usual Christian view...". I will update my post to clarify.

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  3. Okay, but there are plenty of Christians who do argue for Sabbath-observance:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabbath_in_seventh-day_churches

    It is an issue far from settled for Gentile Christians and Messianic Jews alike.

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  4. I am aware of small branches of Christianity that observe the sabbath, the 7th Day Adventists being the most popular.

    Nonetheless, the common, usual position of orthodox Christianity is that the sabbath is no longer the commanded day of rest.

    I spent a good 2 years on this blog addressing that theology. Heard all the arguments. I must admit, I was surprised to see them raised on a Messianic Jewish blog like yours, Joe! :-)

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  5. I must admit, I was surprised to see them raised on a Messianic Jewish blog like yours

    Why would you be surprised? Messianic Jews are at perfect liberty to observe Sabbath. We just don't have to as Melchizedek priests.

    I spent a good 2 years on this blog addressing that theology. Heard all the arguments

    There's nothing new under the sun, it's true.

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  6. Why am I surprised, you ask? Because it is usually Christians who are trying to convince me I can break God's commandments. You are the first Messianic to do so. :-)

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  7. If Yeshua said the Aaronic priests "desecrated the day" and were blameless, how true this also is of the Melchizedek priests :-)

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  8. Don't worry, I understand your reasoning, I just don't buy it! :-)

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  9. ...and I'll elaborate later in my post on Messianics and the Torah. :-)

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  10. Joseph, you're on a roll, full frontal assault on Torah and relentless campaign promoting breaking of G-d's commandments among Messianic Jews:

    "Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments AND teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:19, words of Yeshua our Master)

    How "humble" of you to so earnestly desire to be the least in the kingdom of heaven and to encourage other Jews to give up their eternal rewards!

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  11. Joseph also refused to admit that not only Yeshua did not discard the toarah, he practically adhered to 1st century Jewish traditions....

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  12. Hallelujah!!!

    Derek finally is able to attend Dauermann"s congregation.....Woopeee.....

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  13. Joseph, I hereby whack you over the head with a virtual mallet.

    :donk:

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  14. And I will SPIRITUALLY tithe to Joseph's church 1 million Dollars.


    A spiritual Cachinggggg....

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  15. I had to laugh at that last one, Dan. :-) I guess you should spiritually tithe it to Levitt, eh? ;-)

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  16. Ouch!

    Well yeah, I think Yeshua kept the Torah to set us free from it, that's what I believe for sure.

    You might as well know what I think and why I think it even if you don't agree.

    I'm not stopping anyone from keeping Torah, in fact I think it must be rather nice for you to keep parts of the Torah. But it's not for everyone.

    Can I ask a couple of practical questions:

    Do you all walk to your Messianic meetings?

    Do you use a laptop or an overhead projector, or indeed electric guitars in worship?

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  17. I see where you're going with that.

    And yes, there are some of us who refuse to drive to a shabbat service. And there are some of us that don't turn on lights during shabbat, and so on.

    But all that's a matter of interpretation - the Torah doesn't forbid turning on electric objects, it only forbids starting fires on shabbat (probably because, as boy scouts will confirm, without matches or a lighter, starting a fire is a lot work!)

    But you already know that, you just wish to compromise our position that God's commandments are good and ought to be kept today.

    Like I said, I've been down this road before, heard all the arguments. I'll address these properly in a full post.

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  18. But you already know that, you just wish to compromise our position that God's commandments are good and ought to be kept today.

    But Judah, kashrut or Shabbat are not continual commandments of God. They applied for a certain time to a certain people. David broke the food laws and the Levites broke the Shabbat - according to Yeshua.

    Eating pork is not the same as murder or sexual immorality - it's a completely different kettle of gefilte fish.

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  19. No one says pork-eating is the same weightiness of murder. That's a straw man. (Yeshua chided the Pharisees for ignoring the weightier matters of the Torah.)

    Yes, I understand you believe the Torah was for a Limited Time Only©. (In particular, you believe Torah was in effect from Sinai to Calvary.) I'll deal with that in the full post.

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  20. Joseph,

    Yours are novice arguments. Instead of looking to God's word for instructions on how to please Him, you spend your time trying to prove that somehow like a yo-yo He can turn His words on and off. Why? Because, admiting that God requires adherance to His word from all of us will put you in a position that will require a commitment, and as all good Christians you run away from commitments. Christianity is a religion without commitments. And please don't tell us that you are committed to Christ, because you are not, you dismiss Matt. 5:17-20 off hand....

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  21. And please don't tell us that you are committed to Christ, because you are not

    Right, at least you've made it quite clear where you stand then. Thank you for being honest with me.

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  22. At you service Joseph, to pay lip service is not a commitment make.....

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  23. Well Joseph, I know you're committed to Messiah, and the work you do for Messiah's Kingdom doesn't go unnoticed.

    (You just happen have some bad theology when it comes to the commandments.)

    :-)

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  24. If Judah will permit me, i would like to recommend an excellent article titled: "Obedience by choice: a contradiction in terms."

    Here is the link:


    http://messianic613.wordpress.com/

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