Judaism/New Testament

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Safia

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Let me preface by saying that I know very little about Judaism (so apologies for any mistakes in semantics, etc.).

I’m interested in resources on a few different topics, primarily Judaism and how Jesus “fulfills” the need for the long-awaited Jewish Savior. If anyone is aware of any debates between a Catholic and Jew regarding Jesus in this role, I’d appreciate it very much.

I know also that the Catholic Church considers Jews our brethren, but I am interested in any works that deal with Jewish salvation, if that applies, in that the religion rejects Christ.

Thank you, and God bless!
 
There’s an overview of Judaism from one angle in a book on the Talmud by Cohen
see here, for example amazon.com/Everymans-Talmud-Major-Teachings-Rabbinic/dp/9562914356/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325362396&sr=8-1

there’s free document (for downloading) on the Jewish scriptures and somewhat on how Jesus fulfills the prophesies here
ewtn.com/library/CURIA/PBCJWSCR.HTM

And, one that says a lot about Jewish salvation is "Yom Kippur - Its Significance, Laws and Prayers by Sherman, Goldmun, and Gold, from Mesorah Publications, see www.artscroll.com

Jewish belief is very similar to Catholic belief in some respects, which should be no shock or surprise to anybody. They believe in a thing that is “purgatory” without calling it such, which is needed before entering “the Divine Presence.” I think the book on Yom Kippur would be exceptionally helpful for most Catholics to read – just don’t get hung up on reading a Hebrew word here or there. Look THOSE up in a google search to make sure you understand what they mean.

There is a very depressing book to read called Why the Jews Rejected Jesus which criticizes all the Christian interpretations of the (Old Testament) Hebrew Bible.
(amazon.com/Why-Jews-Rejected-Jesus-Turning/dp/0385510225/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1325363578&sr=1-1) They are suspicious of the Trinity as rejecting their understanding of monotheism (as espoused in the Old Testament). They doubt that God (“G-d”) would or could become a man, or that the death of a man would even be an appropriate sacrifice to God or sufficient for salvation. They believe that Jesus was a man, and that now his soul is trapped in boiling excrement (Talmud) as punishment for his blasphemy. That is mentioned in the “Why” book mentioned above. I found a copy of that book in our local public library.

Judaism believes that the “law” in the Hebrew Bible applies only to them, and not to Gentiles. the gentiles (the rest of us) only have to follow the Noahic covenant (look that up on google) to achieve salvation. This is an interesting point, actually. I can’t develop the idea to any depth, myself, but the issue is this. Maybe THIS is why St Paul doesn’t want gentile converts to Jesus to follow the Jewish law, because it doesn’t apply to them, according to this principle of applicability – perhaps not because Jesus rejected the law, or something like that.

the “why” book also speculates that if someone who had no faith read the christian Bible starting with Genesis, that they’d become Jewish with no idea of why anyone would want to be Christian.

I can only respond to your questions with bits and pieces of answers. But, these books do delve into those subjects – but not Jesus.
 
Safia said:
Let me preface by saying that I know very little about Judaism (so apologies for any mistakes in semantics, etc.).

I’m interested in resources on a few different topics, primarily Judaism and how Jesus “fulfills” the need for the long-awaited Jewish Savior. If anyone is aware of any debates between a Catholic and Jew regarding Jesus in this role, I’d appreciate it very much.

I know also that the Catholic Church considers Jews our brethren, but I am interested in any works that deal with Jewish salvation, if that applies, in that the religion rejects Christ.

Thank you, and God bless!
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There is a book by Asher Norman, a Jewish apologist, called “Twenty-six reasons why Jews don’t believe in Jesus” which you might want to consult. There are parts of it on the Internet as well. I don’t believe in the validity of all the reasons he cites, but it is nonetheless informative and will give you a perspective on Jewish thinking regarding the Messiah and Jesus.

Actually Jews don’t believe the Messiah is supposed to be a Savior in the way Christians believe, by dying for our sins. Nor do Jews believe that Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the Messiah, at least not literally.
 
A Rabbi Talks with Jesus by Jacob Nuesner is a very good book as well. In it the fellow puts himself in the shoes of a Rabbi back during Jesus time and has conversations with him. It’s entirely fiction but it has a great deal of theology in it.
 
St Paul seems to indicate in the letter to the Romans that Judaism will be converted to Christianity at the end of time. This parallels with the Jewish view that all nations would adopt ITS religion at the end of time. In each case, it is the will and sovereignty and mercy of God that will bring it about.

I hear priests say that the Jews are STILL God’s chosen people, but they leave it at that, or so it seems.

My impression is that Jews will never be able again to practice Biblical Judaism, with an earthly temple, animal sacrifices, etc. Rabbinic Judaism sprang up back in the mists of history. It is fundamentally weakened because it does not have a central magisterium as does the Roman Catholic Church. On many points of doctrine there is not agreement. So, generalizations (such as my own) about Judaism are very “soft.”

Islam is also split deeply, as the military clashes in Iraq point out. Christianity, too, is splintered deeply, except for the visible Roman Catholic Church

As always, we should pray that God raises up Catholic evangelists and missionaries to take the gospel to the billions who have not heard it.
 
Crumpy said:
St Paul seems to indicate in the letter to the Romans that Judaism will be converted to Christianity at the end of time. This parallels with the Jewish view that all nations would adopt ITS religion at the end of time. In each case, it is the will and sovereignty and mercy of God that will bring it about.

I hear priests say that the Jews are STILL God’s chosen people, but they leave it at that, or so it seems.

My impression is that Jews will never be able again to practice Biblical Judaism, with an earthly temple, animal sacrifices, etc. Rabbinic Judaism sprang up back in the mists of history. It is fundamentally weakened because it does not have a central magisterium as does the Roman Catholic Church. On many points of doctrine there is not agreement. So, generalizations (such as my own) about Judaism are very “soft.”

Islam is also split deeply, as the military clashes in Iraq point out. Christianity, too, is splintered deeply, except for the visible Roman Catholic Church

As always, we should pray that God raises up Catholic evangelists and missionaries to take the gospel to the billions who have not heard it.
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Crumpy, I must disagree with your characterization of Rabbinic Judaism as fundamentally weakened. It has the Torah Written Law as well as the Talmud Oral Law. There was never a central Magisterium in Judaism even in Biblical times (Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes held differing beliefs), but there was always one Law, whether it be the Law of the Temple or the Law of the Synagogue. The different interpretations of the Law, not always easily decipherable, are part of Jewish thought. Still, the Law itself remains as a document and in the hearts and minds of the Jewish people. Prayer and charity also remain as the principal means of loving and worshiping G-d; animal sacrifice was always secondary to prayer. According to Jewish belief, the Temple will be rebuilt during the Messianic Age; but neither the Temple nor the Messiah supersedes the Law, which is eternal.
 
I agree, the Messiah would never supersede the law. He would however, fulfill it. He would also give his own Torah and pass it on to others 👍
 
Crumpy said:
St Paul seems to indicate in the letter to the Romans that Judaism will be converted to Christianity at the end of time. This parallels with the Jewish view that all nations would adopt ITS religion at the end of time. In each case, it is the will and sovereignty and mercy of God that will bring it about.

I hear priests say that the Jews are STILL God’s chosen people, but they leave it at that, or so it seems.

My impression is that Jews will never be able again to practice Biblical Judaism, with an earthly temple, animal sacrifices, etc. Rabbinic Judaism sprang up back in the mists of history. It is fundamentally weakened because it does not have a central magisterium as does the Roman Catholic Church. On many points of doctrine there is not agreement. So, generalizations (such as my own) about Judaism are very “soft.”

Islam is also split deeply, as the military clashes in Iraq point out. Christianity, too, is splintered deeply, except for the visible Roman Catholic Church

As always, we should pray that God raises up Catholic evangelists and missionaries to take the gospel to the billions who have not heard it.
Click to expand...
As a general side comment Crumpy, I’m not really convinced that to “keep the true faith” the choice is either centralised unity or schismatic chaos, when in practice things often sort out between those two extremes. Even in Catholicism, where centrality is essential, where official teaching is clear, there’s always debate and disagreement in the rest of the world.
 
The difference is in Catholicism a disagreement generally doesn’t result in a new denomination, at least not in the last few hundred years. Where as with many of the other branches a disagreement spawns a new church/faith/branch.
 
bmullins said:
The difference is in Catholicism a disagreement generally doesn’t result in a new denomination, at least not in the last few hundred years. Where as with many of the other branches a disagreement spawns a new church/faith/branch.
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The last new denomination, the Old Catholics, split off more recently (the 1870s), although splits are certainly rarer in the Catholic Church (and even then, the new community tends to be traditional). I’m just saying that in practice, things often fall between organised and fractured faith, rather than at the extremes.
 
Safia said:
Let me preface by saying that I know very little about Judaism (so apologies for any mistakes in semantics, etc.).

I’m interested in resources on a few different topics, primarily Judaism and how Jesus “fulfills” the need for the long-awaited Jewish Savior. If anyone is aware of any debates between a Catholic and Jew regarding Jesus in this role, I’d appreciate it very much.

I know also that the Catholic Church considers Jews our brethren, but I am interested in any works that deal with Jewish salvation, if that applies, in that the religion rejects Christ.

Thank you, and God bless!
Click to expand...
Judaism fulfilled by The author, Roy H. Schoeman, was born in a suburb of New York City of “Conservative" Jewish parents who had fled Nazi Germany. His Jewish education and formation was received under some of the most prominent Rabbis in contemporary American Jewry, including Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg, probably the foremost Conservative Rabbi in the U.S. and his hometown Rabbi growing up; Rabbi Arthur Green, later the head of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College who was his religion teacher and mentor during high school and early college; and Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, a prominent Hasidic Rabbi with whom he lived in Israel for several months. ignatiusinsight.com/features/schoemanintvw1_july04.asp

IgnatiusInsight.com: As a convert from Judaism, what do you think are the major misconceptions that many Jews have about the Catholic Church? As a Catholic, what are the misconceptions that many Catholics have about Judaism and the Jewish people?
There’s another book:

Honey from the Rock
Sixteen Jews Find the Sweetness of Christ
ignatius.com/Products/HFR-P/honey-from-the-rock.aspx
There’s one more but I can’t think of the title right now - its a really good book, humorous at times in the book - as the writer (Jewish) discusses her transformation from being Jewish to becoming Catholic, also she grew up in the south, its a really short book but I absolutely loved reading it.
 
I recommend looking up the Nizzahon Vetus. It is an old text from the middle ages. The writer is a Jew telling fellow Jews how to discredit Christian arguments. It is definitely dated, and some of the arguments might seem like straw men to the modern educated Catholic, but it is worth a read. It is sort of a question/answer format text. You may like it, if you want to check out a more historical look at the Jewish view on Jesus and other Christian beliefs.
 
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