My Son is Studying Judaism

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Mother_of_4

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I’ve attached a response to an email I sent to my son. I’m not sure how to respond. He’s looking into Judaism and has mentioned a few things in his email. Please read, yes I know it’s kind of long but it’s so important to me. Help me find convincing arguments for our faith. I’ve taken out names to keep this anonymous. Please help!

(my name) i am not just giving up and leaving the faith, i am just simply seeing what is out there. (Girlfriends name) has nothing to do with it. i no that you wont believe it but it is true. I have strait up told her that i would not convert to her religion, she said it was OK. yes, we are serious but that is not the reason that i am looking at her faith. i just listened in on one of there bible studies one day and i found it really interesting, so i decided to check it out. I will look just as much into the catholic religion as i will into others, but it takes time because it is just not something you can do everyday. Just for your information the religion that i have been studying is a sect of Judaism. They believe all the same things as Christians, but they believe that Jesus did not say that we don’t have to follow the Torah (instruction, the first five books of the bible) anymore. so they basically look at the bible through the eyes of the Torah. Meaning that it is a lot harder then the catholic faith, it is definitely not taking the easy way out of anything.
The bible was written in Hebrew, and this is how they follow it, translated directly from Hebraic. From Hebraic the bible got translated into Aramaic and then translated into Greek for those who did not speak Hebrew very well, lost in these translations was some very important things, like what i mentioned above about Jesus saying that we don’t have to live by the Torah anymore. so they follow the whole bible, meaning the old testament, and the new testament (but through the eyes of the Torah) The whole misunderstanding comes from Romans 7. Our bible basically takes the Torah out of the bible, everywhere where it is supposed to say “Torah” it says instead, “the law of the lord” an example of this is Galatians 3:21 “Well then, is there conflict between God’s law and promises, absolutely not!” translated from Hebraic its “Is the Torah contrary to the promises of God? May it never be!”
Look at Matthew 5:17-21 what is this telling us, in my catholic bible it is telling me to follow the law, or Torah. but without the Hebraic in the bible i would not known what the Torah is.
When you put the Hebraic back into the bible it makes sense, i am understanding the bible like i never have before, but i am also learning some things that make me think about what i am doing as a christian, regarding all of our traditions, look at Jeremiah 10:1-6. there are so many other things like this that i have never seen before, and if i have been studying a religion for as long as i have i should know things like this. granted i haven’t really been devoted, but we never once went over it in church, and i actually listened in church. What we study is such a small portion of the bible, what about the rest of it? i learned more in a two hour bible study then i learned in 18 years. I am finally understanding what is written in the bible, its like i am finally opening my eyes.
when Jesus was here on this earth he lived his life according to the Torah, so why, when he died would he tell us that it is something that we do not have to do anymore? it doesn’t make sense. I know that you have been pretty heavy in the religion for the past 5 years, but you cant say this is wrong until you have studied it. It is small and not many people know much about it, but Jesus said “the gate is small the road is narrow and few ill enter”
 
Get him the book Salvation is from the Jews. Also check out stuff by Rosalind Moss and Bob Fishman.

I think he’s on to something here. You ought to educate yourself in Judaism so you can respond to him. I see no harm in this since Jesus was a Jew (although we must distinguish between modern Judaism and ancient Judaism). You might want to try checking out this site:

secondexodus.com/

There’s also a book entitled *Bread from Heaven * by Rhonda Chervin.

Just remember that Catholicism is Messianic Judaism. 😉
 
Perhaps you should also post this thread in the apologetics forum so that you get the correct theological analysis of the Bible passages mentioned. There are experts over there who can give you plenty of sound arguments supporting our faith and traditions, which I believe is what you need.

Here on the family forum, we can help you deal with the relationship issues surrounding your son’s intentions. I do believe that if his girlfriend is Jewish, she has everything to do with it, though he may deny that in order to preserve in his mind a certain level of objective searching, and try to convince you likewise.

Who was the Jewish Rabbi in Rome that converted to Catholicism during World War II? And what about Edith Stein. Are there any recent converts from Judaism to Catholicism?
 
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Cupofkindness:
Perhaps you should also post this thread in the apologetics forum so that you get the correct theological analysis of the Bible passages mentioned.
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Good idea. I asked Mr. Francis.
 
the New Testament which records the words of Christ was not written in Hebrew but Greek and Aramaic.

Jesus did say I did not come to abolish the law but to fulfil it.
 
I really have no idea what Jeremiah 10:1-6 has to do with this, but

Tell him to read Romans and Hebrews

It would be best to get a good commentary on them, though, to answer any questions that may come up. I recommend very highly: amazon.com/gp/product/0898709385/sr=8-6/qid=1143056319/ref=pd_bbs_6/104-7612390-6147948?%5Fencoding=UTF8 The one on Hebrews will be out eventually. You may also want to get the one on Matthew, which is also availible already: amazon.com/gp/product/0898708176/sr=8-1/qid=1143056319/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-7612390-6147948?%5Fencoding=UTF8 They are only $10, and may be just what he needs.

Hebrews, though…
11If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), why was there still need for another priest to come—one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? 12For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law. 13He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. 14For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. 15And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, 16one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. 17For it is declared:
“You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek.” (see Psalm 110)
18The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless 19(for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.
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20And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, 21but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him:
"The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind:
‘You are a priest forever.’ "22Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.
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Mother of 4:
Just for your information the religion that i have been studying is a sect of Judaism. They believe all the same things as Christians, but they believe that Jesus did not say that we don’t have to follow the Torah (instruction, the first five books of the bible) anymore. so they basically look at the bible through the eyes of the Torah. Meaning that it is a lot harder than the catholic faith, it is definitely not taking the easy way out of anything.
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That’s complete ignorance. We should read the OT through the eyes of the NT, not the other way around. Why is that? Hebrews 1:1-2 “In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he spoke to us through a son, whom he made heir of all things and through whome he created the universe.” Christ fulfills the OT. Reading the OT without a proper understanding of the NT is to read an incomplete story.
Mother of 4:
The bible was written in Hebrew, and this is how they follow it, translated directly from Hebraic. From Hebraic the bible got translated into Aramaic and then translated into Greek for those who did not speak Hebrew very well, lost in these translations was some very important things, like what i mentioned above about Jesus saying that we don’t have to live by the Torah anymore. so they follow the whole bible, meaning the old testament, and the new testament (but through the eyes of the Torah) The whole misunderstanding comes from Romans 7. Our bible basically takes the Torah out of the bible, everywhere where it is supposed to say “Torah” it says instead, “the law of the lord” an example of this is Galatians 3:21 “Well then, is there conflict between God’s law and promises, absolutely not!” translated from Hebraic its “Is the Torah contrary to the promises of God? May it never be!”
Look at Matthew 5:17-21 what is this telling us, in my catholic bible it is telling me to follow the law, or Torah. but without the Hebraic in the bible i would not known what the Torah is.
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Here’s how an intelligent person could have ended this part “but without the Church, the pillar and foundation of all truth, I would not know what the Torah is”. Seriously, that’s the beauty of having authority. You don’t have to be a scholar to figure that stuff out because they can research it for you. He makes all of this sound like such a novel idea. What I find interesting is that he always speaks about the Torah. How come he isn’t mentioning the Prophets? This group seems like modern-day Sadduccees who value the Torah over the rest of scripture. Also, I’d like to see his justification for when Jesus commands Peter to eat food that is not kosher.
Mother of 4:
When you put the Hebraic back into the bible it makes sense, i am understanding the bible like i never have before, but i am also learning some things that make me think about what i am doing as a christian, regarding all of our traditions, look at Jeremiah 10:1-6. there are so many other things like this that i have never seen before, and if i have been studying a religion for as long as i have i should know things like this. granted i haven’t really been devoted, but we never once went over it in church, and i actually listened in church. What we study is such a small portion of the bible, what about the rest of it? i learned more in a two hour bible study then i learned in 18 years. I am finally understanding what is written in the bible, its like i am finally opening my eyes.
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The error made here is that he has finally started taking his faith seriously, and finds fault with the RCC for not having done so earlier. Mass isn’t supposed to be a school, it’s a sacrifice. Sure, the guy learned some stuff in a two hour bible study. How many two hour bible studies did he attend while a Catholic? I bet if he had gone to an hour long synagogue or whatever with his new group, he wouldn’t have learned anymore than what he learned at an hour long mass.
 
Aaron I.:
We should read the OT through the eyes of the NT, not the other way around.
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Actually I think it goes both ways. After all, Augustine said:

“The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed;
The New Testament is the Old Testament revealed”

Or to put it another way:

“The New is in the Old contained;
The Old is by the New explained”
 
This operation is sounding an awful lot like a cult that was discussed here on the forums about two years ago. They believed in Jesus, but also followed the OT or Mosaic Law. They made an awful lot of hay about using the original language of the OT and questioned a lot of NT material…
 
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rwoehmke:
This operation is sounding an awful lot like a cult that was discussed here on the forums about two years ago. They believed in Jesus, but also followed the OT or Mosaic Law. They made an awful lot of hay about using the original language of the OT and questioned a lot of NT material…
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Do you remember what the cult is called? My friend’s aunt is getting into some weird stuff too. She’ll only eat kosher food and has left the Church. :confused:
 
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JSmitty2005:
Do you remember what the cult is called? My friend’s aunt is getting into some weird stuff too. She’ll only eat kosher food and has left the Church. :confused:
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7th day adventists?
 
Okay Mother of 4, there have been some excellent resources and ideas proposed; so I want to take a little different angle.

First, know that there are worse religions your boy could be looking into. I mean, Christ was a Jew. Second, I would guess that he’s in his late teens or early 20’s so there’s going to be some natural rebellion going on here. Be compassionate, loving, and keep informing him of the truth, but try to keep the hysterics to a minimum. Where’s Dad in this picture? His father might have more sway in talking to him about the faith. And finally, sure he says his girlfriend has nothing to do with it…and I have ocean front property in Arizona for sale. Don’t blame her. She’s not the evil one here, but she does have influence as your boy is smitten with her. If you have a good relationship with her, maybe you can talk to them both together to answer his questions about the Catholic faith. Ask her how her family would feel (do this in a calm pleasant way) if she converted to Catholicism?

Oh, yeah…pray. That’s probably the most important thing for you to do at this point.
 
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rwoehmke:
This operation is sounding an awful lot like a cult that was discussed here on the forums about two years ago. They believed in Jesus, but also followed the OT or Mosaic Law. They made an awful lot of hay about using the original language of the OT and questioned a lot of NT material…
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Actually, to me, it doesn’t sound like he is studying Judaism, but has got caught up in a Messianic Jew, or “Jews For Jesus” group. Many people in these groups are ex-Jews who want to be Christians while hanging on to Jewish ways of speaking and practice.

The most you can do is pray for him and to make every effort to make sure he gives Catholicism a fair hearing. His “not having time to study everything” sounds like an excuse for only studying what he wants. Continue to ply him with orthodox, non-wishy washy Catholic materials so if he does leave the Church, at leat he’ll know what he’s leaving, not just a juvenile, incomplete version of it.

And don’t neglect to learn everything about the faith you can so you can discuss it with him and answer his objections. If you don’t, you will have no credibility with him. I’m sure people in these forums can recommend some resources.
 
Thanks to all of you! You have offered tons of information that I would have never found on my own. I will definitely be providing my son with lots of info that I otherwise would not have had. It’s sad that I don’t have a lot of pull with him because I am the “step-mom”. His dad attends church with me every Sunday and has been supportive in as much as he told our son to look into his own faith first but my husband definitely doesn’t seem to share the same conviction as I do. He goes to his mothers quite often who doesn’t seem to practice any faith at all. His grandmother, who is very close to him, was raised Catholic but is getting married in a Lutheran church this weekend and having the wedding blessed by our Catholic priest afterwards. Needless to say there is a lot of people influencing him right now. Among those is his Jewish girlfriend. Please keep him in your prayers.
 
Mother of 4:
Thanks to all of you! You have offered tons of information that I would have never found on my own. I will definitely be providing my son with lots of info that I otherwise would not have had. It’s sad that I don’t have a lot of pull with him because I am the “step-mom”. His dad attends church with me every Sunday and has been supportive in as much as he told our son to look into his own faith first but my husband definitely doesn’t seem to share the same conviction as I do. He goes to his mothers quite often who doesn’t seem to practice any faith at all. His grandmother, who is very close to him, was raised Catholic but is getting married in a Lutheran church this weekend and having the wedding blessed by our Catholic priest afterwards. Needless to say there is a lot of people influencing him right now. Among those is his Jewish girlfriend. Please keep him in your prayers.
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I will pray for him. I think though it sounds like your son may be wanting to have his cake, and eat it too. He wants to Keep Jesus, but He wants to (in my mind) follow the Jewish law so that he can be Jewish like his girlfriend is.

In all honestly though, he cannot have both not really. The Jewish religion does not recognize “Jewish groups” who believe Jesus is the Son of God…

I think a real question to ask him is what about Acts/and Galations discussions of the law…Acts especially…So he wants to read the New Testament in light of the Old Testament, that still doesn’t mean He can ignore certain passages of Scripture…The New Testament is either God’s Word or it isn’t.
 
Mother of 4:
Thanks to all of you! You have offered tons of information that I would have never found on my own. . Needless to say there is a lot of people influencing him right now. Among those is his Jewish girlfriend. Please keep him in your prayers.
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Emotions can be more powerful than information. My sudgestion is don’t push too hard but tell him he also got you interested in Judism, which is true and then you can share each others info.

The Book “Salvatioin is from the Jews” is excellent. The main premise as I remember is: If Jesus wan’t the Savior then the time of the Savior predicted has past according to profecy and the Judism can’t be right.
 
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