Torah study

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donnafay

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I’m drawn to OT studies, which has led me to Torah study. For months I’ve been gobbling up Torah / Hebraic roots info to the point that I’ve lost interest in going to mass. Now I miss going to mass. Is there a conflict or can I have both? Anybody been where I am?
 
i think i can understand your feelings a little. when i was younger, i was always more interested in the old testament than the new. sometimes i wondered if it meant i was jewish.

i stayed away from church for a long time after studying different religions.

i even studied at the synagogue for a discovering judaism class because i wanted to learn more about the jewish people and how they think and the Torah.

so i understand the conflicting feelings. i converted to catholicism earlier this year. i am trying to be a good Catholic.

i think it is because the new testament has its roots deep in the old testament perhaps that draws me there. and Jesus was Jewish, so i want to understand the stories he heard growing up.
 
Thanks. I converted to Catholicism about 6 years ago from a Protestant upbringing. It is the single best decision I have ever made in my life. I LOVE being Catholic.

It is the rich Tradition we have in the Catholic church that gave me my first taste of OT insight. Now I love to look at the NT through the eyes of the OT teachings.

I’m hoping it will all come back together for me. I’m in the deep end of the pool if you know what I mean.
 
yes, they are really entertwined i think. most of the early christians were jews and i think that most of what Jesus preached was from what he learned at the synagogue. there were some things he didn’t agree with and spoke out about it.

it is interesting to study Torah with Jewish people, because you look at it from a new perspective.

i really wish christians and jews could learn to understand one another better and not be afraid of each other.
 
Christ was a devout Jew. So were the Apostles and as you say the first Christians. When He returns, He will still be Jewish!

There is a strong Messianic movement out there. But I’m trying to be cautious and not get pulled into anything over my head. I have evangelical roommates and I just don’t get the impression they learn much about salvation history. Makes for interesting conversation, though!
 
yes, there are many messianic movements out there. there is a program called Jewish Voice Today that is trying to bring the message of the gospel to many jews in israel and other countries.

i really loved learning about the jewish holidays. there are some things about judaism that bother me, though, just as there are some things about christianity that bother me.

as i said, it is a long journey and i think there are many hills and curves and valleys.
 
Thank you, 7 Sorrows. I’m new to the forums / chat thing.

I will sign off for now - to slumber close to my best Jewish friend, Jeshua.

Peace.
 
okay, there are many good places here to ask questions you might have. i have been coming here for about 5 months. sometimes some of the posters can be very strong in their posts, but most people are nice and willing to answer any questions.
sometimes there are threads with a lot of bickering and i pull out because then i really get confused.

may i ask what religion you practiced, if any, before deciding to become catholic? i know you are retiring for the night, so if you come back tomorrow, you can answer if you wish.
 
Ahhh, yes, the bickering… I’ve scanned through the AAA forum to see if anyone has raised this subject previously and there’s some really excellent, though sometimes repetitive, threads out there.

Mostly I’d love to pick Tim Staples’ brain about this subject. He’s my favorite CA apologist. I really don’t know why I’m in this “staff chat” place. I will chalk it up to inexperience.

I was raised in New England as a Baptist going to Sunday school and then losing interest as a teenager. It was a lukewarm religious training that we were required to participate in. Interestingly, my mother was raised in the Greek Orthodox church and for some reason was quite the catholic basher. She’s probably quite shocked at my decision! I live in the south now and Southern Baptists are different than New England Baptists. In NE, the pilgrim / puritan influence is apparent.

Life is interesting, no?
 
well, you have an interesting background having a little background as a baptist and then a mother who is a greek orthodox. you probably heard catholic bashing from the baptists as well as the orthodox.

i had a lukewarm religious background as an episcopalian. i grew up in the midwest. i know there are many episcopalians in the NE.
my dad was a non practicing catholic and my mother was a non practicing lutheran so we were raised on neutral ground. i always liked the catholic side of our family. they had a love of life and good hearts even though they were irish catholics and many had problems with alcohol. i always wanted to know what the differences were between episcopal and roman catholic. now i am learning.
 
You are a Catholic now and you must adhere to its teachings and protocols, you need to go to Mass and fullfill your weekly obligation to Christ’s Church. I fell you need to go to confession for your missed Masses.

You are not a Jew, you are a Christian. Christ came to fullfill the OT through the NT which is more important. Do not put so much effort in the OT because you are missing Christ’s message in the NT. Devote more time to that.

When you are with your Jewish friends, I believe you should tactfully show them the error of their ways and show them Jesus is the one true Messiah.
 
I am absolutely Catholic, as you point out, Fox. That’s not a problem for me. It is catholicism that has turned me on to the Old Testament. As our favorite apologists point out, my dilemma is not “either / or” it is “both /and”. When Our Lord quotes scripture, it is the Torah He is quoting. All that Christ teaches us is from His perfect understanding of the OT scriptures, the Law.

I don’t think one can separate the two. And, yes, I need to go to confession for missing mass. 😉
 
Fox said:
You are a Catholic now and you must adhere to its teachings and protocols, you need to go to Mass and fullfill your weekly obligation to Christ’s Church. I fell you need to go to confession for your missed Masses.

You are not a Jew, you are a Christian. Christ came to fullfill the OT through the NT which is more important. Do not put so much effort in the OT because you are missing Christ’s message in the NT. Devote more time to that.

When you are with your Jewish friends, I believe you should tactfully show them the error of their ways and show them Jesus is the one true Messiah.
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when i was studying Torah with a group that was a majority Jewish i didn’t try to speak of Christ’s message. i was in their house of worship. I felt God’s presence there, but i also felt it was only 1/2 of the story. i was respectful of them and their faith.
i wouldn’t have felt comfortable if they would have tried to tell me the error of my ways. my ex-hebrew teacher was very disappointed that i became catholic and when i tried to share with her some of the insights i was having, she became very angry with me. i think there is a proper time to evangelize and there is a time when you should try to enjoy the fellowship of two faiths studying together, respecting each other’s faith.

i became catholic in july of this current year and have only missed one mass, this past weekend, because of snowy weather.
 
I too love to study the Torah, but I love going to Mass even more!

I’d like to suggest to anyone who wishes to learn more about the Torah to keep an eye on AgapeBibleStudy.Com Michal Hunt is going to lead an on-line Bible Study on the Torah, from a staunch Catholic point of view (you don’t always need to go to our friends the Jews to learn about the Torah, mind you!).

It will be coming out in a month or two.

So what do you do while you wait for this study to come out? Why, you can study John, James, Romans, Hebrews, Revelation, and a few other studies at their site.

Any Jewish Roots enthusiasts will also be interested in Michal Hunt’s soon to be upcoming book about the Jewish Tamid, the daily sacrifice in the Temple.

OK, my shameless plug for a friend is over.
 
Hello Fox,

In the Old Testament God makes the Jews the Chosen People. This Choice still stands. I’d be very careful about bashing Jews as they are still the Chosen People!

Jerry
 
yeoldwoodturner said:
Hello Fox,

In the Old Testament God makes the Jews the Chosen People. This Choice still stands. I’d be very careful about bashing Jews as they are still the Chosen People!

Jerry
Click to expand...
This is true. But the Jews are like a man who travels 1000 miles to get to Manhatten, and then refuses to cross the last bridge. A Christian is what God intended the Jews to become.

We shouldn’t bash them, nor anybody else, but they just need to get over the river.
 
donnafay said:
I am absolutely Catholic, as you point out, Fox. That’s not a problem for me. It is catholicism that has turned me on to the Old Testament. As our favorite apologists point out, my dilemma is not “either / or” it is “both /and”. When Our Lord quotes scripture, it is the Torah He is quoting. All that Christ teaches us is from His perfect understanding of the OT scriptures, the Law.

I don’t think one can separate the two. And, yes, I need to go to confession for missing mass. 😉
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Aah, but Our Lord IS the New Testament of Scripture. He is the end towards which all the Law and the Prophets were imperfectly groping. The OT’s every word is a prefigurement, in a dark glass, of Him, His teachings, His sayings - in short of the NT.

And being God, He teaches from a much wider perspective than just the OT -how often did He use the following method to illustrate this:

“You have heard it said that (insert portion of OT law here) …
BUT I SAY TO YOU (insert vastly expanded teaching direct from God’s own mouth!)”
 
NotWorthy said:
I too love to study the Torah, but I love going to Mass even more!

I’d like to suggest to anyone who wishes to learn more about the Torah to keep an eye on AgapeBibleStudy.Com Michal Hunt is going to lead an on-line Bible Study on the Torah, from a staunch Catholic point of view (you don’t always need to go to our friends the Jews to learn about the Torah, mind you!).

It will be coming out in a month or two.

So what do you do while you wait for this study to come out? Why, you can study John, James, Romans, Hebrews, Revelation, and a few other studies at their site.

Any Jewish Roots enthusiasts will also be interested in Michal Hunt’s soon to be upcoming book about the Jewish Tamid, the daily sacrifice in the Temple.

OK, my shameless plug for a friend is over.
Click to expand...
thanks notworthy for the website and info on the bible study and upcoming book. i have never heard of michael hunt, but i plan to visit the website.
i am currently watching a very interesting show on the Dead Sea Scrolls. i love biblical archaeology and find it intriguing to hear about the new discoveries that they find proving the existence of certain people or places in the OT or in the NT.
 
donnafay said:
I’m drawn to OT studies, which has led me to Torah study. For months I’ve been gobbling up Torah / Hebraic roots info to the point that I’ve lost interest in going to mass. Now I miss going to mass. Is there a conflict or can I have both? Anybody been where I am?
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Donnafay,
I dont understand why you would not go to Mass while studying the OT. The OT is the history of Jesus, and our history. Every Sunday when we go to Mass the first reading is from the OT and we see a fulfilment of it in the new Testament being read immediately after.
I have done much OT study, but that lead me to love and understand the NT more and better rather than less.
Please dont neglect the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, it is important for your understanding of scripture and for your relationship with Jesus.
Blessings
GraceAngel.
 
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