To become a Jew or a Christian is not to propose to be the slave of a community of men, but to have the same objective as a Jew or a Christian and this objective is unique: it is to access eternal life.
l. Jewish tradition already tells us all there is to know to reach eternal life:
"What is hateful to thee, do not unto thy fellow man: this is the whole Law; the rest is mere commentary"
(Hillel, Shab. 31a).
II. The Hebrew Bible already tells us all there is to know to reach eternal life, as it is written:
(Psalm 15)
(Ezekiel 18:31-32)
(Ezekiel 18:20-23)
(Ezekiel 18:10-13)
(Ezekiel 18:14-18)
If we can think that our ancient sins or those of our parents and ascendants can influence the quality of the persecutions that will be imposed on us, we must know that everyone must use violence against oneself to remain just and honest in order to obtain eternal life, as it is written:
(Exodus 20:5-6)
(Exodus 34:6-7)
(1 Peter 2:19-21)
III. The New Testament informs us that in order to obtain eternal life, everyone must simply be able to justify oneself before a court of saints, with the conviction of being approved.
The apostle Paul said, (and the reader can easily replace the word Jewish with the word Christian on the one hand, and the ritual of circumcision with that of baptism on the other), as it is written:
(Romans 2:24-29)
The only baptism that is necessary is that of the Holy Spirit which is realized by the understanding and acceptance of the holy commandment, as it is written:
(Luke 3:15-17)
(John 15:3)
(John 8:30-32)
( 1 John 5:11-13)
The Apostle Paul speaks very often through analogies and when he tells us that some Jews have been hardened so that salvation may be accessible to some Gentiles, as it is written:
(Romans 11:11-15)
We may think that it is simply a way of informing us that it was necessary for a part of the Jewish community to reject Jesus Christ so that those of the gentiles who were predestined to realize the importance of the holy command by the study of the scriptures, without having the scientific means to determine the origin of the scriptures, can realize that the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament were not conceived by a single community of men who want to transmit their ideology using fables in which one can isolate a certain coherence:
a) The gospel according to saint me: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321316543_The_Principle_of_the_Second_Trinity
b) Who is Christian: https://www.researchgate.net/post/Can_it_be_stated_that_a_Christian_may_not_know_that_he_is_a_Christian
(my last three contributions in this question are:
* About God's identity and that of his only begotten son.
* About the house of God.
* About the application of the holy commandment.)
c) The monotheism:
https://www.researchgate.net/project/The-mystery-of-the-Christian-religion-and-Judaism
Because of his incomparable love for others, Jesus of Nazareth has advised us to let ourselves be stripped by our neighbor. But because he is faithful, he cannot reject the one who uses deception by being certain of being able to justify oneself in front of a court of saints. He cannot reject Jacob, as it is written:
> (Colossians 1:16-17)
> (2 Timothy 2:11-13)
(Psalm 24:1-6)
In addition to this document on how to become a Jew, I noted in your project another contribution on the practice of baptism in Christianity, and another contribution on the falsity of the teachings of Protestantism in Christianity.
In relation to all this I chose to initiate this issue in your project and I would like to collect your analysis of my presentation.
@ Larry: "Indeed, it seems as if most of the quotes provided in the OP are about how to attain salvation for oneself."
Exactly
@ Ali Mohamed: "Because you want to get closer to God and follow his commands"
If a person in modern society wants to rigorously apply the multiple commandments of the Hebrew Bible, he/her will necessarily feel trapped in certain situations, not just when it comes to circumcision an eighth day that coincides with the Sabbath: is it necessary to take away the life of someone who does not claim to reveal a God different from that of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but who explains that the very identity of this God and that of the Messiah announced by the prophets (these two identities are revealed by the writings of the Gospels and Apostles), implies that it is no longer necessary to rigorously apply all the commandments of the Hebrew Bible?
Indeed, the Christian explains to the Jew who attaches to the Hebrew Bible that it is no longer necessary to respect all the ordinances found there, as it is written:
> (Galatians 5:1-6)
> (Ezekiel 20:25-26)
And one may think that an order to be no longer respected is that which consists in taking away the life of someone who exposes to them a God who is not theirs (knowing that they recognize their God by his multiple commands), and that the purpose of this order was also to justify the death of Jesus of Nazareth, as it is written:
> (Deuteronomy 13:5-11)
> (Luke 22:70-71)
> (John 10:33-36)
> (Isaiah 9:5-6)
@ Larry
You are referring to the King James Version translation. I have voluntarily mentioned it in my document (The Gospel According to Saint Me: The Principle of the Second Trinity) not because I approve of what is written there, but precisely because I think it is a bad translation, statistically speaking.
It is after noticing that some documents available on the internet suggest that the Christian Principle of the Trinity (which is not accepted by all) could come from a very small excerpt from the Epistle First John, and the King James Translation Version is quoted, as it is written:
>
(1 John 5:6-9)
It was only during the writing of my document that I chose to quote only this traduction, in order to be able indirectly to emphasize my disagreement without ever explicitly stating it. I did it without feeling guilty because the Apostles Paul, Peter and John have a similar attitude in their writings, and the Gospel according to Luke is the one that most highlights this finesse.
The goal is authors is probably to succor superficial debates in the falsifiers's speeches that are going to have tolerance for the text because they thinks they can create documents with similar languages with the aim of perverting the simplicity of the message of the gospel. As far as I am concerned they (falsifiers) have given themselves a useless trouble, and the translation of the Bible that I spontaneously adopted in my quotations is American Standard Version, as it is written:
> (1 John 5:6-9)
> (1 John 5:20-21)
The Hebrew Bible is supposed to contain the history and cultural traditions of a particular people, not the story of all the peoples of the earth, each one has its history. And the Apostle Paul tells us that these ancient writings are useful for learning about the origins and consistency of the gospel message, to instruct the one who is predestined to convert by this means.
Because all these formulations have unique consequence, the scriptures can use different expressions to interpret a single reality, for example about the sacrifice of the Just, as it is written:
> (Romans 3:21-22)
> (1 John 2:1-2)
> (1 Peter 2:24-25)
> (2 Corinthians 5:20-21)
> (Romans 15:8-9)
> (Isaiah 49:5-6)
It is not surprising that the use of the law to justify the death of Jesus of Nazareth (he has however nothing to reproach himself in front of a court of saints; it is for the good of all that he wanted to put end to a law which cannot be perfect) can be interpreted in different ways as an action that achieves the ultimate fulfillment of the law. These are simply different ways of expressing the existence of a new covenant, as it is written:
> (Romans 7:7)
> (Jeremiah 31:31-35)
The gospel does not ask the Hebrews to give up their culture, just to better understand what it is because they got it by revelation, as it is written:
> (Luke 5:36-39)
@ Larry
Without trying to understand all the motivations of those who first stated the Trinity according to their conception, I wanted in my way to emphasize my disagreement with the explanation that it could be related to these few verses as translated by King James Version. As you have written, the fact that the translation of one or more verses is questionable does not imply that the same will apply to any other verse.
Moreover, my intention is that it is not the particular rituals (which each one is free to impose; but make sure of the compatibility with the holy commandment) which condition the access to the eternal life.
It is true that by reading several books of the Hebrew Bible (among others the Psalms, Isaiah, Ezekiel) one is predisposed to think that the promised rewards relate to that life we perceive through our senses. But there are scriptures that brighten our understanding, as it is written:
> (Daniel 2:44-45)
> (Daniel 12:2-4)
It is the apostles who reveal to us that in the resurrection we will be like God and his only begotten son who sits at his right hand (whose identities they revealed to us), as it is written:
> (1 John 3:2)
> (1 John 4:12)
> (2 Peter 3:13)
> (1 Corinthians 15:42:50)
> (1 Corinthians 13:12)
Finally, all that happens is done by the hand of God. Thus, if Judaism has its utility in the plan of God, it is the same with Christian assemblies, as it is written:
> (1 Corinthians 13:11)
> (Galatians 3:29, 4:1-2)
> (Ephesians 4:8, 11-15)
> (Luke 6:39)
It seems to be a religious choice of deep interest for the person, but I have nothing to say in my academic perspective. Comparing religions is a different thing than councel or not a conversion.
@ Larry
It may be thought that even the phrase "Christ sat at the right hand of God in the heavenly place" is simply a practical wording to express the fact that the time of the prophets is over and everyone is gaining eternal life only by one's own justice, regardless of one's quality of life, as it is written:
> (Galatians 4:4-5)
> (Luke 16:16)
@ Larry
1) I argue that if a single book was to be retained among all those who make up the New Testament (including the Gospels), it would be the Epistle First John although the author chose nuances in these expressions so that subtly addressing those who already think that the Hebrew Bible was inspired by God.
This epistle contains everything there is to know, provided you know how to bring together different verses in order to grasp their true meaning, and if any notion is not there it is simply because it is a useless notion.
That is why the apostle says, as it is written:
> (1 John 5:20-21)
2) I claim that if my goal is to reach eternal life, all I have to do is behave so that I always have a good conscience: that means having the conviction that a court of saints, which is aware of all the aspects that I know about the case, all the antecedents to my knowledge and my most intimate motivations, will not state any condemnation against me.
If I think that I need to omit or falsify any aspect of the elements of which I am aware, then I must know that I am committing a sin. And this sin will not be forgiven if I have already realized from myself previously, with conviction, that it is those who do not commit such sins who obtain eternal life.
That is why the apostle says, as it is written:
> (1 John 3:20-21)
> (1 John 3:3-7)
3) I claim that a person is a Christian if that person behaves always and ever so as to want to reach eternal life, and that a person who has not yet been a Christian can become a Christian.
This implies that I cannot judge a person about a case if I do not know everything that this know about this case. And it also implies that a person who calls himself a Christian is not necessarily a Christian.
That is why the apostle says, as it is written:
> (1 John 4:1-3)
> (1 John 2:3-6)
Isaiah 44:13-17 >
Zechariah 12:10-14 >
Isaiah 44:1-5 >
Isaiah 11:7-10 >
@ Larry
Regardless of whether they see themselves as Jews or Christians or Muslims or any other religious stream, all those who realize the need not to transgress the timeless law (the holy commandment) have eternal life. Sin is the transgression of the holy commandment.
Regarding Judaism, before Jesus of Nazareth ended the pedagogical precepts completed by Moses following Abraham's circumcision, the notion of sin within the people concerned was more extensive since it was necessary to learn to obey orders, as it is written:
> (1 Samuel 4:17-22)
> ( 2 Samuel 7:2-7)
And the prophet asks how the people can use different materials available for different uses, and entrust a remnant to talented artists to make it a holy object that will worship as God, or a place of prayer of greater importance than the rest of creation, as it is written:
>
>
Eternal life goes exclusively thru Jesus Christ. Compassion and similar is not enough.
Hi Larry,
What you say really pleases me. No doubt! It is always right and respectable to seek for fraternity amid the confessions and religions... I have not the slightest problem with that. That is ok.
But: we must differentiate amid what we, men, thinks is ok and what could be Will of our Creator. These two ways need not coincide!
I simplify:
"My thinking is not yours! My ways are not yours", God JHWH is speaking and "Nobody comes to the Father except thru me", now Jesus Christ is speaking.
There is no contradiction with what you said above: "He [the pure heart] shall receive a blessing from YHWH, and righteousness from the God of his salvation".
Of course, the Living God, actually YHWH, is the God of salvation for every soul in the times of the Old Testament and from the times of the New Testament thru His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
Before Christ, salvation could not be achieved thru Christ, naturally! Nowadays, however, we have no longer that "excuse" and thus exclusively the sentence "Nobody comes to the Father except thru me" by Jesus Christ applies.
Best regards! Jean
Hi Larry,
The issue of personal salvation cannot be solved by men: we (!) cannot decide who or what way of belief will finally save us. If your belief does not correspond to a theological reality, you can claim or decide what you want; it will not save you...
So, you must take a chance! The today best way to solve that problem is the belief in God thru Christ considering:
a) the spiritual and moral quality of His sayings,
b) His historical reality and testimonies in His favor,
c) the issue with the said theological reality.
The parallel between the equivalent conditions set forth in 'Psalm 15' and 'Psalm 24:1-6' tells us about God's identity. All that is true is an achievement of God, even the actions of the Devil, and this is also revealed by a parallel between '2 Samuel 24:1' and '1 Chronicles 21:1'. And the true god of men is Christ.
The inheritance of God (membership to the Israel of God) is not distributed according to genealogies but according to the faith in the Holy Commandment. As a result, no one can say with certainty that his neighbor is or is not children of God, as it is written:
> (Romans 9:6-8,11-13)
It is therefore because of Christ that writing has meant to let us know that it is a sin to count the children of Israel, as it is written:
> (2 Samuel 24:1-3)
> (1 Chronicles 21:1-3,6-7)
> (Romans 10:6-7)
However, since the identity of Christ has not yet been revealed, David has not sinned by his conscience (these facts are produced for our instruction) and it is the whole people who are punished by God, as it is written:
> (2 Samuel 24:10-15)
On the other hand, the Levites had been given a particular function in the process of learning obedience to God, so it was not a sin against Christ to enumerate these people, as it is written:
(1 Chronicles 23:1-3)
> (Numbers 3:5-7,14-16)
After the law has ended (through its own inconsistency) by the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth, no one will receive any advantage because of the careful observation of the cults mentioned in the law: sabbaths, tithes, circumcisions on the eighth day, fasts or feasts of everything and nothing, as it is written:
> (Romans 3:20-22)
> (Colossians 2:16-19)
> (John 11:50-52)
It seems that the subject of "eternal life" awakes controversy inside the jew faith, as we can see, simply, in the Gospels with the opposition between Sadduceans (materialists) and Pharisiens (or Jesus himself) about the resurrection of flesh. Historically, the christendom oscillates between positions "phobics" or "philies" regarding Old Testament. The vision negative can be found in moviments spiritualistics (Marcion, catharism etc.) or dualistics who judges amorals o materalist a part of Old Testament's lessons and histoies. On the other hand, the "theology of liberation" is more positive, particularly for the social prophets of the Bible.
@ Vincent
Regarding the seemingly dubious morality of some teachings of the Old or New Testament, it is true that one may wonder whether it is right to punish people only to instruct us that the Israel of God cannot be counted by men, because the genealogy or the law of Moses is not the criterion, as it is written:
> (Romans 9:25-26)
It must then be remembered that the enumeration of the Israel of God requested by David may be a motive and not necessarily the cause of the misfortune that overwhelmed the people, and that the writing is not obliged to explain to us why the time had come for each of the people who was affected. Thus, the scripture does not affirm that it was only because he was poor that Lazarus ascended to heaven in the parable spoken by Jesus, as it is written:
> (Luke 16:19-23)
It is clear indeed, if one is interested in the totality of the text of Luke's gospel, that poverty is not a sufficient or indispensable condition for receiving eternal life, and that wealth is an obstacle only when it is misused, as it is written:
> (Luke 6:47-49)
> (Luke 12:15-21)
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