Were the Sadducees, Zealots, Essenes and Pharisees Jewish? Didn’t they originate from the mindset of another individual? Didn’t they build their faith and believes on the interpretation of that one person who decided to practice a different way of Judaism than the others? Many are of the opinion that Jesus wanted to destroy the law and implement his own. Since his apprenticeships partially cancel the Jewish laws, he is not considered being Jewish by many Jews.
The Ontario Consultants (2008) Web site, Messianic Jews believe in the Messiah, the trinity, salvation and sin; which differs greatly from traditional Jews that believe the Messiah has yet to come. Messianic Judaism followers believe in the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, the virgin birth of Yeshua, his sinless life, his resurrection, his future Second Coming, and his salvation, which makes them Christians not Jews. The History of Messianic Judaism goes back as far as the First Century CE (Ontario Consultants, 2008). In the First Century, there were numerous sects of Judaism; Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, Boethusians, Essenes, and the list could go on and on. The First Christians were called Nazarenes, which were Jews that listened to the message that Yeshua of Nazareth was teaching and began to follow his word.
All these branches have many similarities and differences. In this essay I will be discussing the similarities and differences between Orthodox Judaisim and Reform Judaism. Othodox Judaism contains jews who believe that God gave Moses the Torah which included 613 commandments. People who follow Othodox Judaism follow the strict laws and ethics writeen in the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Achoronim. There are many beliefs in Orthodox Judaim such as the main belief that the Torah included written law and also Oral Torah, which was given to Moses from God and can in no way be altered.
During the time of Paul, Jews were so preoccupied with upholding the Law that their lives where devoted to a strict regimented life. Paul would assert that freedom from sin (or rather the punishment of sin) comes only through Jesus Christ since he was sent from God as fulfillment of the Law1. Jews in the first century saw this as an attempt to throw away that Law, to make it void. It is easy see how the Jews would assume that this radical new idea, being free from sin purely by faith rather than austere adherence to the Law, but that is not entirely what Paul’s message is. In Galatians 3:15-18, Paul argues that a new covenant does not void previously made promises of God.
The faith of the Jewish population is in the love and power of G-d to bring about his purpose for all humankind, which bases itself upon the omnipotent being appointing them to be his chosen people and for them to set an example of holiness and ethical behaviour in the world. (Hoffman, 2008) Judaism, ceases to be one of the most traditional World Religions that sorely focuses on the Torah, G-d’s instruction, and the traditional beliefs and ideologies in which the religion was founded with. There are many aspects within the religion in which are most commonly interpreted as outdated within today’s modern and increasingly agnostic society and these aspects also allow a subjective opinion to be made on whether the religion of Judaism is lost in time. These vary from the beliefs and ideologies, to the Sabbath, food laws and beliefs upon life, death, sex, marriage and festivals to the holocaust and the variety of dominations that make up the religion, from the most traditional form being Orthodoxy to the predominant denomination of Reform Judaism. The argument therefore being posed is that these aspects allow the religion to be outdated and lost in time in many ways, yet is this necessarily a negative thing?
As a Sephardi Jew, Maimonides was educated in both the secular sciences and in Jewish studies, that is, the Torah and the Talmud. This prolific writer was appointed as the Chief Rabbi of the Egyptian Jewish community which was one of the highest offices in the Jewish world in those days. The work of Maimonides in consolidating and strengthening Judaism against Islamic dominance, as well the revival of classical philosophy needs to be seen in this context. The nature of Maimonides' influence can be seen in three important areas. The first are is his codification of the Talmud, the Mishneh Torah.
It has been described as a ‘subtle and skilful proclamation of the gospel’. The speech was a defence of the charges brought against Stephen as he was accused of blaspheming against Moses and God, by saying that ‘Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us’. This was no surprise as the temple in Jerusalem and the customs of Moses were exceedingly precious to the Jews. Eventually, the Jews would come to form a minority within Christianity, Gentiles would predominate. Jewish rituals and customs would be abandoned and Christianity would become a ‘religion’ in its own right.
In the first century CE, the temple was a crucial part of the Jewish religion. There are numerous reasons for this including sacrifice, law, the beliefs about the temple and its political significance. Its importance was made clear when it was destroyed and the entire religion was almost demolished. Sacrifice was extremely important to Jews in the first century CE and was seen by Dunn as one of the four pillars of Judaism; it was thought to be an appropriate way to say thank you to God or to ask for forgiveness. In Leviticus it states “the life of the flesh is in the blood and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement by reason of life”, this shows that God had ordained it to be offered as an expiation for the life of who is offering it.
8. Compare and contrast the history of the early Jewish community and the Phoenician culture. How did the Mesopotamians influence each? the Jews built a distinctive religious community based on their conviction that they had a special connection with Yahweh. the Phoenicians did not establish a unified monarchy but rather many city states.
As shown by the first part of this statement, it is important to Muslims that only Allah is to be worshiped (Nosotro). Muslims also do not take Muhammad to be Allah or even divine. They believe he is the last of a long line of prophets. Other than Muhammad, whom Jews do not consider to be a prophet, Muslims share prophets with the Jews like Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and even Jesus. They also share the Jewish first commandment, which states "You shall put no other gods before me."