Q & A: Regarding the film "Jewish Jesus"

Link below the article

I wrote an article yesterday in response to a comment on Slate Star Codex. They are generally a-religious, smart and good fellas with an interest in being rational and meaningful at the same time.

Their general irreligion and social sphere keep them from too much genuine consideration of an animated life moving the world in a eutopic direction through the spread of enthusiasm and love on the human level (rather than through this or that “nudge” imposed from On High by the culture’s reigning nudges).

Deiseach is smart and good but openly and combatively interested in and supportive of many aspects of religion.

She doesn't mince words so while I addressed a few of her thoughts and comments within the SSC thread that she posted them this response required a complete article.

Another lengthy response was within the comment section of the substack article that presented the film itself. It's worth elevating out of the comment section to its own page so here is the kind and intelligent comment followed by my general thinking on the matter.

Brother Yedidya:

Oh. My. I am decidedly and emphatically NOT offended, but am intrigued and drawn by the heart and humble attitude with which you share, inform, question, and engage for those WITH "ears to hear & eyes to see". I love the clear knowledge base from which you draw from, and am in agreement with the great majority of your statements (in particular the "mess" which IS [manmade] religion) and positions...with ONE notable exception: "Jesus did not succeed as the messiah".

Au contraire! I will (and humbly do) contend that Yahshua absolutely DID succeed, and did so in the most amazing and categorically Jewish way imaginable – in accordance with (and therefore fulfillment of) dozens of prophecies of the Torah & prophets written hundreds and thousands of years earlier (though that is NOT "where I'm going"). I am able and ready with conclusive evidence – NOT regarded in ‘religious circles’ of any “faith” – but nonetheless undeniable to the actual TRUTH seeker. Isn’t “that” whom you were calling out to in this video? (It's all hiding - somewhat - in plain sight, actually.)

I was struck (on multiple levels) when you commented about ‘not getting sidetracked’ by (mentioning things about) what occurred in Babylon. IMO, there are a plethora of keys to ‘understanding’ in carefully examining EXACTLY WHAT DID (go into AND) ‘come out' of Babylon.

YIY,

ƩEZI, זְבֻלוּן מַטָּה

Thank you for your smart and caring comment.

I don't recall precisely regarding which issues I had to keep myself from straying off course, but if they in fact all had to do with Babylonia that would be both interesting and surprising because those were not my conscious criteria.

As for Yehoshua of Natzeret, am I understanding you to be saying that "God gave the Instructions (Torah) to the People of Israel" but once Yehoshua of Natzeret lived in the flesh, the Legal Instructions no longer applied because... Jesus did them all for everybody"?

That doesn't ring logically true to me, no matter how many (out of larger context) individual verses can be read to claim that. It just seems way too opposed to the whole way that the Tanach talks about itself in general and about the Instructions (Torah) in particular.

What *does* ring true, at least in theory, was that Yehoshua of Natzeret intended to obviate the (necessary, but also not altogether effective) "worship of legalisms" by focusing on the "LOVE" of all that is True and Good.

Where there is ♥️ there is no need for contracts.

But it seems that even during his life (and in every single Olam afterwards ["Olam"s are the 49 year periods between the Jubilee years]) people either couldn't or at least *didn't* do it.

Heck, if the account in the Christian Bible is to be trusted, even one of Yehoshua’s select 12 disciples didn't even love him enough not to betray him to the authorities for money!

So, yes, the LOVE of God and All He Created (especially your fellow man) would make the FEAR of God both unnecessary and impossible.

If you watch the video again with this in mind I hope you'll see that I am inspired by and appreciative of Yehoshua m’Natzeret himself - at least as I consider him to have *actually and literally been* when I envision that Era and Location: An era I have studied, taught, and cared about; and a location I showed some 20,000 people as a tour guide.

I do not come to take from Christians that which they have WHICH IS GOOD.

I come to strengthen them and their understanding of their heritage as opposed to the fakes who claim to be devotees of Yehoshua but whose feelings and lives betray the claims of their lips regarding what they *really believe*.