Understanding "Christianity", the Old & New Testaments and all that ...

Interim Additions  
Dec 6/13 - A chap named Scott Bustamante spotted this draft today and asked me "U gonna finish?" 
So I will get back at it - likely during the "Saturnalia Season" that preoccupies many at the Winter Solstice

• In the meantime
• may I furnish these links
• 
  
• By Dr Arnold Fruchtenbaum
• -Messianic Jew
• -Huge background in the languages, history, teachings of the Bible
• -formerly at Christian Jew Foundation (CJF), now on his own - because Fruchtenbaum's knowledge exceeded Dr Charles Halff & successors
• 
  
• Salvation
• http://ariel.org/salvation.htm
• 
  
• Doctrine
• http://ariel.org/doctrinal-statement.htm
• 
  
• Answers to tough questions
• http://www.ariel.org/qna.htm
• HOW THE NEW TESTAMENT QUOTES THE OLD TESTAMENt
• http://arielb.org/archives/category/bible-study
• 
  
• REALLY EXHAUSTIVE
• "Come and See" his series of audio (w text as pdf) teachings from old radio b/casts
• a.k.a.
• Everything you could ever what to know about the pre-millenial dispensationalist view of the 66 Books
• http://ariel.org/come-and-see.htm
• 
  
• Buy Fruchtenbaum's Book - on Prophesy, Revelation, Daniel, End Times - super good!
• Footsteps of the Messiah - Hardcover $39
• or
• Download the pdf (a bit cheaper and instantaneous) $29
• Start w Appendix 1  -  The Six Abodes of Satan

Incomplete

Rough Draft

Published Nov 14/13 for easy/immediate presentation to my friend HMJ but buried as a June 2013 (my 60th Birthday) entry amongst the archived posts (but it didn't "bury" - it's still near top of side-bar list) --Oh Well ...
When its done I'll tell my seester Carole about it too




Welcome.

Executive Summary

I write in an attempt to reduce to writing what I have discovered over 60 years.

Perhaps it's many fewer years because for the first 15 years I only knew what my parents told me, then, when my own sense of myself asserted itself, I rejected every single aspect of that teaching because "they were such idiots" (in my eyes) .... surely the "truth" must be much more than what "they" knew - particularly since what they taught was so different from everything I observed (and wanted) about how most of my friends lived and what I was introduced to by my public schooling and Television, Radio, sexy magazines etc etc.

Then, after ~35-40 years "wandering in the wilderness" (behaving like the "prodigal/wasteful son" of Luke's Gospel) the same sad revelation that occurred to Solomon, occurred to me - "Vanity, all is Vanity" or "Meaningless, all is Meaningless"

Much has been written, by humans, about the "Meaning of Life" - articles, pamphlets, books, tomes, philosophies, ideologies, religions etc have all been invented by us  ... for us.

Further, much time has been spent comparing the various writings/teachings and many humans have invented new combinations, cherry-pickings, and "essential elements" of a) the meaning, b) the right way to search for it and c) the right way to live after absorbing and accepting the "truth" as distilled/presented/recommended by these authors.

So in an effort to save you time wandering the mile or ten along/near/criss-crossing the path that my moccasins have trod, may I summarize what I know about :
- 1) being a Human being, on Earth, at this time;
and
-2) the search for Life's meaning;
and
- 3) not all paths lead to God;
and
-4) one path that does.

Most of the world calls it Christianity, but for this purpose, let's call it Messiah-ity to differentiate between what what "most of the world" thinks-it-knows about this path and what I'm trying to describe.

First
Before you can talk/think/study about Messiah-ity you must confront God.

Second
Before you can study Messiah-ity you must study Judaism in the First Century and Rabbinical Judaism (ie after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD)

Third
Before you can study Messiah-ity in the 21st Century, you must study the followers of Jesus-the-Messiah in the First Century (they were mostly Jewish people, in Jerusalem, in Judea, in the Middle East/Asia Minor and around the Mediterranean Sea) and what happened to them in the run-up to Christianity becoming the "State Religion" of Rome and the ramifications consequent to that Imperial decision/acquisition/subsumation.

Fourth
To gain perspective on Messiah-ity, Protestant Christianity, Rabbinic Judaism, Roman Catholicism/Universalism etc in the 21st Century (plus Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Wicca, Secular Humanism, Atheism, Agnosticism, Nature Worship etc, etc -including their multitudinous sects, offshoots, derivative and reductive agglomerations) you must study the history of man-on-earth since the 1st Century PLUS absorb a perfunctory understanding of the well-documented, socio-political trail that led up to the "Common Era" ie  Year 1 B.C.E., aka Yr 1 B.C.


I cannot do all that here - after all this is 'sposta-be a summary and short-cut -- not an all-encompassing treatise PLUS if something I do say here, tweaks you curiosity ("that ain't right") AND you do your own research AND find out what I said WAS correct ... it helps both of us.

I will probably appear to be simplifying very-complicated things and complicating very-simple things.

Rce
Nov 9/2013

So here we go ....

Before you can talk/think/study about Messiah-ity you must confront God.

As you can probably figure, my position is that God "is".

By that I mean, God is the Creator, the Guide and the Judge of all things on earth. I believe (by process of elimination) that God is the "inspiration", the "force", the "source", the "Sovereign", the "intelligent designer" etc behind everything that was, that is now, and that will be.

The key question is: If not by/ through/ due to God, then, what/who/why/how did the reality-on-earth that we are in the midst-of come to be?

If not "created with a purpose, by a purposeful Creator", then that means our earth was created "by accident" - a zillion, not-necessarily inter-related, happenstances that combined in a specific sequence (without any outcome in mind) into the very-orderly, system that seems to be governed by immutable Standard Operating Procedures that in relatively-recent days we have "discovered to be true".

These Laws are now accepted as "self-evident truths" (after a period of transition from the previously accepted view) that our lives are built-upon and casually referred to everyday-without-question as Laws of Math, Physics, Logic, Time, Biology and umpteen-other 'ologies.

On a balance of probabilities ... which "explanation of infinite things" is more likely?

If you had no previous inputs, information or observations, no biases (pro or con) and no innate, inherent, learned or preferred moral, ethical or self-interest of personal-freedom issues to "keep consistent with", just a balance of probabilities .... which one is more likely?

Don't misunderstand me ...I'm not saying you are wrong, headstrong, stiff-necked, too-independent or anything like that, but I AM suggesting that you may be nescient of a few facts/interpretations of hugely-complicated things or you might be "ignoring" (What is the root of word "ignorant"?) hugely-complicated issues because there doesn't seem to be much personal, individual upside to delving so deeping into infinite ideas since "it doesn't seem to make much difference" in your life ... there is a sliver of truth in "Nescience is Bliss".

SO....

If God is the Creator, Guide and Judge of all things on earth .... wouldn't it be prudent to live a life "in harmony" with the Creator's plan, His guiding wisdom and in accordance with His system of Justice?

If you disagree, I don't know what to say except to ask, With what system Standard Operating Procedures are you currently "in harmony"?

I hate to be brutally blunt - are you currently IN or OUT?

Mostly likely you are in-between either absolute position - you have a sense of consciousness i.e. what you are a unique, living person, a sense of conscience i.e. right vs wrong, a sense of family i.e. where you came from, sense of community/nation i.e. where you live and how to behave therein, a sense of liberty i.e. freedom to be you and a sense of restraint i.e what not to do for-your-own-good.

This is the human condition. We know we are here, we just aren't totally sure why and we have some murky thoughts (best un-thunk just yet) about death.

Happiness is being "in harmony" -and knowing it - with everything that constitutes/impacts/can improve/can detract from your life on earth.

This "human condition" is known infinitely-better than anyone else can know by the Creator, Guide and Judge.

That's where the "Guide" part comes in.







Before you can study Messiah-ity you must study Judaism in the First Century and Rabbinical Judaism (ie after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD)


Before you can study Messiah-ity in the 21st Century, you must study the followers of Jesus-the-Messiah in the First Century (they were mostly Jewish people, in Jerusalem, in Judea, in the Middle East/Asia Minor and around the Mediterranean Sea) and what happened to them in the run-up to Christianity becoming the "State Religion" of Rome and the ramifications consequent to that Imperial decision/acquisition

To gain perspective on Messiah-ity, Protestant Christianity, Rabbinic Judaism, Roman Catholicism/Universalism etc in the 21st Century (plus Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Wicca, Secular Humanism, Atheism, Agnosticism, Nature Worship etc, etc -including their multitudinous sects, offshoots, derivative and reductive agglomerations) you must study the history of man-on-earth since the 1st Century PLUS absorb a perfunctory understanding of the well-documented, socio-political trail that led up to the "Common Era" ie  Year 1 B.C.E., aka Yr 1 B.C.