Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Family Matters

Still Waiting...
I've been waiting for over 2 weeks for a response from one of my brothers (biologically speaking), combating an issue he raised on my other brother's blog. I countered what he said and backed it up with verses from the Tanakh and common Torah knowledge and concepts. Very basic, not hard to do.

I still haven't received an answer, after reminding him about 2-3 times.

Just today, I confronted my ex-sister about a Christian anti-Semitic picture she 'liked' on Facebook, stating something like: "Draw the line between tradition and Torah, or you'll end up like the Pharisees". She proceeded to tell me that Torah isn't tradition (because, you see, tradition is just so bad...), but that it is a command, something obligatory.

I told her that if the Torah commands to teach it to our children and thereby be passing it on... it is logically and obviously then also tradition. This is a very simple concept. It is extremely elementary, and it just goes to show how much logic these people must throw away in order to maintain their senseless theology.

The Rooster, or the J-man?
I also mentioned to her that Messianics sure like to take verses here and there from the Tanakh to supposedly support their beliefs - but they CAN'T EVEN answer me when I ask them one single question raised against them from the Tanakh. Weak. They apparently don't realize, taking out snippets of the Tanakh and mis-applying them can be done to make a chicken look like the promised messiah. Poppycock (pun intended) like this is what happens when people who aren't adept at any level in Hebrew and Judaism try to make messianic claims.

It is so ridiculous how they tout and tout but then when I confront them they can't answer back. It is actually comical. When I recently began to converse with a Messianic blogger, I wrote to him a lot and answered some of his questions. It was civil until he chose not to answer my questions at all in our emails, but instead posted one of my questions on his blog. In the comments, this guy used the "born of a virgin" verse in the Tanakh - which doesn't actually exist since the word in question is alma, not bethula (idiots...). Despite that he doesn't know any Hebrew, he wanted to convince me that the Septuagint backs him up. He said that I was having a hard time arguing with him (HAHA), and that I should call for some back up.

People asked questions, but never answered any of mine. It was funny, this repetitive trend of me debunking lies and calling out their misconceptions, just for my own questions being ignored and me being asked more questions as if I didn't know how to answer. Or as if I didn't understand their assumptions that they were trying to get across. As if I had never heard such before in my younger years as a captive in Messianic theology. I answered and wasn't polite with them at all.

Ignorance and Arrogance
But you see, it doesn't get through to them ever. It is all about emotional connection and believing what you believe, knowing what you know, holding on to that "spiritual" emotionally warm feeling, and that assurance that you don't need to do jack, since Yeshu has it all covered. And how could you think twice? After all, if you're wrong, you really are screwed...
So they decide not to believe the people who actually do speak Hebrew and who make it their business to learn Torah for the length of their lives. The people who have the Torah not just as God-given law, but as a tradition ingrained in their very culture as well as their constant daily lives.

Every time I eat or drink anything, after I go to the bathroom, before I do a misswa, when I behold the greatness of HaShem's creation; I give thanks and recognize the power of my Creator. And that is an obligation. These people choose to ignore those on a higher level than them and to learn from those who are actually in the position to teach. Not so Zekharya 8:23 of them, now, is it?

It is time wasted to try to convince a die-hard `oved `avoda zara.

4 comments:

  1. Aaron, I'm always willing to answer your questions. If you posed me a question directly, I missed it.

    Have a good shabbat.

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    Replies
    1. What I was referring to in this post, was a response from Jesse. I've contacted him 2-3 times about it and still have no reply.

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  2. One other thing. Regarding the "almah" translation, even in Messianic circles, it's well known this means "young woman." I remember being taught that at a home bible study back when we lived in TN. So it's not hidden or anything; we're not trying to deceive people.

    You might ask then, "If Messianics know 'almah' just means 'young woman', isn't Matthew wrong for his Greek rendering of 'virgin', and therefore the gospels are not reliable?"

    For an answer to that question, I'd suggest DovBear's recent post on the matter, maybe you've already read it: Matthew and Midrash.

    Pertinent bits:

    >> "Mathew, by virtue of his time and place, probably had the sensibilities of a baal midrash and he probably used a similar approach. Like the authors of the canonical midrashim, he approached the Torah with certain assumptions, particularly: The Torah is (1) God's word, and the texts are (2) cryptic (3) symbolic (4) prophetic and (5) homiletic. And like the canonical midrash writers who functioned at the very end of the Second Temple Era, Mathew looked to the Torah for some clue that the bitterness of Roman rule would be removed, that God's old promises would be fulfilled, and that redemption was imminent; most importantly he searched for some indication that Israel had not been abandoned.

    Mathew found all of this in the person and teaching of Jesus, which is why his writings aren't part of our tradition, but he justified his discovery, in part, through his drasha on Iss 7:14, a drash that does do violence to the original meaning of a passage, but quite honestly no more or less than the violence done to original meaning by many of the midrashim we wholeheartedly accept. [For an example see Rabbi Akiva's homily on teshuva]"

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  3. Fair enough, that there are those Messianics who recognize that almah does indeed mean young woman, not virgin. That is good for someone to be in favor of truth and fact over any given bias.

    That is actually why I have a problem with some typical anti-missionary arguments. Sometimes they glaze over valid understandings of a given issue because it may be too close for what is used in favor of Christianity.

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