| Christianity and Judaism came out of the same common root.
The Jewish scribes wrote most of the Old Testament during the Babylonian
Captivity. During the time of Jesus, the Old Testament Scriptures were the
same for the Jews who remained Jewish and the Christian converts from the
Jews, the Aramaeans, and the nations of the Roman Empire. The only
differences in the interpretation of the Scriptures we have today have to
do with the appearance of the Messiah. For us Christians, the Messiah was
Eashoa or Jesus, in English. For the Jews today, the Messiah is still
being awaited.
Ironically, the Jews have higher expectations for the Messiah, as far as worldly values, than we do. It was the same at the time of Jesus. The Pharisees, the scribes and the High Priests rejected Jesus for the most part because he came as an outsider. He seemed too much like an ordinary man; they expected somebody a lot more imposing. After all, Jesus would have to establish the kingdom and his powers were never to be relinquished. Thus it is in the interpretation of the Scriptures where we differ. This is not the case with Islam, which is a total rejection of the Messianic concept. For Muslims, Jesus was only a prophet, albeit beloved by God, but it was Mohamed who was the Messenger of Ullah, who for the Muslims is the singular God. That God is not triune is a major difference in the three religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Often referred to as the Monotheistic Religions, ironically it would seem that only Islam is Monotheistic. And interestingly, the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons could also be considered Monotheistic in the same sense as Islam, because neither of them believe in the Trinity, in the sense that God is Triune -- the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is a controversial subject, since the Trinity is not mentioned in the Western Bibles. It's a concept that's derived theologically from the Gospel of John. Even the Jews have removed the word "Trinity" from their Scriptures. However, I've identified the word "Trinity" in the Scriptures. There are millions of Aramaic speaking people in the East who can readily identify the "Tla-Qnume" as the Trinity, mentioned in the Gospel of John. There is also mention of "Qnumeh," or "his Trinity," regarding Jesus. Ironically, the word "Qnumeh" has been borrowed by the Greeks, but they didn't translate it as the Trinity. That's where the problem of Western Christianity begins; Greek is not the original language of the Scriptures, neither of the Old nor of the New Testaments. In order to reconcile Christianity and Judaism, the Scriptures have to be interpreted according to the Ancient Aramaic language. Then we can restore the prophesies of the Scriptures and the history of the faith in the Messiah Eashoa. We will be able to gradually discern that our faith in the Messiah unites us forever. |
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