My Story: Index
Continued from part 7...
Community life in Hudson was significantly different than community life at Friend Ships.
At Friend Ships, life was secluded from the real word. We lived behind a long chain-linked fence, and, if desired, we never had to leave the compound. Our meals were prepared for us, laundry was done for us, job duties were assigned to us, and work clothes were given to us (via donations). Thus, in my opinion (other crew members would probably disagree), we lived very easy, simple lives.
In Hudson, however, we lived mostly normal lives. We lived in houses or apartments, sometimes located within walking distance of Beth Immanuel. Everybody had to work, make money, pay bills, cook, clean, and basically live like normal people. Except we kept the Torah.
Not all of us, however, kept the Torah at the same level. Some members decided to keep the Torah at the level of orthodox Jews (while keeping faith in Jesus). Others kept the Torah at the level they felt personally comfortable with. Still others didn't keep much Torah at all due to the more common understanding that gentiles (most Hudson community members were gentiles) should acknowledge the importance of Torah in both interpreting the New Testament and informing one's own worldview, but should not be considered obligated to the laws of Torah in the same way that a Jewish person is. Throughout my stay in the Hudson community, I had belonged to each of these different "camps."
When I first arrived in Hudson, my understanding was that all people, regardless of whether they were Jews or Gentiles, were obligated to keep the whole Torah. This idea, colloquially referred to as "One Law," was informed by passages like Ephesians 2 (which talks about there no longer being a distinction between Jew and Gentile, but rather "one new man") and Numbers 15:30-31 (which can be interpreted to mean that both Jew and gentile are obligated to the same commandments in the Torah). Not long after arriving in Hudson, however, I changed my mind from "One Law" to something akin to what is now colloquially referred to as "Divine Invitation."
According to "Divine Invitation," gentiles were not obligated to keep Torah at the level that a Jew was obligated, but they were "invited to participate" in the practice of Torah by the call of discipleship to Jesus. This idea was informed by passages such as Acts 15 (which seems to imply that there was a different set of rules for gentiles than there was for Jews), the book of Galatians (which can be interpreted as being directed mainly at gentiles, rather than at Jews) and Matthew 28 (in which Jesus commands the apostles to make disciples, i.e. Torah observers, of all nations, i.e. gentiles).
One reason that I became part of the "Divine Invitation" camp was that it was similar to the stance that orthodox sects of Judaism have historically taken toward gentiles. This stance is that gentiles are not obligated to keep the Torah at the same level that Jewish people are. Rather, gentiles are obligated (according to orthodox Jewish understanding) to another set of laws that, while still being based on the Torah and having some overlap with the set of laws that Jews are obligated to keep, is different than that of the Jewish people. This set of laws, based mainly on the laws given by God to Noah in the book of Genesis, is known as the "Noahide Laws." As it turns out, the Noahide Laws are very similar to the laws listed by the apostles in Acts 15 as the laws that were to apply to the gentiles. In fact, some scholars understand the Noahide laws to be directly linked to the laws of Acts 15. However, according to orthodox Judaism, if a gentile desires to keep more of the Torah than they are obligated (perhaps due to a great love of the Jewish people or laws of Torah), then they can convert to Judaism (by a kind of "Divine Invitation"), and thus obligate themselves to the Jewish laws of the Torah.
As a member of the "Divine Invitation" camp, I occasionally found myself living almost like an orthodox Jew: eating kosher, keeping the Sabbath, praying daily in Hebrew, wearing tzitzit under my shirt, letting my beard grow, etc. At other times, however, I found myself living as a gentile who kept the Noahide Laws: basically, acting like a good person. I would slowly go back and forth, always studying, praying, and believing in Jesus, trying to figure out which path was best.
I never did figure out which path was best. I was prepared, though, to spend the rest of my life wrestling with such questions... until a different set of questions began to take over my attention.
That's what I'll write about in my next post.
Go to part 9...
Showing posts with label Israel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Israel. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
My Story: Part 6
My Story: Index
Continued from part 5...
It has been a while since I read Restoration, and I don't own a copy of it anymore, but I'll try to summarize it here.
Firstly, it mentions how all of the New Testament writers were religious Jews. As religious Jews, the writers used specific words that have specific meanings in the context of 1st century Judaism. Some examples include, "the word of God," "good deeds," "the commandments," "clean," "unclean," "the Sabbath," "the Law," and "righteousness." To a 1st century Jew, Lancaster argued, all of these terms were defined in the Hebrew Bible, specifically the first 5 books, known as the Torah.
Lancaster really tried to hammer this home. "The word of God" was the Torah. "Good deeds" were obedience to the laws of the Torah. "The commandments" were those of the Torah. "Clean, unclean, and the Sabbath" were defined in the Torah, and "righteousness" came from obedience to the Torah. (however, he made the distinction that eternal righteousness was only from faith in Jesus.)
To illustrate the importance of understanding words properly, Lancaster wrote about Yankee Doodle. "Yankee Doodle went to town, riding on a pony, stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni." Wait, macaroni? Why? What does a feather have do to with noodles? Well actually, Lancaster taught, macaroni could refer to a style of dress or manners. Nowadays, macaroni is a kind of noodle, but back when Yankee Doodle was penned it was something else.
And so it goes with words of the Bible. Modern Christianity often has different definitions of the words that Lancaster said were defined in the Torah. For example, in Modern Christianity "the word of God" is Genesis to Revelation, and, due to Jesus fulfilling some of the commandments of the Old Testament, there's an emphasis on the books of the New Testament. This, however, was not how the writers of the New Testament defined "the word of God." Rather, they would have defined the "word of God" with an emphasis on the Torah.
Another thing that Lancaster hammered home was that the "word of God will stand forever." To a Christian, this point sounds entirely reasonable. However, using Lancaster's specific definition of the "word of God," i.e. the Torah, his point sounds very different. "The Torah will stand forever." Implicit in this statement is that none of the Torah will be done away with. None. Not ever. Not even by Jesus. And not by Paul, nor by Christianity. And Lancaster supported this idea with a passage from Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy 13 talks about a prophet who may come in the future and lead the Israelites away from worshiping the true God. How would that prophet lead the Israelites away? By causing them to forsake the commandments of God. And if such a prophet comes, the Israelites were to basically do two things. One, they were to hold-fast to God's commandments. And two, they were to put the false prophet to death.
Implicit in this passage is that true prophets lead the Israelites to obedience to the commandments of God. Thus, Lancaster developed the following argument:
Premise 1: "The commandments" were those of the Torah.
Premise 2: True prophets lead the Israelites to obedience to the commandments.
Premise 3: Jesus was the Messiah and thus a true prophet. The apostles were true prophets.
Conclusion 1: Therefore, Jesus and the apostles led the Israelites to obedience to the commandments of the Torah.
That is the main argument in the book.
To Christians unfamiliar with the laws of the Torah, this argument may seem quite benign to typical Christian theology and beliefs. However, it's actually not. To illustrate, the argument implies that Jesus and the apostles taught to keep the Sabbath (from Friday night to Saturday night), the Feasts (Passover, the Day of Atonement, Pentecost, Hannukah (cf. John 10:22), etc.), the dietary laws (kosher and non-kosher), the sacrifices (bringing animals for ritual slaughter by the priests in the Temple), etc. etc. As should be obvious now, these laws are not part of typical Christianity. Rather, Christianity typically teaches that these laws have been done away with by Jesus' death and resurrection. However, if Lancaster's main argument is correct, then Christianity is wrong in its teachings about these laws.
Most of the pages in the book are used to defend Lancaster's argument from objections that Christians may have. For example, Acts 15 seems to do away with the food laws of the Torah. Or, Colossians 2 seems to do away with the Sabbath, feast days, and food laws. Or Hebrews 8 seems to do away with the Old covenant, the Sabbath, and the priestly laws. There are several more. Galatians comes to mind. What do we do with these passages?
The answer, according to Lancaster, is that we need to reinterpret them correctly. We need to re-examine those difficult passages in the light of their 1st century Jewish context, and in light of his main argument of the book (above). Ultimately, those passages (and all of the New Testament, for that matter) needs to conform to Lancaster's main argument. In other words, those passages need to be understood as promoting obedience to the commandments of the Torah. If they cannot be reinterpreted and understood as doing so, then unfortunately those passages are wrong. (Or, their correct interpretation has been lost, is unknown, etc.) It's that simple. "The Torah will stand forever."
Now, that's not to say that all of this is actually simple. It's not. And at the time, I became very confused. My world was turning upside down, and I didn't know what to do. Who could I talk to on a boat full of people with typical, Christian beliefs? And what commandments was I supposed to do? Was I to start keeping the Sabbath? Eating kosher food?
That's what I'll write about next.
Go to part 7...
Continued from part 5...
It has been a while since I read Restoration, and I don't own a copy of it anymore, but I'll try to summarize it here.
Firstly, it mentions how all of the New Testament writers were religious Jews. As religious Jews, the writers used specific words that have specific meanings in the context of 1st century Judaism. Some examples include, "the word of God," "good deeds," "the commandments," "clean," "unclean," "the Sabbath," "the Law," and "righteousness." To a 1st century Jew, Lancaster argued, all of these terms were defined in the Hebrew Bible, specifically the first 5 books, known as the Torah.
Lancaster really tried to hammer this home. "The word of God" was the Torah. "Good deeds" were obedience to the laws of the Torah. "The commandments" were those of the Torah. "Clean, unclean, and the Sabbath" were defined in the Torah, and "righteousness" came from obedience to the Torah. (however, he made the distinction that eternal righteousness was only from faith in Jesus.)
To illustrate the importance of understanding words properly, Lancaster wrote about Yankee Doodle. "Yankee Doodle went to town, riding on a pony, stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni." Wait, macaroni? Why? What does a feather have do to with noodles? Well actually, Lancaster taught, macaroni could refer to a style of dress or manners. Nowadays, macaroni is a kind of noodle, but back when Yankee Doodle was penned it was something else.
And so it goes with words of the Bible. Modern Christianity often has different definitions of the words that Lancaster said were defined in the Torah. For example, in Modern Christianity "the word of God" is Genesis to Revelation, and, due to Jesus fulfilling some of the commandments of the Old Testament, there's an emphasis on the books of the New Testament. This, however, was not how the writers of the New Testament defined "the word of God." Rather, they would have defined the "word of God" with an emphasis on the Torah.
Another thing that Lancaster hammered home was that the "word of God will stand forever." To a Christian, this point sounds entirely reasonable. However, using Lancaster's specific definition of the "word of God," i.e. the Torah, his point sounds very different. "The Torah will stand forever." Implicit in this statement is that none of the Torah will be done away with. None. Not ever. Not even by Jesus. And not by Paul, nor by Christianity. And Lancaster supported this idea with a passage from Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy 13 talks about a prophet who may come in the future and lead the Israelites away from worshiping the true God. How would that prophet lead the Israelites away? By causing them to forsake the commandments of God. And if such a prophet comes, the Israelites were to basically do two things. One, they were to hold-fast to God's commandments. And two, they were to put the false prophet to death.
Implicit in this passage is that true prophets lead the Israelites to obedience to the commandments of God. Thus, Lancaster developed the following argument:
Premise 1: "The commandments" were those of the Torah.
Premise 2: True prophets lead the Israelites to obedience to the commandments.
Premise 3: Jesus was the Messiah and thus a true prophet. The apostles were true prophets.
Conclusion 1: Therefore, Jesus and the apostles led the Israelites to obedience to the commandments of the Torah.
That is the main argument in the book.
To Christians unfamiliar with the laws of the Torah, this argument may seem quite benign to typical Christian theology and beliefs. However, it's actually not. To illustrate, the argument implies that Jesus and the apostles taught to keep the Sabbath (from Friday night to Saturday night), the Feasts (Passover, the Day of Atonement, Pentecost, Hannukah (cf. John 10:22), etc.), the dietary laws (kosher and non-kosher), the sacrifices (bringing animals for ritual slaughter by the priests in the Temple), etc. etc. As should be obvious now, these laws are not part of typical Christianity. Rather, Christianity typically teaches that these laws have been done away with by Jesus' death and resurrection. However, if Lancaster's main argument is correct, then Christianity is wrong in its teachings about these laws.
Most of the pages in the book are used to defend Lancaster's argument from objections that Christians may have. For example, Acts 15 seems to do away with the food laws of the Torah. Or, Colossians 2 seems to do away with the Sabbath, feast days, and food laws. Or Hebrews 8 seems to do away with the Old covenant, the Sabbath, and the priestly laws. There are several more. Galatians comes to mind. What do we do with these passages?
The answer, according to Lancaster, is that we need to reinterpret them correctly. We need to re-examine those difficult passages in the light of their 1st century Jewish context, and in light of his main argument of the book (above). Ultimately, those passages (and all of the New Testament, for that matter) needs to conform to Lancaster's main argument. In other words, those passages need to be understood as promoting obedience to the commandments of the Torah. If they cannot be reinterpreted and understood as doing so, then unfortunately those passages are wrong. (Or, their correct interpretation has been lost, is unknown, etc.) It's that simple. "The Torah will stand forever."
Now, that's not to say that all of this is actually simple. It's not. And at the time, I became very confused. My world was turning upside down, and I didn't know what to do. Who could I talk to on a boat full of people with typical, Christian beliefs? And what commandments was I supposed to do? Was I to start keeping the Sabbath? Eating kosher food?
That's what I'll write about next.
Go to part 7...
Sunday, February 5, 2012
My Story: Part 4
My Story: Index
Continued from part 3...
I arrived back at Friend Ships in the summer of 2006.
When I got there, I was expecting to set sail for Israel almost right away. However, it turned out we had a bunch more work to do before we could leave.
I was part of the loading crew. I worked in the warehouse making pallet-loads of cargo and marking them for proper storage on the ship. We loaded several hundred pallets of clothing, medical supplies, toys, building material, and other stuff.
The ship was an old ammo ship from World War II. It was a bit longer than a football field, and housed a crew of 40-50 people. We repainted it before we left, and finally set sail in the fall of '06.
I shared a small room with 3 other guys. It had 2 sets of bunk beds and a small sink. The bathroom was down hall. Two of my roomies worked in the engine room, and the other worked on the bridge. I worked out on the deck crew.
We worked 7 days a week. The deck crew ran an 8am-5pm shift. The engine room and bridge crews, however, ran 3 rotating shifts, 24 hours a day. There was the 12-4 shift, the 4-8 shift, and the 8-12 shift. Whichever shift you had you worked both the AM and the PM hours, e.g. the 12-4 shift worked both 12am - 4am and 12pm - 4pm. So, you'd have 4 hours on, 8 hours off, 4 hours on, 8 hours off. 24/7.
It took us over a month to get to Israel. The ship was slow, the weather was bad, and... the ship was slow. I remember being out at sea and seeing much bigger cargo ships sail past us at 3 times our speed. I think our average speed was around 10 knots, which is a little faster than 10 miles per hour. Sometimes you'd look out over the rails and wonder, "are we even moving?" However, the constant knocking of the engine assured us that we were at least trying to move.
Life at sea was very simple. It was methodical. It was slow. It gave you time to read, to sit, to talk, to play games, to watch movies. I did a lot of reading and praying. Actually, I don't think I've ever prayed more than that in my entire life. The vast, ocean views inspired much prayer and reflection. I really loved that part about sea life.
When we got to Israel, it was sometime near the Day of Atonement, i.e. Yom Kippur. I must admit, though I prided myself on reading and knowing the Bible, I didn't know much about the Day of Atonement, nor any other Jewish holiday for that matter. I knew they were explained in the Bible, but they were in the Old Testament. At the time, I didn't care much for most of the Old Testament laws.
I had been to a Messianic Jewish Passover meal once or twice before, but other than that, I was pretty ignorant about Jewish practices. So, when the crew was allowed to get off the ship and do some site-seeing during the time of the Feast of Booths, i.e. Sukkot, I didn't know what to expect. I do remember thinking, however, that if only the Jews believed in Jesus, then they could put away the laws and practices of the Old Testament and get on God's program for today, the New Testament. Oh, how zealous and naive I was.
We spent about 40 days in Israel. We had encountered some delays, and for the most part, everyone loved the opportunity to be there and help. We got to travel, make some Jewish friends, eat at several nice, kosher restaurants, and, of course, spend time in Jerusalem. Actually, one of my most memorable experiences in Israel happened in Jerusalem. But that story requires a bit of setup...
At that point in my faith journey, I was extremely interested in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I had wondered if I ever was baptized in the Holy Spirit. Some Christians said that all Christians were baptized in the Holy Spirit when they first believed in Jesus and accepted Him into their hearts. Other Christians said that not every Christian gets baptized in the Holy Spirit, but rather God gives it to those who ask and seek after it. I found myself adopting the latter view. So, I made it a top goal of mine to pray that God would baptize me in the Holy Spirit. In the book of Acts, those who were baptized in the Holy Spirit spoke in tongues immediately afterward, as a kind of sign or proof that they indeed had received the baptism. So, that's what I prayed for. I can remember being down in the bowels of the ship somewhere, all by myself, and praying for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Then, I would let my mouth go limp and hope that God would take over and cause me to speak in tongues. At one point, I thought it may have started to happen to me, but then realized my mouth was moving due to the swaying of the ship. Dangit! So close!
One day, a group of us were walking around Jerusalem, just bumming around and hanging out. Somebody decided to take a turn down a street that very few people were walking on. This led us to some stairs, a few doorways, and eventually to a big room where some people were gathered. We asked around and found out that we were in the traditional "upper room" from the book of Acts. The "upper room" is the place where the disciples were gathered when, during the holiday of Pentecost, i.e. Shavuot, they were all baptized in the Holy Spirit! Surely, I thought, God was telling me that I'd soon be baptized in the Holy Spirit. I can remember being very excited about it. It never happened to me, however.
Go to part 5...
Continued from part 3...
I arrived back at Friend Ships in the summer of 2006.
When I got there, I was expecting to set sail for Israel almost right away. However, it turned out we had a bunch more work to do before we could leave.
I was part of the loading crew. I worked in the warehouse making pallet-loads of cargo and marking them for proper storage on the ship. We loaded several hundred pallets of clothing, medical supplies, toys, building material, and other stuff.
The ship was an old ammo ship from World War II. It was a bit longer than a football field, and housed a crew of 40-50 people. We repainted it before we left, and finally set sail in the fall of '06.
I shared a small room with 3 other guys. It had 2 sets of bunk beds and a small sink. The bathroom was down hall. Two of my roomies worked in the engine room, and the other worked on the bridge. I worked out on the deck crew.
We worked 7 days a week. The deck crew ran an 8am-5pm shift. The engine room and bridge crews, however, ran 3 rotating shifts, 24 hours a day. There was the 12-4 shift, the 4-8 shift, and the 8-12 shift. Whichever shift you had you worked both the AM and the PM hours, e.g. the 12-4 shift worked both 12am - 4am and 12pm - 4pm. So, you'd have 4 hours on, 8 hours off, 4 hours on, 8 hours off. 24/7.
It took us over a month to get to Israel. The ship was slow, the weather was bad, and... the ship was slow. I remember being out at sea and seeing much bigger cargo ships sail past us at 3 times our speed. I think our average speed was around 10 knots, which is a little faster than 10 miles per hour. Sometimes you'd look out over the rails and wonder, "are we even moving?" However, the constant knocking of the engine assured us that we were at least trying to move.
Life at sea was very simple. It was methodical. It was slow. It gave you time to read, to sit, to talk, to play games, to watch movies. I did a lot of reading and praying. Actually, I don't think I've ever prayed more than that in my entire life. The vast, ocean views inspired much prayer and reflection. I really loved that part about sea life.
When we got to Israel, it was sometime near the Day of Atonement, i.e. Yom Kippur. I must admit, though I prided myself on reading and knowing the Bible, I didn't know much about the Day of Atonement, nor any other Jewish holiday for that matter. I knew they were explained in the Bible, but they were in the Old Testament. At the time, I didn't care much for most of the Old Testament laws.
I had been to a Messianic Jewish Passover meal once or twice before, but other than that, I was pretty ignorant about Jewish practices. So, when the crew was allowed to get off the ship and do some site-seeing during the time of the Feast of Booths, i.e. Sukkot, I didn't know what to expect. I do remember thinking, however, that if only the Jews believed in Jesus, then they could put away the laws and practices of the Old Testament and get on God's program for today, the New Testament. Oh, how zealous and naive I was.
We spent about 40 days in Israel. We had encountered some delays, and for the most part, everyone loved the opportunity to be there and help. We got to travel, make some Jewish friends, eat at several nice, kosher restaurants, and, of course, spend time in Jerusalem. Actually, one of my most memorable experiences in Israel happened in Jerusalem. But that story requires a bit of setup...
At that point in my faith journey, I was extremely interested in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I had wondered if I ever was baptized in the Holy Spirit. Some Christians said that all Christians were baptized in the Holy Spirit when they first believed in Jesus and accepted Him into their hearts. Other Christians said that not every Christian gets baptized in the Holy Spirit, but rather God gives it to those who ask and seek after it. I found myself adopting the latter view. So, I made it a top goal of mine to pray that God would baptize me in the Holy Spirit. In the book of Acts, those who were baptized in the Holy Spirit spoke in tongues immediately afterward, as a kind of sign or proof that they indeed had received the baptism. So, that's what I prayed for. I can remember being down in the bowels of the ship somewhere, all by myself, and praying for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Then, I would let my mouth go limp and hope that God would take over and cause me to speak in tongues. At one point, I thought it may have started to happen to me, but then realized my mouth was moving due to the swaying of the ship. Dangit! So close!
One day, a group of us were walking around Jerusalem, just bumming around and hanging out. Somebody decided to take a turn down a street that very few people were walking on. This led us to some stairs, a few doorways, and eventually to a big room where some people were gathered. We asked around and found out that we were in the traditional "upper room" from the book of Acts. The "upper room" is the place where the disciples were gathered when, during the holiday of Pentecost, i.e. Shavuot, they were all baptized in the Holy Spirit! Surely, I thought, God was telling me that I'd soon be baptized in the Holy Spirit. I can remember being very excited about it. It never happened to me, however.
Go to part 5...
Sunday, June 12, 2011
An Argument for Sinai
Recently, I heard an argument given by Rabbi Gottlieb for the historicity of the biblical events of the book of Exodus, i.e. the Exodus from Egypt, the Revelation at Mt. Sinai, etc. I listened to this argument because I have been trying to complete a goal that I have, namely to figure out if we can know anything about God other than that God exists (and created the known universe, perhaps).
Anyway, I have some thoughts on the argument.
Anyway, I have some thoughts on the argument.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Documentary: The Bible Unearthed
This is an interesting video. I wonder how much of it is true.
I've heard that Professor Finkelstein is somewhat of a "lightening rod" for controversy. Some call him a biblical minimalist. However, he denies that he is one.
I appreciated the ending of the documentary. After painting a picture of early Israelite history that is vastly different than the one painted in the Torah, it ends on a hopeful note.
By the way, I'd like to stay more updated on the current status of biblical archeology. It would be nice to find some solid RSS feeds of quality, relevant information.
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