Nearly 20 years ago my book, The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others, was published. The essential theme of that book was that the combination of the Jewish creedal Shema, along with a text to love your neighbors from the book of Leviticus, Expressed the heart of Jesus Kingdom vision when it came to following the law of Moses. There is, of course, nothing in the Jesus Creed that is not found already deep in the Torah. It seems reasonable that Jesus joined others perhaps Hillel, in finding a shortened core that expressed the heart of the Jewish way of life.
Reading the OT I’ve often commented to myself there is an awful lot of grace shown by God, more so that my Protestant upbringing taught me. God being Love I’d expect to that Love in the OT from the very beginning.
RE: Forgiveness - would forgiveness from God be unique in Christianity? Do the Jews see themselves as still being in exile? Waiting for their messiah to bring justice, healing, forgiveness?
This is clarifying! The false binary that, "Judaism is about law and justice, and Christianity is about love and grace" sets up non-Tov, and even abusive Christian leadership. Not only as, "They're bad, we're good; they don't get it, we get it", but far more insidiously, "We're not the Pharisees, they are" (read, "We're the grace and love people, so do what I say and I'll be nice", and, "If your husband cheated on you and comes into my office and cries, then you need to forgive him because we are not about justice, we are about grace; if you can't forgive your husband in his (self-absorbed) tears, then you are living by the law, not by grace". Y-U-K.
Reading the OT I’ve often commented to myself there is an awful lot of grace shown by God, more so that my Protestant upbringing taught me. God being Love I’d expect to that Love in the OT from the very beginning.
RE: Forgiveness - would forgiveness from God be unique in Christianity? Do the Jews see themselves as still being in exile? Waiting for their messiah to bring justice, healing, forgiveness?
This is clarifying! The false binary that, "Judaism is about law and justice, and Christianity is about love and grace" sets up non-Tov, and even abusive Christian leadership. Not only as, "They're bad, we're good; they don't get it, we get it", but far more insidiously, "We're not the Pharisees, they are" (read, "We're the grace and love people, so do what I say and I'll be nice", and, "If your husband cheated on you and comes into my office and cries, then you need to forgive him because we are not about justice, we are about grace; if you can't forgive your husband in his (self-absorbed) tears, then you are living by the law, not by grace". Y-U-K.
Thank you Scott, this really sounds like a great book to read( listen to😀)
How timely. Happy Passover