In this blog I want to say something that’s begging to be said. It has to do with the so-called AUTHORITY that’s supposed to lay at the foundation of all the “Jewish law” that the RABBIS supposedly ‘decreed’ over the course of the past 2 millennia since the destruction of the 2nd Temple in 70 AD. Let me come right out and say what’s on my mind, and at the end I’ll tell you a little story about an experience I had:
THERE AIN’T NO DIVINE AUTHORITY BEHIND JEWISH LAW, BECAUSE IT’S ALL MAN-MADE! SAME WITH CHURCH THEOLOGY, BUT THAT’S ANOTHER STORY! SAME WITH ALL GOVERNMENT LAW FROM ALL NATIONS AROUND THE WORLD FOR ALL TIME!
OK, so big deal! WHO CARES?! First, let me clarify so you don’t get the wrong idea:
THE RABBINIC LAW IS NOT GOD’S LAW, NEVER WAS, NEVER WILL BE.
Rabbinic law is MAN-MADE LAW, whereas God’s law COMES DIRECTLY FROM GOD. They are completely different. BURN THAT INTO YOUR HEAD! You find God’s law in the OT books of Moses, and you find God’s law coming out of the mouth of Jesus in the NT and in his life the way he lived before his government murdered him. That’s pretty much it. Now, when you have men (notice I said MEN, not women) who are DIRECTLY appointed by God or Jesus, you have men who also make DECREES or issue ORDERS that have authority that’s as binding as God’s law, unless they say so. Here’s an example from the Apostle Paul:
But to the rest I say, not the Lord … (1 Corinthians 7:12)
Paul’s saying, “this is MY OPINION, not Jesus’ law”. So, you can see the difference between LAW that’s authorized by God through HIS agents, and law that is NOT authorized by God and is NOT delivered through His agents. You can NEVER get law authorized by God through someone who is NOT His agent. But you can get law NOT authorized by God through someone who IS His agent (like Paul in the above quote). That kind of law could be good and it could be bad.
In the New Testament Paul condemns people who issue law when they are NOT authorized by God to be law-makers:
Therefore no one is to act as your judge … (Colossians 2:16)
I wish that those who are troubling you would even mutilate themselves. (Galatians 5:12)
Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; for we are the true circumcision … (Philippians 3:2-3)
There are many more statements in the NT like that.
You also see Paul condemn people who issue law when these people ARE authorized by God, but the laws they issue are NOT authorized by God:
But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. (Galatians 2:11)
Now, let’s make another distinction in the matter that’s got the church TOTALLY CONFUSED because they’ve been TOTALLY BRAINWASHED by CON MEN who operate in the higher realms of society (they control education and media with their money and power). When I talk about God’ law above, I’m NOT talking about MAN-MADE law. I’m definitely talking about the MOSAIC LAW. BURN THAT INTO YOUR HEAD!
When I was in Christiandumdum, I was brainwashed to believe that “GOD’S LAW IS NOT FOR TODAY”. That’s actually a saying that one of my professors used to shove down our throats repeatedly every class he lectured. I heard it day-in-and-day-out for ONE WHOLE SEMESTER. LOL … you can’t make this stuff up! But the fact is, THE MOSAIC LAW IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT FROM MAN-MADE LAW. That’s the key here. Paul, when he CONDEMNS “the law” in the NT, is NOT condemning the MOSAIC law. No. He’s condemning MAN-MADE LAW. He calls these laws “TRADITIONS”. The word the rabbis use for it is HALAKAH (spelling varies). So burn this into your mind:
WHEN PAUL CONDEMNS THE LAW IN THE NT, HE’S CONDEMNING MAN-MADE LAW, NOT THE MOSAIC LAW!
… I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions. (Galatians 1:14) [As you will read in Acts 8, those “traditions” involved LAW ENFORCEMENT!]
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. (Colossians 2:8) [This is NOT talking about “philosophy” like we know today, nor is it talking about “gnosticism”, no, it’s talking about LEGAL THEORY and all that fantasy nonsense of human ‘legal fiction’ designed by lawyer imagination and deceitful scheming]
By now, you should see that AT LEAST Paul in the NT condemns MAN-MADE law. He doesn’t condemn ALL man-made law, but only such law that is CONTRARY TO GOD’S LAW, starting with the JEWS. The matter of GENTILE law (which is ALL man-made) is a whole different topic from this, although based on the same principles. It will be discussed from time to time in other blogs, hopefully!
So, Paul’s NOT telling Christians to NOT obey the Mosaic law. Reread that until it SINKS IN. To reiterate what I said in previous blogs, God’s law is what you find in the Old Testament (Moses/Law, Prophets and Writings = TaNaK), AND the laws which Jesus and His Apostles decreed (which is called ‘halakah’) as found in the New Testament.
So WHAT am I saying here regarding RABBINIC LAW? You go it: I’m saying that the New Testament is of FAR GREATER AUTHORITY than so-called RABBINIC LAW (or as they say today, JEWISH LAW). THAT is what the NT ‘teaches’. You will see WHY when you think about the SOURCE of that law and its APPLICATION.
Now a quick reminder about the APPLICATION of God’s law. Remember I quoted this from one of John’s letters in a previous blog?
As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. (1 John 2:27)
The “anointing” is God’s Spirit living in your body. So when you have a situation that arises, you have an obligation to APPLY GOD’S LAW TO YOURSELF. 1 John 2:27 is telling you to NOT consult with rabbinic authorities, but to FIGURE IT OUT YOURSELF. That is precisely Paul’s view on it too. He says that the individual Christian and the Christian community have the ‘tools’ to arrive at good APPLICATIONS of God’s law for both the individual and the community (including your family). You find the community aspect of this in 2 Corinthians 3, and the individual aspect of it in his many exhortations to “walk in the Spirit”. John’s terminology for this same thing is “light vs. darkness”. So when it comes to APPLYING God’s law to your life and your family, YOU HAVE GOD’S INDWELLING HOLY SPIRIT TO HELP YOU FIGURE IT OUT. And you also have the COMMUNITY (if there is one that you meet with) to help you too.
So that makes the ‘rabbinic authority’ OBSOLETE for Christians. And remember that MOST of the early Christians were JEWS. So that means, for JEWS, the ‘rabbinic authority’ is OBSOLETE, and JESUS IS THE ANSWER. They only need to have God’s Spirit in them and belong to a law-abiding community of Christ’s people. Not so difficult to comprehend, eh?
Now let me show you a text I got out of Ephraim E. Urbach’s book, “The Halakha” that says the RABBIS HAVE NO DIVINE AUTHORITY. Let me rephrase that. Urbach says in his book that GOD HAS NOT AUTHORIZED RABBINIC LAW. When you study the rabbinic laws, and see what they base their ‘reasoning’ on, you will be SHOCKED at how ABSURD most of it is, especially if you believe in modern day Biblical hermeneutics. Check out for yourself what Urbach says:
MOSES’ TAKKANOT
In the case cited above, as in the other cases in which takkanot and halakhot are attributed to heroes of the past, the traditions are not based on exact historical investigations but rather constitute an etiological utilization of specific historic situations in order to explain the background reasons of laws and give them authority by way of their supposed legislators. It would appear that the takkanot, which are attributed to Moses, Joshua or David were so attributed because they jibed with their activities.
… With regard to matters hinted at in the Torah, such as … it is stated that “Moses instituted the seven days of fasting and the seven days of mourning” (TJ Ketubbot 1:1, 8a). These were very ancient customs which are nowhere explicitly enjoined in the Torah, but arise out of narratives. They too are called takkanot. (page 25, bold emphasis added)
What’s he saying? He’s saying that the rabbis based all their takkanot (legislation) on THEIR OWN SPECULATION of what the situation they read about in the OT involved. There was NO EVIDENCE in the OT text of legislation done by God (or Moses) that authorizes their new law or it’s application. In other words, everything the rabbis say is based on IMAGINATION and FANTASY. Remember that.
OK, so what? Well … here’s what’s so important about that: THE WHOLE OF MODERN “JEWISH” SOCIETY IS BUILT ON THE FOUNDATION OF RABBINIC LAW. Do I have to explain the implications of that to you? OK, I’ll say it: All moderns Jews are living in a fantasy of man-made imagination! Sounds like American society brainwashed by HOLLYWOOD, eh?
Now here’s what a modern Jewish analyst says about what’s currently called JEWISH ANTI-MISSIONARY ACTIVITY:
In this article, I argue that the authors and the redactors of this
passage (and others related to it) chose to introduce it into the talmudic
corpus for its didactic value and to serve as deterrents. Their goal was to
warn readers not to imitate the characters who maintained contacts with
Judeo-Christians. The characters in these passages serve as a warning
for the rabbinic reader to avoid all forms of rapprochement with Judeo-
Christians. Furthermore, the redactors used these texts to bolster their
own legitimacy and to encourage readers to avoid those who dissented
from the normative society they wished to establish. (ARRESTED BY MINUTH:
THE JEWISH-CHRISTIANS AS REPRESENTED IN TALMUDIC AGGADAH, Dan Jaffé,
Bar-Ilan University
What’s this guy saying? He’s saying the rabbis ‘sling mud’ on and ‘persecute’ Jews who abandon Judaism for Christianity, which serves as a lesson to all future persons who contemplate associating with Christians and considering defecting to Christianity. You can find all kinds of HONESTY like this from the Hassids too, about modern Zionism. You can find a lot more of this stuff about Jesus in the rabbis by honest rabbis too (which are few and far between). But the fact remains, POLITICS LAYS AT THE HEART OF ALL THIS DUE TO THE POWER AND MONEY INVOLVED (personal security and ego). Incidentally, “MINUTH” means HERETIC. ALL the rabbinic literature considered Jesus the arch heretic, a false prophet, a deceiver, all of which are CAPITAL CRIMES in Judaism.
Now compare that with what Jesus says in of Matthew 7 on the matter of WHO’S LAW YOU FOLLOW (Jesus lived before the rabbis, but not before the rabbis’ mentors [the SAGES]):
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26 Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” 28 When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; 29 for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
What’s Jesus saying here? OBEY ME NOT THEM. But who’s them? Those ‘in authority’ who tell you to disobey God’s law but follow THEIR law. Let me tell you one of God’s laws so you can see what I mean. Exodus 22 and Deuteronomy 23 prohibit CHARGING INTEREST to a fellow countrymen. Think about the implications if every Christian in America obeyed that law. What would it mean for those in finance, banking, business, INVESTMENTS, etc? Where would the rich get their riches and profits? Get the point? And that’s only ONE of God’s laws! What about REMISSION OF ALL DEBTS at the 50 year cycle (Leviticus 25)? OK, enough of that. No sense is getting all worked up at American lawlessness!
In contrast, here’s a quote from a typical American Jewish lawyer:
While some scholars treat such citations to the Bible as direct evidence of Jewish influence on modern law, we limit our evidence to non-Christian Jewish sources and do not define these uses of the Bible as Jewish sources of English law. The literal meanings adopted by the early Colonials and believed by many Evangelical groups today are derived from a literal reading of the first five books of the Bible, but they are not Jewish. From the time of the first redaction of the Oral Law starting around 200 C.E. [A.D.], which, by Jewish tradition, derives from the law handed to Moses at Mt. Sinai, such literalism is not the Law. To be considered Jewish law for the purposes of our analysis, the usage must have derived from Jewish sources as interpreted by the then contemporaneous Jewish legal authorities, which, from Roman times to the present, would be the literal words of the Five Books of Moses as interpreted by Talmud or reinterpreted by later redactors, codifiers, and interpreters. Three of the largest world religions have laid reasonable claims to ownership of the Old Testament, and, indeed, each has renamed it and re-interpreted it. We cite Biblical law as evidence only where it is interpreted as Jewish law would apply it. (Jewish Roots of English Property Law – Sternberg Law, pp 8-9, bold emphasis added)
Check out that last line, “We cite Biblical law as evidence ONLY WHERE IT IS INTERPRETED AS JEWISH LAW WOULD APPLY IT. In other words, Jews in power today do not recognize ANY law or interpretation that claims to be “Jewish” UNLESS THEY THEMSELVES SAY SO! Sounds like the Amerikan federal government, esp. the federal Treasury! And notice that other line, “To be considered Jewish law … the usage must have derived from Jewish sources as interpreted by the then contemporaneous Jewish legal authorities, which, from Roman times to the present, would be the literal words of the Five Books of Moses as interpreted by Talmud or reinterpreted by later redactors, codifiers, and interpreters.” In other words, UNLESS JEWISH AUTHORITIES SAY IT’S LAW, THEN IT AIN’T! Also implied is, when we Jews DO say IT’S LAW, then YOU HAD BETTER OBEY IT, OR ELSE! Talk about ARROGANCE! How about about PROTECTING THEIR LIVELIHOOD as ‘lawmakers’ and bureaucrats?! You can see how the laws benefit the rabbinic caste and not necessarily the common people.
Finally, let’s just affirm what Jesus said in his “sermon on the mount” about God’s law:
For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. (Matthew 5:18)
Notice he says “LAW”, not PROPHECY. Churchians try to make this out to be a reference to UNFULFILLED PROPHECY, because they HATE the idea of obeying God’s law. But the OBVIOUS conclusion is, it’s talking about GOD’S LAW. Why? BECAUSE IT SAYS SO, duh!
As we saw in my previous blogs, the NT is full of references to God’s law vs. man-made law, and that DUE TO OUR COVENANT OBLIGATIONS, we Christians are obligated to obey God’s law. And that’s that!
OK, in closing let me tell you a little story from my past about this rabbinic stuff. Back in the early 80’s when I went to Israel to study the Bible, I took a class in RABBINICS. I was all gung-ho about learning it, because I thought it was important. After all, who studies in Israel where all he Yeshivas are, and doesn’t know anything about RABBINICS?! So I took Hannah Safrai’s course. I still have the book she handed out with the rabbinic texts she discussed. Here’s what was important about that little event in my life:
I HAD NO IDEA WHAT SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT!
I laughingly recall times during class when I would turn to my buddies and ask what she was talking about. They just told me “SHUSH!, PAY ATTENTION!!”. LOL! I’m betting they didn’t understand ONE BIT OF IT. A couple of my buddies who took the same class told me later that they got absolutely nothing out of that class. Couldn’t understand what she was talking about. The reason: It made no sense at all. LOL! Didn’t I say that from day-1?
Anyways, here’s my point: RABBINIC LAW CONSISTS OF PURE TRADITION THAT’S MEMORIZED BY THE AUTHORITIES. It’s no different from today’s STARE DECISIS in American law. If you can’t quote the most recent court cases, they blow you off. If THEY didn’t say it, then GET LOST! But anybody with any common sense can see what this is. It’s a man-made system of CONTROL over those who are on the outside of the system. It’s also, according to Beardsley Rumel, a mechanism of SOCIAL ENGINEERING. But in the end, it all amounts to GARBAGE. If you know anything about social engineering, and the role that stare decisis plays in social engineering, you will know what I mean. If you don’t, then do some reading and find out. You will be DISGUSTED, if you have any sense of morality. That would make all who play such evil games SOCIOPATHS, enemies of society.
So basically, rabbinic law benefits only one group of people: THE RABBIS (the law-makers) and their BENEFACTORS. It’s no different today in the American government at all levels: The laws benefit only those who make the laws and those who command them to make the laws. It all boils down to APPEARANCES. They have to make their CRIMINAL ACTIVITY LOOK LEGITIMATE BY HIDING IT BEHIND THE LAW. Let me end by quoting a Jewish friend: “Those who make the laws, make the laws, for those who make the laws.”
Enough said!
See you in the next blog!
Reality Bible 