Summary of New Testament From a Jewish Point of View Class - 9/19/2022

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Due to Rosh Hashanah on 9/26/2022 (we skipped studying together that day), JoAnn and Dan took their time getting the summary of what we discussed on 9/19/2022.  As usual, we had a lively discussion.

Jo Ann, Dan, Steve, Karen, David, Dave, Merill, Jessica, Kim, Randy, and Robin attended.  It was the first time Kim joined us and we were so glad to have her join in!

Below is a summary of what went on written by Dan:

We studied Philippians chapters 3-4 and finished this letter. One thing is clear, Paul really disliked those who said gentile men should undergo circumcision, calling them "dogs". He again boasted of his Jewish credentials (born of the tribe of Benjamin, etc.), then said he considered what he was before he had his encounter with Jesus to be "rubbish". We don't know exactly what he meant by that, but it is sure those words would be part of the process of believers in Jesus becoming a separate religion from Judaism.

Chapter 4 contained a notable order on what a person should think about (...whatever is true...etc.). Paul finally made a statement that he has learned to be content in his circumstances, whatever they should be.  Like many things he said, there are parallels in Jewish teaching. Given that Jewish teaching in the Talmud and other places is read largely by Jews, it can be said that the way Paul, and by extension, the New Testament conveys Jewish teaching, it reaches a much larger audience.

Dan mentioned that he heard a rabbi say of Christianity that "what was good is not new and what is new is not good". It is hard to dispute that good Jewish teaching given through the New Testament is still a good thing.

Additions from Jo Ann:  

We decided as a group that Paul’s letters are all so similar and we are anxious to read something other than what Paul wrote,  so we are going to skip to 1st John just so we get in a change of pace.

Merrill had some questions about what Rosh Hashanah was and we invited him to go to Temple Israel’s Tashlich service and to log into some of the online services at Temple Israel.  

We hope everyone had a good Rosh Hashanah and I think we all missed connecting on Monday 9/26/22.


Again, whatever I forgot to include in this summary add by hitting the comment button.

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