Summary of New Testament From a Jewish Point of View Class - 10/3/2022

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We were very glad to be back together after not meeting on Rosh Hashanah on Monday 9/26/22.  

Jo Ann, Dan, Steve, Karen, Merrill, Dave, David, Randy, Robin, and Norky attended.  

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

We delved into the first two chapters of the First Epistle of John, including the introduction from the Annotated Jewish New Testament. It was noted that themes like "light and darkness" which run through this letter mirror similar ideas running through some Jewish schools of thought. 

One question was "is there a difference between the Jewish view of sin and the Christian view of sin?" Steve pointed out that Jews view sin as "missing the mark" as in archery. The Christian view of sin has to do with "original sin" resulting from the sin of Adam in the garden of Eden. There was a discussion of what it meant for Christians in IJohn 1:9, that if we confess our sins God will forgive "all wrongdoing". Is this a blank check for sin?

Merrill asked "how do Jews receive forgiveness, according for Judaism?" We said part was asking for forgiveness from those we have wronged, and another part was asking God for forgiveness, especially on Yom Kippur.

In the epistle, there were statements that referred to obeying Jesus's commandments. It appears that the only commandment referred to is to love one another as he (Jesus) loved us.

Any corrections and or additions are welcomed!

Additions from Jo Ann:

We read the Anti Christ grey box.  Randy mentioned according to this that we are all anti christ types since we are Jewish and not Christian.  Robin brought up the Love Your Neighbor As Yourself idea in Judaism and pointed out that the idea that only Jews love other Jews is wrong and offensive.  We noted how different 1st John is from Paul’s letters.  We discussed all the Johns who are in the Bible.  It is confusing who is who and who wrote what!  We discussed that we are all children of Father Abraham.



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