What was the religion of Jesus?

[vajradhara]

i've never really posed this question to a group of various demonations of Christians and i would be very interested to hear your opinions on this, to my mind, important question.

there are several follow up questions to this one, though i shall save them for the approprate time to ask, if you all don't mind.

~compassionately~

 

[Jedi]

Jesus was a Jew. He clearly supported the Jewish scriptures, went to the Jewish temple, was born to Jewish parents, etc. Have you ever seen the bumper sticker saying, "My boss is a Jewish carpenter?" Yep, that's Jesus.

 

[Composer]

Jesus was a Jew. He clearly supported the Jewish scriptures, went to the Jewish temple, was born to Jewish parents, etc. Have you ever seen the bumper sticker saying, "My boss is a Jewish carpenter?" Yep, that's Jesus.

Composer responds: Jesus came first for the Jews but because they mostly rejected him, the Gentiles were "grafted" into God's Flock -

But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile : { Gentile : Gr. Greek} 11 For there is no respect of persons with God. (Rom. 1:10-11) KJS

 

[vajradhara]

Namaste,

thank you for the replies.

there are several schools of Jewish practice, to which one did He adhere, if He did, in fact, adhere to one?

thank you in advance

 

[Atkin]

Namaste,

thank you for the replies.

there are several schools of Jewish practice, to which one did He adhere, if He did, in fact, adhere to one?

thank you in advance

Jesus did not agree with the Jews in aspects of faith.

The fact that He was a Jew does not mean He believed and taught Judaism

Jesus did not come to teach the world Judaism, He taught that He was the way , the truth and the light and no one gets to God but through Jesus

Of course the Jews (vast majority) did not believe Jesus hence
Jesus was crucified. The Pharisees and many Jews cannot accept that Jesus, whom they saw was just a human, could claim that humans should pray in his name to God.

If Jews and Jesus shared similar faith, why did Jesus call the many Jews who rejected him vipers, seed of the serpent.

Jesus taught that He was the way to God.

Jews mainly believe that Moses's covenant cannot allow the name of Jesus to used when praying to God, for Jesus is not the Jewish Messiah.
If the majority of Jews believed Jesus over 1900 yrs ago, Jesus would not have been crucified.

Jews like John, James, Peter, and the few Christian faith Jews, believed Christ and shared his faith.

The vast majority of Jews did not believe Christ hence they had a different faith, Judaism which does not have Christ as God in flesh.

The Jews do not believe Christ is God in flesh but God states that Christ is God in flesh.

 

[saad]

Jesus was a Muslim, he followed Islam. Just curious, if he were a Jew, then why do Christians worship him?

 

[vajradhara]

a "Jew" is someone that practices the Jewish faith, it is not a racial moniker, though it has been co-opted to be one by people that try to minimize, categorize and otherwise devalue the religion.

there are no "jew genes" to be found.

nevertheless, that's not really germane to the discussion, in my view.

my question is really more towards determining, if possible, what Jesus practiced as a religion. i'm not convinced that it can be done, however, i'd like to try as the question is important to me.

 

[Atkin]

Jesus was a Muslim, he followed Islam. Just curious, if he were a Jew, then why do Christians worship him?

Christians worship the God of ISRAEL (and Jesus is God in flesh) because Israel [as Jacob was named by God], is the father of the Christian Church. God lived as Jesus on earth, very easy for God as he is omnipotent and can live in various forms as THE SAME ONE GOD, WIND, CLOUDS etc and Jesus instructed humans to pray IN HIS NAME TO GOD but Jesus is God in flesh and one with God as well so people get confused but it is quite simple really. Jesus in flesh was slightly lower than the angels for a while but after resurrection, was HEAVENLY BEING and is still is today.
The term jew and jewish faith is not relevant as the TERM ISRAEL AND ISRAELITE. the Jews of 500BC WERE descended from the Israelites and
were named JEWS AT THAT TIME. GOD DID NOT NAME JEWS JEWS
GOD STARTED OFF BY NAMING JACOB ISRAEL and from jacob through david etc CAME JESUS THE ISRAELITE (called Jew since Israelites had been labelled jews after losing their kingdom due to idolatry and evil.

The term Jew is not as relevant as terms like TRIBE OF JUDAH. JESUS'S TRIBE, EPHRAIM, MANNASSEH ETC.
Jesus taught humans how to worship God by living as a human being.

Jesus as God in flesh did not place emphasis on what His faith was.

I mean what is the faith of God? Nonsensical question indeed.

Jesus did not live as a ruling King hence many may assume He had a faith. In order to TEACH HUMANS, JESUS lived as a mere mortal for a while.

Jesus prayed to God in order to teach humans how to pray to God but Jesus does not have a faith per say for HE IS GOD IN FLESH.

Many confuse jesus's human life with that of a human being worshipping God, when Jesus simplified his life simply for the purpose of teaching humans how to pray and interact with God.

 

[vajradhara]

Namaste atkin,

thank you for the post, it's very informational.

so, we cannot say "what is the religion of God", though we can ask, in which way did Jesus instruct us to live and to worship God, can we not? the answer to that will allow us to emulate Jesus, as much as possible, and allow us to worship properly.

here's another bit that always sat funny with me...

Jesus as fully human and fully God.

the idea, if i understand it correctly, is that Jesus is fully human to atone for our sins, correct? well... that's what the crucifixition was about.... however, since Jesus is fully God that's not really a "complete" human, for humans are endowed with original sin, and we cannot say that Jesus was contaminated with original sin, can we?

ergo, since Jesus and humans are different, humans can never expect to duplicate Jesus therefore creating a situation where the average human continually feels inadequate and worthless. a certain sense of disenfranchisement sets in when we realize that Jesus really could not die (being fully God) to atone for our sins (God sacrificing God). even if we could accept that Jesus did die for our sins, we've already established that Jesus is God and we, as mere humans are not. thus Jesus and the rest of humanity are seperated by something that is inconceivable (God) and fails therefore, to represent "humanity" to God.

my logic is probably flawed here, so please feel free to correct me

 

[saad]

Allah is not the God of Israel only, He is the God of all and everything.

 

[Sean524]

yes, we, as humans are all sinful. That doesn't mean you can't be human and sinless at the same time. Sin IS a universal thing in humanity right now, but sin is not inherent in human identity from the beginning. God created humans perfect, He didn't program us with a sinful nature. We are responsible for that.

On the contrary, Jesus was the ONLY complete human. He was the perfect man, the way humans are supposed to be. The way that God intended when He created us.

Because of our sin, we are all incomplete. We are all lacking in true, Godly manhood.

 

[vajradhara]

yes, we, as humans are all sinful. That doesn't mean you can't be human and sinless at the same time. Sin IS a universal thing in humanity right now, but sin is not inherent in human identity from the beginning. God created humans perfect, He didn't program us with a sinful nature. We are responsible for that.

On the contrary, Jesus was the ONLY complete human. He was the perfect man, the way humans are supposed to be. The way that God intended when He created us.

Because of our sin, we are all incomplete. We are all lacking in true, Godly manhood.

Namaste Sean524,

thank you for the reply...

but, but, but ... there's the problem right there again. Jesus doesn't have sin, yet all humans do therefore, Jesus isn't "completely" human for He lacks the element of sin within Him. however, i think that this is an ongoing discussion on another thread on this forum..

in a way, i guess my question is asking this...

is it possible to be a Christian by simply reading the Bible and believing in the words therein or does one need to adhere to a creed, like the Nicean Creed, for instance?

 

[Atkin]

Namaste atkin,

thank you for the post, it's very informational.

so, we cannot say "what is the religion of God", though we can ask, in which way did Jesus instruct us to live and to worship God, can we not? the answer to that will allow us to emulate Jesus, as much as possible, and allow us to worship properly.

here's another bit that always sat funny with me...

Jesus as fully human and fully God.

the idea, if i understand it correctly, is that Jesus is fully human to atone for our sins, correct? well... that's what the crucifixition was about.... however, since Jesus is fully God that's not really a "complete" human, for humans are endowed with original sin, and we cannot say that Jesus was contaminated with original sin, can we?

ergo, since Jesus and humans are different, humans can never expect to duplicate Jesus therefore creating a situation where the average human continually feels inadequate and worthless. a certain sense of disenfranchisement sets in when we realize that Jesus really could not die (being fully God) to atone for our sins (God sacrificing God). even if we could accept that Jesus did die for our sins, we've already established that Jesus is God and we, as mere humans are not. thus Jesus and the rest of humanity are seperated by something that is inconceivable (God) and fails therefore, to represent "humanity" to God.

my logic is probably flawed here, so please feel free to correct me

We need to go into Genesis 2 here. Actually, it really helps to understand Genesis 2 properly in order to grasp the rest of the Bible.
In Genesis 2 we have the humans, Adam and Eve created WITHOUT SIN. That is a very important fact you must not miss. They spoke directly with God, had conversations one on one etc and were sinless.
Sin came in later in Genesis 3 hence humans are not sinful, but fell into sin later which was passed on HOWEVER, the likes of Enoch were taken up to Heaven directly .. God found no fault with him Genesis 5:24

Hence Jesus is a latter type of Adam but He is God in flesh different from Adam. Adam was a sinless human UNTIL HE SINNED. A SINLESS HUMAN is similar to a sinful human WHO HAS ACCEPTED CHRIST AS his/her personal saviour thus cleansing His/her sins and genuinely maintaining a clean sinless life by daily communicating with God and expressing repentance genuinely through Christ.
Jesus is fully God and human , God's miracles may not ne easily understood by humans example How did God create Adam from red earth? Analyse certain actions of God may require some other comparisons.

Feel free to ask for clarification if necessary.

 

[Atkin]

Allah is not the God of Israel only, He is the God of all and everything.

Exactly. Jesus is God in flesh. God of everything in flesh .

When Jesus returns, you will understand better.
Christians pray in the name of Christ (God in flesh), the Israelite of the tribe of Judah, to God.

 

[Composer]

Sean524 wrote: He (Jesus) was the perfect man, the way humans are supposed to be. The way that God intended when He created us.

Composer responds: Where does it state that Man was created Perfect, Scriptures please?

NO Man is Perfect, including Jesus. Proof: -

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Rom. 3:23) KJS

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned : {for that: or, in whom} (Rom. 5:12) KJS

Jesus "inherited" the Adamic cursed nature that ALL men possess.

That is why Jesus had to die, for that inherited nature, but Jesus DID NOT remain Dead, for God was well pleased with the fact that Jesus DID NO ADDED Sins, to those he inherited.

The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23) KJS

If Jesus had no sins in him at all then he would not have died.

Substituting himself for the sins of others is a false example for us and we can not possibly "follow Christ's EXAMPLE", if he has already substituted himself for our sins.

Jesus was the perfct EXAMPLE of how we might likewise overcome our own inherited sins as Jesus overcame his own, by doing NO ADDED sins. Proof: -

For ‡ to this you were called ; Because even ‡ Christ suffered on your behalf, ‡ leaving you a Copy, so that you may follow in his FOOTSTEPS ; 22 ‡ who committed no Sin ; neither was Deceit found in his MOUTH ; (1 Pet. 2:21-22) Diaglott Original NT Greek Text.

 

[Lion & the Lamb]

Jesus Was The Fulfillment Of The Many Prophesies Concerning Him In The Old Testament As The Messiah...

 

[Lion & the Lamb]

Absolutely Wrong Composer!

There You Go Again Foolishly Misquoting The Scriptures.

Jesus Christ Had To Be Sinless In Order To Be The Perfect Sacrifice For Sins. Or Else There Was No Point For Him Coming Into The World. He Came To Seek And To Save That Which Was Lost -luke 19:10. Yet He Himself Was Not Lost, You And I Were!

 

[vajradhara]

folks... please keep in mind what this thread is going on about... no need to toss scripture at each other...

it's a fairly straight forward topic thread

atkin,

thank you for the post.

whilst adam may have been created without sin, each other human that came after ward inherits his sin, do they not?

 

[Jedi]

NO Man is Perfect, including Jesus.

Your proof is left wanting. Jesus was more than a man (Colossians 2:9). 1 Peter 1:19 describes Jesus as a lamb "without blemish or defect." I'd hardly describe an imperfect being this way. Paul expressed the unanimous belief of the early church that Christ "had no sin" (2 Corinthians 5:21), and the writer of Hebrews says that Christ was tempted as a man, "Yet was without sin" (Hebrews 4:25). Jesus himself once challenged his accusers, "Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?" (John 8:46). In light of these verses, the "all" being spoken of in the verses you provided apply to all mankind rather than God Himself.

 

[Sean524]

yes, I agree with Jedi and Lion & the Lamb. Jesus was not incomplete in His humanness. He was the only perfect example of what it SHOULD mean to be REALLY human.

Also, one doesn't have to adhere to any extra-Biblical creeds to be a Christian.