On Mon, 13 Dec 2004 19:21:35 -0800, Patti Goebel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Hi Gilberto, > > Please allow me to jump in here. I think it might be useful to look at how > Christ "fulfilled" the law of Moses: Hello Patti, I think personally I think my understanding of the relation between Jesus and Judaism played some part in terms of the train of thought which led to Islam, and I see that it is a bit different with how Bahais tend to see the relation between Jesus and Judaism. > > "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come > to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth > pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be > fulfilled." Matthew 5:17-18 Gilberto: Right. I would tend to read that in a more strightforward way. Jesus was an observant Jew (Torah observer) and taught his disciples to do the same. He taught his followers to keep the law. But perhaps his understanding of the law may have been different from that of those people around him. Patti: > It seems that you are running into the same issue that came up way back > then. Christ abrogated many of the social laws of Moses--eg. the Sabbath; Gilberto: I don't think he necessarily abrogated it. For example, in one passage in the new testament where this comes up: Mark 2 [23] One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. [24] And the Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?" So first note that its the Pharisees who are *accusing* Jesus of breaking the Sabbath. And the Pharisees are not necessarily the best people to consult in trying to understand Jesus, right? Anyway, what does Jesus do? What he does is he gives his actions a context and points to a precedent from the Old Testament. [25] And he said to them, "Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: [26] how he entered the house of God, when Abi'athar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?" [27] And he said to them, "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; He doesn't say that the Sabbath has been abolished, he is just showing the people to keep the rules in their proper perspective. And Matthew 23 is another good example of some of these ideas. [1] Then said Jesus to the crowds and to his disciples, [2] "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; [3] so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. So even while criticizing the Pharisees, Jesus is telling people to continue to obey the commandments they gave. And again more specifically: [23] "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, ***without neglecting the others***. He doesn't say the little rules are abolished, but just that more important matters should take precedence. Keep things in perspective. Peace Gilberto "My people are hydroponic" __________________________________________________ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:archive@mail-archive.com To unsubscribe, send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, use subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web - http://list.jccc.edu/read/?forum=bahai-st News - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Public - http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.net New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.edu
