*THE BIBLICAL VIEW OF ATONEMENT* *Hugh Fogelman*
* * Christians love to quote Jewish prophets in their altered Christian bible; picking and choosing certain verses to try supporting their claim of Jesus being a messiah. But for some childish reasons, they will dismiss any attempts by scholars when they point out that what Christians say is not what the Prophets wrote or that the Prophets did not write. One of the clearest indications that Christianity is off base in its insistence on the centrality of blood sacrifices is that NONE of the prophets speaks about it. There isn't one instance in the prophetic books where the Jewish people are told that to get right with God all they needed were blood sacrifices. What is the fundamental teaching of the Tanakh, the Jewish Bible on the issue of atonement? What theme is reiterated time and again by the holy prophets in the Jewish Bible? *"That every man will turn from his evil way, then I will forgive their iniquity and their sin." *(Jeremiah 36:3). ** *Nowhere was blood mentioned.* *"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."* (Isaiah 55:7) *Nowhere was blood mentioned.* *"I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, `I will confess my transgressions to the Lord', and You did forgive the guilt of my sin."* (Psalm 32:5) *Again, No blood! * *"And if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."* (II Chronicles 7:14) *No blood required.* * "But if the wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed and observes all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die. All his transgressions which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has practiced he shall live...When a wicked man turns away from his wickedness which he has committed and practices justice and righteousness, he will save his life...Repent and turn away from all your transgressions, so that iniquity may not become a stumbling block to you* (Ezekiel 18:21- 22, 27, 30) *Where is mentioned that blood was also required?* *"By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for..."* (Proverbs 16:6) *Blood?* *"If you return to God you will be restored; if you remove unrighteousness far from your tent...then you will delight in God..."* (Job 22:23-27) *No blood here.* *"Depart from evil, and do good, so you will abide forever**."* (Psalm 37:27, cf. Ezekiel 33, Zechariah 1:3, Jeremiah 26:13) *Do good, by blood?* The central teaching of the Hebrew Bible is that only a break with our past and a sincere turning in repentance can restore our relationships with God. If I go off the path, I have to put myself back on track, and God will forgive me. Even when sacrifices were offered, they in and of themselves did not effect atonement. The sacrifice was only apart of the process. The sacrifice helped bring us to the core of atonement that is achieved by TESHUVAH, returning to God by forsaking our evil ways and praying for forgiveness. One of the main teachings of the prophets was to reprimand Jewish people who thought that sacrifices were the essential element of atonement: *"What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me? says the Lord. I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed cattle. And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats...Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. Come let us reason together says the Lord, Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they will be like wool, if you consent and obey..."* (Isaiah 1:11-18) *"The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord."* (Proverbs 15:8) *"To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice." (Proverbs 21:3). "For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings."* (Hosea 6:6) *"Has the Lord as great a delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken more than the fat of rams."* (I Samuel 15:22) *"With what shall I come to the Lord, and bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams, in ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God."* (Micah 6:6-8,cf. Amos 5:22- 24, Jeremiah 7, Psalm 69:31-32) Since repentance, and not blood is the Biblical form of atonement, we now understand how in I Kings 8, Solomon explained that even if the Jewish people do not have access to the Temple, they still have access to God. This will illuminate a famous story found in the book of Jonah. God sends Jonah to the evil city of Ninveh to warn them of their impending destruction. Jonah does not come into the city and tell the people that unless they begin offering sacrifices they are doomed. Their response to his warnings is to repent: they fast, pray, and turn from their evil. What is God's response? *"When God saw their deeds that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them, and He did not do it."* (Jonah 3:10) In similar fashion, Daniel advised King Nebuchadnezzar on how to atone for his transgressions: *"Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you: Redeem your sins by doing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor**."*(Daniel 4:27) This principle will also help explain a passage in the book of Hosea. Hosea was a prophet to the 10 northern tribes in the kingdom of Israel during a time when there was a civil war going on between them and the two tribes of the kingdom of Judah in the south. Because of the strife, the tribes up north could not get to the Temple in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices. Did this leave them with no way of atoning for their sins? The prophet advises: *"Return, O **Israel**, to the Lord your God, For you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to Him, `Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously, for we will render as bullocks the offerings of our lips'."* (Hosea 14:1-2) We are able to approach God directly with prayer, which is possible at all times; and God assures us that sincere prayer can achieve forgiveness for our sins: *"Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O Lord, the God of my salvation. And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise. For You do not delight in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. These, O God, You will not despise."* (Psalms 51:14-17, re: II Samuel 12:13) *"I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving. This shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that has horns and hoofs."* (Psalm 69:30-31). *"For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You. Give ear, O Lord to my prayer, and give heed to the voice of my supplications."* (Psalm 86:5-6) *"And listen to the supplications of Your servant and of Your people ** Israel**, when they pray toward this place; hear from heaven Your dwelling place, hear and forgive."* (II Chronicles 6:21) Are Christians steadfast with the Jewish Bible when they claim that atonement is only possible with a blood sacrifice? Christians get this misconception when they incorrectly interpret Leviticus 17:11, the prohibition against eating blood. Did the Rabbis just make up the idea that we can restore our relationship with God through prayer and repentance? YOU DECIDE! --- Brief CV of Jusfiq Hadjar Jusfiq Hadjar, a christian, 66 years old, is an Indonesian living in the Netherlands. He currently lives together out of wed-lock with Marlene Van Doorn - a documentalist in African Studies Center (ASC) library - in Leiden. Jusfiq Hadjar has, thus far, succesfully deceived many NGOs into believing that he is a human rights activistist. One of the NGOs that has been trapped in his lies is a Muslim human rights group, the Movement against Racism and for Friendship among Peoples. Jusfiq Hadjar is very active in his campaigns against Islam and Muslims on the Internet, especially in several Indonesian mailing lists. He will spread massive amounts of offensive, slanderous, lying statements against Islam and Muslims day in and day out and at the same time claiming that he is a Muslim. Undoubtedly, Jusfiq Hadjar is one of those people who still thinks that adhering to a daily routine of cursing and swearing on the Internet would help to make him look intelligent and preserve his sanity. It shoots no wonder then if you find mosts of his writings on the Internet are just about cursing and swearing at Muslims and licking the ass of his christian friends. Jusfiq Hadjar has joined several mailing lists in order to spread his severe hatred against Islam and Muslim on the Internet: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islamkristen/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/apakabar/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/minangnet/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/istiqlal/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/partai-keadilan/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ijtihad/<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/partai-keadilan/> Marlene Van Doorn is very supportive of his life partner's evil activities on the Internet, and gives her financial support by providing him with meals, accomodation and Internet connection. He is also allegedly financed by Leiden church. He has no children. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Check out the new improvements in Yahoo! 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