Probably would have been better to try to tackle the most abused book of the Xtian bible some time when I'd had a little more sleep and wasn't heaving bilious bits of burnt-car smoke out of my lungs, but as it is, I am trying to read it now. And it is pissing me off. Actually, it's not the apostle Paul who is such a pain in the ass, but all the hateful cretins since him who have taken his words and twisted them in very specific, manipulative ways to make them mean something they did not.
For one thing, I have spent my entire conscious life as a Jew and I don't ever recall being told in any way shape or form that if I didn't adhere perfectly to The Law that I was going to hellfire and damnation. I think the understanding that you can't be perfect is IMPLICIT in Judaism, whereas standard Xtian exegesis is that we are expected to be perfect, but it's impossible, so we're all screwed without Jesus. What an obnoxious crock. Where is that coming from? Not Paul, or at least not here.
Secondly, I can't stand this whole Xtian idea of "justification." It's so snotty. Jews are redeemed. We're not justified. And doesn't that make more sense? Because it's extraordinarily difficult, virtually impossible to be a tzaddik, to be perfect, we fail in our various ways and fall short and must be redeemed through God's love and mercy. Not like someone has to intercede for us and justify or explain us. And we're not redeemed solely on the basis of our works. Please. Get real. That would sort of qualify as setting a stumbling block before a blind man, would it not? We have to have faith, just as Avinu Avraham did. God has mercy. There is no justice without mercy. Faith and works. What is this Xtian insistance on bifurcation? It's not either/or. It's BOTH, people. BOTH.
And interpretive problems are one thing, selectivity is one thing. Then there are the absolute complete revisions, simply changing one word for another because it better suits the interpreter's message of hate or disparagement. It is absolutely appalling. The revisionism in this religion is hideous. Thank God there are some Xtians who still read The Law and make some attempt to understand the basis of their god's moral program. Thank God there are some who can read Greek and Hebrew and who have some kind of conscience about the propaganda in their little best seller. Of course, not that it matters that much, now, after 2,000 years of telling lies to the faithful, what difference is it really going to make now if a few biblical scholars come clean on what the Bible really says.
For instance, in Romans 11:26, it quotes Isaiah 59:20 as saying, "The deliverer will come from Zion, he will remove ungodliness from Jacob," supposedly establishing scriptural support for the Xtian notion that the Messiah will take away our sins. Unfortunately, the Hebrew in Isaiah 59:20 actually says the opposite: "A redeemer will come to Zion and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob, declares the Lord." The Messiah's role is not to take away our sins; rather, when we turn away from our sins, the Messiah will then come! Helloooooo?? Man, that is just some brass exegetical balls.
At least some Xtians are taking a look at the legacy of lies they've been raised on and trying to sort the fiction out of it. http://www.rabbisaul.com/doersoflaw.htm Because the way this stuff has been translated into a hateful screed against Jews is absolutely remarkable. The sky is green. The world is flat.
I am flabbergasted.
