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Do the Jews have a deeper knowledge of scriptures?


MarieMonteiro

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Hello everybody,

 

The title of this question does not describe exactly what my question is about, but I could not put it any better way.

 

So my question is, has any of you ever been to the messianic, hebrew branch of Christianity, or even noahide or orthodox jew, studied with a great rabbi, went into deep, deep meanings of the Bible (hidden prophecies, Kabbalah, gematria etc) and still rejected everything afterward and became an agnostic/atheist? 

 

Thank you 

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Is that you, Fungi?

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4 hours ago, MarieMonteiro said:

Hello everybody,

 

The title of this question does not describe exactly what my question is about, but I could not put it any better way.

 

So my question is, has any of you ever been to the messianic, hebrew branch of Christianity, or even noahide or orthodox jew, studied with a great rabbi, went into deep, deep meanings of the Bible (hidden prophecies, Kabbalah, gematria etc) and still rejected everything afterward and became an agnostic/atheist? 

 

Thank you 

 

On another site there is a Jewish lady that converted from Christianity 40 or so years ago. She is very knowledgeable about Judaism. We communicate regularly and have for several years.

 

I would say that she would qualify as an expert in both Christianity and Judaism. I have learned a lot from her about both religions. I don’t think Jewish people know scripture better than Christians. I would say they understand it differently. Christians generally read/interpret their Bible literally. 

 

Jews read and interpret scripture symbolicly, and interpret the same scripture in numerous ways. In fact, as I understand it, they seek as many ways as possible to interpret scripture believing that each scripture can have many meanings.

 

She is an acknowledged agnostic. She has pointed out that one does not have to believe in God to be a Jew, but if a Jew believes in God they “encourage” that belief to be in the God of Abraham. 

 

That doesn’t really answer your question it’s just my .02 cents that I’m throwing into the pot. 

 

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2 hours ago, Geezer said:

 

On another site there is a Jewish lady that converted from Christianity 40 or so years ago. She is very knowledgeable about Judaism. We communicate regularly and have for several years.

 

I would say that she would qualify as an expert in both Christianity and Judaism. I have learned a lot from her about both religions. I don’t think Jewish people know scripture better than Christians. I would say they understand it differently. Christians generally read/interpret their Bible literally. 

 

Jews read and interpret scripture symbolicly, and interpret the same scripture in numerous ways. In fact, as I understand it, they seek as many ways as possible to interpret scripture believing that each scripture can have many meanings.

 

She is an acknowledged agnostic. She has pointed out that one does not have to believe in God to be a Jew, but if a Jew believes in God they “encourage” that belief to be in the God of Abraham. 

 

That doesn’t really answer your question it’s just my .02 cents that I’m throwing into the pot. 

 

 

Thank you! That helps.

 

Do you know if she was an orthodox Jew (before being a Christian) or if she went to yeshiva or studied with a rabbi? 

 

I would be very curious to hear about someone who got out of it. I searched online but could find no testimony. The very few teachings I saw were so deep in their meanings (gematria, hidden prophecies, etc) that I was impressed. But, I am not a skeptical person, on the opposite, I am of the super gullible kind. Ugh. 

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7 hours ago, MarieMonteiro said:

 

Thank you! That helps.

 

Do you know if she was an orthodox Jew (before being a Christian) or if she went to yeshiva or studied with a rabbi? 

 

I would be very curious to hear about someone who got out of it. I searched online but could find no testimony. The very few teachings I saw were so deep in their meanings (gematria, hidden prophecies, etc) that I was impressed. But, I am not a skeptical person, on the opposite, I am of the super gullible kind. Ugh. 

 

She was a Christian before converting to Judaism. I don’t know which version of Judaism she embraces, but I believe she has studied with Rabbi’s. She is very intelligent and has several college degrees. I think her knowledge of Judaism would qualify her as a scholar. 

 

As I understand it Judaism and Christianity are different religions, that worship the same God, but in very different ways. Jews find meaning in metaphor and symbolism, while Christians tend to think their Bible must be literally and historically accurate, except for liberal versions of Christianity. Much like Jews liberal Christians find meaning in metaphor and symbolism too.

 

It’s the fundamentalist Christians that believe the Bible is literally true and historically accurate, but the evidence doesn’t support their beliefs. 

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  • 2 months later...

Forgive me, but I had to chuckle when reading this thread. I'm being honest at least. It's absurd for a Christian to go Jew, and then be apparently so educated in the theology and STILL not get it. Humans are an amazing creature.

 

I would LOVE to talk with this scholar. I know more than one question that would likely get her a little uneasy, and that is just on the practice of being a Jew.

 

But I do agree, Jews are generally not all that dedicated to Judaism, and yes, they don't look at the scriptures anywhere near as serious as Christians do. Seriously, they have a LONG history of breaking their own Judaic laws!

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One difference I was told was in the way the temple services work. Synagogues will often have a member read from the holy books and then an open discussion on the subject raised. The rabbi leads the discussion and interjects questions to make people think but doesn't preach as is common in Christian churches. This is probably due to the population difference, in tht Christianity is simply too large to allow that personal touch. 

How many people learn well when preached to? How many consider the subject indepth? 

With that in mind I would guess Jews should have a better understanding, but like any group there will be some who are apathetic and others who live it. 

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