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Judaism
Founder: Unknown |
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Overview:
There are many people who will read this and say to
themselves that Judaism cannot be a cult since Christianity came out of it. If
you will take the time to read this and not react with hostility to information
that contradicts what you know to be true, it is our hope will re-examine your
assumptions and find the truth.
The
term "G-d" is how the Jews spell the name of their deity in full. They believe
that they are not worthy to write the full name of God. Around 2000 B.C., the God of the
ancient Israelites established a divine covenant with Abraham, making him the
patriarch of many nations. The term Abramic Religions is derived from his name. The book of Genesis describes the events surrounding the lives
of the three patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses was the next
leader of the ancient Israelites. He led his people out of captivity in Egypt,
and received the Law or Torah from God. After 40 years of wandering through wilderness,
Joshua led the tribes into the promised land, driving out the Canaanites through
a series of military battles.
The theocracy was
converted into a kingdom by Samuel when the people demanded to ruled by an
earthly king; its first king was Saul. The second king,
David, established Jerusalem as the religious and political center. The third
king, Solomon built the first temple there.
Division into the Northern kingdom of
Israel and the Southern kingdom of Judah occurred shortly after the death of
Solomon in 922 B.C. Israel fell to Assyria in 722 B.C.; Judah fell to the
Babylonians in 587 B.C. The temple was destroyed. Some Jews returned from
captivity under the Babylonians and started to restore the temple in 536 B.C. Alexander the
Great invaded the area in 332 B.C., and from about 300 to 63 B.C., Greek became the
language of commerce, and Greek culture had a major influence on Israelites. In 63
B.C., the Roman Empire took control of Judea and Israel.
The ancient Israelites
received their name from one of their patriarchs, Jacob
whose name was changed to Israel (which means "rules with God"). Israel
had twelve sons and out of these sons came the twelve tribes of Israel. All the descendants of Israel were known as the children of Israel. One of
the twelve sons was Judah, and his descendants were known as Jews, eventually
this name was adopted to encompass all twelve tribes and this is their modern
day name by which they are all called.
Four major (and some minor) religious
sects had formed by the 1st century A.D.: the Basusim, Essenes, Pharisees and
Sadducees. Many anticipated the arrival of the Messiah, who would drive the Roman
invaders out and restore independence. Christianity was established and centered in Jerusalem. Many mini-revolts led to the
destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in 70 A.D. The Jewish Christians were
already scattered and gone because Jesus had warned them that this would happen.
Jews were scattered throughout the known
world and were no longer centered in Jerusalem; Jews were prohibited
from setting foot there. Judaism became decentralized and stopped seeking
converts. The local synagogue became the new center of Jewish life, and
authority shifted from the centralized priesthood to local scholars and
teachers, giving rise to Rabbinic Judaism.
Now, given what has been put
forth already, the Old Testament foretold of a Messiah that would come and
this is what Israelites were waiting for. When Jesus of Nazareth
was born, He was the Messiah foretold of in the Old Testament, but
many Israelites failed to see that He was the Messiah, rejected him and became a
cult.
Remember, a cult according to the Bible and God – since it is
his written Word – is any group of people
that worship anything or anyone other than Jesus Christ, and
believe anything contrary to His word as
recorded in the Bible. The Old and New Testament clearly show
that God is author of the Bible, and Jesus Christ is God.
With that in mind, anyone
who claims to know or preach that there is any other way to reach, or know God
other than the Lord Jesus Christ is "The Antichrist." Because this is what God
(Jesus) has told us in the Bible (1
John 4:2-3).
If we choose to believe anything else, we have been deceived.
That is why God has given us the Bible so that we may know the Truth, and that
the Truth will make us free from the deception of Satan
(John 8:32).
There is deceptive teaching going around that God has a special plan of
salvation for the Jews. The truth is there is no "special plan
of salvation" for the Jews. There are not two messiah's, one for the Jews and
another for the Gentiles. Everybody, Jew or Gentile, will be held to one plan of
salvation, and that is thru Jesus Christ (John 14:6, Galatians 3:1-29).
The "messiah" that the Jews have been waiting for all these
years, when he does come to power, will come as the Antichrist. Jesus came the first time as a suffering servant, but when He comes
back the second and last time, it will be as the King of kings.
The Jews of today have used the slaughter of
European Jews during WWII to their advantage. When they find something they
disagree with, they pull the race card into play and scream, “anti-Semitism, you
are an anti-Semite!” Being labeled as an anti-Semite can be compared to being
blacklisted or receiving the kiss of death in society. Consequently, everyone is
afraid to criticize the Jews for fear of being blacklisted as anti-Semitic! It
is important that people know that it is not anti-Semitic to criticize Jews or
the policies of the state of Israel. After all, why shouldn’t Gentiles be able
to converse about the Jews or any other people for that matter without being
labeled as a racist?
ZIONISM
The ungodly Zionist movement was started
with the goal was recreate
the Jewish homeland that was lost in Palestine. The state of Israel was
formed on May 18, 1948. It is noteworthy to point out
that God had told the Israelites in Old Testament many times that if they
continued in their idolatry, they would lose the land which had been given to
them (Deuteronomy 8:18-20). Zionism was from the very beginning and still
is a man-made attempt to regain what has been lost through disobedience to God.
The current state of Israel did not come into being with God's help or blessing
since modern day Israelites still have not repented and turned from their wicked
ways (2 Chronicles
7:14). This is not to say there are no God fearing Jews in
existence today, but those that call themselves Zionists have rejected the
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and are serving another god.
Jews have been victims in the past of
racial hatred but it is important to note that they have brought this upon
themselves in most cases because of the
hateful Talmud and its ways of dealing with
Gentiles. The Talmud is their extra biblical teaching that contains "additional
inspired writings" about stories, laws,
medical knowledge, debates about moral choices, etc. It is composed of material
which comes mainly from two sources:
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the Mishnah, 6 "orders"
containing hundreds of chapters, including series of laws from the Hebrew
Scriptures. It was compiled about 200 A.D..
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the Gemara (one Babylonian and one
Palestinian) is encyclopedic in scope. It includes comments from hundreds of
Rabbis from 200 - 500 A.D., explaining the Mishnah with additional historical,
religious, legal, sociological, etc. material. It often records many
different opinions on a topic without giving a definitive answer.
There are five main forms of Judaism in
the world today:
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Conservative Judaism: This began in
the mid-nineteenth century as a reaction against the Reform movement. It is
a main-line movement midway between Reform and Orthodox.
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Humanistic Judaism: This is a very
small group, mainly composed of atheists and agnostics, who regard mankind
as the measure of all things.
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Orthodox Judaism: This the oldest,
most conservative, and most diverse form of Judaism. Modern Orthodox,
Chasidim and Ultra Orthodox share a basic belief in the derivation of Jewish
law, even as they hold very different outlooks on life. They attempt to
follow the original form of Judaism as they view it to be. They look upon
every word in their sacred texts as being divinely inspired.
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Reconstructionist Judaism: This is a
new, small, liberal movement started by Mordecai Kaplan as an attempt to
unify and revitalize the religion. They reject the concept that Jews are a
uniquely favored and chosen people. They have no connection at all with
Christian Reconstructionism, which is an ultra-conservative form of
Christianity.
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Reform Judaism: They are a liberal
group, followed by many North American Jews. The movement started in the
1790's in Germany. They follow the ethical laws of Judaism, but leave up to
the individual the decision whether to follow or ignore the dietary and
other traditional laws. They use modern forms of worship. There are many
female rabbis in reform congregations.
Cult Beliefs:
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They believe God is one, incorporeal (without a body), and he alone is to be
worshipped as absolute ruler of the universe. They reject the Godhead
presented in the Old and New Testaments. (Father, Son, Holy Spirit)
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They believe works
and behavior to be of primary importance; faith comes out of works.
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They do not believe in original sin
(the belief that all people have inherited Adam and Eve's sin when they
disobeyed God's instructions in the Garden of Eden).
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They believe no savior is needed or
is available as an intermediary.
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Beliefs about Jesus vary
considerably. Some view Him as a great moral teacher. Others see Him as
a false prophet or as an idol of Christianity. Some sects of Judaism
will not even say His name due to the prohibition against saying an
idol's name.
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They believe they
are God's
chosen people and view themselves to be superior to everyone else.
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They use the Talmud as a supplement to
the Torah; The "wisdom" of Talmud often overrules common sense:
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They believe that their Messiah
will arrive in the future and gather Jews once more into the land of Israel.
There will be a general resurrection of the dead at that time. The Jerusalem
Temple, destroyed in 70 A.D., will be rebuilt.
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They believe that a baby receives full
rights as a person when it is half-emerged from its mother's body.
Further information can be found in the following books:
Israel: Our Duty... Our
Dilemma
by Theodore Pike
The 13th Tribe
by Arthur Koestler
The Six-Pointed Star
by O.J. Graham
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Cults
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