Therefore, with apologies to David Letterman, I have outlined the Top 10 dangers of the traditional paradigm which threaten Christian preaching on Jews and Judaism. The statements are ranked in ascending order of frequency and harm. Each, as stated, is to be read as false according to current theology and historical research. #10. Jews were united in their opposition to Jesus. The Judaism of which Jesus was a part was a vibrant and diverse community. It was comprised of various groups, including Sadducees, Pharisees, and Essenes. Each of these groups had their own interpretation of the law and to some extent disagreed with others. It is likely that some groups opposed parts of Jesus’ teaching. It is also likely that other groups shared much in common with him. The gospels tend to generalize all Jewish groups into a single movement in an attempt to emphasize the distinctiveness of Jesus. Preachers should be careful not to promote this generalization, lest it appear that the teachings of Jesus are somehow antithetical to a united Judaism.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Jun 2013 13:45:14 +0000