I was under the impression that Judaism was a lot like Christianity in that the object was a relationship with God, rather than "merely" following rules He set down.
I know there are a lot of rules in there, but I was looking at the OT and I realized that God created Man with only one rule--don't eat the fruit. Then, after the Flood, He had to lay down 10 rules. Then the flood of new rules to help people keep the Law came into being--usually from the ruling religious class of the day.
I honestly had not realized that the rules themselves became the object of devotion as opposed to God.
I just re-read this post before posting it. I realize it sounds condescending. I'm not trying to sound condescending--really. I'm just not sure how else to phrase it.
Please forgive my frustration and my uncalled-for insult of chr*stianity (perhaps I have the tendency to do that because I used to be a chr*stian and can't see why others can't understand what I have come to understand).
As I said, the requirement to sacrifice one's life rather than violate the three cardinal sins is a very real legal requirement, not a sweet-sounding proverb.
Jewish legal codes do not discuss the fate of the soul in the World-to-Come but what constitutes an offense punishable by the Halakhic courts and what those punishments are. For example, if asked the penalty for adultery you might say "eternal damnation" whereas a Jew would say "death by stoning" (for non-Jews in Noachide Law it is death by the sword). What happens afterward to the soul of the one who has been stoned is not discussed in these legal codes but in more mystical literature. The requirement to die rather than commit idolatry, murder, or forbidden sexual sins is legal statute, not mysticism.
Judaism teaches that each human being has a relationship with G-d. He is the Creator, Master, and Father of us all. We don't have to do anything to bring this relationship about . . . it just is. Whether we progress on that relationship or not, or, G-d forbid, ignore or reject it, is up to us. Judaism does not teach that there are two "gods," a Good one and an "evil" one, that the "evil gxd" took over the world and is now its "gxd," and that all human beings are born under the "lxrdship" of this "evil gxd" until they "pass from nature to grace" as does chr*stianity. This is because in Judaism there is only One G-d and Satan is merely one of G-d's angels doing his job--not a "fallen angel" or enemy of G-d.
Be well.
ZC,
Why would GOD choose a evil angel to do his work?
I do not mean this dis-respectfully, but more people today are abandoning a belief in GOD because they hate him, I am told that constantly by Atheists, they don’t believe he exists and they hate the GOD of the Jews Christians and Muslims and blame those religions for all the suffering death and persecution that has gone on in the world....
How would you go about defending GOD to people that want nothing to do with him by saying Satan is doing GOD’s work?
I respect Judaism very much and believe it is the Jews who have brought Salvation to mankind by embracing monotheism and as a Christian by the Messiah who was to come through the Jews....
What I see today is people in droves leaving religion to embrace atheism, secularism and liberalism and I see religion fading away, you can see that happening in Europe.
The only hope I see in such a evil world today is conversion of the spirit, letting Jesus touch there heart, otherwise I don’t see how you think religion will last in the current world we live in....