So goes the catechism. How do they know that? Circumstantial evidence indicates he might not have been Jewish. Who would know? The early Christians were Jewish, no doubt.
So goes the catechism. How do they know that?
I thought the article did a good job of outlining why it was fairly possible of his Pharasiacal roots. It is long, but if you get a chance to read through the entire article I think you will find it interesting.
Circumstantial evidence indicates he might not have been Jewish.
Which circumstancial evidence would that be? I think the article outlines in detail exactly where his teachings came from.
Don't make me laugh. Matthew starts out with the precise, detailed geneology of Jesus. Are you going to believe hundrends of scriptures or some wack-job, nutcase, modern liberal theologian?
It works like this:
History says Jesus was a Jew.
A disgruntled liberal or two dispute that.
The burden of proof is on the new idea.
Therefore the burden of proof is on the disgrunteled liberals.
Of course Jesus was a Jew. His lineage is listed in front of the Synoptics. He preached in Synagogues (let a gentile try that!), he called the temple HIS Father's house, he was tried by the Jews and executed by the Romans at the insistence of the Jews (they were not allowed to execute). Jesus observed the Jewish Passover, was reprimanded by the Jews for working on the Sabbath (did Jews worry about Romans working on the Sabbath?) and amazed the teachers of the law with his knowledge of it when he was only 12!
Now where is the evidence that he was not a Jew?