Posted on 11/24/2001 4:17:58 AM PST by chemicalman
Edited on 07/14/2004 12:58:33 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Q. Do Jews believe in an afterlife?
A. "As many Jews as there are, there are that many opinions," said Rabbi David Goldstein of Touro Synagogue.
However monolithic Judaism might look from a distance, it contains a good deal of diversity of thought even on a question one might think as basic as whether anything lies beyond the grave -- which, incidentally, is not a question of great concern in most of Judaism, he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
A very interesting statement.
"For by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God"....
"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"....
"For without faith it is impossible to please God"....
"For he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him"....
I hope I don't offend anyone, but my Christian education was that the Jews were waiting for a Messiah who would lead them to salvation.
Since I believe that Jesus was that Messiah, then I interpret the Old Testament scriptures in light of what Jesus said. But if one rejects Jesus as the promised Messiah, then I suppose you might have many different expectations of what the Messiah will do when he comes.
Perhaps one of you can tell me whether Jews today actually are waiting for a Messiah and what they think he will do when he arrives.
So did the wicked king Saul and the righteous prophet Samuel, etc.
I remember the 23rd Psalm, where it says, I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. That is, at least, an implication of it.
Maybe our definitions are different in terms of afterlife and Messiah.
You also said God would operate much like "the Force" would. In what I see around me, the order of the universe, I freely admit I don't know with certainty what lies beyond the pale of current human understanding. This could be a Force, or a God of some kind. This doesn't instantly validate the very specific Christian or Jewish vision of God. It would only validate some kind of loose theism.
If God wanted me to know His plan he'd have a way of telling me that trumped all else. If I wanted to save someone's life or soul, I'd hardly expect them to believe something written far before their time, I'd simply tell them. Or I'd have said something that would show knowledge beyond the achievements of that time(like Jesus inventing the airplane in 20 AD, or at least drawing one)
I was a Christian once, then a Jew. Now I'm an agnostic mostly. To me, whatever divine or Godliness exists manifests itself in the great triumphs and tragedies of my life and of humanity. The sorrow of losing my father, of not being able to work things out with someone who should be my wife and the joy of having someone as special as my mother, my friends, having loved so strongly before and knowing it shall happen again, all these are signs of the Divine. When I hear "Journey to the Line" from Hans Zimmer and my eyes fill with tears, this is the Divine.
The great things already exist for me, my life is not empty. I appreciate your concern, and I have no quarrel with how you've debated your side. Good fortune to you, my friend.
Perhaps the answer that I will give is too shallow or not intellectually sophisticated enough to be acceptable due to its simplicity.
Nevertheless, I believe in their present condition of still having the vail that God placed over their understanding because they could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses after he had been in the presence of God receiving the Law, which was to lead them to the Truth, which is Christ.
The fundamentalist Jew of today is expecting the same the Jews in Jesus' day were expecting, and when Jesus refused to be made King they crucified Him
They are believing the Messiah yet to come will accept the kingship and will restore the glory of the kingdom that once was as in the days of David and Solomon through the physical overthrow and driving out their oppressors from Jewery thereby restoring Israel to its former greatness.
Well, now that is something I can not answer. I don't know why.
That's very earthly, isn't it. Utopian sort of.
You're missing my point. Pascal's Wager is not an "argument" intended to intellectually persuade. It is an emotional appeal aimed at people who need an emotional appeal, for whom the relevant intellectual questions have already been answered. Pascal and later commentators are clear about this. But by disingenuously portraying it as an intellectual argument that purports to add logical support to its conclusion, anti-Christians have been able to attack Christianity as unintellectual and slander Pascal as illogical and fallacious.
This guy calls himself a "rabbi"? Az och und vay.
There are consequences, of course. If you commit a crime, you get punished, but many people think they can get away with their crimes. On a moral level, which is where most religions come into play, if there is no afterlife, there are no or minor consequences in the minds of the people who do not believe in an afterlife.
Open wide and say, awwwwww.
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