Posted on 11/01/2014 3:19:01 PM PDT by ebb tide
In January of this year, I published a series of six posts, titled Nostra aetate 1-6, about the current fashion for saying that there are still Two Covenants; the Jewish and the Christian; and that each conveys Salvation ... which leads to the conclusions that there is no need for Jews to become Christians, and that it is offensive for Christians to include Jews in their Mission. Jewry, it follows, is the only race in the whole world to which the Gospel should not be preached. Hottentots need it; and Americans; and even the Welsh ... and they can't do without it in Fiji or the Isle of Wight. But the Jews are, so we are informed, a unique and distinct case.
The teaching of the New Testament, and of the Christian Tradition, that the Jewish covenant has been superseded, is sometimes called Supersessionism. I'm not now going to repeat all that, or to enable critical comments which indicate that someone has not bothered to look at the January stuff. If you're too busy to look at it, fair enough, be too busy to comment!
So much for the briefest and crudest summary of the status quaestionis. Now to my point.
The 'Eponymous Flower' blog recently published a very interesting item about one particular after-shock of the Synod of which you may not have been aware. The Chief Rabbi of Rome has said "With a certain hardness in form and substance, the bishops come, therefore, to us today (we follow the Torah of Moses) to say that we were in sin and that our era is over. How difficult is this dialogue!"
He is referring to the Final Relatio Synodi, para 15, which talks about the institution of Marriage in Genesis, and goes on to say that "damaged by Sin it became the historical form of Marriage among the People of God, for which Moses conceded the possibility of granting a bill of divorce. This form was predominant at the time of Jesus. With His coming and upon the reconciliation of the fallen world, thanks to the redemption worked by Him, the era begun with Moses ended (termino l'era inaugurata con Mose)." This paragraph received 167 votes, with 13 against it.
This, of course, merely repeats the teaching of the Lord at Mark 10:1-12 (parallel at Matthew 19:1-9). Permission for Divorce represents a fall from the primeval purpose of Marriage, and Christ is now restoring it to its primal (and pre-Torah) institution. Christ clearly teaches the supersession of the Mosaic provisions.
Some Jewish interests regard the adherence of Christians to their own religion and to the teachings of its Founder as an 'unecumenical' offence against Judaism. Frankly, I do not blame them; I blame the ecumenical industry which has contrived to give them the impression that Christians no longer believe in supersessionism. It naturally now comes as a shock to Jews to read something like this. They have even, mendaciously, been informed that Nostra aetate of Vatican II taught the Two Covenant doctrine. This sort of misrepresentation has been going on for nearly half a century.
If the Synodal document had been produced by professional ecumenists at the Vatican's Desk for Jewish-Christian Dialogue, this statement would pretty certainly have been edited out. But the Synod consisted, not of the staff at the Jewish Desk, but of Christian Bishops who were struggling to come to one mind with each other as to how to relate our Christian foundational teaching about Marriage to certain problems of our own culture. Unsurprisingly, they had in their minds the teaching of Christ in the Christian Scriptures. Just for once, in the hurry to get a document out fast, it emerged before the censoring ecumenists in the Vatican machinery had the opportunity to get their itching pencils to it.
The supersession of the Old Covenant by the New is hardwired into the whole New Testament and the Church's entire teaching. You pray it every time you go to Mass (novi et aeterni Testamenti) or Benediction (Et antiquum documentum/ novo cedat ritui). Even the post-Conciliar liturgical innovators accepted it and were prepared to incorporate Patristic Readings based upon supersession. Just one example: look at the Patristic Reading for September 8, from S Andrew of Crete. This reading was not something thoughtlessly carried over from the old Breviary, which had different readings, but was actually introduced in the course of the post-Conciliar reforms. So what I am saying is this: when the Liturgy of the Hours was issued in 1971, its compilers still, at that time, had no idea that, within a few years, it would be deemed wicked even to think passages like that.
I am genuinely sorry, as any decent person should be, that Chief Rabbi di Segni has been hurt. I feel nothing but respect for him. Indeed, he has done us all a service by raising an extremely important matter which the politically correct have very carefully kept off-limits for too long. If inter-faith dialogue is kept muzzled, it is of no use. Indeed, it is harmful.
Ping
Within the context of exhorting Catholics ever deeper into the ecumenical program, Pope Francis says: “We hold the Jewish people in special regard because their covenant with God has never been revoked, for ‘the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable’ (Rom 11:29). The Church, which shares with Jews an important part of the Sacred Scriptures, looks upon the people of the covenant and their faith as one of the sacred roots of her own Christian identity (cf. Rom 11:16-18). As Christians, we cannot consider Judaism as a foreign religion; nor do we include the Jews among those called to turn from idols and to serve the true God (cf. 1 Thes 1:9). With them, we believe in the one God[1] who acts in history, and with them we accept his revealed word.”[2]
The Israelites are Gods Chosen people so I am not about to say i think they are not saved.
However i am not worth a darn at riddles.
When the first temple was destroyed God saved a remnant from which - 70 years later - the people of Israel came back together to re-form their nation. When the second temple was destroyed, God also saved a remnant. Jesus had instructed them to flee to the hills, which they did. The Jews in Jerusalem all fled to the temple and were destroyed along with it in 70 AD. The remnant God saved IS the church, and after about 15-20 years they were lead through revelation to accept gentiles into their growing communities. Paul reflects upon this using the metaphor of a branch grafted into the vine. Thus, the Church IS the Jewish remnant, built upon the temple of Christ!
Christians believe that all are saved through Christ, including the Israelites, even if they do not recognize Him as the Messiah.
The Old Testament is the gateway to the New.
Really sad that we have a pope who knows so little about Scripture and the Catholic Church. I don’t think we can chalk this up to a poor translation as Frankie has, for many years, rejected Christ in favor of PC ecumaniacism. There is no more Judaism, Temple, sacrifices or priesthood. The Jew’s religion is man-made; the Talmud nothing more than talking points. Perhaps Frankie should just re-write John’s Gospel, assuming of course he can locate a copy.
If all are saved, is Hell empty? If so, why did Christ preach that many would go to Hell?
Are they saved? (By virtue of their Jewishness?)
Paul says:
(Matt 3:7-10)John the Baptist himself declares that being descended from Abraham is no excuse for sin; Jesus himself declares that if the Jews were true children of Abraham they would do what he did and believe, and that if God were their father they would love Him (the Son); lastly Paul says the Crucifixion is a stumbling block to Jews — now if Jesus's assertion that whoever commits sin is a slave thereof and the Son (who has power to free the slave) is true then it stands that any Jew committing sin and not freed by the Son is still a slave to Sin and (according to James) the fruit of Sin is Death then it stands to reason that those Jews that are slaves to sin are also subject to death and the Life is not in them.
But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.(John 8:31-47)
Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?”
Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word. I declare what I have seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father.”
They answered him, “Abraham is our father.”
Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did, but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are indeed doing what your father does.”
They said to him, “We are not illegitimate children; we have one father, God himself.”
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word. You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God.”(1 Corinthians 1:23)
but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,(James 1:14,15)
But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death.
IOW, to declare that Jews will be saved by their ancestry and not the Son is to call Jesus a liar.
I think it depends on what is meant by "all are saved" — Jesus said the following:
(John 3:17-21)If by
“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”
all are savedyou mean that everyone is free from condemnation then obviously that is not true, otherwise Jesus would not say that those who don't believe are already condemned; if by
all are savedyou mean that the freedom from condemnation is available to everyone then yes, so long as they believe on him.
Only two scriptures from the bible and they are parrellel, where every thing else came from I have no idea.
Mark 10:1-12 (parallel at Matthew 19:1-9).
Jesus makes it very plain that he is the only way.
But I believe every one who is going to know it already knows it.
Very misleading statement on his part, and consistent with his modernist agenda.
“For the Holy Ghost was promised to the successors of Peter not so that they might, by His revelation, make known some new doctrine, but that, by His assistance, they might religiously guard and faithfully expound the revelation or Deposit of Faith transmitted by the Apostles.” (Pastor Aeternus, cap. 4)
Rather than faithfully expounding the Deposit of Faith transmitted by the Apostles, Pope Francis is doing his own thing.
That's all the farther I needs to read. Whoever believes that doesn't understand the covenants of God. Nor does anyone who thinks the nation of Israel has been conjoined into or replaced by the church.
That would include Francis. See Post 3 on this thread.
There is so much wrong with this article, I don’t know where to begin.
Let’s see. I will instead make some statements that may help (if you WANT the truth, which most people don’t)
1) If I have an “agreement”, let’s call it #1, if i make another agreement, that agreement does not invalidate the old agreement, unless it says so.
2) God is not a Covenant Breaker.
3) The are called the covenant and the “New Covenant”, in the scripture.
4) God fulfills Israel’s covenant - Abram did not walk between the sides of the sacrifice - Thus Israel cannot “do” anything to continue to fulfill the covenant.
5) The believed (new covenant) cannot work his way to salvation (or loose it) by his actions either, just like Israel (The Jewish Nation).
If you have a problem with this, your understanding is rooted in religion, not the Gospel.
As far as Jesus making plain he is the only way, that is true. However Abraham (and the believing Jews) ares saved by Jesus as well!
In other words, the True Jews (like Abraham) looked forward to Jesus (the Messiah) and knew that their deliverer was the Messiah. They had faith and trusted God for their salvation - That is all that is required — There is NO theology test to get into heaven, instead there is a HEART test.
So, are the Jews saved? That’s kinda like asking are the Gentiles saved. The answer is those who have faith, trust in God, yes. Even if they don’t hear the name Jesus, God himself will revel the truth they need enough to save them (or do you believe everyone before Jesus’s name was known, and he was crucified as doomed?)
The following (in a nutshell) is the whole issue (from John 8)
John 8
33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
34Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.b ”
39“Abraham is our father,” they answered.
“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you wouldc do what Abraham did. 40As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41You are doing the works of your own father.”
“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”
42Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
At the Last Supper, Jesus Christ said, “Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my Blood, the Blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
Why do you think Christ said, “eternal”. Why was the curtain in the Jewish temple rent in two, from top to bottom, at the moment of Christ’s death?
Then why did St Peter devote his life trying to convert the Jews?
Catholics will never get that right because they totaly miss Israels time left in Daniels prophesy. In fact many people miss the "set aside until" statement.
But men are covenant breakers; and the Jews did so.
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