Posted on 08/10/2023 8:15:43 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
What are we to make of the recent comments by Dennis Prager that Judaism only calls actions evil, not thoughts? And what should we think of his comments that someone deriving sexual pleasure from watching animated child porn was not doing something “evil”? (See here and here for relevant clips.)
Christian readers are familiar with the words of Jesus, spoken in the Sermon on the Mount: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27–28). But does this reflect Jewish thought as well? According to Dennis, my esteemed colleague and friend, there is no equivalent in Judaism to this teaching. Is he right?
Before responding to that question with citations from rabbinic literature, let me address things from a biblical viewpoint, citing verses from the Old Testament, which Christians and Jews share in common.
First, one of the Ten Commandments forbids coveting, which is entirely a sin of the heart (Exodus 20:17). As to why this is legislated, Dennis rightly explains in his short book on the Ten Commandments that here the Torah “legislates thought,” noting that this is because “it is coveting that so often leads to evil.”
In his view, though, it is only the strong desire to have the specific thing that belongs to your neighbor (whether house or spouse) that is prohibited, as opposed to envy or lust in general.
In point of fact, the Hebrew Scriptures have more to say about this, which leads to the second verse, Proverbs 4:23, which states, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23). These are strong words! A contemporary Jewish translation renders the verse, “More than all that you guard, guard your mind, for it is the source of life” (New Jewish Version). Why put so much emphasis on the heart/mind if Judaism only calls actions evil?
Third, in explaining the pervasive evil on the earth before the Flood, the Torah states, “The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time” (Genesis 6:5).
Note carefully what this Torah text says: the very thoughts of the people’s hearts were evil all the time. This is a Jewish text!
Other verses could be cited in which human thoughts are branded evil, including the call for the wicked to “forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts” (Isaiah 55:7, my emphasis).
How much more, then, do these scriptural truths apply to every aspect of animated child porn? (It’s distasteful even to write the words “animated child porn.”)
First, there are the evil and perverse thoughts of the people involved in creating the content. Second, there are the evil thoughts of the person being stimulated by it, coupled with the evil act of giving in to the stimulation. Third, in some cases, there are further evil actions that come out of this stimulation. To not brand every aspect of this as “evil” is inexcusable. (I’m not even addressing here what Judaism teaches about masturbation.)
As for rabbinic parallels to the Lord’s words on the Sermon on the Mount, cited above, a major compilation of rabbinic writings relating to the New Testament offers these citations, all from early rabbinic literature:
Leviticus Rabbah 23: “‘The eye of the adulterer lies in wait for the dawn’ (Job 24:15). Resh Laqish said, ‘You should not say that only he who commits adultery with his body is called an adulterer; also he who commits adultery with his eyes is called an adulterer.’”
Pesiqta Rabbati 24: “We find that he who commits adultery with his eyes is also called an adulterer; see Job 24:15.”
Mekilta d’ R. Simeon 111: “‘You shall not commit adultery,’ so that you shall not commit adultery … not even with the eye and not in the heart. And whence [do we learn] that the eye and the heart fornicate? See Num 15:39: ‘that you do not go after your heart and your eyes, after which you are lusting.’”
Tractate Kallah 1: “Whoever looks at a woman with (lustful) intent is considered like one who has intercourse with her.”
Berakhot 24a: “Rab Sheshet said, ‘Why does Scripture (cf. Num 31:50) list the adornments that are on visible parts of the body [literally: outside] next to the adornments that are on parts of the body that are not visible? To tell you, ‘Whoever looks at the little finger of a woman is as if he looked at the place of shame.’”
These rabbinic texts, some from the Talmud and others from recognized, “canonical” rabbinic texts, put the lie to Dennis’s contention that there is no Jewish parallel to the Lord’s words in Matthew 5:28.
Accordingly, New Testament scholar Hans Dieter Betz, in his massive commentary on the Sermon on the Mount wrote, “As scholars have noted, the psychology of sin presented in ... Matt 5:27–28 was well known in first-century Judaism.” (He provided ancient citations of his own, supplementing some of those just cited, and all representing Jewish thought current at the time of Jesus.)
Then, after further discussion, Betz concluded, “Scholars have undeniably been correct in maintaining that ... Matt 5:28 remains essentially within the framework of Jewish theology.”
Jesus, after all, was called “Rabbi” (at that time, an honorific title rather than a formal one), and although He challenged some of the Jewish traditions of His day, He was, in the end, a Jewish teacher.
In light of these scriptural and rabbinic citations, I do hope that Dennis will reconsider his position.
While we all agree that doing a thing is worse than simply thinking about it, we should also agree that certain thoughts are, in and of themselves, evil. To repeat the words of Proverbs, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
(For the record, I informed Dennis that I’d be writing this article and promised to send him the link once it was up. He, in turn, said he would definitely read it. I look forward to hearing his response.)
Dr. Michael Brown(www.askdrbrown.org) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. His latest book isWhy So Many Christians Have Left the Faith. Connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.
Well, what the Old Testament says and what modern Judaism says are sometimes two different things. I think the Rabbinicists took some wrong turns along the way as Rabbis were in too much of a fervor to distinguish their faith from Christianity, not realizing that some of the opposing stances they took for that purpose were creating internal contradictions in their own faith.
Great post
Dennis Prager is NOT Orthodox.
And maybe needs new eyeglasses to read Commandment #10.
True. And the Jewish don’t see the OT with NT glasses. Prager seems to know Judaism pretty well. I bet Prager has a strong retort.
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone. I won't be throwing any, that's for sure.
When I die and go to my maker to be judged, I pray that he grades on a curve. Honestly it seems almost impossible for anyone to live the near perfect life it seems is required to get into heaven. I imagine that maybe a few hundred people are in heaven while hell is filled with billions.
Prager’s shifty position on “evil” is probably to excuse his own secret sins of the heart.
Nobody can “live the near perfect life it seems is required to get into heaven”. That’s the whole point of Christ’s death and resurrection. HE paid the price we can never pay.
It’s a gift, accept with honesty, repentance and gratitude.
I don’t hear Prager quoting the greatest American rabbis like Avigdor Miller or Moshe Feinstein, or even generic Jewish popularizers like Yosef Mizrachi. There’s a reason for that.
You are right, it is impossible to live a perfect life. But you're wrong in believing it's a requirement to get to Heaven. Look what Jesus taught the Jewish leader, Nicodemous, in John 3:10-21
“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.[e] 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,[f] 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
So yeah, there's some live it like ya mean it (verses 19-21), but that's more of a side-effect than a prerequisite. It's about faith in Jesus (verses 14-18). We have to start there. Accept His gift on the cross, both for getting into Heaven and for changing our lives.
It is my contention that there is a very faulty notion surrounding almost all group names. There is not one Judaism, for its Orthodox varieties, Conservative and Reform and Reconstructionist and beyond, and most certainly there is not one Christianity, as all the current divisions and beyond testify. As organizational entities, one has to refer to a group, but it always seems a fumbling exercise.
Brown is, as he states, a proponent of Messianic Judaism, Christian Zionism, and the Charismatic Movement." So is he Jewish? Christian? As a Jew would he be comfortable in an Orthodox shul davening with a minyan? As a Christian would he be comfortable participating in a Roman Catholic mass, Anglican Eucharist, ELCA "meal" as they call it these days, or other forms as one finds many? I would wager a lot of money he would definitely shun the "sparkle creed" and such as found in what passes for a subset of Christian worship today.
What may be said with certainty is that he and Prager both sell books and appearances.
Brown's: Ask Dr Brown
Prager's: Prager Store
Seems like they agree on the color of money, at the minimum. I have no problem with them marketing themselves and their wares, but suggest only that what separates them also makes them lovely opponents, each of the other, in the ongoing phenomenon of religion in the Western world.
Best wishes.
Bingo.
Good point.
And your point is also excellent about how many rabbis since the days of Christ have distorted Judaism in their eagerness to remove anything that might point to Christ.
Well done to both of you.
bump
Genesis 4.6: the Lord warns Cain about his anger—clearly the Lord knows what Cain is thinking and considers the thoughts evil. That was shortly before Cain killed his brother.
Perhaps not. But neither is he Messianic. Therefore, he doesn’t care WHAT Jesus said about being guilty of what one thinks in their heart. Indicates a great lack of discernment. I’m surprised at Prager’s shallowness on such a deep subject.
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