Asher Norman’s twenty-second reason for rejecting Jesus as Messiah[1] is that “the resurrection accounts are deeply conflicted.” Norman concludes: “Amazingly virtually every detail of the resurrection accounts in each Gospel is directly contradicted by at least one other Gospel. Christianity literally stands or falls on the veracity of the resurrection. If Jesus was not resurrected, […]
ARGUMENTS FOR THE RESURRECTION: Encounter on a train
April 17, 2014 by
The year was 1939. I was travelling by train from Cernauti to Bucharest, and on the seat opposite sat a renowned rabbi from Cernauti. When he saw me reading the Bible, he asked me who I was. “A Christian Jew,” I told him. He was highly astonished. “If you are a Jew, why did you […]
What the Rabbis say… concerning Adam’s sin
August 8, 2013 by
What consequence did Adam’s sin have for the human race? Did our relationship with God change fundamentally, as a result? If so, can we ever return to our original condition, or reverse the consequence through our own efforts? Judaism and Christianity give different answers to these questions. Most rabbis today teach that Adam’s sin brought […]
Judaism – from monotheism to atheism?
October 5, 2012 by
Anyone interested in seeing where Judaism is heading should visit the website advertising the second “Sinai Indaba” event that commences in Johannesburg, South Africa this evening. About 3000 delegates (Jewish and other), are due to attend. Firstly notice the two high-lighted characters in “Sinai Indaba” – namely the “I” and the “I”. Then play the […]
Unless I go away
October 5, 2012 by
“Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to […]
A Christian response to claims that the Gospels contain conflicting accounts and other contradictions
October 5, 2012 by
In his book, ‘Twenty-six reasons why Jews don’t believe in Jesus’, Asher Norman attacks the integrity of the New Testament on a number of grounds. This response deals with allegations relating to the consistency and reliability of the Gospel texts. Norman raises four objections in this regard, Matthew and Luke’s Birth and Infancy accounts are contradictory […]
Faith over Works
October 5, 2012 by
The identity of the Messiah is usually considered to be the pivotal issue that divides Judaism and Christianity. However, authors Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin suggest that whether or not Jesus was the Messiah is not the most important question: “The major difference between Judaism and Christianity lies in the importance each religion attaches to […]
Rabbinic Authority and the Oral Law
October 5, 2012 by
“… although the law revealed at Sinai always reigned supreme, the Sages made a massive contribution to its development.” (H. Chaim Schimmel) [1] In an earlier article we considered whether the Hebrew scriptures support the idea of an oral law originating at Mount Sinai. We now consider whether the rabbis legitimately hold the powers to interpret […]
Did Jesus bring knowledge of God to the world?
October 5, 2012 by
In his book, ‘Twenty-six reasons why Jews don’t believe in Jesus’, Asher Norman suggests that Jesus did not meet any of six authentic Jewish messianic criteria. This is the last of a series of responses to Norman’s objections, dealing with the last of his six criteria. “THE SIXTH MESSIANIC CRITERIA IS THAT HE WILL BRING KNOWLEDGE […]
Did Jesus gather in the scattered of Judah and Israel?
October 5, 2012 by
This is the third of a series of responses to the claim that Jesus did not meet any of six authentic Jewish messianic criteria. In his book, ‘Twenty-six reasons why Jews don’t believe in Jesus,’ Asher Norman writes: “THE THIRD MESSIANIC CRITERIA IS THAT [MESSIAH] WILL BRING THE JEWISH PEOPLE BACK TO ISRAELNot only did Jesus fail […]
