Welcome to my blog,
The title I chose for this blog is certainly a paradox, if not an inherent contradiction. I mean whoever heard of a vegetarian for steak, or to stay in the religious sphere; a Christian that believes in Mohammed?
Im aware of this and still I choose this term, as it fits what I represent, or better, the state in which I am now.
Allow me to elaborate: about 2000 years ago there was no such thing as Christianity, there was Judaism. And although it would be anachronistic to picture it as similar to todays Judaism, there was a common religion for the people of Israel, albeit with various emphases and obviously various expressions. Jesus, was part of this religion, as were his disciples and theres consensus among scholars that it was not His intention to start a new religion nor did his early disciples aim for such a thing. Still it happened. And well, being a citizen of this world, you may know what the result is: a Christian for Moses (i.e. the Torah of the Jewish people) being perceived as an inherent contradiction.
So what to do?
Accept it and carry on? This may socially be the best option however to me it feels almost impossible to do. For if I were to cling to Christianity it feels like Im totally disconnected to all Jesus represented but were I to discard Christianity and fully embrace Judaism I would have to give up the idea that he was the promised Messiah, and however much there would be an incentive in doing so, personally I feel this would be intellectually dishonest.
So here I am in a confused state, between two big poles, that contain both things that I value alot but are unable at the moment to provide me with something satisfactorily. So hereby I provide my disclaimer: this is not a blog where you will find very constructive thoughts, most probably it will be confused ramblings of things Im struggling with and from time to time some controversial/provoking thoughts to stimulate discussion.
Personal stuff
Some personal stuff, Im a student at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, studying Financial Economics, besides that I learn Biblical Hebrew (on my own) and enjoy the mornings with my favourite Torah scholar; Rashi. I read quite a lot and Ive created a booklist for some of my thoughts on those books.
Well thanks for visiting and if you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment,
Blessings,
Daniel
Daniel,
Welcome to the world of blogging! I’m anticipating many wonderful discoveries upcoming. Thanks for sharing your journey with others.
Blessings,
Paula
Hi Paula,
Tnx for the warm welcome:) I guess you were able to persuade me, but then again I owe you for all the many times I was able to read your blog and gather insights so I think you have the right to ask for something in return:P
Blessings,
Daniel
Thank you for your message on Messianic
Judaism Quest. Please stay in touch. Daniel T.
Hoi; Hoe ghat het? Hope everything is going well for you. Good to meet you man. I was amazed at how very articulate you are in a second language. It’s quite rare. Any time you want to talk, I’d love that. I love the paradoxical way you grasp peoples’ attention vis-a-vis your blog title- you are a true thinker/reflector.
Am looking forward to reading more in your blog- looks like An Unusual Yom Kippur is where I’m starting out- I’ve a question about homosexuality too- what do you think? I have several friends on different sides of this argument. Wish you were around more to talk- people who think critically are somewhat rare.
SHALOM,
reuel
Here’s a group I’ve found intriguing- what do you think?
http://studycenter.com/
Hi Reuel,
I see you know some Dutch;)
It was good meeting you, B”H we’ll meet again and continue our conversation:)
I looked at your link and it seems interesting, I remember hearing the name Chuck Missler before.
Blessings,
Daniel
Hi, just a quick question for you, why do you think that to “go with Christianity” you’ll have to give up the Torah?
Hi Doulos,
First of all sorry for the late reply.
A short answer would be because Christianity has given up the Torah from very early on. Theres is almost no literature after the NT that shows a positive and affirmative approach to the Torah, and the ones that do, are incomplete as they are rejecting the Sacrifical service. Whether this shows that in fact the Apostles taught a lifestyle without the incorporation of the Torah (in its fullest sense) is another question, which in my case would be answered negatively.
So it simply comes down to the practical reality that I am faced with, Christianity from very early did not teach (and in some cases taught against), keeping Torah for Jewish believers, or just the general idea of it being the ideal lifestyle to be lived out, and as such to do such a thing today would be un-Christian in the eyes of the world around you.
Blessings,
Daniel