DudleySmith
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- Dec 21, 2020
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This book covers a lot of what modern 'Judaism' is. I don't support some of the stuff later in the book but the history and much of the theological evidence is solid.
Judaism— Revelation of Moses Or Religion of Men?
Does Judaism with its elaborate code of traditions really represent the way of life God gave through Moses?
www.cbcg.org
“When they knew God, they glorified Him not as God.... but became vain in their reasoning, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.”
The “Jews' religion” of first-century Palestine was the byproduct of centuries of change and upheaval. From the Babylonian Exile to the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah—and from the Maccabean wars to the iron grip of Roman occupation—cultural, political and religious forces collided to shape the convoluted religion which would ultimately become known as Judaism. Benchmarks in that long and complex process include the augmented role of scribes after the close of the “age of the prophets,” which led to the development of so-called oral traditions; the influence of Hellenism, which prompted the emergence of the Hasidim, progenitors of the sect of the Pharisees; the rise of rabbinical Judaism as a result of the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD; and, finally, the writing of the Mishnah around 200 AD and the completion of the Talmud in 500 AD.
Yet, the term Judaism is often misapplied. It is typically assumed to be the “religion” of the Old Testament—or at least the “religion” of post-exilic Judea under Ezra and Nehemiah; the term is also frequently used to generalize the various religious movements of first century Palestine. But as has been premised, Judaism is in no way representative of the “religion” of Moses or the prophets. Neither is Judaism representative of the restorative period of Ezra and Nehemiah (though the stage was set at that time for the rise of the scribes to prominence)—nor is it a conglomerate of the various Jewish religions or creeds of Jesus' day. Rather, as will be demonstrated throughout this book, Judaism is a religious system which developed through the teachings of the Pharisees (with their scribal leaders) primarily in response to the Hellenization of Judea in the second and third centuries BC. (Even the term “Judeo-Christian” is quite misleading, as genuine Christianity is in no way congruent with Judaism; see Appendix Six.)
.. and so on. A very accurate history of the Babylonian cult's eventual abandonment of the Hebrewism of Moses and Abraham in favor of idiotic self-serving Master Race nonsense. Jews, once over 10% of the population of the Empire, went into a permanent decline.
See Also this excellent and heavily sourced book on 1st Century Jerusalem.
It provides an excellent background for much of what is going on in the NT's times. Between the two people will get a pretty good intro.
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