The Real Yeshua

Dr. James Tabor’s latest blog provides a wealth of information about a subject that Christians have debated for almost 2,000 years now. Regardless of what one’s beliefs about Jesus are, it must be clearly understood that other Christians have held – and do hold -- other beliefs about it. Or, as we like to say, “many different memes have been attached to Yeshua over the centuries.” Dr. Tabor provides a good chronological presentation for that memetic evolution. Below are a few quotes from the blog. For untold millions of Christians asking the “Lord” for guidance, help, and even   salvation   is a complex and confusing business.   Part of the confusion is that the God of the Hebrew Bible, who mostly goes by the name Yahweh/Yehovah, is referred to as “the LORD.”   The problem comes with the New Testament in which Jesus is   also   commonly referred to as “the Lord.”   So far as the Jesus movement goes our earliest evidence for this practice of confla...

Elul: A Time of Repairing and Creating Shalom One of the most important teachings of Yeshua isn’t taught in most churches, but you will find it in most Twelve-Step programs. Pay close attention to the words of Yeshua (highlighting added to stress specific words): Therefore if you bring your QORBAN to the ALTAR , and THERE you REMEMBER that your brother has something AGAINST you, leave your QORBAN there, before the altar, and FIRST be reconciled to your brother, and THEN come and offer your QORBAN . (Matthew 5:23-24) Yeshua was clearly addressing people who understood what he was talking about because it was something they and everyone they knew did. The Temple’s sacrificial rituals were part of Jewish life. QORBAN is usually translated as " sacrifice " or " offering .” In 21 st century America, both words are understood to be an act in which the one presenting the QORBAN losses or gives up something . But, in Yeshua’s world, the meaning of the...

Scholars are aware of the rich and diverse ways in which the term "Son of God" is used in the Hebrew Bible, in subsequent Jewish literature, and in the New Testament writings themselves, not to mention various non-Jewish texts (including inscriptions and coins) of the Greco-Roman period. Most of us who teach in the field of Christian Origins get asked from time to time by students or in public lectures, "Professor, do you believe Jesus was X." Sometimes X is "Messiah," other times it is "Divine," but in my experience, most often, the question is "Do you believe that Jesus was the Son of God." In good Socratic fashion one is tempted to reply, "Well what do you mean by the term 'Son of God,' and such a counter question is certainly more than subterfuge. Here is a listing of most of the complex ways in which that term is used in the Christian Bible and other related traditions. Read the complete article at -- http://www.huffi...