Where to begin? Let’s start by consulting the Wikipedia articles on the subject. Although Wikipedia is not the most accurate source, it is a fairly reliable provider of information about topics as thoroughly researched as the slave trade and should provide a good starting point for our discussion. In the article “Atlantic slave trade,”we are told that “Most contemporary historians estimate that between 9.4 and 12 million Africans arrived in the New World, although the number of people taken from their homestead is considerably higher.” Moving further down the page, we learn that only 6.45% of those slaves arrived in British North America, which later became the United States and Canada; 6.45% of 12 million = 774,000 slaves, all or most of whom presumably SURVIVED.

This information is consistent with every account of the slave trade I have ever read (David Brion Davis says 8.7 million Africans had arrived in New World by 1820, a lower figure), but let’s proceed anyway. In the article “Slavery in the United States,” we read that “an estimated 645,000 (slaves) were brought to what is now the United States.” Moving further down the page, we find that there were 697,681 slaves in the United States in 1790, immediately after the ratification of the Constitution when almost all the states (except South Carolina) had abolished the slave trade. This number comes from the first census. In 1790, there were only 3,929,214 people, free white citizens and slaves, in the United States; nowhere near 75 million.

In 2009, after almost three hundred years of natural increase, there are only 40.9 million blacks in the United States; 13.4% of the U.S. population. Even today, after three centuries this is nowhere near the 75 million number.

Perhaps you are wondering how many African slaves died in transit to the New World. In the article “Middle Passage,” we are told that an “estimated 15% of the Africans died at sea” and that “the total number of African deaths directly attributable to the Middle Passage voyage is estimated at up to two million.” 6.45% of 2 million = 130,000.

Are white Southerners responsible for the death of 130,000 blacks in the Middle Passage? Absolutely not.

- The transatlantic slave trade was dominated by the Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, and British for most of its duration. Whatever deaths that occurred were mostly on their watch.

- Insofar as America did engage in the slave trade, the ships that sailed to sub-Saharan Africa and engaged in the commerce were based in New England, particularly in Rhode Island. The South didn’t have a navy on the eve of the Civil War.

John is relying upon Cornell West as his source that 75 million Africans died in the slave trade. The charge specifically comes from one of his books called Out There: Marginalization and Contemporary Cultures in which West makes the following brief remark:

The death of roughly 75 million Africans during the centuries-long, transatlantic slave trade is but one reminder, among others, of the assault on Black humanity.

No source or citation is given by Cornell West, who is a civil rights activist, not a historian, in support of this claim. John seems to think it comes from the W.E.B. DuBois Institute at Harvard University. Presumably, this figure would be supported by James A. Rawley and Stephen D. Behrendt’s The Transatlantic Slave Trade which is published by the W.E.B. Dubois Institute.

On page 368 of The Transatlantic Slave Trade, we read that only 361,000 slaves were imported into British North America from 1519 to 1866. This is almost half the figure given by Wikipedia. On page 16, Etlis estimates that 9,599,000 slaves were imported to the New World; 3.8% of which went to North America. Curtain estimates that 9,556,000 slaves were imported to the New World, 6.8% of which went to North America. Both of these figures are consistent with the Wikipedia estimates of 9.4 to 12 million slaves.

A consistent picture is emerging here from multiple sources: about 9.5 million slaves were brought to the New World, 3.8% to 6.8% of the total (361,000 to 774,000) were imported to British North America, about 15% of which died in the Middle Passage. None of these figures support the claim that white Americans are responsible for the death of 75 million blacks.

The W.E.B. DuBois Institute has an interactive website which provides a lot of information about the slave trade. According to SlaveVoyage.org, 12,521,336 slaves were imported (embarked) to the New World, 305,326 of these were on American ships; 10,702,656 slaves disembarked in total; 252,653 disembarked on American ships. In other words, 52,673 slaves died on American ships in the Middle Passage out of almost 2 million in total. This figure independently confirms the 15% estimate given by Wikipedia.

Let’s put this in perspective: around 652,091  Americans die of coronary heart disease per year, 440,000 die per year from smoking, 117,809 die per year in unintentional accidents like motor vehicle crashes. There is no reason to focus on the 52,763 souls who died during the slave trade over three hundred years other than racial axe grinding.

It is worth noting here that Europeans were completely ignorant of the geography of Africa’s interior until the late nineteenth century (after the abolition of slavery) when explorers such as Mungo Park, Henry Morton Stanley, and David Livingstone mapped the region for the Royal Geographic Society. The guilt of slavery rests primarily with the blacks who were willing to sell their own people into bondage in exchange for guns, liquor, and shiny trinkets, not the Europeans who abolished the institution.

Over the last three hundred years, a small population of 361,000 to 697,681 blacks has grown to over 40 million through natural increase. The only logical explanation of this is that these people must have enjoyed extremely favorable living conditions in the American South.

Unlike John, I am not mortified by Southern history or the actions of my ancestors. I’m not going to engage in rearview mirror moralizing about the justice of slavery or segregation either. It took centuries for the idea to develop that all humans have a natural right to liberty and equality; a historical drama in which Southerners like Thomas Jefferson played no small part. It is also unfair to fault previous generations for their lack of modern sensibilities.

Further Thoughts: From 1900 to 2000, Africa’s population grew from 221 to 767 million. The introduction of Western medicine, sanitation, and technology to sub-Saharan Africa, in addition to billions of dollars of foreign aid welfare, has saved countless millions of African lives and more than made up for any deleterious impact that Europeans had on Africa during the Early Modern Era. 

Europeans introduced the New World crops to sub-Saharan Africa which led to an explosion in its population. As I write this, tens of millions of Africans subsist off of Western charity, but this inconvenient fact is rarely considered in the various demonologies of Western imperialism. Shouldn’t this count for something?

- Godless Materialist

People spend a lot of energy in avoidance of suffering. When we cannot we often make it worse with obsessive self pity. We spend our lives hiding our talents and wishes and true selves for fear of the pain of rejection. We refrain from taking adventures we dream of for fear of dangers on the journey. We avoid love and intimacy for fear of its loss. We spend huge amounts of money on pain relief medication. Understandably so, pain sucks.

What I noticed most about that paragraph was how much fear has to do with it. I think in many cases the pain is actually easier to cope with than the fear of more. Regardless, no matter how we avoid it, and work to find ever more elaborate ways to prevent it, suffering is a fact of life. When everything is perfect, there is always some little thing lying in wait to hurt you.

I cannot think of one aspect of human civilization that did not arise from the desire to decrease pain and suffering, or at least make sense of it. Religion, art, architecture, agriculture, politics, etc.

This has led me to the conclusion that pain is not only unavoidable but also necessary and, I will go so far as to say; desirable. Pain is a driving force. Suppose we never experienced a moment’s discomfort. Ever. Would we ever learn to walk or communicate? The world has formed itself by crushing and grinding and mutating and pushing and shoving and fighting. Things just get comfortable in one shape and the earth heaves a sigh and swallows up an entire ecosystem. Out pop some new mountain ranges, a few hundred species die, and the world goes on turning like nothing happened. As far as the world is concerned nothing did. All that anguish and suffering and death, and we just have sandy beaches where once there was rock.

What happens then is that life is forced to become stronger, more adaptable, more creative. It is forced to surpass its limitations, or die. It is forced to live intentionally, alertly, fully experiencing. Yes it is forced, but it is lazy and wouldn’t do anything otherwise.

Pain is furthermore a tool of spiritual teaching (a principle known to the self-flagellating Catholics John mentioned) as we learn to rise above it, move through it, and continue accomplishing our objectives in spite of it. It shows us our true power as divine beings when we can continue to work, think, love, in spite of terrible feelings.

The way to overcome pain is to find the center of your being and operate from there. This is a place that pain cannot touch, the place of quiet, steady Will. It is the best place to make decisions from in any case. This may not mitigate the experience of pain, but it will enable you to maintain self control in spite of it.

Physical pain stimulates the release of endorphins which assist in attaining altered mental states. Willingly accepting pain, controlling powerful instinctive reactions in order to do so, makes a firm statement to the psyche. It says, “I am in charge.” It eliminates the use of pain as a weapon or tool of manipulation. If you no longer fear it, if you can control your reaction to it, it cannot be used to control you.

Pain is for evolution, just like love. Love gives us something to run toward, pain gives us something to run from. If we can keep our heads, in pain, in love, if we can hold ourselves steady and think clearly no matter what other forces distract us, we rise above the mechanics of our humanity and become sentient in a new way.  When you have reached a point of tolerance where you are firmly in control, you begin to see the pain for what it really is, which is raw energy and power.  You can transform it. You can ride it, like a surfer on the ocean, instead of being swept away and drowned in it.

Or you can ride it like this:    

What I really want to say to some people is “Everybody please stop being such wimps, crying your frailty to an uncaring world and expecting the world to change! It will not change because you cry. It will not change because you are frail. In your cringing fear you debilitate yourselves far more effectively than ever pain could. So pick up your heads, assert the authority of the Self and get past it, or be slaves forever!”

Its not easy, but if more people did it it would be a saner world I say. I am not trying to say that we should pursue painful activities (except the really fun ones but thats a whole other post) or abusive relationships in order to learn either. Sometimes the message of pain really is “Get out of this NOW!”

But only that we accept that we will frequently experience these things, and the part we have a choice about is our own response. I have spoken as much of fear than as pain, but pain is at the root of fear, and fear causes a great deal of pain. Life is a process of learning self control. Pain is an excellent teacher. But it is not the only one.

Now I think Rita will be mad at me again, tearing her hair and yelling, “That is what I keep trying to tell you!”  So it is, but for some extremely resonant differences in focus. Truth be known I wrote all this 5 years ago and somewhere along the way I got lazy and succumbed to the shameful habits I mentioned in the beginning of this post. I got badly hurt and let it drive me away from what I loved most. Sometimes you have to let this happen, if only to return with renewed strength.

The fact is, Rita is right about me. I contradict myself often. I have posted a lot of stuff here that I wrote 5 years ago and it never fails to remind me how I have changed since that time when my ideals seemed so much clearer than they are now. That is another thing pain can do. It can make you forget things. This is why mastery of pain (as opposed to submission to pain) is so important to me.

This blog really is helping me find that clarity again. Once again I am grateful to have this space. Thanks you guys.

After reading the comments over the past few days, I have been forced to reconsider by original motivations for beginning this blog……maybe I was naive. I realize that our respective faiths are some of the most passionate areas of each our lives – and rightly so. Everyone who regularly participates in our discussion has proven themselves to be intellectually adequate at making and developing their own unique ideas. Whether I agree with them or not, the majority of the concepts that have been expressed have enlightened me and caused me to reconsider some of the personalities that have shaped the accepted principles of my faith. Let me be perfectly clear that I have never questioned my faith in God or his teachings that I believe to be above reproach. It has been my sole intent to increase my understanding of my fellow man and woman and his or her respective. Where some may see my religion as an exclusive club with unacceptable requirements for membership, I find a vast sea of love and tolerance. This sharp contrast in points of view is precisely why I decided, with John, to begin this spiritual journey of sharing and understanding. I found in John another human being that was equally willing to put down his shield and spear with the hope that we could learn from one another and furthermore benefit spiritually from that learning process. It is vitally important for us to understand that our own natural predisposition of intolerance to those who may look, act, or believe differently than us must be overcome. I simply cannot accept the evolutionists’ theories that I am merely an animal that is enslaved by my congenital instincts to act or react in a manner in which I am uncontrollably predestined. I take great solace in knowing that my Creator endowed me with a higher rationale, ability to reason, and a spirit to which there is no guide to predict my behaviors. I find that my faith allows me to overcome these instincts to which I would otherwise fall victim.

I, like John, was raised in a small town in Alabama. I am very proud of that fact and of the values that I have been taught while growing up here. I don’t know that I share John’s sentiment of secession, but I will also say that I feel very fortunate to have been reared in a region so rich with heritage and culture. There are aspects about the South’s past of which I am not particularly proud as there are aspects about my own past of which I am not particularly proud. I do not dwell in my own past as nor do I dwell in that of the region in which I live. That is certainly not to say that I have forgotten about either. It is our mistakes and failures that make us who we are – not our successes. We have the opportunity to be forgiven and to move on in a new direction. For this forgiveness, my soul is eternally grateful.

I just want to say a few words about what Im reading on this blog the past two days. There will be no more race-related comments in a negative manner…. period. I have asked the respective parties before and my tolerance is now passed.  Rev. Al and anyone else of color that may be reading this you have my sincere apology. I acknowledge, and am keenly aware that it does not matter what I think is offensive in this manner but what you think, as your people are the ones with one of the most tragic histories of all time.

I do want to say something further on that subject though. I am from the black belt region of the South and my forefathers fought in the Civil War, and owned slaves. This is not a fact I am proud of, and I also acknowledge that this war was not only fought to keep slaves by a lot of Southerners. We, or  many of us Southerners, do have a conscious and are mortified by our region’s own past. We collectively as well, celebrate the amazingly beautiful things that have come from there such as Jazz, folk art, and some of the world’s finest literature. And frankly…if I had a choice we would not be part of the United States but our own independent  country.

I encourage anyone to visit the South, and Martin you and your family especially. There are not many small towns in America that are laid out from an architectural perspective any better than where my friend Robbie lives in Eufaula.

That nor none of the South’s accomplishments culturally though, will ever make up, or even compare to the horror and agony that took place here against a specific group of people for over a century. The ignorance and continual denial of responsibility has largely been what has kept us a undeveloped and backwards region for quite some time. As for the numbers, let me set the record straight on that once and for all. There are different scholarly opinions and these vary widely as does the statistical methodology behind them. The most qualified people I know in this area are those at the W.E.B Dubois Institute at Harvard University. I do not have a PhD in history, but that said I have studied with several at that level who are and are published credentialed scholars both at Auburn University and Harvard. With the exception of one Civil Rights expert at Auburn they have not, and are not in the same league, in terms of academic rigor and research as Harvard. I have also had Dr. Cornel West as a thesis advisor and his scholarship I trust more than anyone else with the possible exception of Dr. Leon Litwack at Berkeley. 

The current count per Dr. Cornel West, who is a professor at Harvard and previously at Princeton, is seventy five million. There are less than five people in the world who are remotely qualified to dispute this and not one of them has been on this blog and not one of them has written anything on Wikipedia.

So yes this is an atrocity beyond all comprehension and makes what happened to my people the Jews seem minor. To stubbornly not acknowledge that or make excuses for the cultural responsibility is cowardly at best.

I do not like the current doctrine of evangelical Christianity and this has nothing to do with the people who believe in it. I readily acknowledged in some instances, and with some people, it has made the world a better place and pointed people towards what I think is what we call G-d. I believe there is a divine creator of the world. if you do not then that is fine, no one will judge you from my household or tribe, especially if you use your mind. And if there is a G-d, and those of us who believe  are right, and you are wrong, I would guess he would hardly fault you if you used your mind to the fullest of your ability and honestly came to this conclusion. Only you and him know this. I hope like Dr. Dawkins though, you will always leave out some odds that one just might exist [ his is 6.9 on a 10 he does not by the way].

The reason I do not like evangelical Christianity is because “it”- the religion- not faith or a belief in Jesus as some sort of messenger or messiah- has developed into something that is very much not what “it” (Christianity) originally was. In doing this it creates a system of thinking that excludes others as being able to connect to G-d. This doctrine says Judaism is wrong, Buddhism is wrong, Occultism is wrong…and they are all going to hell if they do not see Jesus exactly the same way they do. And by the way starting with Thomas Jefferson and current to Pastor Shane Claiborne, there are many who feel this same way. 

I want no part of this and many clear-headed religious followers of Jesus feel the same way but do not voice it. But know in no way, except for the occasional jab at my spiritual brother Robbie, ( which is a form of humour between the two of us) do I criticize the person. If it has ever come across that way it was certainly not intended. And I do not expect anyone who posts on this blog to attack any one individual or generic group of people or I will delete the post. If it happens twice I will make the blog inaccessible to you. If it happens thrice then I will take liberty with your hard drive on whatever system you use and humble you a bit- this I promise.

Attack the idea all you care to, challenge , debunk, share what you think and be prepared to explain why. This is the blogs purpose to discuss and debate topics of faith that are not normally spoken of between those of different faiths. It moves Robbie into the discourse of a synagogue and me into the world of snakes in a church. Fascinating, bizarre and riveting and above all deeply faith-affirming.

Above all whether a man handles a poisonous snake or a woman cuts her genitals (willingly ), or a Rabbi decides to slice of part of a boys penis for a reason of faith, I am  in awe of the power that lies behind human belief in G-d. How we express it is what we discuss here. Not anything else.

And we attempt- even when heated discussions are present, to never make it personal and the test is if both parties walk away with internal questions then we have succeeded.

 If not…do not write it.

John

I have to tell you all that I really honestly do enjoy my conversations with you here tremendously. Not to get all mushy but I really do like you people.  I love everyone here. I haven’t met a single person here that I wouldn’t like to give a big hug to and I mean that. Even GM. You are all beautiful.

I think it is important that everyone knows that nothing I am saying comes from a place of hostility. I say things I am thinking because I think them, not because I think that they are fact. I am grateful to have a place to do that. This conversation would be utterly impossible in person, wouldn’t it? But here we can meet in Spirit!

I think that it is also important for us all to keep in mind that we do not have to feel threatened by each other’s Ideas. We all feel passionately what we feel. Without love it is just so much shouting. That thing about speaking with the tongues of men and angels, you know?

Anyway, that was just me waving the sparkly faerie wand of happiness for a minute to refresh us all and remember what it is we are actually shouting about.

Now, back to the battle in progress!

“And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover”. (Mark 16:17-18)
“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19)

In Alabama a few years ago one of the more prominent Baptist Christian ministers died during one of the snake handling services, John Wayne “Punkin” Brown (pictured above). The members though insist that it was not due to the fact that a large rattlesnake wrapped around his arm bit him, but that he actually had a heart attack. You can come to your own conclusions about that.
After that incident though the state passed a law against this and now charges a 50 dollar fine per sermon when poisonous snakes are used- but note it does not currently enforce this.
This is largely thought to be due to a recent republican governor of Alabama, Pastor Guy Hunt who by the way was a Baptist minister( the same church Robbie is from) and passively supported this practice among churches in northeast Alabama.

The use of poison you mentioned is likely strychnine or a version of commercial rat poison that has the chemical in it. Again, this as well is true and is practiced in these churches. This often accompanies the handling of rattlesnakes in the service as they drink the poison publicly in large doses, that should kill them, and hold the rattlesnakes while preaching services that require the congregants to accept Jesus to be saved.
Women get very excited and wave their hands in the air and some collapse such as these pictured from a church in Henry County Alabama.
A really good well written book on the subject, if you wish to know mor, is by Birmingham native Dennis Covington, Salvation on Sand Mountain and I highly recommend it. He has historical family ties to this practice and was previously a New York Times reporter.

This practice seems at present to be confined at present to Holiness, Pentecostal or Baptist denominations of Christianity although there are a few unaffiliated churches in the Birmingham area have adopted the practice in recent years.

From the best I can tell a lot this renewal in snake handling centers around a dispute among Baptists and Pentecostal denominations on changes they have made to their own bible. Both accept literally as the word of G-d although they are not sure what is authentic and not at times.

In this case, snake handling, there is a section in Mark specifically that is referred to as the “Marcan appendix”. In the bible they both use they revised with a new edition in 1951 and deleted the quote mentioned above.
The argument was that this segment (called the “long version”) was added by a third century AD scribe to make Mark’s narrative conform more with Matthew and Luke by including Christ’s appearances to Mary Magdalene and the disciples.

These verses still appeared to many to be out of parallel, narrative-wise, with the particular ascension stories provided in the other two synoptic gospels, Matthew and Luke, and particularly in Christ’s mentioning of the five signs: casting out of demons, speaking in new tongues, the taking up of serpents, the drinking of deadly things, the laying on of hands to heal.

Additionally the most ancient versions of Mark end with 16:8 and do not include any reference to Christ’s risen appearance to Mary
Magdalene and to the disciples, thus also deleting the evangelical mandate “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” and all that follows relative to the “five signs,” Mark 16:17-18. Codex Sinaiticus is the only ancient Greek manuscript that contains the entire New Testament, and it does not include the Marcan Appendix.
In addition to the five signs passage not being included in the other two synoptic gospels, John’s gospel doesn’t include it either; however, in John, Acts, Corinthians I and II, and elsewhere there are statements about Apostolic actions being supported by “signs,” referenced in a general way, but not by the specific five signs mentioned in Mark 16 or what they term the Marcan appendix.
But as is typical with Christianity, the politics of biblical editing wins out and not any form of independent scholarship, and when the New Revised Standard Version was re-published in 1989, the scholars/editors of these denominations placed Mark 16:9-20 back into the main flow of Mark.
This return of the Marcan appendix many believe has been in response to the loud outcry that in 1951 arose from Pentecostals, Baptists and other “practicing the signs” groups primarily located in the American south, condemning the Mark omissions, both of the “five signs” passage and the “Go into all the world . . .” mandate, which can be found elsewhere in the Gospels.

The most vocal among those are in Robbie’s region where they, for some mysterious unknown reason, like to have poisonous snakes wrapped around their arms while preaching about how the rest of us are going to hell if we do not accept their Christ. Of course this is …if you believe in Jesus.

Remember my Muslim friend, these are the same people that are calling Islam crazy and misled…so my advice is to take that with a grain of salt and be very wary.

In the beginning there was nothing.

I dont mean the kind of Nothing we have now, which contains all potentiality within its nonself, I mean really nothing. I mean hold in your mind the idea of absolute nothing, then take away your mind, the totality of all the universe, every infinitesimal particle of anything remotely resembling anything and lastly the idea itself, and you have something like the kind of nothing that I am talking about, only not at all.

It is impossible to know for precisely how long this state continued, since there was no such thing as time, continuation, or states, but at some point, possibly even several points at once, (not that points had been thought of yet, or thoughts) a very tiny speck of boredom suddenly was.

The boredom grew rapidly, as boredom will when there is absolutely NOTHING to do. Can you imagine Absolute Boredom? And so Time came to pass. It passed very slowly indeed.

Eventually the boredom reached the point of urgency at which death becomes preferable to enduring one second more, only death had not yet been invented, so there was no alternative. It was an Impossible situation.

And so was born the first Idea, which immediately began to multiply itself, and the Boredom died in its emergence. Thus are Life and Death as twins born embracing, born wrestling, the dynamic tension of their passionate dance raising and destroying worlds. Each triumphs over the other and surrenders in their turn. Each penetrates the other and sows the seeds of new Ideas, which burst out in all directions.

If you want to visualize what i mean, imagine a fireworks display where each spark of each flare becomes the center of it’s own explosion, and all the sparks of that explosion become centers of their own and explode, and onward and ourward in perpetuity new fires are created which die as they create new fires. This radiates further and further out, the universe growing in all directions, filling the space inside a tiny point of vibrantly passionate existence locked in eternal union with its twin and opposite. Love separates them and makes them two, pulls them irresistably together to again become one, distance and separation being the sorrow, but also the joy, of Love.

Nothing is Impossible. Life will ever triumph over Death, though Death will also always triumph over Life (She likes it when He is a bit rough). Time moves very quickly for Lovers, but Inspiration is a full time job.

In the Cosmic Dance there is no room for boredom.

Cosmic Dance, Elizabeth Lyle

[Note: This is by Mandi from research she has been doing for a few weeks and has requested we post it]

I challenge anyone on this blog who really believes in Christianity to answer these questions truthfully and if you cannot then I further challenge you to accept the alternative.

1) Was Jesus a Jew or a Gentile?

Yeshua was a Torah observant, tallit wearing, synagogue attending, Sabbath and feast-keeping, kosher Jew, who observed the Jewish holy days of Passover, Tabernacles, and Pentecost. Are today’s Christians, for the most part, walking in Torah, keeping the Biblical feasts, or the seventh day Sabbath? Various sects of Catholicism and many Christians denominations claim to the the “true religion” that Jesus established. Yet, modern day “Christianity” has very little in common with the founder of their “faith”. How is this explained in a logical fact-based manner?

2) Why do Christians continually refer to the Jewish Messiah as “Jesus” when Yeshua was His given Hebrew name? It’s not that hard to pronounce….
The Jewish Messiah’s given name was Yeshua. “Jesus” is the Hellenized-Anglicized form of “Yeshua”. “Jesus” doesn’t mean anything, while Yeshua means “Salvation”. Yeshua never heard the name “Jesus” in His lifetime. Some people have said that this is irrelevant, but our question is this: If your name is “John” or “Mary”, why would you answer to “Charles” or “Betty”? Yes, Yeshua knows who we are talking about when we call Him “Jesus”, but it’s a lot more honest to call Him by His given Name – the name that has a meaning….

3) Where in the Scriptures does God tell us to ignore the original, seventh day Sabbath – the day He Himself blessed and made holy (Gen 2:1-2)? Why would Christian take it upon themselves to change this?

You won’t find anything in the Scriptures that references the changing of the Sabbath to Sunday. Some argue that it’s because “Jesus rose on a Sunday” – but you need to ask yourself: Why would that, in itself, change the seventh-day Sabbath that God ordained “in the beginning”? (First of all, there is proof that Jesus did NOT rise on a Sunday! Some argue that Constantine was responsible for changing the Sabbath because he hated the Jews.

No matter who instituted Sunday worship, in Yeshua’s time, both Jews and Gentiles alike, regularly attended the synagogue for worship on the seventh day, and the fact that interested Gentiles in Antioch requested further instruction of Paul “on the next Sabbath” is irrefutable evidence that no separate Sunday (1st day) meetings were being held there by those early Christians: The Gentiles were willing to wait an entire week, till the next Saturday, for a meeting because they knew that Paul and his companions did not normally meet for worship on a Sunday. Acts 13:42-44 tells us that, on the next Sabbath (Saturday) almost the whole city arrived for the meeting.

Furthermore, the fact is, neither the Father nor the Son has ever claimed the first day as His own in any higher sense than He has each or any of the other laboring days. Neither of them has ever placed any blessing upon it, or attached any sanctity to it. The Bible tells us God expressly reserved the seventh day to Himself, placing His blessing upon it, and claimed it as His holy day. (Genesis 2:1-3.) Moses told Israel in the wilderness of Sin of the sixth day of the week, “Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord.” Exodus 16:23. (Please see Sabbath Truth and The True Sabbath Day.)

4) Christians insist that “the law” was abolished. How is that possible when sin is transgression of “the law”? When and by whom was it abolished? Certainly not by Yeshua! He said He came NOT to abolish but to confirm (Hebrew: koom which means “establish/confirm)”. Why would Yeshua’s role as FINAL SIN SACRIFICE in any way negate Torah – God’s original teaching and instruction? Did He ever say, “I came to abolish Torah and render my original teachings void”? Yeshua is our “New Covenant” and “Sin Sacrifice”. Period. God gave us a New Covenant, not a new Torah! Did He even MENTION Torah as He spoke about giving us a New Covenant (Jer.31:30-33/Heb.8:8-12)?

You won’t find anything in the Scriptures to show that Torah was ever abolished. Many Christians have decided that when God said, “I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts” He meant that His original Torah (teachings) would be rendered null and void. How many of today’s people automatically know God’s laws? How many actually KEEP his laws? If this were TRULY the case that God’s laws were somehow imprinted in our hearts, there would be NO adultery, divorce, murder, hate crimes, abortion, lying, stealing, coveting – things that many Christians are certainly guilty of…..

Yeshua said: Matthew 5: 17 Don’t think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. 18 Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah – not until everything that must happen has happened. If “ALL” hasn’t happened yet, and heaven and earth have not passed away, then that must mean that His Torah is still valid…
But as we well now from this blog Christians are loath to accept it.

5) Why do Christians insist that “the law” was “written on our hearts” (Jeremiah 31:33-34; Romans 10:4-8) and therefore, the “Old Testament” no longer pertains to them?

Perhaps Christians need to look at this passage from another viewpoint: Unless we have read the “Old Testament” how can we automatically KNOW what Torah says? Yes, we have “the law”/Torah written on our hearts – but this does not mean we have an automatic knowledge of it just because we are “saved”. It means we now have the desire for Torah! The heart is the “seat of desire”. Why? Because it is the battleground over which God and Satan fight continually. Allegiance comes from the heart; as do concepts such as honor, loyalty, and commitment. The heart sets apart greatness from merely “good”. Without the heart no endeavor reflects the fact that we are created in the image of God.

6) Since God said to celebrate the Biblical feasts FOREVER (Leviticus 23:21, 31, 41, Exodus 12:14), why do you believe He wants you to ignore them now, simply because His Son died on the cross? Has “forever” come and gone, or ended somehow?

No – “forever” has not come and gone! Messianic Jews celebrate the Biblical feasts because it is instructed by God in the Torah for Israel to observe these festivals forever (Leviticus 23:21, 31, 41, Exodus 12:14). Messiah Yeshua observed these festivals as did the early Messianic Jews and apostles such as Rabbi Shaul/Apostle Paul (Acts 20:16, 1 Corinthians 16:8, Acts 28:17). When Yeshua returns to this earth these festivals will be re-established worldwide (Zechariah 14:16-21). God has His appointed times! He does nothing without purpose. What makes us think we can simply ignore what He says?

7) Did Rav Sha’ul (Apostle Paul) actually say that, since Yeshua’s death, we can eat whatever we want, meaning there is no more “Kosher”?

1 Timothy 4: 1 The Spirit expressly states that in the acharit-hayamim some people will apostatize from the faith by paying attention to deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come from the hypocrisy of liars whose own consciences have been burned, as if with a red-hot branding iron. 3 They forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods which God created to be eaten with thanksgiving by those who have come to trust and to know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing received with thanksgiving needs to be rejected, 5 because the word of God and prayer make it holy.

First of all we have to remember that Paul was talking to the Jews and Gentiles – who were KOSHER and adhering to God’s “clean and unclean” laws. They wouldn’t dream of going against what God said in Leviticus concerning what He considered to be food. (Although many prefer to think otherwise, Paul constantly confirmed Torah: Romans 3: 31 Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law….)

Paul tried to warn people against doctrines of demons which twist God’s Word. Every creature is good and not to be refused IF it is made holy by the Word of God and prayer (thanksgiving). The Word of God in Leviticus tells us what is holy and not holy. That is what Kosher means, because it comes from the same root as kodesh, meaning holy.

8 ) Where in the Scriptures did Yeshua ever attend a “church”? The Bible DOES tell us that He attended “synagogues”: Matthew 12:9, Matthew 13:54, Mark 1:21, Mark 1:29, Mark 3:1, Mark 6:2, Luke 4:16, Luke 4:20, Luke 4:28, Luke 4:38, Luke 6:6, Luke 7:5, John 6:59, John 12:42, John 18:20, Acts 13:14, Acts 13:42, Acts 14:1, Acts 18:4, Acts 18:26, Acts 19:8 to mention just a few….

Yeshua attended synagoges, not “churches”. Stern’s Complete Jewish Bible – translated directly from Hebrew into English – never mentions “church” but, rather, uses the words “congregation” or “community”. This is a good place to mention that Messiah Yeshua was NOTHING like the modern New Testament representation that most Christian denominations have made Him into! The apostle Paul warned against what was already beginning to happen 1,900 years ago – the world has embraced “ANOTHER JESUS”, a totally different “Jesus” from the one revealed in Scripture! Paul warned the Corinthian church:

II Corinthians 11: 2 For I am jealous for you with God’s kind of jealousy; since I promised to present you as a pure virgin in marriage to your one husband, the Messiah; 3 and I fear that somehow your minds may be seduced away from simple and pure devotion to the Messiah, just as Havah (Eve) was deceived by the serpent and his craftiness. 4 For if someone comes and tells you about some other Yeshua than the one we told you about, or if you receive a spirit different from the one you received, or accept some so-called “good news” different from the Good News you already accepted, you bear with him well enough!

9) If, as you believe, the Torah was “abolished” and the “Old Testament” is to be ignored – why are Christians still teaching the Ten Commandments or telling church members to tithe? Isn’t it hypocritical to pick and choose what we want to believe of the “Old Testament?

The Ten Commandments appear in two places in the Bible: Both are in the Old Testament – Exodus, chapter 20; and in Deuteronomy, chapter 5. Neither version conveniently lists the commandments from one to ten, which is presumably how they would appear when posted. In the most commonly referenced passage, Exodus 20, the commandments cover 17 verses and encompass at least 14 imperatives. Concerning tithing, in the New Testament tithe and tithing are found eight times (Matthew 23:23; Luke 11:42; 18:12; Hebrews 7:5-6,8-9). But all of these passages refer to the Old Testament usage under the law! In view of this fact, it seems that today’s church pastors should never ask for tithes because, according to your own train of thought, tithes are “old testament”…..

10) Do the Scriptures command us to celebrate the birth or resurrection of the Messiah via Christmas and Easter? What’s more, is it okay to lie to your children about the existence of Santa Claus and egg-laying rabbits? What do these things have to do with Yeshua’s birth and death? For those who want to answer: “It’s fun; it’s tradition”, then please check the Bible to see what God says about man-made traditions….

You won’t find Christmas and Easter anywhere in the Bible. Those holidays were man’s idea and, while they were originally meant for GOOD, Satan used them for evil by having us insert Paganistic traditions. (Please see The Pagan Origins of Christmas and The Pagan Origins of Easter.) What’s more, it is NOT okay to lie to your children about the existence of Santa Claus and egg-laying rabbits. Lying is a sin. The Ninth Commandment is: Thou shalt not lie. Can you honestly say that you’ve never said to your kids: “Santa Claus is coming soon to bring you toys, so you’d better be good!” or “Look! The Easter bunny brought you some colored eggs!” Is it okay to tell a “little” lie? Since when? Is human tradition worth the cost of making us guilty of sinning in God’s eyes?

11) When exactly did Gentiles come into faith, and how can they claim that THEIR “church” is the “original church that Jesus built” when NONE of them observe Torah, and MOST of them ignore the seventh day Sabbath and the Biblical feasts! Does YOUR church in any way resemble ANYTHING that Yeshua originally taught? Please check the Bible thoroughly before answering.

By Mandi dammit ( you know the dumb one that cant spell )