Over Easter there was a show about Jesus. Ok, no surprise there, but one of the experts that was being interviewed mentioned that he thought that Jesus had intended to reform Judaism rather than start an entirely new religion. It’s been on my mind lately and I’m wondering what other people thought. So, did he or didn’t he?
Also, given who Jesus is, (and this is just speculation because we can’t know what he knew or actually thought) wouldn’t he have been aware of what was going to happen in the church after his death on the cross? I know that he foresaw the persecution of the apostles, but do you think that he knew that his death would create a completely different religion, especially after the gentiles were accepted. In fact, maybe the reason that God told Paul to start including gentiles is because He realized that rather than reforming Judaism the apostles were in fact establishing an entirely new religion?
I started a thread that you might be interested in reading as well, which may overlap some of the topics you brought up: A Questions on Christianity and Judaism
I’m leaning toward Jesus being on the fringe of Judaism, one of the many Judaic cults of the time, and trying to incorporate his ideas into mainstream Judaism. However, after his death and the influx of different pagan groups and their ideas, Christianity went from being a Judaic cult to a whole different religion. The OT actually warned of teachers coming, showing signs and wonders (miracles) and stated that if asked to go and worship a different god, don’t do it and reject this person. That is exactly what happened. And that is exactly what the educated, mainstream Jews did.
The second question part of the OP is yet another difficulty with Jesus being fully god/fully man (forseeing the future of what happens). There are many others, but I think the man as diety concept has more to do with the influx of pagan thoughts (the mystery religions, mythrasism, egyptian relgions and so forth) and ideas in the later forming of the religion than with Jesus’ message itself.
Why would God start a whole new religion, with completely different ideas on laws, the afterlife, origins of good and evil, and the very nature of God himself? What, then was the previous 3,000 years of teachings, prophets, warnings and laws for? Why would so much change? This is part of the reason of why I’ve become highly suspecious of Christianity and it’s theology.
The question has different answers, depending on who you think Jesus was: human, divine, or both.
However, from where I stand, Jesus was not trying to start a new religion, nor to “reform” Judaism, but to take Judaism back to its roots. If anything, he was a conservative (although, arguably, radical in his conservativism), right-wing rather than left-wing.
The new religion comes from Paul who had a vision of Jesus after-death.
Now, if you think that Jesus was a human and Paul had eaten too many bad mushrooms, then you’ll agree with me.
If you think Jesus was divine and Paul heard the Holy Word, then you’ll say Jesus started a new religion.
And, of course, as I’ve said before, one of the reasons Jews rejected the new religion is that we don’t think God would reverse His promises.
Ok, which promises? (I’m still a newbie christian and want to know everything. I have major questions about why Christians don’t have to observe certain feasts and holy days that the Lord said we should have to celebrate forever.) Or if there is a link or thread already out there pertaining to this topic, just let me know which one.