E-mail address to contact Admin direct is admin@religionethics followed by .co.uk.
Well it is an idea. I don't know if it is fallacious or not. "Where there are two Jews, there are three opinions"; no doubt that has always been so. Today there are Jewish groups who believe the Messiah has been on earth and physically died, they are highly spiritual, believe in an afterlife and are preparing for Armageddon. Others, equally sophisticated, believe quite differently. The ancient stories and traditions have been handed down to each generation but, like many religious groups, they part company because different emphases are placed on the ancient teachings.We'd really have to ask some Jewish people, a pity we don't have some posting on here, but I can guarantee we'd get several answers.Christians place different emphases on Jewish teachings, some of which would be unrecognisable to Jewish people.
Hope may be wrong, no-one can be certain however much research they do. That's why there are so many firmly held opinions.
OK, the 1st century Jewish understanding of the Messiah was someone who would come as a politico-military leader. This had been the case since the 5th or 6th century BC - but prior to that, the concept had been far more of a spiritual leader. Unless the authors of the Gospels had that level of theological training (which is unlikely in view of the dating of the material), that isn't something that would have been in the mindset of the early Jewish church leaders - fishermen and tax-collectors, etc.Secondly, whilst the Jews did have an understanding of resurrection, it was not the 'instant' type that is recorded with the resurrection of Lazarus or Jesus, but something that went hand in hand with the end times.That's two to start with.
except your position argues that he is wrong in principle!
