The 12/20/2021 New Testament From a Jewish point of view class was probably our most active and interesting discussion yet!
Jo Ann, Dan, Randy, Robin, Dave, Karen, David, Odette, and Merill attended.
We read Romans Chapter 13 and the notes associated with the chapter.
Our lively discussion began as soon as we read the chapter since Randy brought up how horrible this chapter is since it encourages religion and government to mix. Not opposing the government is not a good idea at all.
This prompted everyone to share their views on the relationship between church and state.
Of course Donald Trump came up!
Somehow we got on to a tangent when someone asked who was the first Jew to eat pork? Someone pointed out that archeologists could differentiate between Canaanite and Jewish settlements by the presence or absence of pig bones.
Dan pointed out that the letter was addressed to people in the capital of the Roman Empire, and that it was important this letter not suggest that Christians were disloyal citizens.
Jo Ann recalled reading of the experiences of a Jewish man who converted to Christianity prior to WWII in Poland, who was still had to hide from the Nazis when they invaded. They didn’t care about his conversion.
The notes mentioned that Rabbi Hillel said the whole Torah was about not doing what is hateful to you to your neighbor.
Randy also shared that it seems that Jesus must have been a better salesman than others that claimed they were the messiah. We learned that some in Chabad/Lubavitch considered the deceased Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Schneerson the messiah.
We learned that Chabad and Lubavitch are one and same. Chabad is the name of the organization and Lubavitch is the name of the town the original Chabad Rebbe came from.
We all agreed again that what is in Romans Chapter 13 is quite disturbing. Blindly following the government and mixing it with religious belief, is not a good thing.
We will study Romans Chapter 14 next week.
If anyone has anything to add to this summary, please do!
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