Introduction

“Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they have become fools; and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man…” Romans 1:21-22.

            Christians like to point out the above while condemning Pagans and other idol worshippers. What is ironic is that Christians themselves fall under this rebuke to Gentiles who turn the incorruptible God into the corrupt image of man. When accused of this same sin, Christians argue that the verse says “image”, meaning only an idol or icon. Protestant Christians enjoy pointing out that Catholics worship statues and icons. “We don’t worship idols”, they say, as if to be exempt from Paul’s condemnation.

 Whether or not known to Catholics or Protestants, the Christian idol is nothing more than Jesus of Nazareth himself. Consider the verse that follows Romans 1:21-22, “…who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creation more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” Romans 1:25.

            What is this “truth of God” that Paul speaks of? And what is the lie? I will tell you it is: The truth of God is that He is One without division. He is invisible, unable to be conceived in the mind and heart. His Spirit saturates the heavens and permeates the bonds of all molecules. He is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. Unencumbered by time, space and matter, which are creations of His, He is bound by nothing. In spite of His immensity and power, He is One, Unique and Indivisible- with Justice and Mercy for all!

            This is the lie: God is One with division, thereby compromising His uniqueness. The lie is that God, with His infinite capacities can be reduced into a blob of gold or wood. The greater lie is that He can be reduced into the form of a MAN—a creation. You see, the greater the lie, the more sophisticated the Liar is.

            Bottom line: The Creator can never be the creation, whether by His own Hand or by man’s.

            Christians, in spite of their insistence that Jesus is God, transgress the Truth. Jesus is a creation, allegedly that of Mary and of the Holy Spirit.  Paul says the practice of bringing God down into a created form and worshipped is a lie. Why should Paul be so concerned? It is because the Second Commandment given by God to Moses at Sinai condemns this practice. For it is written: “You are not to make yourself a carved-image or any figure that is in the heavens above, that is on the earth beneath, that is in the waters beneath the earth; you are not to bow down to them, you are not to serve them, for I, YHWH your God, am a zealous God…” Exodus 20:4-5.

            Let me state again: all Christians worship Jesus who they believe is God in the flesh, thereby worshipping a creation and not the creator. It is written that God made Man in His own image (Gen. 1:26). Therefore it can be easily inferred that every human is created in the IMAGE (likeness) of God. Therefore to worship Jesus, who was made in the image of God and is therefore a creation, is a mortal sin. Man was created to govern the workings of the earth as God governs the workings of Creation. Man has feelings and self-determination just like God. We look upon Man as a pale reflection of God’s characteristics. The term “image” in Hebrew is t’munah, meaning a “likeness”. Therefore any man is a creation and is made in the likeness of God. To worship a man as God is a transgression of the Second Commandment as well as Paul’s rebuke in the Book of Romans.

When this is understood, Christians will realize they are condemned by both the Torah and Paul.

Interestingly, the Hebrew people have never considered that God would become a man and be worshipped in the form thereof. This concept was a characteristic only in the pagan peoples who lived outside of Israel. God commanded that the Hebrews never imitate the practices of the pagan nations around them. If God told the Hebrews not to imitate pagan practices, how on earth could God himself be a “trinity”- something only found in non-Jewish religions? I think you can work out the conclusion for yourself.

            Do the Hebrews and Christians worship the same god?  Many Jews and Christians believe so. If you are a Jew that believes this,  I ask you to consider Deuteronomy 13:6-8: “If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the wife of your bosom or your friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which you have not known, neither you or your fathers, of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth, you shall not consent to him nor listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him . . .”

            Answer these questions:

1. Did the Children of Israel believe that their God had a “junior” partner in establishing the Creation?
2. Did your fathers believe that God would disavow the Torah that He gave to Israel?
3. Did your fathers worship a God who consisted of 3 persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit?
4. Was the idea of God becoming a man and dying for the sins of all held by the Children of Israel?
5. Did your fathers ever seal a prayer in the name of an intercessor who advocated on your behalf in heaven?

The concepts in these 5 questions are characteristics of the god that the Christians worship. The God of your fathers, dear Hebrew, displayed none of these attributes.  Any Hebrew who taught the worship of a deity that was not YHWH of the Hebrews was to be executed! Christians may use the same names as us, they may have originally practiced the same Torah we did, but their god was not worshipped by the Hebrews. This is a god your forefathers did not know. 

Why This Book

            There are many books in the published world written by former Christians. While many cover the same material, it is the manner in which he/she was convinced that Christianity was not the answer to Judaism that makes the book unique.

            Each former Christian comes to the light of truth in the way that God has led him. Each author discovers things which another has not pointed out. Anyone can pick this up and learn from it, be disgusted by it and maybe even be spiritually shaken by it. This book is to inform both Jews and Christians why I reject Jesus as god and messiah. It is also to give Jews an inside look at how a vast majority of Christians interpret the Scriptures. Understanding this method of interpretation gives us the key to understand why Christians are steeped in false doctrine and how Jews can avoid being trapped by their “proof texts”.

            To an observant Christian, this book will be offensive to you. I call Christianity what it is in relation to Judaism: heresy. I call the majority of Christendom blind sheep by honest scrutiny. I don’t care if you are a Christian and think of yourself as part of the “remnant” or some “Last Days warrior”.

I will refute key elements that separate Christianity from Judaism. I will also refute some doctrines that are of current interest to mainstream evangelical Christianity such as the pre-tribulation rapture.

            A book is something that is also frozen in time as a product of a particular knowledge in a given moment. Therefore, to the observant Jew, pardon my short comings at clearly defining Jewish theology and doctrine. As you can imagine, the journey from Christianity to the Torah is a lifetime journey with many new things to learn and assimilate.

So why this book? It is a testimony to my personal journey.

Some Information You May Need to Know

The Name

            In this book, I will use the Tetragrammaton, which is YHWH, in place of the common use of Hashem, Adonai and LORD (found in Christian translations). This may bother some people, but the use of the Name of God is significant and important, “Fear YHWH your God; Him you shall fear and to Him shall you cling and in His Name will you make oaths” (Deuteronomy 10:20). The name of God is important to both use and take oaths by.

            “And if your people Israel is smitten before an enemy, because they have sinned against you, and they will repent and praise your Name and they will pray and supplicate before you in this house: And you will hear from heavens and forgive the sin of Israel and you will return them to the land that you have given to them and their fathers: When the heaven are stopped and there is no rain, because they have sinned against you, and they will pray to this place and praise you Name, they will repent from their sins and you shall surely answer them: And you will hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servant and your people Israel...” (2 Chronicles 6:24-27).  Solomon says how important it is for the Hebrews to praise the Name of God, YHWH.

            God says in Joel, “And it will be after I will pour out my spirit on all flesh and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your elders will dream dreams, your youths will see visions, and even upon the man-servants and the woman-servants in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will give miracles in heaven and earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke, the sun will turn to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the Great and Terrible Day of YHWH, and it will be that all who call upon the Name of YHWH will be delivered, because in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance as YHWH has said ‘And in the remnant which YHWH shall call’.” (Joel 3:28-32). When a man or woman calls upon the Name of YHWH, not Jesus, Yeshua’ or LORD, they will attain salvation, as YHWH himself has said.

            Moses was told by God that the Priests are to “put my Name on the Children of Israel and I will bless them” (Numbers 6:27). How can there be blessing upon the Children of Israel without blessing in the Name of YHWH? Is it possible that the superstition of not pronouncing the Name has caused the countless tragedies against the Jewish people? In any case, there is no place in the Scripture which commands one to not pronounce the Name- only that the Name not be used for selfish reasons.

The Use of Hebrew

            You may have already noticed that I use the term “Hebrew” or “Israelite” in places where one would expect “Jew(s)”. I do this because, as a convert, I have a strong affinity to Abraham.

            Abraham is the physical father of the Hebrew people. However, he is also the spiritual father of those who convert to Judaism. This is why many converts to Judaism use the surname “Ben Avraham Avinu” (Son of Abraham Our Father).

            Abraham is called the “Ivri”, meaning Hebrew. It is derived from the word “ever” meaning “the other side”. Physically, Abraham and his family came from Ur and crossed the Euphrates into the land of Canaan. Abraham’s family came from the other side of the Euphrates. Spiritually, Abraham crossed from a life of idolatry and paganism to a life of monotheism and righteousness. The plural of “Ivri” is “Ivrim”. The Ivrim, therefore, are Hebrews.

            The word Jew (y’hudi) in Hebrew comes from the nation of Judea which is what the Children of Israel called itself after the Babylonian Exile. I feel that the word Hebrew is a more correct term to describe both the history and spiritual significance of the descendants of Abraham. Furthermore, when I say “we” I include myself with the Hebrews because of my acceptance to learn the ways of the Torah.

            The word “Jew” has been charged with such negative connotations throughout history that many people, upon hearing the word, automatically think negatively about the Jews. By exposing people to the word Hebrew and Israelite, we can create a new, more vibrant expression of who the true practitioners of Torah are. Many people who ask about Judaism can learn much about the Torah simply by being told the origin of the word Hebrew.   

            Another problem lies in the broad use of the term “Jewish”. It is used to refer to anybody born of a Jewish mother. But that does not necessarily mean that that Jew practices Torah. It is also this negative situation that makes the broad term Jewish somewhat misleading. Indeed, the term Hebrew or Israelite rightly represents Jewish people who are born or converted as well as practice the Torah.

Use of different names for Christianity

            While this explanation may be considered jumping to far ahead, I think it’s appropriate to talk about it. Some people think Christianity popped out of Palestine fully formed with a Trinity, Gospels and a host of other things. This is not so.

            Writings from the early Church fathers and readings from the Dead Sea Scrolls and Nag Hammadi texts shows us countless forms of early Christianity. In first century Palestine, there were many Messianic groups. They were Messianic in that they were veraciously opposed to Roman rule and corruption in the Priesthood and Sanhedrin. They believed the Messiah would come and rescue them from oppression and usher in a time of eternal peace.

            These groups shared many things in common. First, as already stated, they were Messianic. Second, they condoned the use of violence or “holy war” against Rome and its Jewish sympathizers (Hellenistic Sadducees and the Pharisees). Third, a lot of them were based in the wilderness or desert regions of Palestine, Jordan and south Syria although they were definitely NOT limited to these areas. Fourthly, their ideals did not agree with the allowance of pagan-Gentile offerings in the Temple, paying tribute tax to Rome and the additional Torah of the Pharisees. These groups are known by some scholars as the “Opposition Alliance” against Rome.

            Many of these groups held mystical interpretations of the Tenakh and relied on them for inspiration during this uncertain time. These groups were also influenced by the Primal/First Adam theology that is some what related to Gnosticism. They believed that the Christ/Anointing power would rest on whomever God chooses as the most pure. I would like to stop here before it gets too confusing. However, although we have no concrete historical record of Jesus, save that which may comprise of his teachings and parables in the Gospels, there was indeed a popular group living in Palestine in that time who believed he was the Messiah.

            This group was called many names: the Ebionites (the Poor/Meek), the Nazarites, the Nazarenes, the Essenes, the Oasenes, the Way and many other names which describe them. Historically, and outside the Gospels, we can find records of this sect being led by James, the brother of Jesus, directly appointed Bishop of the movement by Jesus himself.

            After the death of Simon, the successor to James, there came many problems. It was at this point that early church historians say that huge amounts of false doctrine entered the church. These false doctrines were Neo-Platonic, Gnostic, and very pagan. These problems caused a division both physically and doctrinally in the movement. For brevity’s sake, I have broken down Christianity into its three most important historical divisions.

            Nazarenes (for lack of a better word) - are the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. They are divided into 2 subgroups, the Jewish Nazarenes and the Gentile Nazarenes. The gentile Nazarenes were allowed to join the Nazarenes upon adherence to certain rules at set forth by James, the Leader of the Nazarenes (See Acts 15:22-29). The Jewish Nazarenes comprised of mostly Torah observant zealot Jews. They, according to scholar Robert Eisenman, were one of many nationalistic, apocalyptic groups that followed a “holy war” approach in the manner of the Maccabees.

            Pauline Christianity- refers to the religious system that Paul instituted during his missionary trips to Asia Minor and Europe. This theological system of salvation of faith was the catalyst that split the Nazarenes from the Pauline Christians. Pauline Christianity was also the mother of modern orthodox Catholicism and in effect, all Christendom.

            Christianity- refers to the collective teachings of both Catholic and Protestant factions of the Church.

            Of course, the more we learn about early Christianity, whose accounts and records seem deliberately obscured, the more we can appreciate just how powerful this movement was in its time. Also, the more we realize there was a definite split over the practice of the Torah, as contrasted between James and Paul’s theologies, the more we should question the reliability of the Christianity that it practiced today as opposed to how it was practiced at the time of the Disciples.

            This book will not investigate the historical development of Nazarenism/Ebionitism, etc. but will investigate the Pauline doctrines that effectively separated Christianity from its Torah predecessor.