RE: Would Jesus promote punishing the innocent instead of the guilty?
August 13, 2020 at 1:35 pm
Going back to an earlier point, Christianity grew originally as a subset of Judaism before splitting off. (This is very much the view of mainstream scholarship.)
Disregarding all notions of inspiration, the NT still provides an excellent guide to what the Early Church believed. (Whether they were right to believe it is another question).
Saul the Pharisee had spent his life working for the inauguration of God's (Jewish) Kingdom. His Damascus road experience lead him to believe that it had happened (and he had missed it). His writing throughout the epistles includes very detailed analyses of how the events around Jesus fitted in to the story of Judaism.
The Jewish analysis runs throughout the Gospels. Whether it is OT quote after quote at the beginning of Matthew showing how the birth of Jesus fits in with the Jewish story; through things like Jesus' analysis of Torah questions/use of Jonah/association with Daniel 7's vision etc; through to the very OT image of God as shepherd at the end of John.
Further, the Gospels are packed with Jesus announcing the inauguration of God's Kingdom. Whole books have been written on this.
Then Acts details the controversy over the place of Torah, Paul showing the Diaspora Jews where Jesus fits in, Revelation 10 “ the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.” Big etc on the evidence.
The evidence for critical roots in Judaism is overwhelming. Indeed the idea that resurrection could actually be a thing is pretty much unknown outside the NT. And the resurrection was completely unique- attempts at parallels don't work because they are so different and...they don't explain why the Early Church thought the Kingdom of God had been inaugurated.
Disregarding all notions of inspiration, the NT still provides an excellent guide to what the Early Church believed. (Whether they were right to believe it is another question).
Saul the Pharisee had spent his life working for the inauguration of God's (Jewish) Kingdom. His Damascus road experience lead him to believe that it had happened (and he had missed it). His writing throughout the epistles includes very detailed analyses of how the events around Jesus fitted in to the story of Judaism.
The Jewish analysis runs throughout the Gospels. Whether it is OT quote after quote at the beginning of Matthew showing how the birth of Jesus fits in with the Jewish story; through things like Jesus' analysis of Torah questions/use of Jonah/association with Daniel 7's vision etc; through to the very OT image of God as shepherd at the end of John.
Further, the Gospels are packed with Jesus announcing the inauguration of God's Kingdom. Whole books have been written on this.
Then Acts details the controversy over the place of Torah, Paul showing the Diaspora Jews where Jesus fits in, Revelation 10 “ the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.” Big etc on the evidence.
The evidence for critical roots in Judaism is overwhelming. Indeed the idea that resurrection could actually be a thing is pretty much unknown outside the NT. And the resurrection was completely unique- attempts at parallels don't work because they are so different and...they don't explain why the Early Church thought the Kingdom of God had been inaugurated.
