Thomas G. Weinandy's Essay 'Who Is Israel'

Having the privilege to serve in the military has allowed this writer the opportunity to be exposed to the pluralistic society in a way which has exposed him to the beauty of the diversity enjoyed in American culture. One aspect of said diversity is the interaction which has taken place amongst the Christian and various world religions who also wear the same uniform in defense of America. It was the pleasure of the writer to attend a local synagogue in which his Jewish brothers and sisters welcomed him with open arms. The local congregation of Jewish believers went out of their way in order to ensure their newest visitor understood the flow of service and the significance of the ritual which took place on the first Shabbat or Sabbath of the month. The following essay will serve to detail the worship experience as well as how it and other beliefs of Judaism compare/contrast with the Christian faith.

With the growing pressure for a new state of Israel after the atrocities committed against the Jews in World War Two, President Franklin D Roosevelt's adopted a neutral policy towards Palestine. Roosevelt felt like the United States needed complete cooperation from Jews and Muslims before they could get involved. When Roosevelt passed away in April of 1945, Harry Truman was thrown into the presidency of the United States. Along with the ongoing war with Japan and difficulties with the Soviet Union, there was immediate pressure from Zionist leaders to get something done. Truman said "I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets have fallen on me"(Levantrosser). When Truman took office, his

Have you ever noticed that when people talk of Jews, at least in a protestant church, that the Israelite legalism, rituals, dress and hair standards are the first things to mind? The topic of Judaism may come with stereotypical opinions and “Christian Judgement” that are without merit or understanding. Judaism, by a Christian worldview, had to change after Pentecost, since the animal sacrifice to atone for sin Christ completed on the Cross. However, Judaism does not accept this truth of Christ and His work on the cross, but Judaism remains in the world. So, what was this change in Judaism and when did it take place? There have been numerous fluctuations within Judaism, only the theme constructed in this essay has its foundations around the most important facet of Judaism- the Temple. With the Temple in the forefront of this essay, we will discuss the modifications that Judaism went through, at what time, different perspectives that the destruction of the Temple had, and how the Christian sect views these vagaries. The Temple destruction of A.D. 70 converted the Jewish faith in its singular fashion, while, at the same point, the Jewish faith never had a total change by always changing throughout time.

Joe Sacco's graphic novel, Palestine, deals with the repercussions of the first intifada in Israel/Palestine/the Holy Land. The story follows the author through the many refugee camps and towns around Palestine as he tries to gather information, stories, and pictures to construct his graphic novel. While the book is enjoyable at a face level, there are many underlying themes conveyed throughout its illustrated pages and written text.

In 325, the Council of Nicea set out to formally characterize the relationship of the Son to the Father, in light of the dubious lessons of Arius. Driven by Bishop Athanasius, the gathering confirmed the precept of the Trinity as conventionality and censured Arius ' showing that Christ was the first making of God. The ideology received by the committee depicted Christ as "God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance (homoousios) with the Father."

This discussion begins by placing its roots in their proper foundation, historic Christian orthodoxy. The reality of the incarnation informs and is informed by all of the core doctrines of the Christian faith. Without an orthodox understanding of any of these aspects, one cannot see the robust, beautiful and awe inspiring truth of the Gospel. Thus, the question surfaces, why have we in the modern church all but completely abandoned the discussion and teaching of the doctrine of the incarnation? The book delves into each of these areas of orthodoxy mentioned thus far, pulling out the intricacies that are brought to fullness in light of the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

Levine’s book titled The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus proves to be a highly informative resource when trying to understand the intricate relationship between Christianity and Judaism. Levine’s primary objective seems to be a desire to address the idea that there is a vast, irreconcilable disparity between the beliefs and practices of Christians and Jews. Levine’s central argument focuses upon a common misperception of this dissimilarity: it is the result of Jesus being in direct opposition to Judaism. Furthermore, she contends that only a decided openness and interfaith dialogue between Christianity and Judaism can truly provide the most complete and compelling portrait of Jesus’s life and work. To me, the most edifying facet of Levine’s argument was her call to anchor Jesus within the historical and cultural context in which he was teaching in order to best understand his work and his message. Levine not only provides support for this idea throughout The Misunderstood Jew, but near the end of the novel also offers up ways in which both Christians and Jews can reconcile these two ostensibly conflicting perceptions of Jesus. Therefore, in this essay, I will analyze Levine’s arguments regarding the importance of historical/cultural context in Chapter One and Chapter Four while synthesizing it with her solutions presented in Chapter Seven.

St. Athanasius is a notable Bishop of Alexandria, who wrote an Orthodox classic work named On The Incarnation of the Word. This book’s purpose is to clarify the legitimacy of the Incarnation of Christ to non believers. He uses various scriptures, and teachings to further prove his argument. Essentially, this classic work proved to be recognized by many groups of people, because of its meticulous detail and explanations on the righteousness of Incarnation. St. Athanasius provides clarification about Incarnation, and creates a defense against critics of Incarnation.

God’s goodness and mercy far transcends the comprehension of the most brilliant human mind! He “who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth”(Psalm 113:6).Yet in His infinite love for us He stoops down to reveal Himself to us by a multitude of illustration, types, and shadows, so that we may learn to know him. This paper will describe what is meant by the Kingdom of God; examine the religious philosophy of the various sects of Judaism during the Second Temple period: Pharisee, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots, describe the religious philosophy and political philosophy of each sects, it will also describe how the Messianic expectation differ from the Messianic role that Jesus presented, and include an exegesis of

At the onset of the Christian faith, its followers faced a difficult period in which they had to deal with many internal and external forces of confusion about their new faith. With Christianity being a rather close subdivision of Judaism, the followers of Christianity are faced with the task of supporting their beliefs and practices deeming why they are justifiable. In this apologetic period, these Jewish Christians embark on the task of defending their church and the religion itself in order to establish its credibility and existence.

With the combining of Greek and Hebrew worldviews there was a new philosophy which was stressed on the Hebrew nation. These dogmas were there are multiple gods, they were identified through their natural rotations of the cosmos, the gods have no real purpose and humans were here to provide for them, and the gods gave rewards and punishments depending on whether the human provided for him/her appropriately. These ideals are in absolute conflict with the views of the Israelite people that lived in the surrounding area which caused a dilemma for the Israelites because there is no way these two different ways of beliefs could coexist. The Israelites continued to believe in their God, but the actions of the Israelites were one of lackadaisical attitude towards God’s commands. Because of the work of Nehemiah, Ezra, Malachi and others there came to be conviction, and that the only way to avoid God’s punishment was to take worship of God seriously.

Rather, the Council of Nicea affirmed the apostles’ teaching of who Christ is—the one true God and the Second Person of the Trinity, with the Father and the Holy

Three characteristics formulated the identity and then community of God’s people, known as Israelites, throughout the Hebrew Bible. Although not a complete picture, these three ideas heavily influenced Israelite distinctiveness both in how the Ancient Near East interacted with them and how they lived together. Israelite identity wrapped itself in “chosen-ness” of God. God’s individual interactions with Abraham & Sarah, Isaac & Rebekah, and Jacob birthed the original knowledge of being chosen. God chose them, they worshipped only God, they did what God said, and God protected them.

This small conflict found within this international Church assembly which took place in 1955 is a useful illustration of a much larger component of the conflict of faith in Israel which exists in the international Christian sphere, and is one of many manifestations throughout history of the tension between East and West Christianity. The most obvious source of these differences of thought is simply geographic disconnect. The split between the East and West Christian traditions had been solidifying for nearly a thousand years prior to the founding of the United States, so a further venturing of Christianity to the Americas would naturally further this disconnect not only geographically, but also in thought. As has already been established, Christianity in the United States has viewed the concept of both the ancient and the state of Israel in quite mystical, and romanticized terms. For Christians living in Palestine however, this mystique of the Holy Land is virtually non-existent. After the establishment of Israel, Christians in the United States were still separated from the Holy Land whereas those residing in the new state of Israel experienced first hand the effects this event would have on their religious traditions.

Joe Sacco’s graphic novel, Palestine, deals with the repercussions of the first intifada in Israel/Palestine/the Holy Land. The story follows the author through the many refugee camps and towns around Palestine as he tries to gather information, stories, and pictures to construct his graphic novel. While the book is enjoyable at a face level, there are many underlying themes conveyed throughout its illustrated pages and written text.