I will start by saying, I've been questioning a lot of things lately....mostly I've been struggling with the validity of the Bible....now before anyone freaks out, just listen to what my struggle was, and what I came up with, there's tons of room for comments at the end and I WOULD love to hear them if you have any!
We know that Yahweh told us not to add or take away from the Scriptures, right? Deut. 4:2 "2Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you." and again in Deut. 12:32 "32What thing soever I command you, observe to do it. Thou shalt not add thereto nor diminish from it."
So this began my troubled state...what then do we make of Paul's letters? that today's churches seem to preach from yet forsake Torah. I had been stressed hugely this fall about this. I KNOW that today's churches are NOT where I want to be, nor do I find them (generally) to be a holy place to worship Yahweh.
It seems to me that today's churches abuse Yah's grace way too much, otherwise we would see them still studying Torah.
It seems the church is trying to fit in with the world so that those who "visit" are comfortable there and come back...sheesh. Talk about salt that's lost its savor! If the Rauch HaKodesh can not draw people back then perhaps something is wrong with the church! Are we not supposed to be a set apart people? a peculiar people is what Scriptures say! (Deut 14:2) That doesn't sound to me like we're supposed to "blend in" or make the world "comfortable". Oy, the enemy seems to have deceived many....the narrow way is not that narrow anymore if you look at today's churches...and yet, it truly is just as narrow as it's ever been, and it makes me nervous for all those involved in today's churches. (I'm being very general when I say 'churches' please remember that) I think about the church we left 2 yrs ago and how their goal was to be "fun and relevant in today's world"....the worship service was less about worshiping God and more about, "do I look and sound good to everyone?" and then there are the small groups that you sign up for, but if you're not "cool" enough no one phones you to join any of them (I'm not even kidding). Oh and I forgot to mention the introduction of the pastor being more like a Jay Leno show! sigh...I forgot to mention the clothing issue...or the lack thereof...should I really have to cover my son's eyes during the worship service because the lady in front of him is wearing thong underwear and low rise jeans...oh dear, I'm getting way off track, where was I, oh yeah, we need to be the salt of the earth. Yahweh called His children a peculiar people, set-apart, in the world but not of the world.
Ok so back to adding to the Scriptures...
So everything after the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) was added. That doesn't mean that those other books are not important! Just that we need to weigh them against the Torah...just like any non-fiction book out there. Here is what my friend Sombra wrote on facebook recently, in answer to the question, why would she read the apocrypha.
Why are the Apocrypha writings any different from the BritChadasha(new testament) writings?? Who made the decision which books are for the Canon and which are not? - and do I trust the theology of those men???? I STUDY Torah... that is my teaching book..... but I do read from other writings, like the book the Heart of David by Dr. Hazim.. so why wouldn't I read a book written about what happened to Judah Maccabee and how God used him to restore Torah to the Jews? Have I read the other books of the Apocrypha? um, yes, some.. but can't recall anything at the moment, and there's also the book of Enoch and the book of Jasher and the Book of Adam.. but STUDY? I Study Torah.. and everything else is measured against Torah.
She just said it so perfectly well, I had to share it...and now I'm off to find a Catholic Bible with the Apocrypha! Not to study mind you, but to read and perhaps learn more history of that time period! And I've never read the story of the Maccabees and Hanukkah IS in 30 days!!!
More wisdom from Sombra below...lol
And it says it LAST in Revelation... the question is.. what is THE WORD that is not to be added to?? If we're not to add to the BIBLE, NOR TAKE AWAY from it, then how dare we write any new commentaries, or discussions, or how we walked it ...out.. because that's what the New Testament is.. and if we're not to take away from it, how dare we say that words from the Torah are no longer relevant
so is the WORD of God, the 66 books of the Bible? Is the Word of God the 66 books and 15 books of the Apocrapha? Is the Word of God everything that happens in our lives? or is the Word of God the Torah? I think you could make an argument for each of those, but when it comes to adding or taking away, I think the only definition that fits is the Torah.
You can get the Apocryha by itself at Mardel's.. it was around $10. Just bought it last week. :)
ReplyDeleteSo far we haven't found anything in Paul's writing's that go against torah.. the way the modern church views the writings yes... but what he actually SAID meshes perfectly with torah. I've heard it said that the new testament is just commentary on the old. It ain't new folks.. it ain't a new law.. it's just Paul expounding on how to keep torah a bit better. It's good history, it gives us a deeper understanding of Torah.. but if someone reads it thinking it's something new. they are 1- wrong, and 2- they've probably made Paul "roll over in his grave" :)
What a fabulous post! I have always wondered about the other "books"...I know the story about Constantine and the bishops....
ReplyDeleteI too went through all the same things you did at my former church, including the "cliques".
Thank you for sharing what is on your heart, it is a great blessing to me
Shalom!!
The canon of Scripture is something I've always been curious about, as well. But I don't believe that not adding to or subtracting from the words of the law necessarily meant not studying as His Word anything else that wasn't "the law." (In fact, Revelation contains similar wording, and by the standard you applied in your post, it is clearly "added" to the Torah.) If we think of it according to *time*, it makes more sense, in my opinion. If I say something today, and you add or remove phrases, you can totally change what I said. (We've seen this happen with the media!) But if you quote what I said today *and* something I say two weeks from now, you're not adding or subtracting to what I said; you're just repeating what I said on two different occasions. Even if you add commentary, I'm not sure I would consider that "adding to" what I said, if it's clear that the commentary is commentary and not part of the quote. The point of not adding to or subtracting from His Word is to avoid altering its substance (and, in the case of the Law, to avoid requiring more or less than God does - like the NT Pharisees did).
ReplyDeleteBTW, if you want to read the Apocrypha, and don't need an "extra" Bible lying around, you can buy it by itself. We got a copy through Amazon; it's a little red book with just the parts we don't already have in our Bibles.
I've been struggling with the same exact issue :( Sometimes I think Paul is of greater importance to the church than Yeshua or even YHWH. I mean, isn't that what it seems like? I attend Sunday church with my family and what I witness is what you wrote. It's sad really.
ReplyDeleteI read the Apocrypha as well, but only for the purpose of learning! Torah is the Word :)
This topic comes up now and then between me and my husband. Like your friend Sombra, we too study Torah and read the other writings. But it is Torah that we focus on. Pauls letters were just that letters... I wonder if he would be surprised to see how his letters have replaced Torah. Now we still believe that all the writings in the Scriptures are inspired but Yah repeatily states that it is Torah we were to obey, meditate on, rehearse in the ears of our children and it is Torah he writes upon our hearts. So we're with you and your friend on this 'struggle'
ReplyDeleteShalom!
When I sent this to my husband he said this:
ReplyDeleteI agree with her exactly. Everything must conform to the book of Torah and truth is not found that conflicts that teaching, however as I have said before the new testament does teach of a new covenant, a Messiah with hints that he is Elohim, as well as a resurrection and sending of the Ruach Hakodesh. Those things which are referenced in the Torah but do not violate the Torah are already sanctioned by the Torah. Anything found in the New Testament outside of that is purely, as she said, reading material. In fact it is not even reading material if it violates Torah. I am not saying anything in the NT goes against Torah, but it cannot be interpreted to go against it. If you think it does, it is either not scripture or you are looking at it wrong. IMO
Sweetie, if you add the books of the apocrypha to the books that they were originally part of , the 3 books of Daniel should have been part of Daniel to begin with, the rest of Esther, you end up with 77 books, which makes alot more sense than 66 books dontcha think? I actually think there are probably more like 777 :o) 6 is always the number of man, so I find it VERY interesting that there are only 66 books in the current bible......food for thought anyways ;o)
ReplyDeleteHey Lori-Dawn,
ReplyDeleteHere is a link to more info about the other books that were found in Egypt:
http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/nhl.html
I have a copy of the book if you want to borrow it. I'm curious what your community knows or thinks about these texts!
Blessings!
Agnieszka
Good post!
ReplyDeleteI believe alittle different connerning the new Testemnet, but i still really like what you wrote.
Epesialliy that about the mrodern chruches, thats why we home church!
That is so ture, we are to be set apart, peculiar, differnet!!
Keep up the great work!!
So there with you!
ReplyDeleteLove Lusi x
Here is something to thinks about: Jesus came to us while we "sat in darkness", and brought His "Light" to show us the Way--The Way that we did not know, the Way that was NOT being followed. But, wait--when Christ came the Jewish people were Torah observant! They observed Torah, knew Torah, worshipped Torah, and yet they did not please God. They were lost and needed a Savior. Why? Because, they completely misunderstood God's Word. Christ is the Word. He is from the beginning, but we did not know Him. Torah is not the narrow door, *Jesus is the narrow door*. The Gospels, The Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistles (Paul's, Jame's, John's and Jude's) are the KEY to understanding the Scriptures/Torah. Without them you are sitting in the dark, just as Paul was before Christ came to Him on the road to Damascus. Paul--who prior to his conversion was Torah observant and zealous for the Law. After his conversion He was *not* Torah observant: he ate with Gentiles and socialized with Gentiles. His best friend was Greek (Luke), as was the son of his heart (Timothy). He admonished Peter for being a hypocrite because Peter made a show of keeping Torah in front of the Jews, while he also ate and socialized with Gentiles. In Christ there is no east or west, no Jew or Gentile. Without the New Testament writings you cannot know Christ. They reveal His life, His teaching, His Way.
ReplyDelete"This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us." 1John 3:23
"Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.
On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining." 1John 2:7+8
God bless you on your journey! Christ's peace keep you.