Yes, I got your message. I merely failed to respond in timely manner. I still will. I'm in a Hebrew immersion course and have time for the Internet only sporadically.

I am only fluent in two languages, but can keep up conversations and read in three more. I have basic knowledge of four more, enough to do research on word roots etc..

This is too complicated. For all I can tell they believe that G-d was like us in relation to nothing before Creation, where there was no superior being because the only being was G-d.

Oh, goodness, you disappoint because you fall into what critics of the Church have been doing ad nauseum for centuries, i.e feeding the myth. Almost crucified? 

In 1616, Galileo was charged with adding new data to Copernicus' heliocentric theory which seemed to contradict the plain words of the Holy Bible, namely Joshua 10:13.  The Church advisors didn't base their judgment on the scientific data nor did they condemn Copernicus. In obedience to the ruling, Galileo promised to teach Copernicanism as a mere hypothesis. But, in 1632, he published a work advocating Copernicanism and on that he went beyond the field of science but rather acted as a philosopher. He proposed in a letter to the Benedictine Fr. Castelli to modify the traditional interpretation of various texts of Scripture that mentioned the movements of the sun and earth. On that account, Galileo received a disciplinary ruling and allowed to live comfortably in his estate near Florence where he continued some of his most famous work.

Galilieo's mistake was not heeding the advice of his friends who told him to "stay out of the sacristy". He wanted to meet the theologians on their own ground and presented himself as a rebel. The Church's motive was to defend a truth of Divine Revelation and were right in keeping the general law of exegisis, that Scriptural texts are to be takne in the literal sense unless there is a good reason for the contrary.

The Chruch eventually adjusted her more literal interpretation of Scripture using the wise teaching of St.Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine that in describing the phenomena of nature, the Holy Bible speaks according to appearances.

STAR ADDER POSTS #214

God doesn't "need" anything. God is Infinitely Perfect in that He has every perfection in the highest degree and without limit.

God is Love and He created us out of His love giving us free will to believe, love Him and obey His Holy will. He gave us His revealed religion in which we render to Him the acknowledgment due to Him and in this way we respond to His own great love for us.

He demands that we do only what is best for us to do. We are unjust if we do not return love for love and gratitude for gifts received. We worship God not for His well being or need, but for our own well being both present and future. The greater one's love of God, the greater and truer one's love of our fellow neighbor.  

God doesn't force anyone to believe, love or obey Him. No one can force another to do so.

God created mankind with free will so that we might have the nobler dignity of being masters of our own destiny, not  having to serve Him necessarily and blindly as do trees and inanimate stars and planets. God did not want a forced love from beings capable of a an intelligent appreciation of the good. Once God makes man free, he is free either to love God or to reject Him; to serve Him or to rebel against Him. That is physically, no man is morally free to reject God. God therefore forbids that warning us of its disastrous results.

At any rate, there is a God and we are free.  

Leauki posts #215

Actually, religion is a term derived from the Latin word, religare---meaning to bind. Religion in the widest sense is the union of man with God. religion is true when its doctrines and precepts are either dictated by right reason or revealed by God. If the former, it's called natural religion, if the latter, it's called supernatural religion. Religion is false if when claiming to be revealed, it is unable to show a divine guarantee or when its dogmas and practices sin against right reason and conscience.

As religion binds man to his Creator, the term properly used expresses the principle which holds man responsble to the one to whom he is bound. When one is bound by the basic natural law to all human beings, when the obligation is necessarily a moral one, one is bound to a Supreme Being, God and there is no possibility of escape.

Since the one who is bound is a rational creature, which implies that he has free will, the law that binds may be obeyed more or less adequately, it may be denied or it may be flouted. But the law itself will not budge, it is there just the same (written in our heart) so that the consequences of obedience or of disobedience is for each one of us to choose freely.

It is this recognition of the law each and all to worship God that lies at the foundation of every system of worship under the sun. As supernatural religion (Old Testament Judaism which ended in 70AD) demands that man honor, obey and worship Almighty God it follows that a true revelation of God's will demands a divine guarantee of authenticity. This has been given to mankind by Jesus Christ in the Church universal, which He established.  

And what would that be? A certificate from VeriSign? 

And would you have to install that certificate on your

?   

There is no such thing as "Old Testament Judaism" and no Judaism ever "ended".

You are confusing your beliefs with history again.

Good question!

Biblical Judaism was, but is not now, the one and only God revealed God instituted religion. Judaism was recorded in the Old Testament and existed during the time of Moses and Aaron until Christ established the New and Eternal Covenant in His Blood.

Biblical Judaism was an organic, priestly, authoritative, revealing sacrificial religion. Its authority largely centered in the High Priest just as the authority of the Church the Messias established centered in St.Peter and the successive Popes.

The Jewish Ecncylopedia states the high Priest "alone offered the sacrifices for the sins of the people". He officiated at the only altar the Mosaic Law permitted Ex. 20:24-25; Lev. 17:8-9. The Jewish priesthood ended during the first century with Phannias, son of Samuel, the 81st occupant of the Chair of Aaron. This happened in 70AD when the Jewish state perished when the Temple and its Altar were destroyed and "not a stone was left standing" as Jesus predicted in St.Matt. 24:2.

The destruction of the Temple and its Altar, followed by the ending of the priestly tribe of Levi with its tribe of Judah with its family of David, in which the Messias was foretold to be born, evidences the indisputable historic fact that the Judaism of the OLd testament ceased to exist. The ending of OT Judaism was providential. It had fulfilled its glorious mission. That mission ended with the coming of the predicted Messias, in the Person of Jesus Christ, who instituted a new priesthood, and the New Sacrifice predicted by Malachais in chapter one.

You know Leauki, that synogogues have Rabbis, not Priests. no one speaks with authority in any of the Judaisms of today as did the High pRiest and the Sanhedrin during the pre Christian ages. Authority is contained in a dead letter book, but not in any living individual or organized body.

The Priestly authority once expressed through the God instituted Jewish Chruch, has been exercised by the Catholic Church since "the veil in the Temple was rent from top to bottom." St.Matt. 27:51. You should recognize the warning that the religion of an exclusive people, the children of Isreal, had ended its mission. It has been displaced by the religion of the people of all nations, the Catholic religion. A new set of keys were given by God the Father, through His Messianic Son to High Priest St.Peter. Those keys which signify spiritual God-given authority, are today in the hands of Pope Benedict XVI, the 265th successor of St.Peter.  

Definition of God: That than which nothing greater can be concieved".

Step 1: Imagine God

Step 2: God exists in the mind

Step 3: Something that exists in the mind AND reality, is greater then something that exists ONLY in the mind.

Step 4: Therefore if God is to be "something that nothing greater can be concieved of". he must exist in the mind and reality. If he only existed in the mind, then you could imagine something even greater - a God that existed in the mind AND reality. That contradicts the definiton of God.

Step 5: Therefore God exists.

Step 5: Therefore your imagination of an existing God exists.

Fixed.

Right. But since ONLY the imagination of an existing "God" exists (in the mind of those who believe in him)...

Case closed.

Why didn't he say something?

Anyway, Judaism is certainly not the only god-revealed religion. Many people and peoples have heard the voice of G-d.

What "ending" of the tribe of Levi? The kohanim are still with us. And genetic studies have actually shown that they indeed share a common male ancestor a few thousand years ago.

Do you make this stuff up as you go along? The Levites are alive and well, thank you very much.

Synagogues have neither rabbis nor priests. Rabbis are teachers and judges and might or might not be associated with a synagogue. Priests are not needed for Jews to talk to G-d. Priests are also associated with the Temple which does not currently exist. This has happened before and then the Zoroastrians came and rebuilt it. (Your Messiah was supposed to rebuild it again but unfortunately he was born and died before the Temple was actually destroyed and has yet to come back and rebuild it.)

You might be glad to hear that the Israelite tribe of Joseph still has their high priest and still have their priests lead services.

Authority is contained in the Samaritan high priest for the Samaritans and in the rabbinical courts for the tribe of Judah. I don't know how the tribe of Dan handles it. But the system is far from dead, it's just a little bit older than your church organisation. (For example the high priest of the Samaritans comes from an unbroken line going back to Aaron.)

The highest authority lies with G-d, i.e. a dead letter book since noone can speak for G-d, not even a high priest or a rabbi.

What "Judaism's" of today? Rabbinic and Karaite? I don't know if Karaites have any special status for priests, but I know they don't have rabbis.

He was refurring to his body not the actual temple. Thats why he said it would be rebuilt in 3 days.He rose from the dead after 3 days.

So he didn't even say he would rebuild the Temple?

That is one failed Messiah!

Or maybe you don't know this. The Jewish view of the Messiah since the time of the Prophets has been that he would bring all the Jews back to Israel, bring about world peace, and rebuild the Temple. Actually all that will be one big project and work together. (He will apparently also be of the Davidic line of kings.)

We are still waiting for the Messiah who will rebuild the Temple.