EzraLB wrote:MIchaelAllen,
Don't fault yourself for being confused by what Cohen is alleging--after all, all Jews are double-minded and speak out of both sides of their mouths. They want it both ways to keep their game going for as long as they can. They want mainstream Christian churches to continue with the concept of "spiritual Israel", but they also know that there are many Identity Christians who know the truth, and thus they need to also claim that they are the literal seed of Jacob/Judah to the exclusion of all others.
I believe that this supposed schism between early Christians and Jews over who was the real seed of Abraham is totally fabricated, at least in an overt way. Where are the documents to prove it? Does he have access to early Jewish writers who described it? Not likely.
If you read the writings of the early church fathers, you will see remnants of dual seedline theology, as I pointed out with the quote from Ignatius, but what is even more apparent is that they are already putting heavy emphasis on the spiritual connection to Christ, and de-emphasizing the corporal aspect. These early church men all saw the body as corruptible and the vehicle for sin--we still see this simplistic dualist thinking in Churchianity today. Of course, true Scriptural Christians know that it's only through the uncorrupted Adamic body that a spiritual connection to Christ is even possible.
At the same time, the early church fathers seemed to focus on castigating the Jews not for falsely claiming to be the literal seed of Abraham and Judah, but rather for stubbornly insisting on preserving the old Levitical laws, traditions, and rituals, which under the new covenant of Christ were, clearly, to none effect. And it seems the way the Church fought this battle was to erect their own "Christian" doctrines, laws, and rituals to oppose the Jews and protect their flock, and by doing so, perhaps unwittingly, became just like the Jews they opposed.
Ezra, I'm not faulting myself, because I don't really think I'm confused - I think this rabbLIE just throws the average reader off with his timetable of the second century. This happened way before the second century. I think this jew knows something that Christians (with the exception of CI) don't. You know, there is a period of about 50 years after AD70 where we have virtually no Christian documents (depending on when and how you date Revelation). Most of what we have for that time comes in the aftermath of later writers talking about it. It's like a blackout - and to me, this is telling. Jesse Lyman Hurlbut called it the Age of Shadows.
Cohen says "second century" - but we know that's not when the jews (edomites) were challenged for the name of Israel... he says that "BY THE SECOND CENTURY" --- this is untrue, because... as you stated, it was NOT in the second century that the argument over genetic election took place, because early church fathers had moved onto their own ritualism. It was Christ and the apostles that challenged their genetic election... but the phrase "By the second century" could actually mean by the time the second century had come, they had already been challenged on the basis of their genealogy. So it throws an average reader off.
The documents that prove the early schism to which he refers are the writings of the New Testament... And I believe that Jesus alluded to the fact that there would be a falling away in their own time... so first century, but that's a whole different discussion.
I agree with everything you posted however. It does appear that the early church became ritualistic in their own ways. See, what this jew Cohen says is that for "reasons of prudence" - he makes it sound as though the Christians did this because they thought it would be a good idea. My opinion is, the Christians did it as a result of the persecutions they faced for alleging themselves to be the true Israel and the edomite jew to being the so-called Judah (Rev. 2:9, 3:9), and it is documented in history that the jew was behind all the persecution that Christians suffered at the hands of the Roman government.
The edomite had no genealogical claim to Israel... so he had to manufacture a religious mantra and claim his succession through some religious order... thus, was born the religion of mishnah, talmud, and traditions of the elders - which we know today as judaism. In order to stop the Christian understanding of the true Israel, they had to 'judaize' Christianity... so, they had to create within the thinking of Christian Israelites that they were only accepted by God through some religious rites, etc... because that is the only way the edomite jew could reason out his own acceptance into the covenant... which can never happen under a racial covenant context because the edomite is a cursed lineage.
EzraLB wrote:The Jews truly are the authors of confusion and chaos. I recall once hearing this Jewish concept of what makes someone highly intelligent:
"The ability to hold two mutually contradicting ideas in your mind at the same time."
Ezra... it's like you and I have read the exact same body of material!! I read this exact same thing on a forum several years ago when I was becoming aware of the jewish presence among the elites of world banking, corporatism, revolutionary movements, etc. It was by an alleged jew who felt that one of the strengths of their people was that they can believe two opposite ideas simultaneously. When applied to ethics and behavior, this is the recipe for situational ethics, relativism, nihilism, sociopathy, and humanism - which means: tyranny.