American citizen arrested in the USA for exercising his constitutional freedom of speech.

 

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula arrested!

A sad day for America. I never thought I would see this day. You can now be arrested in America for what you say, think and believe. This is OBAMA’s Amerika.

Middle Eastern Christian arrested in the USA for violating Sharia “Blasphemy” laws. Now the oppressed people of the world know that America is not a place to flee to in order to find freedom. There is no longer ANY escape from the long arm of Islamic fanaticism.

This Coptic Christian was dragged out by police in the middle of the night because he violated Islam’s Sharia law by “insulting the prophet” and was taken into police custody. Law enforcement and the news media exposed his identity because they want terrorists to find and kill his for questioning Islam.

From USA TODAY: “We must have laws against questioning Islam in America and those who criticize Islam must be arrested” by Anthea Butler-associate professor of religious studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

[NOTE: Originally the producer and director of the movie “Innocence of Muslims” was believed to be a Sam Bacile.] Words have consequences. I know that because one of my tweets asking "when Sam Bacile would be arrested" drew wide attention on Wednesday. My initial tweet about Bacile, the person said to be responsible for the film mocking the prophet Mohammed, was not because I am against the First Amendment. My tweets reflected my exasperation that as a religion professor, it is difficult to teach the facts when movies such as Bacile's Innocence of Muslims are taken as both truth and propaganda, and used against innocent Americans. If there is anyone who values free speech, it is a tenured professor! So why did I tweet that Bacile should be in jail? The "free speech" in Bacile's film is not about expressing a personal opinion about Islam. It denigrates the religion by depicting the faith's founder in several ludicrous and historically inaccurate scenes to incite and inflame viewers. Even the film's actors say they were duped. Bacile's movie is not the first to denigrate a religious figure, nor will it be the last. The Last Temptation of Christwas protested vigorously. The difference is that Bacile indirectly and inadvertently inflamed people half a world away, resulting in the deaths of U.S. Embassy personnel. Bacile's movie does not excuse the rioting in Libya and Egypt, or the murder of Americans. That is deplorable. Unfortunately, people like Bacile and Terry Jones, the Florida pastor who provoked international controversy by burning copies of the Quran, have a tremendous impact on religious tolerance and U.S. foreign policy. Case in point: Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called Jones on Wednesday to ask him to stop promoting Bacile's film. Clearly, the military considers the film a serious threat to national security. If the military takes it seriously, there should be consequences for putting American lives at risk. While the First Amendment right to free expression is important, it is also important to remember that other countries and cultures do not have to understand or respect our right. My condolences and prayers go out to the families of the U.S. Embassy employees killed in Libya.

My commentary: Colleges and universities are the places most hostile to free speech in America-with their politically correct speech codes. This was discussed in a recent edition of this newsletter. This points out another important fact-liberal and Obama suck-ups in the military. After the Fort Hood terrorist attack –the general was more concerned about maintaining “diversity” than he was about the loss of the lives of our soldiers. These jerks are Obama appointees who carry out his anti-American agenda.

Obama called Google and asked them to remove the 15 minute excerpts from “Desert Warriors/The Innocence of Islam.” So here we have the state arresting citizens for the crime of free speech and carrying out censorship. Supposedly, the video is still up-but I can’t find it. It bothers me that one company-Google, which is a radical leftist company that attacks and disparages conservatives on its search engine-I have seen this myself-now owns YouTube. This means censorship can be carried out as a matter of corporate policy. Some of the scenes in “Innocence of Muslims” were satirical-however, other scenes were not “historically inaccurate” but were rather accurate portrayals of the life of Mohammed derived from history and Islamic sources.

NEWS STORY: “Sam Bacile”

As outrage over the anti-Muslim film "Innocence of Muslims" spreads across the Middle East, police were sent to the California home of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the film's producer, who according to authorities is frightened for his life. Sheriff's deputies were sent to the Cerritos, California home of Nakoula, 55, Thursday to protect him and his family, a senior law enforcement official told ABC News. According to a sheriff, the police were at Nakoula's home overnight Thursday but have now left, as media reports identifying him as the man behind "Innocence of Muslims," and listing his address, have circulated. According to California law enforcement officials, Nakoula, who is also known to authorities as Bacily Nakoula, was frightened for his life and "scared of retaliation" against his family. Sheriffs from the Cerritos police station were sent to his home to keep Nakoula safe and to provide a uniformed presence to assist the members from the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, official reports said. Nakoula told the Associated Press in an interview outside Los Angeles that he was manager for the company that produced "Innocence of Muslims." He denied he directed the film and said he knew the self-described filmmaker, identified only as "Sam Bacile." But the cell phone number that the AP contacted Tuesday to reach the filmmaker who identified himself as "Bacile" traced to the same Southern California address where the AP found Nakoula. A senior official said that they also had sent local law enforcement officers to the production company "Media for Christ" in Duarte, California to keep watch on the facility, which authorities said was affiliated with making the film that has been a trigger for anti-U.S. violence and protest in several countries. Nakoula pleaded no contest in 2010 to federal bank fraud charges in California and was ordered to pay more than $790,000 in restitution and serve 21 months in prison. Outrage over the "Innocence of Muslims" film has spread across the Middle East as protesters have rushed the U.S. Embassy in Sana'a, Yemen, while further demonstrations broke out outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. On Tuesday, protesters in Cairo, Egypt, scaled the walls of the U.S. embassy and tore down the American flag in an angry demonstration against the film that depicts the founder of Islam as a fraud and a womanizer.

President Obama, stop blaming the victim for Mideast violence by Kirsten Powers
"Disgusting and reprehensible." said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. "Truly abhorrent," an outraged White House official told an international conference. Were they talking about the murder of four Americans in Libya? Or perhaps the hoisting of an Islamist flag over the U.S. Embassy in Cairo? No. For that they stuck to diplomatic speak. For the president, the harshest language was: "I strongly condemn the outrageous attack." For Clinton it was that the US is heartbroken and she condemned "this senseless act of violence." But "disgusting and reprehensible" and "truly abhorrent " were reserved for an amateurish and silly film by someone nobody has ever heard of. In fact, what is "disgusting and reprehensible" is that there are people in the world who think they are justified in attacking and killing people because someone hurt their feelings or offended their sensibilities. The US government should not act as a validator or enabler of this upside down worldview, which is exactly what the Obama administration has done repeatedly as they have responded to these abhorrent attacks against the United States. I have defended the Obama administration against the complaints from the right that they have run an "apology tour" in the Middle East because I believe the US should admit when we make mistakes, such as the accidental burning of Korans. But what we shouldn't do is affirm the wrongheaded view that people should be protected from the free speech of others.

Worse, our leaders shouldn't let our enemies know that when they kill our people and attack our embassies that the US Government will act like a battered wife making excuses for her psychotic husband. Wake up: we weren't attacked because of a movie made by an American. We were attacked because there are crazy religious fanatics who hate the United States. We didn't ask for it. Egypt's President Morsi reportedly asked Obama "to put an end to such behavior"—presumably freedom, constitutional rights and the like -- as it led to the making of, in his eyes, the offensive movie. Obama has no legal recourse but our president seems to be acquiescing to Morsi’s request by trying to silence the movie-maker through verbal intimidation, including a call from Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Dempsey who asked Pastor Terry Jones to withdraw his support for the film. Additionally, The Hollywood Reporter reveals that the FBI was dispatched to Hollywood to uncover the identity of the filmmaker. (Don't they have real terrorists to catch? I'll be looking for the administration's condemnations next for the selling of the DVD of “The Da Vinci Code,” the blockbuster American movie that claims Jesus had sex with Mary Magdalene.) Team Obama’s unseemly groveling to violent extremists has been cloaked in a newfound concern on the left for respecting religious sensibilities. Tuesday, a liberal professor argued in USA Today that the maker of the Mohammed film should be arrested. President Obama said in the Rose Garden: "We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others" and Clinton asserted that, "The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others." Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough endorsed efforts to create "a world where the dignity of all people—and all faiths—is respected." Apparently our foreign policy is now being run by Dr. Phil. Someone needs to explain to the White House that our Constitution protects freedom of religion from government interference, not the protection from people who say mean, critical or offensive things about one's religion. But if this is truly their new position, then they have a lot to be outraged about right here at home. Remember Amanda Marcotte, one of the left's top bloggers and a columnist for the left-wing Guardian who chose last Easter -- the holiest day of the Christian calendar -- to chime "Happy Jeebus Day"? She once asked: "What if Mary had taken Plan B after the Lord filled her with his hot, white, sticky Holy Spirit? [Answer]: You’d have to justify your misogyny with another ancient mythology." Then there was the tweet last year by Bill Maher about Tim Tebow during a particularly bad game: "Wow, Jesus just f----- #TimTebow bad! And on Xmas Eve! Somewhere in hell Satan is Tebowing, saying to Hitler "Hey, Buffalo's killing them." This was so offensive that President Obama's PAC still managed to take a million dollars from this man to help finance his reelection. If Christians had burned down Maher's house in response, would the administration put out a statement condemning the violence but pointing out that he should have respected the religious beliefs of others? Of course not. Nor would anyone want that. But that is what the administration keeps doing with their responses to the attacks in the Middle East. The condemnations are paired in with claims about respecting religious beliefs, which is implicit sympathy for the claims of some of the attackers and rioters. It’s time for the Obama administration to stop blaming the victim. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/09/14/president-obama-stop-blaming-victim-for-mideast-violence/?intcmp=trending#ixzz26jtUboFe

The Five on “The Innocence of Muslims” http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/the-five/transcript/should-hollywood-defend-anti-muslim-film

GREG GUTFELD, CO-HOST: So, the U.S. and Hezbollah finally agreed it's our fault, not theirs. But this rush to blame what's been called the U.S.-made film raises some question like where is Alec Baldwin? Why is he so quiet? Isn't freedom of expression the default cocktail chatter of the Hollywood artiste? Chances are, the only way to get Hollywood to defend the filmmaker would be if he's suddenly did a sequel showing that Christians kidnapped orphans for food. But if you think art can make people kill, then shouldn't you support art control? Carrying a concealed haiku would require a license. How about a five-day waiting period for tasteful etchings? See, this isn't about the acts of terror but a response to them. Blaming that video for unrest is like blaming the Fort Hood massacre on the workplace violence. It's moral cowardice. A refusal to confront our enemies because then you must reject your own assumptions about evil America. Repeat after me -- it's them, not us, which runs counter to teacher lounge logic that stains the White House. If it's our fault, why aren't the Muslims rioting in the U.S.? Maybe because our government doesn't orchestrate it. Only the media would think Mitt Romney's response is scarier than our appeasement. This is not war for Islam's hearts and minds, but for our lungs and kidneys. We cannot forfeit our Western principles to appease haters. But it's the media, the champions of free expression doing just that. They track the filmmaker down and justify the anti-West outrage on heels of romanticizing its sister scam, Occupy Wall Street. And why? Because it's all they know. Cultivated on the college campus, the only thing that stuck was a disgust for American strength.

There's a reason Bill Ayers never bombed a college. Those were his hearts and minds.

ERIC BOLLING, CO-HOST: Nice. Great analogy. GUTFELD:Where is the ACLU? (CROSSTALK) GUTFELD: Respond with facts. Don't ask me --BOB BECKEL, CO-HOST:All right. When you say college campuses and teacher lounge, you're assuming that all college campuses are appeasers? GUTFELD:Eighty percent of college campuses are overwhelmingly liberal. The professors have tenure, allowing them to profess ideas that no real American would even care about. The anti-Americanism is born in universities. That's where it comes from. And it bleeds into the government civil servants, and that's why we have this now. There's nobody in the White House, there's nobody in academic who actually thinks our government is not at fault. BECKEL: But you are suggesting that bureaucrats who work for government are anti-American? GUTFELD: No. I'm saying that they were born and bred in an environment which taught them that way. Most professors, study show, are overwhelmingly left wing. This is where you get the attitude. ANDREA TANTAROS, CO-HOST: Which is so fascinating because the media that makes a living and is supposed to be embracing free speech is somehow apologizing for it, which I find to be very, very --DANA PERINO, CO-HOST:The Hollywood non-response is bizarre. They talk about everything all the time. All of a sudden, they've gone mute. GUTFELD:Yes. PERINO:Which is more telling than anything they --GUTFELD: And actually kind of a relief. It's nice not to hear from them.

BOLLING: I don't want to cut you off. Can we throw the picture up of the filmmaker again? We saw like in disguise and the cops are leading him out.

To me, America changed.

PERINO: I agree.

BOLLING: Someone e-mailed that picture. Mark Levin actually sent this to me. Take a look at this. America changed at that moment. To use what is called a flimsy ploy to bring a guy in for questioning, proves that the Obama administration, through all his appeasement and the apologizing, answers to the Koran first and to the Constitution second.

BECKEL: Oh, c'mon. That's just outrageous statement. Even for you that's outrageous statement. (CROSSTALK) BECKEL: Of all the things you said and I love you, brother, but that's the most outrageous thing you have said! BOLLING:Why was he brought in? (CROSSTALK) BECKEL: He was brought in because he's investigated for parole dumping, that's why. (CROSSTALK) GUTFELD: Suddenly, they find his parole. BECKEL: I agree with that. But I'll tell you one thing, if he had any sense -- this is a guy who's apparently a Coptic Christian. I can understand why they're outraged because --GUTFELD: You defended them. BECKEL:That's right. I have. But that does not mean that I would have suggested to him that they put together a film like this that was bound to incite an incitable group of people. GUTFELD: He should do anything he wants. If he wants to make a movie --PERINO: How many high school students tried to put together this weekend a movie more outrageous than that one? Then what are we going to do? Call in, everybody? GUTFELD: By the way, you only incite more violence if you prove to them that violence works. OK, we're going to apologize and they know by killing Americans, this is how you shut Americans. TANTAROS:Or that it's wrong. They say, look, the administration is actually agreeing with us. PERINO:And they can go back to the coffee clutches and say, see, we got America to arrest the guy. That's the picture. Do you think -- this is the -- this is the picture all over the Middle East today. GUTFELD:Yes. (CROSSTALK) GUTFELD:I got to tell you -- I love the New York Post. They are opened by our parent company. But this ticks me off. Sunday, I buy The Post and drink coffee, they have "Cinemaniac." And they probably did this because they love the headline. But this is so bogus. I mean, they say he -- this is the loon who set fire to Muslim world. No, the Muslim set fire to Muslim world. TANTAROS: They need this excuse, because don't forget, this is embarrassing to the administration. Al Qaeda had better intelligence than we did. And eight weeks before a presidential election, it's successful terrorist attack when we drop the ball does not look good for the president. That's why they keep making an issue of this video. Lame. BECKEL:We want to encourage people with the free speech they want. But listen, in a reasonable world, would we want to encourage people to do this film when we know the results --PERINO:No one encouraged him.BOLLING:Hold on. GUTFELD:I'm reasonable. You can't be unreasonable. PERINO:I think that the administration should demand that Sony cancel the release of the killing bin Laden film or else you don't know what's going to happen. GUTFELD: It's a good point. PERINO:How many Americans could die after that? BOLLING:If you tell that man he or anybody else can't make a film like this Muslim --BECKEL: Nobody said -- I didn't say he couldn't make it. (CROSSTALK) BOLLING: Shouldn't. BECKEL:Shouldn't. I don't think he should have. BOLLING:That's right. BECKEL:Of course he has the right to do it. But that doesn't mean that you also have the right, I guess, to yell "fire" in a theater. PERINO: You have a right to protest but you don't have a right to kill American ambassadors. GUTFELD: You know what the parallel is? The parallel is building the mosque near the World Trade Center. You can do that. It's kind of a bad move. You kind of suck for doing it. It's the same thing with this. You can make the video. Kind of a jerk. But you can make the video. That's the way it works. TANTAROS: You have the right, but it doesn't make it right. BECKEL:That's right. We have come to agreement on that. GUTFELD: But it didn't spark anything. The only thing that sparks violence is our way of life. That's it. BECKEL:Something else would have sparked it. To see it across 20 countries at one time --TANTAROS:They don't need a spark. BECKEL:Why weren't they doing something a month ago? TANTAROS: They ran planes in to our World Trade Center. BECKEL:No, I'm not talking about the last two or three --TANTAROS: They don't need an excuse. GUTFELD:Bruce Springsteen is dancing in the dark. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/the-five/transcript/should-hollywood-defend-anti-muslim-film#ixzz26vCiatyc

Sean Hannity on the 2012 9-11 attacks

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: And as anti-American protests spread, this administration is trying to deflect blame for its failed policies and trying to peg all of this violence on a YouTube video. I know, believe it or not. Watch this. JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY:This is a fairly volatile situation. And it is in response, not to the United States policy, not to -- obviously the administration, not to the American people. It is in response to a video, a film that we have judged to be reprehensible and disgusting. That in no way justifies any violent reaction to it. But this is not a case of protests directed at the United States, at large or at U.S. policy. This is in response to a video that is offensive and -- to Muslims. HANNITY:Now, that comment is just pathetic and it pretty much says it all. We are dealing with an administration that does not have the courage to stand up for this country. We have a president who is operating from a position of weakness, a president who refuses to call people what they are, in this case, radical extremists, Islamists. And speaking of that video, the president's indifference to a little something that we call free speech.

Now, Fox News has confirmed that the White House has asked YouTube to, quote, "review the trailer." Now, that sounds an awful lot like an administration strong-arming a private company. Why? To censor its content. But tonight, we have learned that Google, who owns YouTube, will not remove this clip. So, how do we get to this frightening point?

Now, I believe think it all began with this president constantly apologizing for America, his efforts to appease the mobs, his willingness to reason with malevolent forces that are in fact committed to killing us. Now, let's take a look back to 2009, when he spoke in Cairo in the very same city that you are seeing right here tonight, where Islamists are chanting "Death to America." Watch this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, JUNE 4, 2009) PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA:I'm grateful for your hospitality and the hospitality of the people of Egypt. I am also proud to carry with me the good will of the American people and a greeting of peace for Muslim communities in my country. Assalaamu alaykum. (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) OBAMA:9/11 was an enormous trauma to our country. The fear and anger that it provoked was understandable. But in some cases, it led us to act contrary for our traditions and our ideals. We are taking concrete actions to change course. I have unequivocally prohibited the use of torture by the United States and I have ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed by early next year. (END VIDEO CLIP) HANNITY:Mr. President, EIT, enhanced interrogation, is not torture. Without EIT, without Gitmo, you don't get the call to go after bin Laden. And this was a dangerous display of weakness. And we are now seeing the fruits of this reckless rhetoric. Here with reaction of the latest developments, syndicated columnist, Fox News contributor, our friend, Charles Krauthammer. Charles, welcome back. CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Happy to be here. HANNITY: I loved your line, we should have as the United States, told them to go straight to hell. We didn't. Where does it stand now? KRAUTHAMMER:Well, I think what you're seeing in those things you've quoted from Carney and the administration. "This has nothing to do with us or our policies, it's about a video," is either willfully obtuse or simply clueless. What has happened is, as you pointed out, beginning with the Cairo speech, Obama changed American policy on the theory that the reason that people hated us was because we were tough. They hated us because of Iraq, they hated us because of Guantanamo. They hated us because of the torture -- he used the word, he accuses his own country abroad of torturing. And he was now apologizing and promising to change course. We would no longer be tough. We would be loved. We would show compassion. And we would get out of Iraq. He sets a deadline for Afghanistan. He doesn't support the green revolution in Iran. He shows the ayatollahs tremendous respect. He essentially protects them when they are under attack. He gets nowhere on the Iran nuclear issue. He is equivocal uncertain during the Arab Spring. He leads from behind in Libya. The theory was if we go soft, if we are very nice, if we -- if we say Assalaamu alaykum, enough times, everything will be all right. And what he decided is, the way to do that, the theory and therefore the practice is going to be, retreat and withdraw. Remember the line he uses? The tide of war is receding. HANNITY: Not exactly.

KRAUTHAMMER: That means the tide of American power is receding. And the reason that American interests, embassies, schools, businesses are aflame throughout the Middle East from Tunis all the way to South Asia is because things don't happen in a vacuum. And when you withdraw the power and the influence of the strongest country on earth from a region, the vacuum will be filled. HANNITY:Great point. KRAUTHAMMER:What we are seeing now is the Salafists, the Islamist, understanding this is their opening, America is in retreat. The tide of America is retreating in the region. And they are now going to fill the gap.

HANNITY: All right, let me, Charles --KRAUTHAMMER:That's why all of this is happening. HANNITY:Charles, a superb analysis. But here's what's happened. And you see the world is burning. And they are against America and our ambassador killed, two U.S. Navy SEALs killed. I will get to this later. What are we going to do about it? But they apologize. They say that Egypt is still our ally, run by the Muslim Brotherhood, the Muslim Brotherhood gets $2 billion of our taxpayer dollars. This is the motto of the Muslim Brotherhood, Charles. "Allah is our objective. The prophet our leader, the Koran our law. Jihad our way, dying in the way of Allah our highest hope." Why would we give them $2 billion? Why?! KRAUTHAMMER:Well, look, I don't think the issue right now is foreign aid. If Morsi, the president of Egypt, doesn't cooperate, doesn't support our embassies, protect our embassies and doesn't honor the peace treaty with Israel, there is already trouble in the Sayonite (ph). Then I think you withdraw the aid. HANNITY: Not exactly. KRAUTHAMMER: That means the tide of American power is receding. And the reason that American interests, embassies, schools, businesses are aflame throughout the Middle East from Tunis all the way to South Asia is because things don't happen in a vacuum. And when you withdraw the power and the influence of the strongest country on earth from a region, the vacuum will be filled. HANNITY: Great point. KRAUTHAMMER: What we are seeing now is the Salafists, the Islamist, understanding this is their opening, America is in retreat. The tide of America is retreating in the region. And they are now going to fill the gap. HANNITY: All right, let me, Charles --KRAUTHAMMER: That's why all of this is happening. HANNITY:Charles, a superb analysis. But here's what's happened. And you see the world is burning. And they are against America and our ambassador killed, two U.S. Navy SEALs killed. I will get to this later. What are we going to do about it? But they apologize. They say that Egypt is still our ally, run by the Muslim Brotherhood, the Muslim Brotherhood gets $2 billion of our taxpayer dollars. This is the motto of the Muslim Brotherhood, Charles. "Allah is our objective. The prophet our leader, the Koran our law. Jihad our way, dying in the way of Allah our highest hope." Why would we give them $2 billion? Why?! KRAUTHAMMER:Well, look, I don't think the issue right now is foreign aid. If Morsi, the president of Egypt, doesn't cooperate, doesn't support our embassies, protect our embassies and doesn't honor the peace treaty with Israel, there is already trouble in the Sayonite (ph). Then I think you withdraw the aid. You got to be very careful, now. The vacuum is already been created. The trouble is already at hand. American enemies are right on the move, everywhere as we can see. Right now, our hand is very much weakened because of the three years of Obama policy. At this point, you don't want to make it worse by -- you know, a move that is reactive and too fast. You withdraw all of our aid today, and we have no leverage. What you do is you portion it out depending on how they act. HANNITY: All right, Charles. KRAUTHAMMER:But the problem is this, pro-American elements in the region, look around. There is no America anymore. I will give you one example. Does anybody care about what we think about Syria? The major country in Mesopotamia. Does anybody ask what Obama's view? No. They want to know what the Russians are doing, the Iranians and Hezbollah. These are the active players. And that's what happens when America withdraws its power and its influence. We become irrelevant. HANNITY: Charles, I -- dead-on analysis. Thank you so much for being with us. We need this kind of perspective during this, what is a worldwide crisis now. Thank you for being with us. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/hannity/2012/09/17/krauthammer-tide-american-power-receding#ixzz26pJgKNm4

THE U.S. Constitution is under attack by the Obama White House!!!!!!!!!! Act now-before it is too late.

www.youtube.com/aramaic12, www.aramaicherald.blogspot.com

 

http://aramaicherald.blogspot.com/2012/09/american-citizen-arrested-in-usa-for.html

Exploring the Jewish Roots of Jesus

 

By

Stephen Andrew Missick

A Misunderstood Jew

A recent book about the Jewish roots of Jesus is entitled “A Misunderstood Jew.” This title can be problematic. Is Jesus King of Kings and Lord of Lords and the Christ? No, he is just “misunderstood.” Another book with the same theme is “Kosher Jesus.” In this book the author argues that Jesus wasn’t the Redeemer and the Savior of Mankind-he was a Jewish patriot. So some people obviously have some concerns about this new approach to Jesus and Judaism. (The book “Kosher Jesus” was debunked by Dr. Michael Brown.)

On the other hand, a popular misconception of Jesus was that he rejected Judaism and fought against it. This idea is that Jesus came to abolish Judaism. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Another book series has the title “A Marginal Jew.” What does this mean-that Jesus wasn’t truly Jewish-but that his Jewishness and practice of Judaism was marginal? What the author means is that Jesus was a Jew who was marginalized by his society-mostly through Roman oppression.

But, how was Jesus Jewish? What does it mean when we say that Jesus was a Jew? What are the ramifications of this for Christians? These are questions that Christians need to ask themselves.

What does it mean when we say “Jesus was Jewish”?

In “The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant” John Dominic Crossan argues that Jesus was heavily influenced by Greek culture and that he belonged to the Greek philosophical school of the Cynics. However, let us look at the Jesus of the Gospels. In several places Jesus is quoted speaking in Aramaic. The only reason that Jesus was quoted speaking in this language must be because it was the language he spoke-and not Greek. So, Jesus is someone who speaks and thinks in a Semitic language.

We know the names of Jesus’ brothers-Jacob, Simon, Joseph and Judah. These are good Jewish names. In Matthew and Luke we have family trees of Jesus, showing that he was of Jewish descent-and that he was a descendent of King David.

Examining Christ’s teachings, it is obvious that his thinking was shaped by the Hebrew Scriptures-and not by Greek thought. On the other hand, I don’t think we should demonize or unfairly disparage Greek thought. Anyone who reads the Greek classics will learn to expand their thinking. I do find many of the teachings of Plato disturbing but he was a great thinker that has had a huge impact on history. Plato isn’t the end all and be all of Greek thinking. Aristotle challenged many of the ideas of Plato and many other Greeks had powerful ideas.

Jesus grew up in the traditional Jewish homeland and surrounded by the Jewish way of life. Jesus grew up in the synagogue and would go on pilgrimages to the Temple.

What does it mean to be a Jew-in the first century?

Judaism in the first century was different from Judaism of today. But there is one similarity-Judaism was very diverse. There wasn’t one institution that said what was Jewish and what wasn’t. The different sects strongly opposed each other.

Pharisees: Probably the largest and strongest sect. They believed in angels and demons, heaven and hell.

Sadducees: This sect was the priestly elite. They believed that this life was the only life and the Temple ritual must be the focus of this earthly life since it was commanded by God on Mount Sinai.

Essenes: These were monks who lived in the wilderness practicing baptismal rituals. They were said to be vegetarian.

The Yahad: The community that produced the Dead Sea Scrolls. A unique and independent Jewish sect.

Zealots: Jews that believed that they had to sacred duty to fight the Romans.

There may have been many other groups that we don’t know about.

An example is the Mandaeans-The Mandaeans are a Gnostic sect centered in Iraq and Iran-who venerate John the Baptist. They do not practice circumcision-but this group is obviously an offshoot of Judaism.

The Temple played an important role in Judaism. Today, Judaism is focused on the study of the Law-to an extent that was also true at the time of Jesus. However, the Temple played a huge role in Judaism in the first century. There is no Temple and hasn’t been for 2,000 years so it is hard for us to grasp what a Temple centered Judaism was like. Probably the closest thing would be the Hajj to Mecca that Muslims have to take. Jews were required to go to Jerusalem three times a year. Now, this really was no longer practical or possible when you have an international Jewish diaspora. At the time of Jesus, as is true today, more Jews lived outside of the Holy Land than lived within the Holy Land. These Greek Jews would make pilgrimage to Jerusalem during their lifetimes-but obviously not three times a year every year as the Torah dictates.

However, some Jews did not participate in Temple worship. The Yahad thought that the rituals in the temple were not valid because they were being incorrectly observed. According to the Bible, John the Baptist stayed in the wilderness his whole life. This means that John did not leave the wilderness to go into the city of Jerusalem. Also, a vegetarian Jew isn’t going to partake of animals slaughtered in the Temple. John did eat bugs and honey. The Bible says that is all he ate. So, John didn’t eat meat.

People of the Book

People tend to think that things have pretty much always been the way they are now. Today, it is an assumption that everyone can read. We cannot imagine the high illiteracy rates that existed in the ancient world. We are a wealthy people and can afford to teach all of our children how to read. But in ancient times people didn’t have the leisure or the wealth to teach all their children how to read. Literacy rates were probably 10%. If the literacy rates of the Jewish people were twice as high as non-Jews that would mean that only 20% of Jewish men could read. This is most likely the case. Over 50% of Jewish men were illiterate. We see this confirmed in the teachings of Jesus. He said, “You have heard it said…but I say unto you…” The reason the crowds had “heard it said” was that they could not read and they heard people recite things to them-or listened while things were read to them.

At the time of Jesus-they pretty much had the Old Testament we have today. The canon wasn’t totally settled-so apocryphal books such as Enoch and Tobit may have been considered part of Scripture at least by some Jewish communities at that time.

Jews at the time of Jesus had two “problems” in dealing with the Old Testament. Most of the common Jewish people spoke only Aramaic. And although Hebrew and Aramaic are very similar-they couldn’t understand it. (For example, the King James Bible and Shakespeare are considered to be in Modern English-but many people cannot understand them.) So, there are two barriers between them and the Hebrew Bible-first it is in a language, that although they consider it a “holy” language, they cannot understand it. Secondly, they couldn’t read the language. So, the Bible had to be translated into Aramaic-and it was. Among the Dead Sea Scrolls, Aramaic Bible translations, called Targums (literally Targumim) were discovered. But for most Jews the Targums were an oral form of the Bible. And it should be remembered that the Bible itself started off as an oral document. The Bible is made up of stories that were told and prophecies that were spoken.

The reciting of the Aramaic Targums became an important part of Synagogue services.

The Jewish people did highly value reading, education and study. This is evidenced by their treasures that they hid in the caves during the Jewish War. Their treasures were their books.

But, most of the Jews were poor people who lived in an agricultural society. Even though many of them couldn’t read, they could listen to the Bible being read or recited in the Aramaic targum form. So, many of the Jews did know the stories of the Bible, although most of them were unable to read it for themselves. Jesus is depicted in the Gospels as a man who could read and write and who was well read in the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings.

Jesus and the Land

Part of someone’s national temperament is connected to the land in which they lived. For example, if Mozart had been born or raised in Italy as opposed to Germany, he still would have been a musical genius but his music would have had a different temperament to it.

Having been to Israel and lived in the Galilee, I got a feel of Jesus in the land. The land of Israel, and of Galilee, were part of who Jesus was. The area around the Sea of Galilee is a beautiful, tranquil and spiritual place. Jesus often refers to his environment, and the daily life of people within that environment. Jesus says, “See how the wild flowers grow…” He says to watch the birds how they don’t toil or spin-but God provides for them. He talks about shepherds, farmers and fishermen in his parables.

Did Jesus Bring Change?

Did Jesus bring change or not? Some Messianics/Hebrew Roots people think that Jesus did not. But if Jesus did bring change-what change did he bring? How did he change things? Now, most people seem to agree that Jesus “fulfilled” the animal sacrifice system by dying upon the cross. Now that Jesus died on the cross we no longer kill animals so that we may receive forgiveness of sins. But, is that the only reason Jesus came?

Why Did Jesus Come?

What was Christ’s mission? Was it to affirm the law of Moses? Or was it to redeem mankind? Or could Jesus have done both? After all, Moses appeared with Jesus upon the mountain of transfiguration. Did Jesus come to teach people about how to grow their hair, what diet to keep, how to observe holidays or what type a clothing to wear-or was Jesus more interested in what was in the heart of a man?

What should be our focus? Paul said, “I am determined to know nothing but Christ and him crucified.”

Stephen Andrew Missick

About the Author

Reverend Stephen Andrew Missick is the author of The Assyrian Church in the Mongol Empire, Mar Thoma: The Apostolic Foundation of the Assyrian Church in India, and Socotra: The Mysterious Island of the Church of the East which were published in the Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies (Volume XIII, No. 2, 1999, Volume XIV, No. 2, 2000 and Volume XVI No. 1, 2002). He is the author of The Words of Jesus in the Original Aramaic: Discovering the Semitic Roots of Christianity, Mary of Magdala: Magdalene, the Forgotten Aramaic Prophetess of Christianity, Treasures of the Language of Jesus: The Aramaic Source of Christ’s Teaching, Aramaic: The Language of Jesus of Nazareth and Christ the Man. He is an ordained minister of the gospel. He graduated from Sam Houston State University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Rev. Missick has traveled extensively throughout the Middle East and has lived among the Coptic Christians in Egypt and Aramaic Christians in Syria. He also served as a soldier in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 and 2004. While serving as a soldier in Iraq he learned Aramaic from native Aramaic-speaking Iraqi Assyrian Christians. Rev. Missick is the writer and illustrator of the comic book “The Assyrians: The Oldest Christian People,” the comic strip Chronicles: Facts from the Bible and the comic book series The Hammer of God which are available from www.comixpress.com. The Hammer of God comic book series dramatizes the stories of Judah Maccabee and Charles Martel. He has also served as a chaplain in the Army National Guard in Iraq during his second deployment in 2009 and 2010.

PO Box 882, Shepherd, Texas, 77371

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King of Saints Tabernacle: Messianic Congregation

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http://aramaicherald.blogspot.com/2012/09/exploring-jewish-roots-of-jesus.html

Archeology in the Holy Land

 

Biblical Archeology and Galilee

Intro: Jesus is often referred to as Jesus the Galilean. The Galilee is a region in Israel. Recently, Biblical archeologists have made many significant discoveries in Galilee that illuminate Jewish culture at the time of Christ. Joining us today is Stephen Missick who recently participated in an archeological excavation in Israel.

Tell us about what you were excavating in Israel and how you got there:

I actually won a scholarship with Biblical Archeological Review magazine! In my application I mentioned my military experience, my academic background-and how I wanted to dig in Bethsaida because Jesus was there!

What is Bethsaida? In Aramaic Bethsaida means "House of the Fisherman." It is a fishermen's village not far from the coast of the Sea of Galilee.

How do we know that Jesus was in Bethsaida? Because the Bible says he was! According to the Bible, it was near Bethsaida were Jesus walked on the water. Phillip and Nathaniel were from Bethsaida, as were Peter and Andrew-although they had moved to Capernaum. It is believed that King Herod Phillip was buried in Bethsaida but his tomb hasn't been found yet.

What does the Bible say about Bethsaida? In the Gospels, Jesus rebukes the town of Bethsaida for its lack of faith in him. He also rebuked Capernaum and Chorizen, two other Galilean towns that have been excavated.

What did you find at Bethsaida? The excavations at Bethsaida began in 1987. Since then, they have found a fisherman's house a vine-growers house and roads from the first century that Jesus and the apostles must have walked on. They found a city gate at Bethsaida from a period much older than the time of Jesus. It is believed that this older find is the Kingdom of Geshur-the place where Absalom fled to when he fled from King David his father. While I was digging we find fragments of pottery, coins and scarabs. A scarab is an Egyptian style pendant that was often used as a form of identification.

What is it like to participate in an archeological excavation? Well, its dirty work! I sent most of the day digging and I got covered with dirt! We got to the site at the break of dawn and had breakfast. Then we would get to work. We took a break at about 1130 and continued working until 1 in the afternoon and then we finished for the day.

What kind of insight into the Bible did you gain by participating in an archeological excavation?

Digging is part of the pursuit of knowledge. We dig and then the archeologist take our finds and interpret them. Digging is the slow painstaking work that eventually leads to expanding our knowledge of the Bible and its times. There were two archeological educational parks that I thought were very helpful. One was at Nazareth. It is called "Nazareth Village." It a small area they re-created life as it was in the time of Jesus. They built an authentic first century style synagogue a carpenters shop and other recreations of life as it was at the time of Jesus. There was also a mikveh-which is a type of baptistery for Jewish ritual cleansing. There was another archeological park called "Qatzrin Talmudic Village." It was from a period slightly later than the time of Jesus-but a period in which life was mostly the same. At Qatzrin it was like stepping back in time-and everything was still there-but everyone had stepped out for a moment.

What else did you see in Galilee?

I went to Tiberius a few times. Tiberius was built by Herod Antipas and named in honor of the Emperor Tiberius. Later it became an important center for Judaism. I lived near to Magdala where Mary Magdalene came from. Back in the late 1980s-a boat from the time of Jesus was found on the shore when the coastline receded during a drought. The boat which is called the "Jesus Boat" has been preserved and is on display at Ginnosar-where I stayed during the dig. I also visited Capernaum. Although Jesus was from Nazareth, Capernaum is described as "his city" in the Gospels. Capernaum became the center of Christ's operations. Also, in the 1970s and 1980s Francisan archeologists excavated Saint Peter's house in Capernaum. They built a church with a glass floor over the ruins so you can look down into Peter's house. We also went to Chorizon-where they have a "Seat of Moses" in a synagogue they discovered there. Chorizon was another town Jesus visited and he also rebuked it for its lack of faith.

What else where you able to do in Israel?

Now I have been to Israel once before. The first time I focused on Jerusalem and visited with "Palestinian" Christians. During this visit I was able to worship with Arab Christians in Nazareth. But this time I excavated and traveled in the north. I was able to see the ruins of an Israelite temple at Dan, visited Caesarea Phillipi-where Jesus said, "Who do men say that I am?"

I also went to Tel-Megiddo, the Biblical Armageddon and saw the rabbinic tombs at Beth Shemerim-where the famous Rabbi Gamaliel was buried.

What kind of impact did Galilee have upon you? Now the Sea of Galilee is actually a lake-it is about eight miles across. That means you can see across to the other side wherever you are there. But it is a very beautiful place. It was spiritual and tranquil. I felt that it was a fitting place for Jesus to chose to begin to preach about the Kingdom of God. To me it's a place where there is a connection between God's kingdom and this earth.

http://aramaicherald.blogspot.com/2012/09/archeology-in-holy-land.html

Exploring the Semitic Roots of Christianity

 

"Jewish Roots, Semitic Roots, Hebrew Roots and Pagan Roots"

Many people are on a quest to re-discover a more authentic form of Christianity. Indeed, some people are trying to discover the Jewish Jesus and are even rejecting the title "Christian." If you come into contact with this movement you will see that it is extremely diverse. In this manual, we are going to examine some of the issues that arise in the "Jewish Roots" movements-not movements is plural because there are several movements.

The Sacred Name and Restorationist Movements

A "restorationist" movement is a sect that believes that Christianity became hopelessly corrupt in antiquity and needs to be restored. The problem with this ideology is that the church never lost the New Testament. If the New Testament represents the teachings of Jesus and it was never lost-how could it be said that the teachings of Jesus were lost. In a sense, you could think of the Baptist Church and the entire Protestant Reformation as a type of Restorationist movement. But, better examples would be the Jehovah's Witnesses/Seventh Day Adventists, and better yet, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Joseph Smith taught that all spiritual knowledge was lost from the death of the Apostle John until he came.

Some Hebrew Roots organizations do believe that the canon of the New Testament needs to be revised. An example would be Monty Judah, who advocates removing the Epistle to the Hebrews from the New Testament. Many, Hebrew Roots movements now have their own translations of the Bible.

The Jehovah's Witnesses and the Seventh Day Adventists have a huge influence on the Hebrew Roots movement. Their influence is divisive and controversial but it is there. Michael Rood is a former disciple of the Way International-an organization highly influenced by the Jehovah's Witnesses. Much of what Michael Rood teaches is what he learned when he was a member of the Way International.

The first issue where you see their influence is with the Sacred Name. In the Old Testament, God has two names-one is Elohim-which is used about 2,500 times in the Old Testament. The other "Name of God" is called the Tetragrammaton. This word means "four letters." The letters are YHWH. This Name of God has been translated as "Jehovah" in the past. In the Old Testament period-we know from the text of the Bible and from archeological evidence, that Jews spoke the name "Yahweh." YHWH is used in the Old Testament about 6,000 times. Many scholars think the name of God was Yahweh but it may have been pronounced as "Yehowah." The fact of the matter is the pronunciation is lost and exactly how the Name was pronounced is no longer known with certainty. At about 200 BC, a Jewish sage named Simon the Just introduced the practice of not saying the Name out of reverence. Circumlocutions were used (this means other words were substituted for the Divine Name). The commandment says "thou shalt not use the name of Yahweh your God in vain." Well, if you never say the name Yahweh-then you aren't going to break that commandment. So, the Jews substitute words for Yahweh such as "Ha-Shem," meaning "the Name," and "Adonai," meaning the Lord. For the most part, this is a Jewish practice that has been adopted by Christians. In fact, it seems Jesus himself observed this tradition and used circumlocutions for the name of God and generally referred to God as "Abba, Father," or by the name El, or Elaha in Aramaic. Jewish people find it sacrilegious and deeply offensive to pronounced the "Ineffable Name of God."

Certain "Sacred Name" believe that you must call upon God by Yahweh-or some variation-or you will be damned. And if you don't pronounce it exactly the way that they say you must pronounce it then you are going to hell. There are even groups that say that Yahweh and Elohim and two different God and cast aspersions on those who worship the one or the other.

Bible Versions and Translations

Since the Sacred Name is that important to these people they produce Bible versions that use the Sacred Name. Some of these groups also teach that it is necessary to practice all 613 Commandments of Moses. One of these leaders is named Israel Hawkins and he believes that since Moses and the Patriarchs practiced polygamy-he and his followers would too-since the Law of Moses is the ultimate standard of morality. Hawkins has produced his version of the Bible. Some of these people disagree with calling the Bible-the Bible because the word "Bible" is derived from the pagan city "Byblos." The problem is that the word Bible merely means book and Byblos was actually called Gebal and the people there believed that Elohim founded the city. So, they call the Bible the "Beshora," The Sacred Scriptures-or some other title.

I personally don't have any problem with a Sacred Name Bible, as long as they accurately reflect the text of Scripture. Now there is a plethora of "Hebrew Roots" Bibles and it seems like there is a new one all the time and it seems confusing.

The "Jewish New Testament" and "The Complete Jewish Bible" follow the Jewish tradition and do not use the Sacred Name but use the word Adonai instead.

The Name of Jesus

Having dealt with the name of God, we now move on to the name of Jesus. The name "Jesus," is derived from the name Joshua. This name was originally "Yehoshua" and means "Yahweh is Salvation." Later this name became "Yeshua" and it seems like this is the name that Jesus would have went by. However, it is also possibly that the name was pronounced as "Yeshu." However, the rabbis created an acronym for the name Yeshu-which was "May his name be accursed forever." So, Yeshu-although it may have been how Jesus' name was pronounced was made into a Jewish curse word. For this reason, Israeli Christians now call Jesus "Yeshua," instead of the traditional Hebrew pronunciation of "Yeshu." Certain "Messianics" also argue about how to pronounce the name of Jesus. Some say that "Jesus" means "Hey Zeus!" This is absurd. The Greeks used an I or a J for the Y letter and didn't have an SH sound in their language so they substituted an S. Greek has case endings because nouns such as names must be declined. This is how the "S" was added to the end of the name "Jesus."

What about the Afterlife?

Another area where we see the influence of the Seventh Day Adventist/Jehovah's Witnesses is in the idea of the Afterlife. In the New Testament, Jesus is very clear that he believes in a heaven and a hell and an immortal soul. He teaches that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are with God presently in heaven and taught about a beggar named Lazarus who died and went to heaven. The Adventist movement came out of the Millerite movement of the 1800s. When the JWs/Adventists were developing (they have common origins) séances were extremely popular in America due to the "Spiritualist" movement. To counteract this movement the Millerites began teaching that essentially, there is no life after death-until the resurrection at judgment day. Jesus stood with the Pharisees in their belief in heaven and hell against the Sadducees, a sect that denied the afterlife. So, the Millerites are teaching the opposite of what Jesus taught. The Old Testament teaches that the souls of the dead descend into Sheol where they enter their eternal rest. Many people have become confused because they don't understand what the ancient Israelites believed about Sheol and incorrectly believe that the ancient Israelites did not believe in the afterlife.

Was Jesus a Pharisee or a Karaite Jew-or an Essene?

Nehemiah Gordon is an associate of Michael Rood. He teaches that modern Judaism is Phariseeism. This is true. Modern Judaism did evolve out of the Pharisee movement. Mr. Gordon has rejected the Orthodox Judaism and has embraced what he called "Karaite Judaism." Some of his criticisms of Rabbinic Judaism are valid. (For example-why do Jews call the Old Testament "the Tenach"? It isn't even a word? Some traditions-like how to tie your shoe laces according to rabbinic tradition are tedious.) But, Karaite Judaism is the offshoot of the Sadducee movement. The authentic Karaite Jews are Sephardic Jews who live in Egypt-or the communities that have emigrated from Egypt. Mr. Gordon argues that Jesus was a "Karaite Jew" in that he rejected rabbinic tradition and followed only the Torah. Other people argue that since Jesus agreed with the beliefs of the afterlife held by the Pharisees and since some of his teachings are similar to the famous Pharisee Hillel, then Jesus must have been a Pharisee. Still others will say that since Jesus was baptized and baptized like the Essenes-he must have been an Essene. My position is that Jesus is the Son of God and didn't belong to any sect of Judaism. Just because Jesus affirmed certain beliefs of different sects doesn't mean that he belonged to them.

Is Greek bad?

Michael Rood and others teach that we have to "leave behind our Greco-Roman thinking" and rediscover our Hebraic Roots. What is "Greco-Roman" thinking and why is it so bad?

What should be recognized at first is that Greek has had an influence upon Judaism. The word "Synagogue" is a Greek word. As is Sanhedrin. In the Passover-there is the Afrikomen-another word derived from the Greek.

The Septuagint, which is an ancient translation of the Old Testament into Greek, was translated by and used by Jews. Also, the Septuagint is an important witness to the Hebrew text of the Old Testament. Important Jewish thinkers such as Philo of Alexandria and Josephus wrote in Greek (Josephus claimed that he wrote an initial draft of the Jewish War in Aramaic.) The Apocrypha-which is Jewish literature from the inter-testamental period-is largely written in Greek.

The New Testament is also written in Greek-although certain portions may have had a Hebrew/Aramaic original. I think that the Greeks brought tremendous human progress. They were great thinkers and advance knowledge and have had a profound effect on human history. I don' t understand what the purpose is of demeaning the Greeks.

Jewish and Christian Relations

The apocrypha is ancient Jewish literature. It was preserved by Christians and not by the Jews. The Books of Maccabees tells the story of Hanukkah. Christians preserved it-Jewish versions of the Hannukah story are inaccurate and are derived from Maccabees. (I am referring to the Megillath Antiochus.) During the Crusades, Christian bishops protected Jewish communities from rogue crusader who carried out anti-Semitic attacks. (See "God's Battalions" by Rodney Stark.) Saint Augustine argued that Christians should grant the Jewish communities toleration. The Catholic Church began the practice of using Unleavened bread for the Eucharist in an attempt to reconnect with the Jewish roots of the faith. The first printed Hebrew Bible was a joint project of Jews and Christians. The Catholic Church also prepared the Complutensian
polyglot-it was a parallel Bible with different versions of the Old Testament including Hebrew and Aramaic made in the early 1500s, before the Protestant Reformation. The early church affirmed the Old Testament and rejected the anti-Semitic teachings of Marcion in the mid 100s. Origin of Alexandria around 180 produced an important six columned edition of the Old Testament called the Hexapla. Saint Jerome lived in Israel and studied Hebrew from Rabbis there and translated the Old Testament directly from the Hebrew. He also noted that the Apocryphal books were not part of the Old Testament. So, at times, Christians and Jews had cordial and productive relations and cooperated in Bible scholarship.

Anti-Semitism is very dangerous and the church must be honest about its history regarding the Jews-but we need a balanced approach. Historical revisionism that exaggerates the mistreatment of the Jews or demonizes the entire church isn't helpful. There are Jewish sources that are polemical and strongly anti-Christian. Such as the "Toledoth Yeshu," an anti-Gospel that has circulated among the Jewish community for centuries. In the "Toledoth Yeshu," Jesus is a black magician who is raped by Judas Iscariot. People have also found offensive passages from the Talmud and took them out of context in order to incite anti-Semitism. What I am saying is that Christians should be familiar with the church fathers before rejecting them all based on one or two remarks that may seem anti-Semitic today.

The Hebraic Mindset

Many of the Hebrew Roots/Messianics/Yahwist and other groups believe that in order to be acceptable to God you have to "think Hebraically." But what does this mean? Some people believe that it is necessary to know Hebrew well-and to think in Hebrew-before you can understand and be received by God. Other believe that the "Hebraic Mindset" means observing the Jewish or Biblical feastdays (or "the Feast of Yahweh"), keeping a Kosher diet, observing the Sabbath and all of the 613 Commandments of the Torah that apply to you.

Still others, such as Scott Cloud, teach that you have to think cyclically. Apparently, Easterners don't use linear thinking or apply logic the way westerners do.

http://aramaicherald.blogspot.com/2012/09/exploring-semitic-roots-of-christianity.html

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

 

Tuesday, August 28, 2012: (St. Augustine)
Jesus said: “My people, in today’s Gospel you read how I criticized the Pharisees for being hypocrites in their religious practices. They washed the outside of their cups and followed giving tithes in their donations, but inside their souls there were many sins. It is important for My faithful to practice what you preach by your actions. Do not just go through the motions of being religious, but you need to cleanse your sins in frequent Confession, and perform true works of charity for your neighbors. Focus on Me in your prayers, and consecrate everything that you do for My sake. People should be able to tell you are a Christian by your humility, faith, and your actions. Guard your tongue from any bad language, and control your behavior from any outbursts of anger. In essence, you need to give a good example to others so they can see that you are not hypocrites like the Pharisees were.”

http://www.johnleary.com/index.php/2012/08/30/tuesday-august-28-2012/

Monday, August 27, 2012

 

Monday, August 27, 2012: (St. Monica)
Jesus said: “My people, today’s feast day of St. Monica helps people to remind them to keep praying for their own children as she prayed for her son, Augustine, and his conversion. Many mothers can identify with her desires to have her son return to the faith. St. Monica was blessed that her son became a bishop and a doctor of the Church. I can encourage My faithful to keep praying for any relatives or friends who have left their faith. If these souls have died, they need prayers, Masses, and fasting to help them if they are in purgatory. Evangelizing or reconverting souls should be your most important work. So do not give up on any soul, but constantly pray for their conversion. In the vision you look down the road of your life, and you think that you have a long time to convert. Some people do not realize how quickly your time passes away, and you could die at any time. It is better to stay close to Me in daily prayer, and frequent Confession so you can keep a clean soul, and you will always be ready to meet Me on the day of your death. Do not keep putting off your conversion to another day, because you could pass on at any time. Rejoice and give Me praise when a soul is converted, because it is a joy to see the reward of your effort for that soul. All of heaven also rejoices over one soul that repents and is saved.”

Jesus said: “My people, as you look at a dead body in the casket, you start thinking of how some day you will be dead in a casket. It is not easy to face the fact that your body is mortal, and you could die at any time. The important fact is not only that you are going to die, but that you need to have your soul prepared for the death of your body on any day. Once you die, you will have to face your Maker at your first judgment. This is why you want to have a pure soul at all times so you are ready for your judgment. The other reason for this vision is to have mercy on the deceased person’s soul. You do not always know the disposition of that soul in how that person was judged. Assume that the person is in purgatory so you can pray for that soul and offer Masses up for their intention. If that soul is not in purgatory, your prayers and Masses will be applied to your other deceased family members. Rejoice when souls have finished their missions on earth, because now they can pray for souls on earth.”

http://www.johnleary.com/index.php/2012/08/30/monday-august-27-2012/