03-28-2010, 11:55 PM
Rafa Wrote:Well, it's not my belief that MarYah cannot change...but his instruction can. Simply because we can and do change. Surely one cannot say that Noah who was a righteous man had the same instruction as the cohenim Moses and Aaron taught, nor can we say today's legal code is a carbon copy of that of first century Jerusalem. Your interpretation is interesting, I know the Greek philosophy is potentially dangerous (1 Timothy 6:20) and was often used to suppress the teachings of scripture, but I have enormous difficulty with the idea of a "static" Torah. I prefer the idea of a summary of Torah. Better yet: a Torah for the Messianic Age, one that is distinct from the previous one tailored for that Age, but also consistent with it in its manner. A Torah which must be placed in its own "wineskin" so to speak. Again, its only my interpretation, the one I have felt the most comfortable with.
Shlama akh,
i think as well that promoting a static Torah is placing too stringent an interpretation upon a covenant that is indeed open to alteration, but not abolishment. there are many aspects within the Torah that are clearly delineated as "eternal" or "everlasting." i personally would be fearful to speak against those as having an end. however, there are also aspects which could well be altered over time, upon which no "everlasting" decree was ever placed by the mouth of the Holy One. the latter half of Ezekiel, concerning the future Temple, does well to show us the curious alterations of some of these commandments. the worship of the Messianic age possesses very distinct differences between it and certain disclosed commandments in the book of Exodus and Leviticus, for example. so i am definitely open to nuanced alterations of the Torah, as that is uncontestably shown in the Word itself. what i fear is to speak against the eternally-binding aspects of the Torah, and then especially of an abolishment of a divine covenant, as we're told in so many a place of His fidelity to His covenant. going to an extreme point in either position has dangers that can be avoided if we sincerely attempt an honest look at the mysteries of the covenant and it's open-to-revision status.
i can personally attest that this is not a view most Netzarim / Messianic believers hold - at least not with the majority with whom i fellowship, but i do feel that it is far closer to what Scripture actually shows. and anecdotely, the more i have read from the Peshitta the past handful of years, the more of this balance i gather from the Aramaic than i ever did from the Greek.
Chayim b'Moshiach,
Jeremy