Atzilah wrote:
Acknowledging that forgiveness of sin and atonement is connected with the
Day of Atonement/Yom Kippur, then how do we account for the fact that the
death of Jesus is supposed to atone for sin according to Christianity when
his death was at the wrong time of the year at the wrong Biblical Festival
no less? There is no atonement connected with Passover and if Jesus' death
is to even be remotely considered as a form of atonement by Christianity
then if they are true to "types and shadow" fulfillments then Jesus should
have died at Yom Kippur. He did not!
This information certainly comes from a perspective with which I am not
particularly familiar. (And I am not particularly convinced that it is
even relevant to the issue at hand.)
But this only serves to demonstrate even more forcefully that, despite
rabid protestations of "freedom of the press" and "religious diversity",
the media in the United States is fully committed to providing, almost
exclusively, the Christian doctrinal perspective on reality.
Christian Fundamentalists complain almost endlessly about the 'persec-
ution' that they suffer from the media. And it is true that the media
often ridicules Christian Fundamentalists and publishes or broadcasts
'cheap shots' against Christian beliefs. But it must also be recognized
that, at the same time, the media will not allow the specific *cont-
radiction* of those Christian beliefs either. And even the secular
media gives massive coverage to 'Armageddon theology' and other such
subjects of wide public interest.
Although he probably sincerely believes that he is 'persecuted', the
fact remains that Mel Gibson will be seen on national television this
evening expressing his beliefs on the 'atoning sacrifice' of Jesus.
Not only that. There are, apparently, thousands of Christian minis-
ters who think his movie is the best thing since multiplied loaves
and fishes; and, by all reports, there are millions of people who will
go see his movie.
And this is persecution?
Maybe, to Mel Gibson, 'persecution' means that not everyone in the
world *agrees* with him; or maybe by 'persecution' he means that
not everyone in the world will *see* his movie. Who knows?
But will any rabbi be given an equal amount of time on national tel-
evision to express the view that Jesus was *not* any atoning sacrifice
from the perspective of the Law?
Unlikely.
Will all of the newspapers who publish the endlessly repetitive com-
ments about 'Jesus dying for our sins' also publish even so much as
*one* statement that this is contrary to the Torah?
Unlikely.
Statements specifically contradicting the doctrines of Christian the-
ology do *not* come within the media's definition of 'religious diver-
sity'. On the contrary, 'religious diversity' is operationally defined
by the media as consisting of any number of religions or cults who do
not in any way *challenge* the doctrines of Christianity. The same
doctrines of Christianity are merely repeated over and over without
explanation and fully in conformance with the warning of the Nazi Min-
ister of Propaganda '*not* to engage the intellect of the audience'.
For Christians who consistently say that Jesus "fulfilled" the Biblical
Festivals it would do them good to study the Biblical Festivals from a
Jewish view and try to understand them the way the Jewish scholars and
people understood them. In so doing they would see that atonement is
connected with the Fall Biblical Festivals and not the Spring Festivals.
Atonement is connected with the High Holy Day of Yom Kippur and was NEVER
connected with the Passover. If one is true to "types and shadows" and tries
to apply such an analogy to Jesus then understand in the most critical of
all analogies [atonement] you are out of step with the Festivals themselves
and forcing your pre-formed theology into time frames where God's message to
us is completely different.
It would do us well right now to understand in summary from Gods' mo'eds
[appointed times] and Biblical Festivals. Here in summary fashion is the
message in the Biblical Festivals that Moses and the Jewish people have
always understood.
Fine.
But the issue raised by Jesus was an issue of Truth.
It was the conflict over the Truth about the 'resurrection' which got
Jesus crucified and the Albigensians exterminated.
And the issue of Truth is not exactly within the framework of your
considerations.
The rabbis can talk all they want about "the Law", and the Christians
can talk all they want about 'vicarious atonement'--which, of course,
the media will *widely* publicize. But the fundamental issue--the issue
which few are willing even to consider--because it is too threatening,
is the issue of Truth.
Michael Cecil
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