Opinion / Religion
Early Christians
24 Dec 2011 at 17:39hrs | Views
The first Christians were Jewish Christians. The Pentateuch <1> was of great importance to them and they kept its laws, keeping the sabbath and performing circumcision.
Christian beliefs were spreading largely among Jews, and Christianity was a group within Judaism.
They were called Jewish Christians because their membership consisted largely of Jews who had joined them and followed their beliefs and teachings.
They believed Jesus was a prophet who had tried to make people more aware of the intent of the Pentateuch and had tried to intensify the application of its laws.
As Jews had in any case to follow and live according to the Pentateuch's laws, so what were Jews and Jewish Christians arguing about?
At issue are the laws of behaviour and the social system which are laid down in the Pentateuch {13}:
The Pentateuch states that all are equal, that no person may oppress or exploit another, that all have the right to be free and be independent masters of their own fate.
Every person is entitled as a matter of right to social security. This means that people are entitled to be supported by the community not only when they fall on hard times but also to maintain their independence as independent breadwinners for their families.
For example, the community has to provide backup funds to those who need them and they have to be provided as and when required. To prevent people being exploited through their need these funds have to be provided without charging interest and such 'loans' are cancelled every seventh year if the borrower has been unable to repay them.
The country's wealth, and this applies particularly to productive capital, belongs to all equally and has to be shared out. This equal and fair distribution of the community's wealth has to be updated at regular intervals.
The role of those who are rich is seen to be that of administering their wealth and money on behalf of and for the community and not that of enriching themselves at the expense of the community.
The laws of the Pentateuch have to be followed and applied by Jews as a matter of law in their daily lives.
However, it was such laws of behaviour and such social system laws which the rich simply did not want to apply and they, the rich and powerful, had the application of the laws changed to suit themselves. {13-16}
Jesus tried to reverse this situation and to have such laws applied by people in their everyday lives.
Christian beliefs were spreading largely among Jews, and Christianity was a group within Judaism.
They were called Jewish Christians because their membership consisted largely of Jews who had joined them and followed their beliefs and teachings.
They believed Jesus was a prophet who had tried to make people more aware of the intent of the Pentateuch and had tried to intensify the application of its laws.
As Jews had in any case to follow and live according to the Pentateuch's laws, so what were Jews and Jewish Christians arguing about?
At issue are the laws of behaviour and the social system which are laid down in the Pentateuch {13}:
The Pentateuch states that all are equal, that no person may oppress or exploit another, that all have the right to be free and be independent masters of their own fate.
Every person is entitled as a matter of right to social security. This means that people are entitled to be supported by the community not only when they fall on hard times but also to maintain their independence as independent breadwinners for their families.
For example, the community has to provide backup funds to those who need them and they have to be provided as and when required. To prevent people being exploited through their need these funds have to be provided without charging interest and such 'loans' are cancelled every seventh year if the borrower has been unable to repay them.
The country's wealth, and this applies particularly to productive capital, belongs to all equally and has to be shared out. This equal and fair distribution of the community's wealth has to be updated at regular intervals.
The role of those who are rich is seen to be that of administering their wealth and money on behalf of and for the community and not that of enriching themselves at the expense of the community.
The laws of the Pentateuch have to be followed and applied by Jews as a matter of law in their daily lives.
However, it was such laws of behaviour and such social system laws which the rich simply did not want to apply and they, the rich and powerful, had the application of the laws changed to suit themselves. {13-16}
Jesus tried to reverse this situation and to have such laws applied by people in their everyday lives.
Source - www.solhaam.org
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