Was the Jewish Church the True Church ?
483911
Christianity is paganism and has no relation with the original Hebrew religion.\n\nConstantine attempted to invent a universal religion by incorporating Hebrew myths into his pagan religion, but it appears Hebrews would have nothing to do with it.
142613
Early christians considered themselves Jews and thus most certainly worshiped on Saturday.  It wasn't until Paul came along that they started to re-think the law of Moses.   Early christian leaders prayed in the Jewish temples (see Acts), but of course, they were not so welcome.   Being thrown out of temples and the influence of Paul was probably the major reason they began to think of themselves as a different religion.\n\nSo while the change to Sunday happened very early in the church (probably in the first generation) it was not immediately after the death of Christ.
89775
On the day of Pentecost, in Jerusalem.  On that day, Gentiles and Jews entered the Church.  Only then could the Way be considered Catholic.  Likewise, only then did it have the Spirit to support it.  You can trace the Church and its activities through its letters, records and other documents from today back to the first century.  The early Christians were prolific writers so there is a lot of reading to do.  Not all of it is translated into English.  Many of the Greek fathers are just now being translated over to English.  This is regrettable in that it limits the average person from reading the writings of the early Christians.  Likewise, you don't have a lot in Syriac before Ephrem that remains.  Still, Ephrem the Deacon is a ton of reading if read carefully and well, though he is later.  There is one other major writer in Syriac before Ephrem but I don't remember his name.\n\nThe only thing that exists is the Catholic Church until the 16th century.  I don't like treating the Orthodox as a separate Church, but rather as the other side of a schism.  It is uncharitable and mostly incorrect to treat them as a separate denomination.\n\nProtestantism did not exist until the 16th century and below is an account of the creation of the word.\n\n"The Diet of the Holy Roman Empire, assembled at Speyer in April, 1529, resolved that, according to a decree promulgated at the Diet of Worms (1524), communities in which the new religion was so far established that it could not without great trouble be altered should be free to maintain it, but until the meeting of the council they should introduce no further innovations in religion, and should not forbid the Mass, or hinder Catholics from assisting thereat. \n\n"Against this decree, and especially against the last article, the adherents of the new Evangel — the Elector Frederick of Saxony, the Landgrave of Hesse, the Margrave Albert of Brandenburg, the Dukes of Lüneburg, the Prince of Anhalt, together with the deputies of fourteen of the free and imperial cities — entered a solemn protest as unjust and impious. The meaning of the protest was that the dissentients did not intend to tolerate Catholicism within their borders. On that account they were called Protestants. " (note this article is around 100 years old)
277172
It's not a weird notion.  There is no evidence of a lot of things that transpired during the times of Christ.   Sure the Bible talks about it and is the ONLY accepted history of that time.   I'm inclined to think that the apostles did run with their interpretation of Christ's teachings.   I'm not so sure it was to create an alternate Jewish religion, but an alternate politically correct on of the time.   Jesus didn't come to Earth to have people worship him as God.  That was furthest from his teachings.  His teachings were to show people the way to the Father through his teachings.  Even the perverstion of "The only way to heaven is through Christ."   It simply means that to get to heaven is to be like Christ and follow his teachings.   It does not mean to worship him as God.   Never has, never did, never will.
1013045
Jesus did build his Church, the Catholic Church, and the powers of death have not and will not prevail against it. The Catholic faith has millions of followers all over the world and the Church is growing every day. I'm sure some Protestants believe that their modern day church is the true Church but there are a lot of misinformed people out there.
1058315
The true church (Eph.5:27; Acts 20:28) still exists today! Only a few (Matt.7:14; Eph.4:14)people are in the one flock today. Yes, many have wandered away from the truth(Acts 20:29-30; Col.2:8) and established their own righteousness(Rom.10:3). The few(Matt.22:14) that God called out (2Tim.1:9)of 2nd Babylon(confusion) are in (Eph.4:4; 1Cor.1:25-29))God's Church today. The gospel is being preached today, but only few will accept it!\nLook what Matt.7:21-24 says!\n\nThe true church isn't the Catholic Church. It doesn't preach or teach the true gospel of Rev.14:7-12. Mostly it is called the Beast or Anti-Christ in Revelation. The protestants came out of her, but still follow her(Rev.17:5). \nClues: "sits on 7 hills"= Rev.17:9;  "claims to be God"=Dan.7:8; Rev.13:1; 17:3; 2Thess.2:4; \n"has thought to change law of God"=Dan.7:25(General Catholic Catechism) and "cast all truth to the ground"=Dan.8:12.\n\nIn Encyclopedia--I looked up the Catholic Church or Roman Catholic Church or Sunday---I forgot. But anyway; it tells you that it destroyed the 3 Arian tribes which are spoken in Daniel 7:24. But anyway there's alot of clues that the Catholic Church is the Beast of Revelation and not God's True Church. I have tons of information on these subjects in-\nhttp://community.webshots.com/user/morrisonmcdf1
838704
Well you can call any Christian church out there. I'd recommed the Catholics, seeing as they're the original Christian church. But in coming to terms with being a Christian, I want to share some words from someone alot smarter than me:\n\n"What a wonderful question! Here is my story; the story of another Jew, like yourself, who had asked this very same question many years ago:\n\n \n\nI grew up in an orthodox Jewish home in New York, and several years ago I came to believe that Jesus (Yeshua is the Hebrew way to say the Greek name Jesus) is truly the Jewish Messiah. Believing that Yeshua is the Messiah wasn't easy. I had many, many questions, and I spent months examining the evidences and seeking G-d's answers. During my journey, I constantly reminded myself of a very important verse from the Jewish Scriptures (the Tanakh). The Jewish prophet Jeremiah records the words of G-d, "And ye shall seek me, and find [me], when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13).\n\n \n\nThe Jewish Scriptures (The Torah, The Prophets, and The Writings, which make up the Tanakh or the Jewish Bible) paint a very clear picture of who the Mashiach (Messiah) will be when He eventually comes to the nation of Israel. In fact, there are over 300 prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures, which detail many facts about this coming Messiah/king. Here is just a sampling (and remember, all these verses come from the Jewish Bible):\n\n\nMessiah was to be born at Bethlehem: Micah 5:1.\nMessiah would be from the tribe of Judah: Genesis 49:10. \nMessiah would present himself by riding on an ass: Zechariah 9:9. \nMessiah would be tortured to death: Psalm 22. \nMessiah would arrive before the destruction of the Second Temple: Daniel 9:24-27. \nMessiah's life would match a particular description, including suffering, silence at his arrest and trial, death and burial in a rich man's tomb, and resurrection: Isaiah 52:13-53:12.\n\n \n\nChristian prophecy is remarkably specific. In detail as to lineage, birthplace, time and lifestyle, Jesus matched the Messianic expectations of the Hebrew Scriptures. The record of this fulfillment is to be found in the pages of the New Testament. As you review the more extensive list of Jewish Messianic prophecies, allow G-d to speak to your heart and your mind as you seek HIS truth.\n\n \n\nInterestingly, the Jewish Scriptures paint seemingly two different pictures about the Messiah to come. For one, they talk about the Messiah who will come as the reigning King, who will usher in a period of unprecedented peace on earth. But many verses talk about the Mashiach who will be a suffering servant, who will suffer and die for the sins of the people. For many hundreds of years the rabbis believed that there would be two Messiahs, the King Mashiach ben David, and the suffering servant Mashiach ben Joseph. The rabbis, unfortunately, were not able to see that one Messiah would accomplish both missions.\n\n \n\nChristian prophecy was indeed fulfilled in the Jewish Messiah. Yeshua came to the "lost sheep of the House of Israel" 2000 years ago. He came as Isaiah chapter 53 so clearly states, to die and "suffer" for the sins of the Jewish people. He came to the nation of Israel, but was rejected. If the Jews would have accepted His "once for all" atonement for sins, Yeshua would have ushered in the Kingdom of Heaven at that point in history. But the Jews did not recognize Him. Even though they had the Word of G-d in their own Hebrew Scriptures, and more than 300 descriptions of who He would be when He comes, they missed Him. As a result, the Good News of God's Kingdom went forth to the Gentile world, and for 2000 years now both Jew and Gentile have come together in Mashiach, looking forward to His soon return as reigning King, just as the rabbis have always expected.\n\n \n\nAlthough the nation of Jews rejected Yeshua when He came, G-d has always, through the last 200
758503
Jesus called for the reformation of Judaism of the time. To him Judaism was being too heavily influenced by the Roman empire, and when he openly spoke out against it during passover (flipping the merchant's tables etc.), the roman empire saw him as a threat... Jesus ( during his time) was not necessarily viewed as the son of God... just a disrupter.
11622
Messianic ""Jewish"" congregations of course welcome visitors. No, a person does not have to be born a Jew to join a messianic congregation. \n\nAs a matter of fact, the majority of their members were not ever Jewish up until recently, and this is also true about their messianic ""rabbis."" Many of them change their names to something that sounds stereotypically Jewish, in order to better target those they want to convert to Christianity.\n\nAs the success of this newest technique in missionizing the less knowledgeable Jews increased, the percentage of membership of ex-Jews as members of their messianic congregations has also increased, now running about 50-50.\n\nIt is also interesting to note that a large number of people converting TO Judaism have come to real Judaism from having been exposed to Messianic ""Judaism."" \n\nWhat you should expect at a messianic congregation is that all references to Christian theology has been changed to make it sound more Jewish, and therefore more pallatable to their targets. They will only refer to Jesus as 'Yeshua' (which would not have been his name), they will say 'moshiach' instead of 'christ,' they will say 'synagogue' instead of 'church,' and on and on, in keeping with the techniques described in the book Understanding Church Growth by Donald MacGavran, who helped the idea of Indiginous Cultural Evangelism get started. \n\nThe services will sound very Jewish, usually a lot of (mispronounced) Hebrew, and prayers will have been changed to add the Christian theology of Jesus to them, again, to make the service more familiar to their targets.\n\nRemember that these messianic congregations need member$hip, and so they also target those Christians who want to know more about the ""Jewish roots"" of Christianity as well, so you will be very welcomed.
602347
2,000 years of history proves that the Jews were right!\n\nThe Jews ARE special.\n\nThey read the Bible in the original language with NO translation or interpretations.  No VERSIONS.\n\nThey have it straight.\n\n\nThere are 45,000 Protestant Churches in the U.S. because NONE of them agree on what Christianity is.\n\nChristianity murdered Jews, Jews never murdered Christians (except by individuals).\n\nChristians banned Judaism, Jews never banned Christianity.\n\nWhich religion behaves like 'Jesus'?  Not Christianity.\n\nVirgin Birth, Immaculate Conception?  99% of Christians don't know the difference.
368003
Okay... let me start off by stating that "Jews" and "Hebrews" are one and the same. They are an ancient people, and "being Hebrew" is both a religion and an ethnic group. Those who have Jewish descent but are not "religious" are called "secular jews". A person can also be of the Jewish religion without being born a Hebrew.\n\nAs to whether or not they "believe" in Jesus, it is a complicated matter. Almost all people of the Jewish faith believe that there once was a rabbi named Jesus. The true issue is whether or not he was the Son of God.\n\nThe Old Testament does not make mention of Jesus by name, because by the very nature of the Bible, the Old Testament is mainly about the times before Jesus; it is about the history of the Jewish religion. There are many passages in the prophetic books of the old Testament that makes mention of a "Messiah" or "Savior" of the Jewish people. The coming of the Messiah was to mark the victory of the Jewish people, bring them back to the former glorious days of King Solomon. This Messiah was said to be a King of Kings, and would lead the Hebrew people out of the bondage of their enemies.\n\nEnter Jesus. His time was during the Roman Empire, when Rome had overtaken the Middle East, and has captured Jerusalem. The Hebrew people were under the rule of a pagan king, and there was a small but determined group called "Zealots", that prayed for the coming of the Messiah to lead them out of their captivity. When Jesus comes on the scene, He preforms miracles, and tries to teach the people how to live better lives. He tells people to love their neighbors and to treat others as they'd like to be treated. Jesus proved His divinty time and time again, yet still even His disciples were unable to fully believe.\nThe Jewish leaders of the time could accept that a poor rabbi from a nondescript part of their nation was the foretold Messiah. Why, he was not a great king... how could He ever lead them to victory over the Romans? And so, they begin to plot to have Him killed... He is disrupting their people... causing a revolt, some say. It is not He that is bringing the glory and attention to Himself, it is the people, witnessing to others about the miracles He had done for them. Blind men could see, dead were raised to live again, and food was made from near nothingness. It was all too much. He had to go.\n\nFor those who do not understand the Jewish religion, it is difficult to fully appreciate the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross. It might all seem like a gory, twisted sotry. But in the Hebrew faith, there was no atonement for sin except through the spilling of blood. If you stole something, you must sacrifice something for forgiveness. Typically, it was the purest, whitest lamb or animal one possessed. By this shedding of blood, one was forgiven their transgression. However, the sins of the people had become too great for lambs to pardon, and a larger sacrifice was needed. That sacrifical lamb, that pure innocent life, was the Son of God, Jesus Christ.\n\nTo this day, most Hebrew people are still waiting for the coming of their Messiah. It is in this point that Christianity branches off from Judism. Christians believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, the Messiah. Jewish people do not accept His divinity. That is the critical difference.
1120636
The Catholic Church followed the example of Jewish tradition and the congregation was singing almost from the beginning.\n\nPaul's letter to the Ephesians (5:19) states, "addressing one another (in) psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts." \n\nSee also Colossians 3:16 and 1 Corinthians 14:26.\n\nEarly Christian worship paralleled that of the local synagogues, the Christians borrowing their four elements including the readings, the chants (of the Psalms), the homilies, and the prayers.\n\nWith love in Christ.
895623
That is  a very good question and the answer is a little confusing. The problem is that people often get confused between Judiasm and Jews. To be Jewish does NOT mean you follow the Jewish religion, instead it is a group of people. Kind of like just because you are Indian does not mean you are hindu, or if you are arabic it does not mean you are muslim (unless it is the law of your country) \n\nNow before the birth of Christ, the Jewish(reffering to the group of people) did follow the same religion, which can be called the "Jewish" religion, because they where Jew and that was their religion. Now, before Christ was born, as you know from reading the scriptures, their where prophesies about his coming. Some believed and some did not believe he was coming. When Jesus Christ was born he taught many new things and gave new revelations. Thus came Christianity, though if it was called that at the time, I am not sure. Those who did not believe he was the Savior and still live by the ways before Christ and do not follow His new teachings broke off and are today reffered to as "Jewish"\n\nThose who followe Christ are Christians. Those who are Jewish by blood are not neccesarily Jewish by religian, You can be jewish by religion even if you are not Jewish by blood. Jesus was born to Jewish parents and He is how Christianity started. Remember, back then Jewish and Christianity were intertwined and not distinctively seperate.\n\nI know it is confusing. But basically, the coming of Christ and the belief in whet He taught is what seperates the 2 religions.
486130
The Church's teachings says they are. Do you believe in these teachings? In order to fully understand the 'concept' of Original Sin, one must take the time to fully investigate the history of religion and the church and how these 'canons' came to be.\nThe Church did indeed have an agenda which prevailed since it was formalized under the emperor, Constantine. Just ask yourself if that same agenda can be 'justified' in the world of today?
476474
sacrifices are not neccesary for the temple is gone for now (the real messiah will see it rebuilt) and jews follow the 613 laws of torah the best that they can. Yes the laws of the torah (the old testiment is christian, not jewish) the tanakh is jewish, correct, and unchanged are still aplicable to all jews.
453763
No Jews can trace their lineage back that far, due to the destruction of Jerusalem around A.D. 70. If he claims to be descended from Ishmael or Esau, though, I suppose that may be possible. But I doubt it.
726156
The book itself is definitely fiction.  Some of the theories posed are palusible.  The Catholic church claims that Jesus wouldn't have been divine if he was married, yet Christ was a rabbi (or considered such by the masses).  To my understanding of Jewish beliefs at that time, rabbis or any teachers of faith would have needed to be married to have any credibility.  Simply put, the Jews probably wouldn't have listened if he was single.\n\nWhen it comes down to it though, there's no scriptual reference to a wife of Christ, so it's not important to salvation and it's not important to us in the larger scheme of things.