VERSES MISSIONARIES IGNORE

Missionaries say that 300 verses in the Tanach support their beliefs.  Between the claim and the proof are some obstacles, but that's another story, one discussed elsewhere.   However, several verses in the Tanach refute missionary claims fairly directly.  When confronted with these verses, some missionaries rationalize, and others change the subject.  That they never cite these verses is worth noting.

The verses which missionaries do not like to cite show that:

1.  G-d is not a man.  Missionaries say that the 'son' aspect of their tri-partite god was the person Jesus.  (Sometimes they even seem to say the other two aspects were also human, but that's another story.)  They emphasize that they believe G-d became man, not that a man became G-d.  The Tanach makes no such distinction.  The Tanach says simply that G-d is not a man.

• Numbers 23 (KJV) 19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

  • Missionaries claim the verse should read "G-d is not a man who lies..."   This is not what the Hebrew text says, or even how the KJV translates it..

• Hosea 11 (KJV) 9 ...I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee ...

•  I Samuel 15: (KJV) 29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.

• Psalm 146 , (KJV) 2 While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being. 3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.

  • Jesus is frequently refered to as the "son of man."

  • The Hebrew phrase "ben adam" (literally "son of man") in a poetic way of saying "person".

• Job 9 (KJV) 32 For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment.33 Neither is there any daysman ("mediator" in the New KJV) betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both.

  • Note that Job 9:3 also contradicts the missionary idea that someone must mediate between people and G-d.

The same idea is expressed in a different way in Deuteronomy Chapter 4.  The text is explicit -- you saw no image at Horeb, so don't try to make a representation of G-d.

• Deut 4: 15 (KJV) Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: 16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, 17 The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, 18 The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: 19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.

  • Note that Deut 4:19 also contradicts the missionary idea that G-d will condemn those who worship incorrectly.  G-d created objects (sun, moon, and stars) for non-Jews to worship so it is unreasonable to think G-d would condemn them for doing so.

Missionaries sometimes say that G-d has changed since those words were written.  They assert that now G-d is indeed human, and if we Jews don't believe it, we will be consumed in the fires of hell..  However, the Bible says that G-d does not change and we will not be consumed.

• Malachi 3 (KJV) 6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

Here is the list of the verses for easy copy and paste in chatrooms:

• Num 23:19; Hos 11:9; 1 Sam 15:29, Ps 146:2; Job 9:32; Deut 4:15 - see http://home.att.net/~fiddlerzvi/verses.html for full texts

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2. Blood sacrifice is not essential for forgiveness.  Missionaries say that G-d must have blood in order to forgive sins.  I have even heard them make the blasphemous sounding statement that G-d is incapable, does not have the ability, to forgive without bloodshed.  Such an idea is primitive and barbaric, but that is not the point.  The point is that the Tanach does not agree.  According to Tanach, there are several acceptable means for repentance.

• Leviticus 5 11 (KJV) But if he be not able to bring two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, then he that sinned shall bring for his offering the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering; he shall put no oil upon it, neither shall he put any frankincense thereon: for it is a sin offering.

• Isaiah Chapter 1:11 (KJV) To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.

Micah Chapter 6 is particularly explicit as to what G-d wants:

• (KJV) 6 Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?   7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?   8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

  • Missionaries sometimes say this means Jesus.  But that it not what the text says.

Hosea Chapter 14 waxes poetic and describes words (of repentance) as if they were the animal sacrifices ("calves of our lips"):

• (KJV) 1 O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. 2 Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.

The Psalmist expresses the same idea.

• Psalms 40 (KJV) 6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.

• Psalms 50 (KJV) 7 Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God. 8  I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me. 9  I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds. 10  For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. 11  I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. 12  If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. 13  Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? 14  Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: 15  And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

In 1 Kings 8, Solomon prays that G-d will forgive the sins of all those who ask in the temple, for example, verses 33 and 34 (JPS 1917)

• When Thy people Israel are smitten down before the enemy, when they do sin against Thee, if they turn again to Thee, and confess Thy name, and pray and make supplication unto Thee in this house; then hear Thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of Thy people Israel, and bring them back unto the land which Thou gavest unto their fathers.

Kings 8: 46 - 50 applys this even to people to pray to G-d and think of the temple in a foreign country where they can't make any sacrifices:

• If they sin against Thee--for there is no man that sinneth not--and Thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captive ... yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn back, and make supplication unto Thee ...: We have sinned, and have done iniquitously, we have dealt wickedly; if they return unto Thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, ...and pray unto Thee toward their land, ... the city which Thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for Thy name; then hear Thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven Thy dwelling-place, and maintain their cause; and forgive Thy people who have sinned against Thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against Thee

One can say that Solomon's prayer wasn't answered, but the text gives no indication of that.

Money (Exodus 30:15-16), jewelry (Numbers 31:50) or putting fire from the altar in a censure (Numbers 17:11) are also listed as means to forgiveness.

Hosea is specific that animal sacrifices will stop for a temporary period (as opposed to being stopped forever and replaced by something else.)

• Hosea Chapter 3: 4 (KJV).  For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: 5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.

• Ezekiel likewise

Here is the list of the verses for easy copy and paste in chatrooms:

• Lev 5:11; Is 1:11; Micah 6:6-8; Hosea 3:4-5; Hosea 14:2; Ps 40:6; Ps 50:7-15; Ex 30:15-16; Num 17:11; Num 31:50 -- see http://home.att.net/~fiddlerzvi/verses.html for full texts.

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3. The commandments can indeed be followed.  Missionaries, following Paul's lead, say that the Torah and its commandments are impossible to follow and are are intended only to show us how bad we are.  Then will then cite examples which show conclusively that they do not understand what the commandments actually are.

• Deuteronomy Chapter 6:25 (KJV) And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us."

• Deuteronomy Chapter 30:11 (KJV) For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? 13  Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? 14  But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

• Psalms Chapter 19:7 (KJV) The law of the LORD (Heb. Torat HaShem) is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

  • Paul says the Torah condemns the soul.  The Psalmist disagrees with him.    

The Torah was intended to be permanent, not a temporary measure to be set aside at a later time.  Missionaries claim that Jesus "fulfilled" the Torah so that it is no longer needed.  Torah says otherwise, and uses the phrase "eternal statute" ("hukat olam") 16 different times.  Of particular interest is the use of this phrase in relation to atonement.  

• Leviticus Chapter 16: 29 (KJV) And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: 30 For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. 31  It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever. 32  And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments: 33  And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation. 34  And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.

  • In spite of the explicit detail, the clear statement that it is to be an ongoing yearly ritual, and the repeated statement that it is an eternal statute, the missionaries will tell you that it has all been replaced by a one time human sacrifice in the form of a Roman execution.

  • The missionary may ask if our sins are not forgiven since we do not have this ritual now.  The answer is that this ritual is not the only one for atonement, not by a long shot (see above).

  • Since this ritual is not in fact done today, one might ask if that proves the Torah wrong.  The answer is no -- it doesn't.  The ritual is one of the temple rituals, and so is intended only for when the temple is in existence.  If and when the temple is rebuilt, the ritual may very well be started again.

Consider also: Ezek 37:24  And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.

• "David my servant" refers to a descendent of David, i.e., the Messiah, in whose time the 'statutes' will still be observed.

Here is the list of the verses for easy copy and paste in chatrooms: Deut 6:25; Deut 30:11-14; Ps 19:7-8: Lev 16: 29 -34; Ezek 37:24

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(KJV) 15 Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: 16Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, 17The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, 18The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: 19And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven. 20But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.

These verses pose two major problems for Christian beliefs.  As you can see from verse 3, with the reminder of how  those Jews who followed a false god died, this chapter is about the worship required of Jews.  The first problem for Christians comes in verses 15 and 16, with the prohibition against worship of anything in the likeness of a person.  It's quite specific - you didn't see anything at Horeb, so don't worship anything that you can see.  Need I say that Jesus had the likeness of a person?  Certainly all the pictures I've seen portray him that way.

The second problem, in verse 19, is more subtle.  It's a warning to be careful "when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them."  The next part of the verse contains a remarkable phrase - "which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven."  Some might say this refers only to G-d putting lights in the sky for everyone, but there are two problems with this idea.  First, the verb 'halek' has the implication of divide or apportion separately to different people and is different from the verb to give or the verb to place.  Secondly, the idea of a neutral astronomical comment being thrown into the middle of firm cautions about worship sounds strange.

I think this comment suggests that G-d gave the heavenly bodies for other peoples to worship as dieties.  Rashi also offers this as an explanation.  The warnings to Jews not to worship strange gods are numerous, and there are frequent references to what will happen at the end of days, but, to the best of my knowledge, nowhere does Tannach forbid other peoples of that era from worshipping strange gods, and numerous references are made without condemnation of other people doing so.  

So, while many Christians are convinced that G-d is as petty as they are and will punish with infinite torture anyone who doesn't have the right beliefs, the Bibilcal author gives no indication of agreeing with this idea.

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5. Bible refers less often to "The Messiah," than it does to "an annointed." (In construction.  Nag Zvi to finish it alreddy.)

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Revised 12/07