Hi,
Actually Luke and Acts, both written by a gentile, Luke, make up 27.5% of the New Testament.
By contrast, John for the books
John, 12&3 John, and The Revelation make up only 12.5%.
Paul’s 13 books, most of which are just a few chapters, make up just under 25%.
So it is a gentile, Luke, that is the most prolific writer of the New Testament.
Blessings
Thanks for the correction, it appears to be closer to approx 75% not over 90%. 
Grafting theology? I have not heard that in decades, since it is considered antisemitic. And a poor explanation.
You leave no room for the books written in the name by some people in the style of Paul, John, Luke, etc. that came about long after the deaths of those to whom they are attributed.
(Grafting theology? I have not heard that in decades, since it is considered antisemitic)
Help, Please explain…
Sorry, this is definitely gone off topic.
Paul in the book of Romans 11, used the “Grafting (Theology)” allegorically, to help explain Spiritually that Gentiles through faith would be grafted into the olive tree, becoming part of the (Abrahamic covenant).
The Abrahamic Covenant is a promise made by God to Abraham and his descendants, which included protection, land, and blessings.
Hi.
From an almost Jewish perspective (Rabbi and I are just waiting on schedule to align to finish the process, which I will gladly explain, of asked), there are many forms of antisemitism. Some of these are overt and obvious like the Holocaust and others are covert and areore like hidden jabs; the grafting theology is one of those.
Consider how you would feel as a Christian if another group wrote the New Testament 2.0 and followed a different person who they considered to be God and added another being to what you see as the One True God, the Christian Trinity. Next, they said that they were grafted in to your faith and covenant from God because they felt that they were grafted in. You might get pretty defensive and say that those people aren’t Christians because they follow the teachings of the other fellow and that guy truly isn’t Christian because he teaches only those who hunger jump naked can be saved and that goes against Christian theology. That is why the theology of being “grafted in” in considered to be antisemitic. The same goes for replacement theology, where there are those who teach that they have taken the place of the Jews in the Abrahamic Covenant.
I hope that you have a wonderful day.
This scriptural example was pulled from the writings of Paul. Please explain, is Paul an antisemitic?
thank you,
No statements have been made thus far referencing replacement theology, or replacing anybody in reference to the Abrahamic covenant. Sorry for any misunderstanding, Paul stated that the gentles would be grafted in, not to replace.
Gentiles were never under mosaic law and are not required or expected to be subject to it. See Pauls letter to the Galatians.
Even Jews turned Christian are addressed by, Galatians 5:14 -
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” If we do this, it covers all the prohibitions given in The Law.
Paul also talks about not burdening converts to “the yoke that is The Law”.
Neither Peter, John, Luke nor Paul required Gentiles to adhere to mosaic law. To try to adhere to the law is folly today, just as it was in Jesus’ day and is why God gave us Jesus. Teaching it as a requirement for Christian negates God’s work through Jesus.
That passage says nothing about the Sabbath. Verse 6 explains to what verse 5 is referring; that the verse is talking about eating or not eating on certain days of the week. There just isn’t any reason here for thinking that Paul is talking about the Sabbath. The specific reason that Paul wrote the chapter is summed up in verse 20: “Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food”.
Look, I’m not advocating here for the keeping of the Sabbath. I’m merely pointing out that Romans 14 isn’t
appropriate as one of the proof texts for saying that Sabbath observance doesn’t apply to Christians.
The sabbath is a God-ordained day off. In ancient societies people had to work seven days a week. God commanded that one day each week was a day of rest, when only essential tasks were to be performed.
Paul (a.k.a Saul) was a Semite. If he was antisemitic then he would hate himself and Yeshua (Jesus – also a Semite).
First of all we should be careful with our terms. “Antisemitic” means a person who desires and maintains strife against the children of Shem, which includes Jews, Arabs, and a number of others. Paul neither desired nor maintained strife against any of his neighbors.
But we should not forget that, to Jews devoted to the tradition of their rabbis, both John the Baptist and Christ the Lord are liars worthy of death, terrible deceivers. Remember, in both we have remission of sin completely outside of the Law of Moses. And in Christ the Lord, we have freedom from that law spoken only to the children of Israel, because we were and are given the encouragement to no longer consider anyone in this world, as father. And according to the rabbis, the Messiah destroys all of the enemies of the nation of Israel, and rules over it. Christ the Lord refused to do this, He refused to rule anything of this world. So any encouragement to devote oneself to Him, is a violation and a condemnation of their traditions, an exposure of the essential futility of their way.
Good morning, Jonathan,
The reference to Paul as an antisemitic was a rhetorical question posed towards a forum member “XIAN2JEW”, Referencing a comment concerning the topic. The question was not necessarily meant to be answered as to whether or not Paul was antisemitic, of course Paul is not antisemitic.
For a clearer context of why this was even brought up, please reread the whole forum to hopefully gain a clearer understanding of the conversation you have referenced.
Thank you
The only laws that have been made obsolete, thanks to Christ’s unequaled sacrifice, are all of the “sacrificial laws”. Christ nailed all of those laws to the Cross.
There are many off-shoot laws to the 10 Commandments, but the 10 still stand. That’s why they were written “in stone” by the mighty Finger of God … twice.
Jesus created them, taught them and obeyed them as an example to us of how to live righteously before God. They will never be made obsolete.
[quote=“Historyprof, post:2, topic:2366, full:true”]
Jesus requested that God gives humans a better covenant that replaces Leviticus laws.[/quote]
Where in Scripture did Jesus do that?
I think the only Christians who believe we should obey the 10 Commandments are those who have found that teaching in the Gospels. If Jesus taught obedience to the 10, the interpretations of Scripture that teach that it is somehow wrong/bad to obey them, are simply misinterpretations.
All of Scripture must coincide with Scripture as a whole. We can’t have Jesus teaching obedience to the 10 while Paul is teaching that it is a curse, or something, to obey them. So we know that is not what Paul was teaching.
Especially in light of Acts 21:24 which confirms that Paul, too, was a “keeper of the Law”. And, for the record, Paul was a dyed-in-the-wool Christian at that point. He was not just following some past habits of Judaism, as many try to claim. He was diligently following the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Well said Stand,
So often it is said, the laws of the Old Testament are just for Israel, meaning of course, for those of Hebrew descent. Therefore, nothing of the Old Testament applies to modern Gentile Christians, those not born as Hebrews, or as we say today, Jews.
Nothing could be further from the truth, just as obedience to God‘s laws for the Israelites did not bring redemption, neither does it for the Gentiles, or as the Old Testament, stated it, strangers, who at that time did live among the Hebrews and were included, as long as they gave up their gods and recognized Yehoveh the God of Israel.
The law is about teaching us what holiness is and what it looks like. What is acceptable to God and what is not. What is good in God‘s eyes and what is not. The law was to show a redeemed person how to live a holy life before Yehoveh God, NOT to redeem an unredeemed person. In other words for believers, when we accept Jesus Christ as our savior, we are redeemed. So the laws of God are not intended for unredeemed, unsaved people, but intended for those of us who serve God.
At the time when the laws were given to the Hebrews at Mount Sinai, they were already a redeemed people when they were freed from slavery and lead out of Egypt.
the Mosaic laws (613) found in the Torah.
These are not the 10 Commandments !
Distinguishing between God‘s laws, which of course, includes the 10 Commandments intended for us to follow, versus any man-made traditions which the disciples and Jesus spoke against. God‘s laws were not intended to be followed to gain salvation. They were intended for obedience and a blessing if we do.
Salvation is a gift, God provided us in Jesus Christ, showing His Love for His creation. So our obedience to His laws, are only our show of Love towards Him for what He has and continues to do for us, through our walk of faith which equates to-our actions of trusting God.
The laws pertaining to the sacrificial offering’s, of animals for sins are no longer needed as we know because of Jesus’s sacrifice. The laws pertaining to offerings and any laws related to the temple even to this day cannot be performed because there is no physical temple.
A decision to follow God‘s laws and commands is an individual decision each one of us has a free will to participate or not. I don’t believe this forum is intended to force anyone to do Anything against their own will, even God doesn’t force anyone to obey. It is that as we do obey and follow his words truly, God stated there are blessings in our obedience.
For all that God did through Christ and the cross for us, so the least that we can do, is our walk of faith, showing him our love as we obey his commands.
Couldn’t agree more with those two posts.
I will just add that I believe ‘we’ are the Temple today and the sacrifice we must make is ourselves. We, as living sacrifices, die daily to our fleshly desires and follow in Christ’s footsteps toward the perfection of His example.
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans 12:1
“He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”
1 John 2:6
God bless, my brother.