Circumcision And Gentiles

http://www.lightofmashiach.org/circumcision.html

Ellen Kavanaugh

Let’s start with *when* circumcision was given, in Genesis 17:9-14:

“And God said unto Abraham: ‘And as for thee, thou shalt keep My covenant, thou, and thy seed after thee throughout their generations. This is My covenant, which ye shall keep, between Me and you and thy seed after thee: every male among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of a covenant betwixt Me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any foreigner, that is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised; and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken My covenant.'”

The command is given to Abraham. Abraham is the father of the Jewish people, but this covenant is made before the Israelites have been chosen. In fact, it is given before Isaac is even born. So, circumcision isn’t given just to the Jewish people but to all of Abraham’s descendants. Abraham obeyed G-d and all the males in his household were circumcised.

A common argument is that Gentile believers don’t need to be circumcised because they come into G-d’s covenant not through Torah or Jewishness, but through Abraham. Yet we’ve just seen circumcision was the *very sign* of the covenant G-d made with Abraham before Torah was even given. So this argument doesn’t excuse Gentile believers from being circumcised.

What Does Yeshua Teach About Circumcision?

Both Yeshua (Luke 2:21) and Yochanan (Luke 1:59) were circumcised. Yeshua only discussed circumcision once, in a comparison to healing, but He did uphold both the importance and priority of circumcision in His remarks:

“I have done one work and you are all surprised at it. Moses gave you circumcision–not that it comes from Moses, but from the fathers–and even on the Sabbath you give a child circumcision. If a child is given circumcision on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?” John 7:21-23

An indirect reference to circumcision is Yeshua’s command that believers partake of the Passover each year in remembrance of Him:

“And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.” Luke 22:19
“And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.” 1 Corinthians 11:24

The indirect reference to circumcision is that in order to obey Yeshua’s command one would have to be circumcised, because Torah forbids anyone uncircumcised to partake in the Passover:

“And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the YHVH, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land; but no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. Exodus 12:48

From the TaNaKh and the gospels, there is no reason any Gentile should think circumcision isn’t for him. So let’s find where the confusion begins.

Timothy’s Circumcision In Acts

“Paul had a desire for him to go with him, and he gave him circumcision because of the Jews who were in those parts: for they all had knowledge that his father was a Greek.” Acts 16:3

Now knowing that Timothy’s father was Greek, the Jews would know that Timothy had not been circumcised as an infant, so Sha’ul had Timothy circumcised. The Christian argument is that since Timothy was Jewish (because his mother was Jewish) that Timothy’s circumcision doesn’t count. Afterall, Timothy was Jewish but Gentiles aren’t obligated to do the same. Are there two paths to G-d? Are there two sets of rules? A Jewish Way and a Non-Jewish Way? Of course not! In Galatians 3:28 Sha’ul explains “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Messiah Yeshua.” One. So either circumcision applies to all, or to none. If none, then Sha’ul should have simply explained to the people that believers didn’t have to undergo circumcision. He didn’t. When Sha’ul circumcised Timothy, he was showing that this new faith in Yeshua *also* upheld circumcision.

Sha’ul’s Teachings Regarding Circumcision

A common misconception about circumcision is that “circumcision of the heart” replaces physical circumcision. Yet the Brit Chadasha (New Testament) passage that mentions circumcision of the heart is directed *only* to the Jewish people, let’s look:

“But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.” Romans 2:29

Yet in the preceding verse 17 it reads: “But if you bear the name ‘Jew'” and in the preceding verse 23 it reads: “You who boast in law.” The audience here has been clearly identified as a Jewish audience. Sha’ul is really just reiterating Torah to His Jewish brethren:

“Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.” Deuteronomy 10:16″And the LORD thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.” Deuteronomy 30:6

Sha’ul is *not* introducing a new concept so that Gentiles can circumcise their hearts instead of undergoing physical circumcision. He is reminding his Jewish brethren that physical circumcision *alone* is not enough.

Jeremiah repeats this need:

“Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest My fury go forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.” Jeremiah 4:4

Note, at no point in Jewish history did anyone *ever* interpret these texts to mean that circumcision of the heart replaced physical circumcision. *Both* are G-d’s commands, both circumcisions are important.

Sha’ul To The Romans

Let’s look at the Romans 2 passage:

Romans 2:23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
Romans 2:24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.

The group being addressed are Jews.

Romans 2:25 For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.

“Circumcision” here is Jewishness, those born into the covenant. A Jewish person who does not keep Torah is likened to a person outside the covenant (a Gentile).

Romans 2:26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?

A Gentile who obeys Torah is likened to a Jew. To keep the righteousness of Torah includes being circumcised since circumcision is included in Torah. So this text contradicts itself if we make ‘uncircumcision” mean anything other than a “non-Jew” or “Gentile.” Stay close to the text here, Sha’ul is debunking His fellow Jews confidence — they boast *because* they are Jewish and were given Torah. The discussion here isn’t about circumcision but Jewishness.

Romans 2:27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?

Better: ‘If a Gentile by birth (nature) obeys the law, couldn’t he judge you, who are Jewish through covenant (letter), if you break the law?’ It’s a logical point — which counts more? Righteousness without covenant and birthright, or unrighteousness having covenant and birthright? Sha’ul was an early evangelist to the Gentiles, he is seeing many more Gentiles come into faith in Yeshua than Jews. He is speaking this to his brethren out of shame.

Romans 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Romans 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Again, Sha’ul is addressing his Jewish brethren. Yes, they have outward circumcision in accord with the covenant; they were circumcised at 8 days of age by their parents, true. But a true Jew also has circumcision of the heart, in the spirit, outside of the covenant, which isn’t performed as a ritual of identification for others to see, but for G-d alone. Sha’ul isn’t criticising physical circumcision — it is a covenantal birthright and Torah command; but there is a deeper level one should be seeking. Resting solely on birthright and the covenant will never be enough.

Romans 3:1 What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?
Romans 3:2 Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.

I included the above verses for continuity, to show this passage was directed *only* at Sha’ul’s Jewish brethren. (A related article on Romans 2 is: “Spiritual Jews”

What we’ve seen in the above passage is one of several cases where ‘circumcision’ and ‘uncircumsion’ mentioned are interchangeable for ‘Jewish’ and ‘Gentile’ and aren’t strictly reflecting the covenental command itself. As Sha’ul explains:”Wherefore remember, that in the past you were Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands.” Ephesians 2:11 “Uncircumcision” was used loosely to simply mean “Gentile.”

Romans 4

Romans 4:7-10 “Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.”

Sha’ul is showing that Yeshua’s atonement and grace covers the Gentiles as well as the Jews. But how can Gentiles receive this blessing too, since Gentiles are outside the covenant that gives the blessings? Because Abraham himself received these blessings *before* he was circumcised and entered the covenant.

Romans 4:11-13 “And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.”

This is a marvelous picture of G-d’s larger plan. G-d selected Abraham *before* he entered the covenant and was circumcised. Gentiles are brought into the covenants of Israel in the same way. Faith precedes the covenant. Note Abraham *did* undergo circumcision, this passage does not abrogate the covenant of circumcision G-d made with Abraham. Sha’ul is showing that G-d made a provision for those who would later come into the faith, that the promise of righteousness could be bestowed on all through Abraham.

Romans 4:14-17 “For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.”

These promises were made to Abraham *before* law was given so that they extend to *all* Abraham’s seed and not just Israel. Grace is from G-d and our response of faith towards His grace *precede* law. Simply put, Torah was given later through only one line of Abraham’s seed (Isaac to Jacob). Torah set boundaries for the people but it did not provide grace nor was it ever intended to. As in chapter 2, Sha’ul is debunking the confidence of his brethren who felt grace/righteousness came only through Jewishness and Torah. Torah had been misused as a system for justification and as a way of limiting the promises of Abraham so that only the line of Jacob received them. Abraham is the father of Ishmael (the Arabs), the father of the Israel/Jews, and is the father of *all* through faith.

Sha’ul To The Galatians

Galatians 2

Galatians chapter two is often misunderstood as being against circumcision.

Galatians 2:1-2 “Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.”

Sha’ul has gone to Jerusalem, to check with the Beit Din and verify the gospel he was teaching met their approval (James, Kefa, and John, the leaders in Jerusalem). Note that the early believers had accountability — no man is an island, not even Sha’ul.

Galatians 2:3-5 But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Messiah Yeshua, that they might bring us into bondage: To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

Now, note in verse 4 *who* was pestering Titus to be circumcised. It wasn’t James, Kefa or John, it was *false* brethren who heard Sha’ul and Titus were in town. Who were these false brethren? Two hints help us, we know they are in Jerusalem, and we know they wanted Gentiles to convert (be circumcised). It is probably the same group as in Acts 15:5, that sect of the Pharisees who believed all Gentile believers should become proselytes and undergo the conversion rituals of Pharisaic Judaism. (recommended read “Acts 15” We already know from Acts 15 that Gentiles do *not* have to become proselytes. The issue of circumcision here, as in Acts, isn’t about a Torah command of circumcision; this is about ritual circumcision; to basically convert Gentiles into Jews. Had Titus been compelled by these false brethren, it would have given them more power to push others into conversion — they could then say “Even Sha’ul agrees Gentiles must become Jews in order to be saved.” Salvation was being offered to *all* people through faith alone; it was not limited to Jews (and Gentile proselytes). Yeshua wearied at such efforts to convert Gentiles: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.” Matthew 23:15 Sha’ul refused to submit to these false brethren, he submitted himself only to G-d and the Jerusalem Beit Din.

Galatians 5

1 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Messiah hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Bondage here is bondage of men — the traditions of men.

2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Messiah shall profit you nothing.

If you convert (become circumcised) it’s validating the teachings of the false brethren, you’d be agreeing that salvation is based on conversion and works, in which case you wouldn’t need Messiah.

3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

Dependant on keeping “whole law” for salvation — written Torah *and* traditions — no room for error.

4 Messiah is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

Incidently, there is no justification through works, it was a false belief system, it is *not* a scriptural teaching.

5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
6 For in Yeshua Messiah neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

As I quoted earlier, ‘there is neither Jew nor Greek’ — salvation is found in faith working by love, not through Jewishness or Non-Jewishness.

7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?
8 This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.
9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
10 I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.
11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.
12 I would that those troubling you would mutilate themselves.

Now Sha’ul is angry. Sha’ul has been teaching the Galatians about the gospel of Yeshua, yet in came these false brethren trying to yoke the new believers into following conversion rituals and oral law/tradition. Theirs was *not* the gospel of Yeshua that Sha’ul had originally shared with them. It should have been obvious to the Galatians that these teachers opposed Sha’ul since they persecuted Sha’ul too. If Sha’ul had also taught such conversion was necessary (as these false brethren taught), then he wouldn’t be persecuted. The Galatians should have easily recognized they were false teachers instead of Sha’ul having to reteach them. But since the Galatians didn’t recognize the false doctrine, Sha’ul reshares his testimony at the beginning of his letter to the Galatians; and reminds them that gospel he teaches is in accordance with G-d *and* the Beit Din of Jerusalem (Kefa, James & John). In other words, Sha’ul’s gospel can be trusted, the ‘gospel’ of these false brethren cannot.

Galatians 6:12-16

12 As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Messiah.
13 For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.

In other words, this Pharisaic group compelling these Galatians to be circumcised want to boast in their flesh, and prove to their peers that they maintained and taught Pharisaic Judaism and gained many new converts / proselytes. Yet for all this emphasis on making proselytes, they weren’t even obeying Torah themselves. If these Galatians refused to submit, then the Pharisaic believers would suffer persecution too for failing to make more proselytes.

14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Yeshua Messiah, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

Sha’ul points out we glory in our L-rd Yeshua, not in making proselytes.

15 For in Messiah Yeshua neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

This is better rendered, “For in Messiah Yeshua, neither Jewishness is anything nor NonJewishness, but a new creature.” Referring back to the fact that Israel’s olive tree is like a new man, comprised of believing Jews *and* Gentiles — with no need for the Gentiles to undergo any conversion ritual to be included. This is the Israel of G-d.

Some of Sha’ul’s writings had been misunderstood as being against Torah, as Kefa says:

“And be certain that the long waiting of the Lord is for salvation; even as our brother Paul has said in his letters to you, from the wisdom which was given to him; And as he said in all his letters, which had to do with these things; in which are some hard sayings, so that, like the rest of the holy Writings, they are twisted by those who are uncertain and without knowledge, to the destruction of their souls.” 2 Kefa(Peter) 3:15-16

It’s nothing new that Sha’ul’s teachings are being twisted into saying something they don’t (like the church today saying that Sha’ul teaches us not to obey the Torah). Sha’ul has been misunderstood for two millennia.

So, Did Sha’ul teach against circumcision for believers?

Let’s look at two very easy to understand texts of Sha’ul:

“But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets.” Acts 24:14″And when he was come, the Jews which came down from Jerusalem stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove. While he answered for himself, Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended any thing at all.” Acts 25:7,8

Sha’ul was the apostle to the Gentiles. Sha’ul himself claims to uphold Torah and teach Torah. I will accept him at his word.

Kosher slaughter

On October 9, 2013 at 11:11 am Arch Stanton said:

The problem with Christianity is that people do not understand the Jewish mind behind it. To understand the New Testament, one must understand Jewish culture, history and religion. Of course the Jews make no effort to enlighten the ignorant goyim on these subjects. In fact they prohibit the transference of their religious texts under penalty of death!

The Conspiracy of Man

Forward

The Tabernacle and its sacrificial system

Long before the Temple came the era of the Tabernacle, where the sacrifice was ceremonial bloodlust. It was a place where priests butchered animals to atone for sins against their God, Yahweh.
The Torah originally referred to the first five books of the Old Testament. The books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy are Levirate laws forming the basis for Judaism’s sacrificial system. This system is naturally founded on the sacrifice of both blood offerings, in the form of specified animals, and non-blood offerings in the form of specified grains. In the early days of the sacrificial system, the Tabernacle was nothing more than a moving slaughterhouse, a place where priests butchered animals. It is telling that only the best animals, the least “blemished”, could be offered for sacrifice.
The indication as to the true purpose of the sacrificial system lay in the fact that priests took ten percent of the choicest cuts of meat for themselves and burned only the fat and viscera upon the altar as “sweet savor” to the lord. The remaining meat was then returned to the sinner. Think about this for a moment, the Lord preferred fat and viscera to the prime cuts commanded by the priests.
Imagine for a moment, your priest as a butcher. Imagine going to church on Sunday and seeing your priest at the alter slitting the throat of various parishioners pets, catching their blood in a golden bowl and then splashing it around the alter as he dances around in a trance-like state chanting pleas to God for the forgiveness of sins and begging for salvation. After the service, you say to your spouse, “Boy that certainly was a different sermon this week wasn’t it dear?” Your spouse replies, “Oh I don’t know, next week is communion, when we eat the body Christ and drink his blood. Speaking of that, let’s hurry to the restaurant before the church crowd gets there.”
After making their sacrifice, the Hebrew sinner was marked with blood, mixed with other bodily fluids, on either the forehead or the big toe. This mixture ensured longevity of the mark. The blood marking was visible proof that a tribesman had paid his “sin tax”. Later, this mark was washed off in a ritual purification bath called the Mikveh, at which time the sacrificial cycle began anew.
However, this marking system had one obvious, glaring drawback. Blood is a commonly available substance produced by the higher organisms. In their attempt to control the easily counterfeited blood marking, priests forbade their followers from butchering their own animals or even possessing the instruments for doing so. This was the primary reason for the kosher slaughter, a process where the living animal’s throat is slit to ensure the pumping heart will drain the blood as completely as possible. This also led to the prohibition of various implements and practices used in the butchering process. The priests defined these as “clean” or “unclean”, but think “legal” or “illegal”, as these are in fact legalistic dictates that have almost nothing to do with hygiene.
Any contact with blood was strictly prohibited, like that produced by menstruating women or “lepers”, which meant anyone with running sores. As a result, a byzantine legal structure arose to control the minutiae of everyday life. There is a forgettable tract in the Mishna that elaborates on the cleanliness of a bowl. The upshot of this legal commandment is that if a bowl in intact, then it is unclean; but if the bowl is smashed into pieces of which the largest piece is no larger than the tip of a man’s finger, then it is clean. This makes absolutely no sense unless one understands the bowl in question can be used to hold and mix blood products.
Eventually the phylactery replaced the blood marking. This was a small box attached to the forehead or the back of the wrist holding a scroll with a passage from the Torah. The scroll changed in accordance with the sacrificial cycle; and like tabs on a license plate, it could be checked as proof that Temple followers were current on their sacrificial tribute. Despite this modification, Levirite laws concerning blood products remained in full force.
Imagine yourself as a very young child of a primitive, nomadic, tribesman. Having heard only stories, you are dimly aware of the importance of a much talked about, upcoming ritual. You are aware this ritual occurs on regular basis and the anxiousness of your parents is palpable when discussing the subject.
On the prescribed day, the day the ritual begins. You follow your parents down to a running stream. A man richly attired in strange garb stands in the middle of the stream. One by one, your neighbors walk into the stream where the man mutters strange words as he immerses them in the water while rubbing their forehead with the palm of his hand. After your father has undergone the ritual immersion, you note the red mark he always wears on is forehead has disappeared. The ritual continues until every adult in the village has undergone immersion. You hear someone nearby whispering that the sacred cycle has ended.
The following day, your mother wakes you earlier than usual and your family spends the morning in careful preparation for the days activities. You want to play with your friends, but your mother insists you attended to her demands. You accompany your father as he goes out among his meager collection of animals. He spends quite a bit of time inspecting the herd until he finally chooses a prized sheep. This animal happens to be one of your favorites. You have often played with the sheep, chasing them around the meadows and finally catching one, you buried your face in its soft wool. Your nose takes delight in the earthy smell of the sheep. It is the smell of life and life seems to be everywhere among the hills where the herds roam.
Later that morning, your father takes you by the hand and with animal in tow, you are dragged to a portable slaughterhouse your parents refer to as the “Tabernacle.” Here you are to witness the important ritual they have been discussing over the preceding weeks. You enter a large enclosure surrounded by a fence made of cloth. In the middle of the enclosure is an odd tent-like structure with rude wooden columns and entry doors. A number of wooden tables, sagging oddly along the longitudinal center line, are set up in the makeshift courtyard directly in front of the tent. Soon, other families begin arriving with their animals.
Finally, the ceremony begins. A neighbor of yours steps forward and presents a prized calf to one of several strangely dressed men, like the men you saw at the stream the day before. Your parents refer to these men as “priests”. One by one, the sinners step forward and present their animal to a priest who then hoists it upon one of the many tables. Your neighbor drops to his knees in front of the priest, closes his eyes and begins chanting something unintelligible. As you are witnessing this, your father grabs your hand and places it alongside his on the prized sheep. You can feel its heart racing. The animal’s transmits its terror though the palm of your hand. The priest takes hold of the struggling animal and with quick, practiced motion, slits its throat with a razor sharp knife. The animal struggles, kicking and bellowing in protest, as geysers of blood erupts from its jugular vein. A froth of blood spews forth, splattering you and everyone present. You can feel the spark of life draining through its hide as the stillness of death overcomes the animal. You look down at the viscous red fluid splattered on the front of your robe. You stare with revulsion at the red stains soaking into the fibers as the stench of death assaults your nostrils and addles your sense.
Even before the animal has ceased struggling, you look up from your bloodstained robe to see the head priest/butcher moving quickly to catch the animal’s blood in a golden bowl. Now you realize the sagging tabletop forms a trough that allows the blood to flow from the end, where the priest awaits with his bowl. With eyelids half closed and muttering some strange incantation, he seems to be in a trance. Shouting, he lifts the golden bowl skyward at arms length before splashing the rapidly congealing blood over and around base of the altar. The priest then comes out of his trance and begins eviscerating the animal. During this process, the animal’s bloody guts are laid aside so they can later be burned on the altar as sweet savor to the lord, who evidently has an abiding taste for burnt fat and viscera.
In just a few strokes, the priest/butcher finishes his gory task. Working rapidly, he begins cutting the animal’s joints. As he separates the portions of meat, he carefully lays aside a large portion of the best cuts for himself. He then returns the remaining meat to your neighbor, who by now has given the priest full admission of his sins.
After the sacrifice is complete, the priest produces a smaller bowl with a cupful of the animal’s blood. The priest mixes it with another bodily fluid that appears to be semen. He uses his thumb to smear a large daub of the mixture on the forehead of the entranced, chanting sinner kneeling before him with closed eyes. Then, with a loud shout, the priest/butcher declares that by this act, your neighbor’s sins have been atoned. Your neighbor staggers to his feet and like a drunk, lurches away from the butchering table with a beatific look on his face, even as the priest calls for the next sinner to step forward with his animal.
Suddenly you feel the full emotional horror of the fate awaiting the other animals brought to the ritual. All the while, these men called priests, howl, chant and dance about, reciting their ritualistic incantations that beg god’s forgiveness; it must have been a bloody spectacle. The bloodlust continues well into evening. What you never witness is the secret ceremony inside the Tabernacle’s tent where the high priest in a final act of crazed bloodlust drinks the sacrificial blood before the mercy seat. The Levirate injunction against consuming blood is a public admonishment to restrict the use of blood products. However, the priesthood exempted itself from its own laws and secretly does not observe such restrictions. This covert act, along with the acceptable act of consuming sacrificial meat, will later be replayed by Yeshu during his last supper, when he symbolically offers wine and bread representing his blood and body to his disciples. A few days later the priests fold their Tabernacle tent and move on. They will move to the next tribe where the sacrificial cycle will be played out once again.
Consider the effect of this gruesome spectacle on a child. Blood spewing everywhere, chanting priests mesmerized in their crazed bloodlust, driven by the howling and grunting of animals bleeding out the last of their life on the ground. The restless bleating of animals, now aware of their fate. Sinners raising their hands towards the heavens as they cry out for god’s forgiveness. Imagine your parents continually consumed with the thought of blood and the avoidance of it, thoughts that translate into an unnatural obsession about the stuff.
Extrapolate this horror out over the generational millennium and you have the foundations of a psychopathic bloodlust that is not a preference, not a peculiar, incidental twist in a few exceptional personalities, it is a culturally inbred condition, one that can neither be altered nor escaped. This culture of blood has permeated the very core of Judaism until it has become a genetic component of their race.
The Bible is a book whose stories have influenced humanity in the most profound manner. Few would argue the statement that it has been the single most influential book in history. Yet few truly comprehend the true breadth and depth of its influence. Fewer still stop to consider why this ancient book has had such a powerful influence when other similar books of antiquity faded into complete obscurity; curious artifacts examined only by experts. What is it about the Bible that is different? Why is this particular book considered relevant to modern man, when its contemporaries are considered irrelevant, archaic works of ancient, primitive, tribes? What is it about these stories that drive modern man in the same manner as they drove the men of ancient times?
The original book was known to Jews as the Torah. These were the first five books attributed to Moses. “Torah” is an interesting word. Many words in Jewish culture have multiple constructs. Therefore, to understand the intent, such words must be taken within the frame of reference to the context in which they are used. To Jews, Torah can refer to anything from the first five books of Moses to the entire linage of Hebraic religious works, ranging from Genesis to the last volume of the Talmud. For our purpose, Torah will refer to those five books of the Old Testament attributed to Moses. This collection is commonly known to Christians as the “Pentateuch”.
The actual definition of “Torah” is likewise interesting. Again, we find a double definition in that the word is defined as both “law or legal” as well as “instruction”. From this definition, we find the Torah is in fact books of legal instruction. The reader is asked to keep this definition in mind while reading this book.
The Torah spawned three of the most influential religions on the planet today; Judaism and her unwanted daughters, Islam and Christianity; unwanted because the Jews never intended their book or beliefs to be adopted by non-Jews. It is truly ironic how few Christians realize that these two daughters have far more in common with each other than they do with their mother religion. All three religions are based on the original stories found in the Torah. All three recognize and revere the ancient patriarchs of the Old Testament. All three pay tribute to these stories as their foundational beliefs about monotheism. All three base their concepts of God upon the descriptions found in these stories. One only needs to compare these three religions with a religion like Buddhism or Hinduism to find the close relationship of mother Judaism and her two daughters.
Yet, while Western civilization has been profoundly influenced by these stories, the book in fact addresses the issues of the ancient Jews. The Bible was written by Jews, about Jews, for Jews. The information in the Torah was never intended to play any part outside Jewish culture for as it is written in the Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 59a, “GEMARA. … R. Johanan said: A heathen who studies the Torah deserves death, for it is written, Moses commanded us a law for an inheritance; it is our inheritance, not theirs.” (Heathen is defined by Jews as non-Jews)
It has been written that the worst reference source for information about water is a fish, for a fish is immersed in the fluid. The immersion of the fish is so complete that it does not even perceive that water exists. Thus, the fish’s immersion and dependence on water precludes any objective analysis of the fluid by the fish and so is the case with the Bible. Western civilization has been so profoundly influenced by its immersion in these stories; it can no longer see the original, objective truths behind them. The Bible is not a book about the history of the Jews, it is a book about the culture and beliefs of a people instrumental in shaping our world. Essentially, the Torah is a cookbook that might well be titled in the same manner as the one in Rod Serling’s play, To Serve Man.
Throughout their history, Jews have been renowned storytellers. Much of their superior verbal skills are undoubtedly derived from the history of their religion’s long oral tradition. Storytelling has long been the common method used by primitive cultures to pass down traditional beliefs and law, but the Jews elevated storytelling to the highest level possible. For Jews, storytelling goes well beyond even an art form, it is in fact the very thread from which they weave the fabric of their culture.
From the first millennia of their existence, Hebrew law and religious beliefs were passed down in the form of storytelling. Around the time of Yeshua, heated debate arose among the Sadducees and Pharisees over whether or not to continue adhering to the oral tradition. By the time of the second Temple period, a major point of friction between the Pharisees and the Sadducees was the validity of the oral law, since the Sadducees only adhered to the written law. Attempts were made to codify a collection of rulings, but the Sadducees rejected the Pharisees’ notion of abiding by the Oral tradition before it was later committed to ink.
There are some interesting considerations inherent to this disagreement. First and foremost, an oral tradition can be much more closely controlled as to who is allowed to receive the information. By this, one can see that had these stories not been committed to the written form, modern Christens would have no more idea of their content then they have of the Hebrew language. Secondly, oral traditions lend themselves to modification far more easily than written traditions. Orwell pointed out this difficulty in his book 1984, where an entire ministry is devoted exclusively to changing the written history of a culture. The Pharisees eventually won the argument as the modern Talmud teaches “God made a covenant with Israel only for the sake of that which was transmitted orally.” Yet, to this day, Jewish boys devote much of their time memorizing and reciting long, torturous, Talmudic tracts and arguing the legal precedence set by these laws, doing so in the very same manner as their ancestors.
Today, Hollywood’s writers, producers, and directors are predominantly Jewish; so it comes as no surprise to find the Torah’s influence clearly visible throughout most Hollywood productions. This marvelous ability to fantasize and tell tall tales can be visibly witnessed in numerous Hollywood and TV shows written and produced by these Jews. While names like Spielberg, Lear and Katzenberg have replaced Biblical names like Moses, Ezekiel, and Saul, the same form of story telling is still much in evidence. When one examines the fantastic and fanciful stories written and produced by those like Spielberg or Serling, or morality plays written by Norman Lear, one has a direct window into the mind of the Biblical storyteller.
This is especially true of Hollywood’s horror genre. Movies like the Ninth Gate are peppered with visual metaphors straight from the Old Testament, metaphors that are completely lost on almost all non-Jews due to a lack of cultural context. Movies like Hell raiser, Friday the Thirteenth, A Nightmare on Elm Street and the Freddy Kruger series all hearken back to the original bloodlust predominantly featured in the stories of the Old Testament. One only needs to consider the angel of death roaming through the streets of Pharaoh’s Egypt to find a parallel in Jason’s character roaming the streets of America murdering its youth. The very first science fiction story is recorded in the apocryphal book of Enoch where a biblical hero travels though time and space in search of the essential secrets of cosmos and creation. Therefore, when one reads the Bible, one should keep in mind the wondrously imaginative talents of the Jewish storyteller.

Comment:  A long read, but defitely worth it.