Book Review - The Perfect Gift (Philip Greenslade)

1 January 2008 book-reviews

I saw this book in the bargain bin at a Christian bookshop earlier last year, and bought it to read at Christmas. Philip Greenslade works for CWR, and I have always found him to be a very thoughtful and insightful theologian and Bible teacher whenever I have heard him speak.

The book itself is a collection of mini-expositions of the various parts of the Christmas story, mainly the early chapters of Matthew and Luke. He draws widely from other theologians, and manages to shed plenty of fresh light on a familiar story.

He has a great chapter on Jesus’ humanity, and is always careful to keep the story connected to its OId Testament roots and historical context. I found the book very helpful as I prepared a couple of talks to give this Christmas, and would recommend it to anyone wanting to go deeper into the meaning and significance of Jesus’ birth.

8 comments

Michael 22 January 2008

Hello Mark,..My best wishes to you, to your wife and to your wonderful children. In the Bible, children are seen as blessings, gifts of G.od and that is my view too...Just to point out a very interesting site. I do not know if you know it but, if not, I hope it will be useful to you in your studies of the Old Testament. It is TYLER F. WILLIAMS's web site at http://biblical-studies.ca/ot_commentaries/otcom.html.He gives the best titles for the Old Testament books (his specialty), classifying them ingeniously into three very useful categories. That is the best I have seen so far from the Internet..Furthermore, he seems to be an open evangelical Christian I could say...The only problem is that he focuses only on the Old Testament. But at least you will find a good guide for the best titles of the Old Testament...I am of Jewish faith, located in London. I like to say that I am of the faith that Jesus had when he was alive (faith he never abandoned according to the New Testament!!)..What strikes me when I read Christians or when I hear them speaking about Jesus (I heard you speaking in the audio on your church web site) is that they do not seem to have a good idea of WHY the Jews did not recognise Jesus as their Messiah (their saviour if you prefer)! And that is very understandable because they do not have a good knowledge of the Tanach (the Old Testament)...I like to say that Christians are (should be!) first Jews and second followers of the teachings of Jesus. And that is very true! Jesus was first a Jew, whether many Christians like it or not (or forget about it purposefully)...But back to this WHY question. Now with www.google.com, it is so easy to get many answers to this WHY question! Those who will look for the answer to this very important WHY question are those I call the honest Christians. They are extremely few I am sad to say! Or maybe Christians are so immersed in the New Testament that they forget to ask the basic questions pertaining to their Christian faith!..Here is the start of a Jewish answer to this WHY question that is so fundamental to any honest Christian..See .Why Don't Jews Believe In Jesus. at http://www.aish.com/spirituality/philosophy/Why_Dont_Jews_Believe_In_Jesus$.asp..Belief in a religion is very much a parents-to-children heritage I could say. So, it is hard to choose one's own faith. Very few have had the opportunity to do so..Therefore, these comments are not intended to sell you my faith! I just wanted to share this good web site and I spoke more!..What one believe does not matter I believe. As long as we believe that there is one G.od that created the earth , the heavens and the entire Universe and that this higher being is ONE, unique, then it is fine..G.od's existence is conspicuous all around us. Take a woman. What a gift in a man's life. Children the same. Procreation, a miracle! The Universe and its apparent .infinity. shows us that indeed a higher being exists and we are just a humble dot on the .infinite. universe. So, for me, the religious writings are not necessary for me to believe very strongly in G.od's existence...One of the big differences between Christianity and Judaism is the unicity of G.od. That is the very reason why this idea of a god in three parts that are nevertheless one (the trinity .mistery.), this idea is what shows that the Messiah Jesus was a Jew who lost his faith on his own G.od!.But that is just a remark...My best wishes to you and your family, Mark..G.od guide you and bless you, Mark, as you seem to be a seeker of the truth. There is only one truth, as there is only ONE G.od...Michael, London, UK
Michael 22 January 2008

Try these keywords in www.google.com: .why Jews do not Believe In Jesus .and you should have many feedbacks on this WHY questions. Then, try to have the Jewish perspective, as it is what matters to understand this question...All the best, Michael
Mark Heath 24 January 2008

Hi Michael, thanks for reading and well done for managing to find my sermon online! I am very interested in studying the Bible, both Old and New Testaments and have read a number of the commentaries recommended by Tyler Williams...I do not agree that a Christian is a .Jew. first. Obviously if you are ethnically Jewish then you will continue to be so, even as a Christian, but the early church (i.e. book of Acts) realised that Gentiles who converted to Christianity did not need to become Jewish proselytes. The crucial thing is faith in Jesus...Christians would also disagree that Jesus lost faith in his God. Quite the opposite. Jesus revealed who God was, and made sense of the Old Testament. Christians believe that he is the key to a correct understanding of the OT...Anyway, thank you again for your kind comments and the gracious way you made your points. I am indeed a .seeker of truth. and I believe I have found it in the teachings of Jesus.
Michael 24 January 2008

Hello Mark,..First of all, I am not here to .convert. you to save your soul or else, as many Christians even today would try to do in missionary circumstances or not..My goal is only to share thoughts with you, openly like a friend would do with you. Maybe these thoughts, you have not been exposed to them at all and you might get something out of them (a strengthening of your faith in Jesus maybe? Or else.)...You say:..I do not agree that a Christian is a .Jew. first. Obviously if you are ethnically Jewish then you will continue to be so, even as a Christian...Quite a few churches in Australia and in the USA in particular now try to reclaim the Jewish heritage of Christianity (I should say the Jewish heritage of Jesus THE JEW!!). They do that in different ways: they follow the Shabbat as Jesus did when he was alive (!!), they even do Jewish festivals as Jesus did when he was alive (!!), etc...But on this matter, again, the Internet is an amazing tool. Use www.google.com (the USA site) and try the following keywords:.Hebraic heritage Christianity.also: Jewish heritage Christianity.You surely will spot Christians who try to reclaim the Jewish heritage of Jesus..Here is one site that I used to read quite a while ago on this matter of Christians trying to reclaim the Jewish heritage of Jesus. It is .Restoration Foundation. at http://www.restorationfoundation.org/.There are many articles explaining clearly the reasons why Christians should rediscover Jesus's own religious faith (Judaism!), a magazine and a lot of information...I do not know how much contact you have had with Jews. It is true that Jews are part of a people and, in this sense, they are part of an ethnic group. However, go in Sweden and you will see Jews with blue eyes, blond hairs and a nose that is like a trumpet. .Then, see the Jews from the Arab countries in Israel for instance and you will see how different they are from the Jews from Sweden! .In the USA, most of the Jews intermarry with non-Jews and therefore this idea of ethnicity is very, very weak nowadays..But if you refer this ethnicity as being part of a people, the Jewish people, then yes the Jews are part of the Jewish people. .If you refer to this ethnicity as physical traits that are particular to a people, then it is not much true nowadays especially in the USA where the level of intermarriage is very high among Jews...You say: .The crucial thing is faith in Jesus....In Judaism, faith must be supported by reason and logic; otherwise, one could easily believe in false gods. There are several passages of the Old Testament that clearly explain that G.od will test people's faith by different means. For this reason, it is important for a Jew to base his faith with strong support of reason, logic and knowledge. For Jews, faith is NOT blind faith..The New Testament I believe differs again with the Old Testament on this matter (even though you are the expert on the New Testament, not me!). There is this idea I think I remember in the New Testament that the more you have blind faith, the better! That is another deep difference with Judaism and the Jews..G.od puts tests on your path to the truth and it is therefore imperative to use reason, logic, and knowledge to weed out the false religious claims from the true religious claims...You say: .Christians would also disagree that Jesus lost faith in his God. Quite the opposite....I do not remember saying that. On the contrary, Jesus in the New Testament pointed out many times how strong his faith in the G.od of Israel was and in his religion (Judaism) was. .He even said that he never abandoned Judaism and will never do that. He even said that he would not add or remove a single letter from the Old Testament (Torah). So, Jesus was indeed a Jew who kept his faith in the G.od of Israel (the only faith that existed at that time for Jews!). His faith at the time he lived was Judaism. It is shown many times in the New Testament where Jesus practices Jewish festivals and Jewish practices...I hope you had a look at the link that I gave you concerning the reasons WHY the Jews did not accept Jesus as their Messiah, their Saviour. At least, you know these reasons now and that is what matters. I do not ask you to change your faith in any way!..So, Mark, just open thoughts with you in a good, friendly (Christian) spirit. Again, it is important for me to emphasize that I am not here to .convert. you. Faith in G.od is something very deep. Conversion must come from within, not from other people's requests for you to convert to this or that religion!.Another thing with religion is that it is linked to our environment so strongly that even if someone would lose his Christian faith, he or she would simply not do anything about it because it often means losing previous friends, even losing close family members who happen to be very attached to their religious beliefs, and more! So, changing one's faith is very often not a reasonable, doable possibility for many Christians because it would lead to too much pain..Only very few and very rare people change their faith to other faiths. Usually, they do not suffer any pain because their entourage is not religious at all...What I wanted with you is just to let you know of Tyler's web site. I hope it was useful. Then, as I like sharing ideas, I started just doing that with you. That was just a friendly sharing of ideas without goals of any kind...It was nice to share a few thoughts with you and I hope you enjoyed the interaction as much as I did...G.od bless you, Mark and that is what matters..My best wishes for you and your family because children are, for me, gifts of G.od. I am sure you see them this way too. And you do not need to be a Jew to adopt this idea that is found at Psalms 127:3-5 (most of the ideas found in the New Testament have their origins in the Old Testament: love your brother like yourself, etc.)..Michael
More thoughts. 25 January 2008

Hello Mark,..A few more comments. Hopefully they will give you some food for thoughts I could say...You say:..I do not agree that a Christian is a .Jew. first. Obviously if you are ethnically Jewish then you will continue to be so, even as a Christian...Of course, I agree to disagree with you on this matter, in a friendly way I must say. .And I am telling you that this idea is very important in many ways because it dictates what religious practices you will do in your life!!.So, about this idea that a Christian is a Jew first. Why? Jesus is the reference and especially the several passages in the New Testament that clearly reaffirm the idea that the Old Testament is still valid, for Jesus at least! (use www.google.com and any bible search tool online and you will spot these passages. For instance, a good Bible search online tool is http://www.biblegateway.com/.Jesus said so clearly that the Torah (the Old Testament) was still valid for him when he was alive and therefore it seems surprising that Christians would think that the religious teachings of the Old Testament are not valid anymore, as they were perfectly valid to Jesus himself according to the New Testament and he even practiced them in his life when he was alive according to the New Testament..Moreover, if the teachings of the father are valid, they should be valid for the son (of god), Jesus, because the father, the son and the holy spirit are the same one entity according to the .mystery. of the trinity...You say: .The crucial thing is faith in Jesus....Faith is crucial to you, isn't it? So, if it is, do you clearly understand how faith work through your thought processes? And to understand how faith works through your thought processes is NOTHING LESS THAN EXTREMELY CRUCIAL, VITAL, FUNDAMENTAL!.Faith is the result, the product of autosuggestions to your mind (to your subconscious mind especially but also to your conscious mind). Now, again, the Internet is such a wonderful tool to learn. Use dictionaries and check the definition of faith. Use www.google.com (US site) to check the meaning of this word faith according to psychology..In short for what faith is, you give suggestions to your mind (autosuggestions) that you believe your faith is true (irrespective of the fact that your faith could be completely false or completely true!!). These suggestions can be consciously given to your conscious mind or subconsciously given to your subconscious mind (for instance, the subconscious mind allows you to breathe while sleeping and many more.). When these suggestions are subconsciously given, you are not aware that this process has occurred! .An autosuggestion is basically saying to your mind that a belief is true even if this belief is completely false! This is vital information! And that is why it is vital to use reason, logic and knowledge when we want to believe in ANY idea we believe in (religious ideas but also non-religious ideas)!.For instance, a murderer has given to his mind so many times the autosuggestion that to kill another person is perfectly normal and justified. He has acquired very strong faith that the act of killing is justified in many (wrong) ways! He does have faith in this idea and he truly, honestly believes that killing another person is fully justified in many ways!! He is dead wrong!.Another example. When you go to church, you give a suggestion to your mind that your faith is true. When you share a meal on Sunday after church with friends, you reinforce your suggestion that your faith is true. When you have a Christmas tree, you reaffirm your religious faith. And more examples of this kind..Another example. Most .miracles. that happen in people's lives are the product, the direct result of their faith! Even though one could surely use faith to believe that, for several miracles of the Old Testament, G.od was indeed involved directly. .And miracles in people's lives (but also as described in their religious writings) have happened in every single religion on earth (Old Testament, New Testament, Koran, and many more religious texts and religions)! How could it be if there is only one true religious faith and the other religions are simply based on falsehood? The answer to this question is simple. No matter if the religion one believe in is based on falsehood or on truth, as long as someone of a particular faith believes that his god (false or true) will help him or her to overcome a particular challenge in his or her life, faith will produce (automatically!!) its .miracle. and faith will indeed help the person to overcome his or her challenge in life. Providing that the person has a very strong faith (that he or she has emotionalized his faith very much) that the miracle will happen! That is why miracles are found in every single religion on earth, IRRESPECTIVE OF THE FACT THAT THERE IS ONLY ONE RELIGION THAT IS TRUE!!!.Faith acts like a universal law of the mind! You input data in your mind and you automatically get output from what you inputted in your mind! The output is directly related to what you inputted in your mind!!.For instance, you input in your mind that you love your wife and your children and the output is 1) that indeed you love your wife and your children but also 2) your wife and your children love you too because human beings have the ability to read the thoughts of others (it is the perceptive capability of human beings). A dog can easily read our thoughts and it can know very well if we love it or not. And the same is true for human beings, we do perceive very well and very easily if someone has thoughts of love toward us or not!.That is the reason why we can easily trigger love from others by first having love for others, knowing too well that these others will perceive very easily the love that we have for them...I hope these comments will give you food for thoughts I could say...I have had problems to post another message to you. It was rejected several times even though I entered the correct code! I will try to post it at another place and it might accept it. There is surely a serious problem with this screening process! I got the message:..You did not enter the correct string displayed in the spam-prevention image box. Please look at the image and enter the values displayed there..Your comment could not be added because comments for this entry have either been disabled, you entered invalid data, or your comment was caught by anti-spam measurements......All the best, Mark..Michael
More comments. 25 January 2008

Hello Mark,..To add more thoughts concerning your remark related to the ethnicity of the Jews..Judaism is first a religious faith like any other plausible religions. (In fact, Christianity is the only other plausible choice (plausible in appearance only! Refer to the article on WHY the Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah and use reason, logic, and knowledge, NOT blind faith!! Reading the Koran, one clearly sees that it is completely unreliable! And cults are not even thinkable!). Therefore, any non-Jew can become a Jew!.Moreover, the convert to Judaism then becomes not only a Jew but also FULLY part of the Jewish people EVEN THOUGH THE CONVERT DOES NOT HAVE A DIRECT RELATION TO THE JEWISH PEOPLE THROUGH BLOOD and the reason for this is related to the soul. The soul’s convert (the true holder of one’s spiritual and religious life) follows a transformation process and this soul acquires a Jewish awareness, a direct connection, link to the creator of this Universe, the G.od of Israel. That is how a non-Jew is transformed into a Jew, through his soul...The Tanach is the word used by the Jews for the Old Testament and it is the acronym for Torah, Neviim [Prophets], Ketuvim [Writings]; TNK and a in between. The Tanach even goes further and says that one day ALL mankind will believe in only one G.od, the G.od of Israel (the ONLY G.od that Jesus the Jew believed in when he was alive). See the prophets of the Tanach for this point, especially Isaiah...The Tanach even goes further and it hints that the souls of the converts to Judaism were already there at Mount Sinai when G.od gave the Ten Commandments to the Jewish people. See Deuteronomy 29:13 (from the Jewish Study Bible translation that uses the JPS [Jewish Publication Society]’s translation that is the most reliable translation done directly from the Hebrew):..13 I make this covenant, with its sanctions, not with you alone, 14 but both with those who are standing here with us this day before the L.ord our G.od and with those who are not with us here this day....and with those who are not with us here this day. is interpreted by Jews as meaning the souls of the Jews who will come into being in the future: the Jews but also the converts to Judaism...The Tanach is not a perfect text (how can it be, it has been amended many times) but it is full of true facts and true stories (I believe) and even prophecies have become reality. For instance, the Tanach predicted that the Jews will come back to their ancestral land and rebuild it from her ruins. That is what happened with the State of Israel!..To conclude, many people think that even if they would believe in the G.od Jesus himself believed in when he was alive (the G.od of Israel instead of believing in Jesus as being god himself), they would never ever become true Jews because they are not ethnically Jews! And that is a false belief! Any human being has the possibility to become a Jew by choosing the stream of Judaism that he feels comfortable with (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform) and then join a religious community. Same process when one wants to convert to Christianity or to any other religion...I hope that this clarify more this difficult (but legitimate) idea of the ethnicity of the Jews...All the best, Mark. G.od bless you and your family (irrespective of your religious faith!)..(For many Jewish thinkers, G.od judges us only through our deeds, not in relation to our religious faith that, most of the time, is simply inherited from our parents)..I do not know how I managed to post my previous posting but it was a NIGHTMARE to even try to do such a simple action! I tried so MANY times and I systematically got the same error message that I gave you in my previous posting. I can assure you that I entered the CORRECT code each time! There is a serious, very big BUG in this screening function and hopefully you will sort it out. In the meantime, I repeat the same nightmare just to post another message to you and I am sure that I will have to try MANY times before this screening function finally accepts my posting!!..All the best, Mark..Michael
Extra links. 29 January 2008

More food for thoughts Mark...My recent postings to you have led me to remember (from the deepest of my memory) another site (a set of sites I could say) that I had found a long time ago through a search on the Internet. Although I read only a tiny number of articles from this site, the former pastor Craig M. Lyons (Garland, Texas) who wrote these sites tackle two points that I mentioned to you:.1st point) the idea that a Christian is (should be!) a Jew first and then second a follower of the .teachings. of Jesus (I could add as long as these teachings of Jesus do not depart from what the Old Testament said! And that is where the problem is with a few of the teachings of Jesus!).Check out .Bet Emet ministries websites. at http://www.geocities.com/faithofyeshua/websites.htm .See in particular the section called .RETURNING TO THE JEWISH ROOTS OF CHRISTIANITY...THE FAITH OF JESUS/YESHUA...And also: .RETURNING TO THE BIBLICAL FAITH OF JESUS/YESHUA BY EXAMINING CLOSELY OUR BIBLES....Bet Emet is an Hebraic expression that means literaly in Hebrew the House of Truth! For a seeker of the truth, it is an interesting expression I could say and it was worth pointing it out to you!..2nd point) WHY the Jews did not accept Jesus as the Messiah they were waiting so impatiently waiting at this particular time of pain in their history..See .THE JEWISH CONCEPT OF .THE. MESSIAH....WHY CAN'T THE JEWS AND THE CHRISTIANS AGREE?....Personally, the historicity of Jesus poses a problem to me. I mean did Jesus really exist or is the New Testament a story like many that were written at this period of time?! That is the question that I asked myself several times. Apparently, I am not alone on this matter, as there have been many books that relate to the historical Jesus and to the search for the historical Jesus. Type historical Jesus in www.google.com (USA site) and you should see these books listed. But that is another of my personal problems with the New Testament and I am sure you do not have this problem at all...So, these Bet Emet Ministries articles will give you more insights on these two points. The other articles of these Bet Emet Ministries, I did not read them at all apart from very few and it was a very long time ago. I do not have the New Testament detailed knowledge to even understand what this former pastor writes so I cannot even think of reading them!..With the previous links I gave you and suggestions on searches you could do through the Internet and with these extra links, I am sure you will have some food for thoughts for some time..You said that you are a .seeker of the truth. and I respect that. Me too, I am also a seeker of the truth but I focus on the Old Testament only. You, you have a harder job because you have to take into account both the Old Testament and the New Testament. That is extra work and at the same time because of the direct link between the OT and the NT, you have an opportunity to spot the contradictions between the two and that should help...It is probably because you are a seeker of the truth that I gave you some food for thoughts. Having said that, Mark, keep your faith in Jesus and be as happy in life as you can is probably more important than to question too much!.Myself, relying only on the Old Testament, I have already my share of questions!! If I was Christian, it would be much harder for me because I would have to deal with both the NT and the OT!! I already have enough study to do with the OT and I simply would not have the time to spend more studying a second set of books!..Maybe I could share the way I believe in the existence of G.od with you. And that might be the occasion for you to strengthen your belief in G.od, no matter what I could say. No matter your questions without answers or else..For me, my very strong belief in G.od is not based on any religious texts, not even on the Old Testament. I see G.od through the world in which I live. When I observe the Universe around our tiny planet called Earth and when I see that we cannot even figure out the start and the end of this entire Universe, then I understand that a higher being exists and that we, human beings, are limited in many ways. Even if we would know the start and the end of our Universe, then what would be before this start and after this end is even more puzzling! It seems that this Universe is infinite! It is just unbelievable! A higher being exists and we are simply limited in our understanding of something so basic as the Universe in which our planet Earth lives and is located..Now, let us take the birth of a child. It is just a miracle and the hand of a higher being is at play for this simple act of life. That is why I see women as blessings of life because of their faculty to create life..And I could go on and on with other examples to point out to the existence of a Higher Being that we call G.od. Nature, the brain of a man, consciousness in human beings, and many more examples..The advantage of this way of believing in the existence of G.od is that I can safely see problems in my own religious texts and still believe in the existence of G.od fully! That is the beauty of the way I believe in G.od..I like to say that even if the entire Tanach was completely false, even in such an extreme case, my belief in the existence of G.od would not change one iota! And I do mean it! But many facts mentioned in the Tanach have been already irrefutably proven to be true...Yes, sometimes I still have my share of doubts in the existence of G.od and I believe it is very human this way. But it does not last long and I know, deep inside (what I could call true faith, not faith based on autosuggestions!), that I do believe in the existence of G.od as the creator of this entire Universe...I hope these thoughts on the way I believe in the existence of G.od will allow you, you too, to always keep faith in the existence of G.od, no matter what I could say. ..All the best, Mark.
For the sake of completeness. 14 February 2008

Hello Mark,..For the sake of completeness and to support with references what I said in my previous postings, I give you the following link: .Historical Jesus Theories. at http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/theories.html.Check in particular the links on .Jesus the Myth: Heavenly Christ. and .Jesus the Myth: Man of the Indefinite Past.. Just to support what I said in my previous postings with concrete references...But the belief in the existence of a man called Jesus as if it is a true fact of the past is an accepted belief by nearly every single Christian. But history taught us that many former beliefs have seen their plausibility crumble as mankind moved to a more enlightened era I could say..Personally, I know one thing: when one wants to check facts to support the existence of a man called Jesus, these .facts. are simply not reliable at all! And can these so-called .facts. be used to .prove. that Jesus indeed existed when these so-called .true facts. are in fact not true facts at all?!..In my previous postings, I used the expression .no matter what I could say.. In fact, I meant to say: .no matter what!., I could say...Sorry for the few typing mistakes that I left...Concerning .Bet Emet ministries websites. at http://www.geocities.com/faithofyeshua/websites.htm.when I quickly rechecked this site, I discovered that a few links did not work when I tried them. Usually, you should then check his other sites and he often gives on his other sites working links of the links that did not work on his first web site at http://www.geocities.com/faithofyeshua/websites.htm..On your point when you say:..Christians would also disagree that Jesus lost faith in his God. Quite the opposite....I meant to say that Jesus .lost his faith. in G.od by changing the prevailing faith in G.od that the Jews had at the time Jesus lived (as described in the OT) into a new vision of G.od I could say (as described in the NT). And that is where Jesus .lost. his faith in G.od I could say. Jesus some kind of introduced a new image of god in the NT that is different than the prevailing image of G.od as described in the OT. This trinity story is one example to support this new .vision. of god that the New Testament introduced...I hope you enjoyed my interaction with you, Mark..I have this interaction with you only because I knew that you were a .seeker of the truth.. Myself, I also am a seeker of the truth and therefore I tend to respect those who are also seekers of th truth...Like you with the NT and Jesus, I am as convinced of having finding the truth with the OT and the G.od of Israel. However, I have a more critical eye on my own faith and on the OT. As I explained to you, I do not base my very strong faith in G.od on the OT but on my observation of this Universe and of mankind (with all its imperfections!). Therefore, I am completely free to criticize without any restraints the OT and even challenge my own beliefs even though one constant that will always remain is my eternal belief in the existence of a G.od as the creator of mankind and of this entire Universe..And I say that even though I am not free of doubts from time to time or, more accurately, of questioning the soundness of my beliefs and faith in the existence of G.od despite the fact that I do believe that the existence of G.od is conspicuous and unavoidable!!..As seekers of the truth, we deserve to be challenged by other (different) points of view because we all long for the truth. Sometimes, these different points of view strengthen further our own faith; other times, it weakens our faith..My goal is not to weaken your faith in Jesus. On the contrary! As I wish I would not be a seeker of the truth because it does not bring as much happiness as one deserves (I could say). Therefore, I could wish you not to be a seeker of the truth only to insure that you have a happier life I could say!..To be honest with you, Mark, as I have been so far, I wish I was a simpler person, not asking myself too many questions on religion and focusing only on finding happiness in my life..And that is probably the message that I would like to convey to any good friend or to any person that I respect (in particular, to any seeker of the truth, as I do respect a lot those who are seekers of the truth)...I hope I have respected your faith by sharing these thoughts with you openly and in a friendly way. At least, this way my intent...G.od gave us a mind and that is for a reason: to use our mind to assess our own beliefs by using reason, logic, and knowledge in order to have beliefs that are sound and that make sense..This idea found so often in the NT that .the more we believe without questioning [blind faith], the better it is. is a testimony that there is something very wrong in the NT because such a statement is nothing less than an invitation to believe in false gods and false beliefs; it is an invitation to idolatry!.It is also a testimony of how unconvincing to Jews the idea of Jesus as being the Messiah was when Jesus lived so as to introduce in the NT a way to weaken this strong rejection by the Jews of Jesus as the Messiah they waited so ardently at the very difficult and painful time the Jews were in their history when Jesus lived. ..Finally, a remark on one of my previous postings. I suggested that you checked the definition of the word faith. In fact, I meant that you checked the definition of the word .autosuggestion., as it is vital to understand exactly what autosuggestions are because they are very often the only basis to our own faith in a god. That is the reason why in Judaism, it is our duty as a Jew to also support our beliefs with reason, logic, and knowledge. .No matter what., I could say. No matter the fact that we believe for sure that we have the truth (the G.od of Israel), no matter the fact that we believe that most of the facts and stories of the Tanach are true facts and true stories of the past. And more...I hope you enjoyed this sharing of ideas with you, Mark. I shared my thoughts with you in a spirit of openness, of honesty, and of friendship (especially because you are a seeker of the truth)...Once again, and it is worth repeating. I respect your faith, Mark, as I know too well how deep our own beliefs and faith are for us..Having said that, it is important, as seekers of the truth, to be challenged by others who do not share our own beliefs and faith. It applies to you but also to me I could say. For me, I make it a duty (as an honest seeker of the truth) to challenge my own beliefs and faith despite the fact that I am convinced that my belief in the existence of G.od (the G.od of Israel) as the creator of this Universe cannot be changed at all...G.od bless you and your family, Mark. And I sincerely mean it...Kindly and friendly Regards..Michael, London, UK...P.S: I still have problems posting to you this message! I have tried several times so far and despite entering the correct code, it is rejected!.If you would be surprised of not receiving more comments, then you now can understand why!! Who is ready to enter a correct code at least more than 50 times before having his correct code accepted?!!!