Description
Judaism is the Talmudic religion which developed following the destruction of the Second Temple. I will argue that the only compelling evidence for the legitimacy of Jewish scripture (the Tanakh) is the Christian Gospel, and that Talmudic Judaism is a completely different religion than the religion of Moses.
Evidence for Scripture
The Jewish argument for scriptural authenticity is the national revelatory aspect of the Torah. That is, when Moses stood at Mount Sinai, the entire nation was with him and heard God speak. To say some celestial being spoke to you in a cave is one thing, but to make up a national event is implausible.
First, to the legitimacy of the claim. Some skeptics disagree that this is the only national revelation, citing Aztec legends about the god Huitzilopochtli addressing the nation. However, study shows that that was not the original story. The original story is that Huitzilopochtli spoke to certain priests, and then those priests related his message to the countrymen (see here). Although there is a version of that story involving national revelation, that only appeared after the Spanish conquered the Americas. The most likely scenario is that Spaniards altered the story to match the events of Exodus, perhaps as part of a missionary effort. I think the Exodus really is the only national revelatory claim in history.
However, there is another question: what does this prove? I do take it as solid proof that something happened. But not much more than that.
The Jewish scripture is filled with metaphor and symbolism, and it’s unclear what’s meant to be historical and what isn’t. For example, it says 2.5 million Jews wandered the desert for forty years, such that all the men who had entered the desert died before reaching the Promised Land (Joshua 5:6). That seems very clearly to be an historical claim. However, “40” is also a shorthand for some epochal change (the flood was 40 days, Moses and Elijah fasted 40 days, Ezekiel laid on his side 40 days, Saul/David/Solomon reigned 40 years, etc…). Further, the area the Jews wandered in, between Egypt and modern-day Israel, is a 6-day walk. I do not doubt that God Almighty could punish people by confusing them and making them go in circles, but why isn’t there any archeological evidence they were there?
The story of Adam and Eve is very similar to Pandora’s Box. The story of Noah is the exact same story as the earlier Mesopotamian myth of Utnapishtim, except Utnapishtim becomes immortal. The character of Samson is similar to Hercules, particularly the story of the Nemean Lion. Some manuscripts say Goliath was 6 cubits (10 ft) tall, while others say he was 4 cubits (6’9). Jonah was swallowed by a fish for three days and then spat out. Several people lived nearly a thousand years. There’s a talking donkey in Numbers.
It’s already impossible to parse out what is and isn’t literal. But it gets even worse. The scripture records King Josiah finding a lost manuscript written by Moses hidden in the Temple (2 Kings 22). Scholars generally think this refers to Deuteronomy. Josiah was king shortly after the Assyrian sack of Israel, and would have had strong political motivation to unite the people of Judah. Did King Josiah write and plant the book of Deuteronomy in the temple to use as propaganda? Even if not, could such a thing have happened previously? Or, could other stories have been embellished in like manner, for like purpose?
The only evidence that the Jewish scriptures (as they are) have any shred of legitimacy or value is the Gospel’s validation of them. Here I thoroughly describe the evidence for the New Testament in detail. To briefly summarize: the New Testament is clear and concise historical information from multiple authors describing specific events. There are thousands of existing manuscripts of the Bible dating to within living memory of Jesus with no meaningful variation. The original Gospels and epistles were all written within living memory of Christ. Dozens of other epistles of the era as well as multiple non-Christian sources (Tacitus, Pliny, Lucian) testify that the Christians who were within living memory of the man Jesus believed in the historical events of the New Testament and were willing to undergo brutal torture for their testimony. These authors and early believers (clearly) had nothing political to gain.
The New Testament validates the Jewish scripture many times, and we know from the Dead Sea Scrolls that the scripture they had is the same as ours today. This is, again, the only reason to believe the Jewish scriptures have any legitimacy. The Tanakh cannot stand on its own merits as a source of information. The evidence for it is weak, its content is unclear, and political alterations are likely.
The Legitimacy of Scripture
Jewish scripture is impossible to define in the modern era, as proven by the disjointed state of modern Judaism. No two adherents agree on what the scripture means, nor the nature of the Messiah, nor manner of worship. So, there is a second issue: even if one accepts the Tanakh as divine, it is utterly inscrutable. But the Gospel is not only the historical evidence for the Tanakh; it is the “skeleton key” which reveals how the story is supposed to be read:
Adam is made from the dust of the earth. Jesus is born of a virgin. Adam and Eve desire to be gods, so they disobey. Jesus is God, yet chooses to obey. Adam and Eve take fruit from the tree of life, and through their disobedience, sin and death enter the world. Jesus, the “fruit of [Mary’s] womb,” is attached to a tree of death, and through He and Mary’s obedience, sin and death are destroyed. God tells the snake who tempted Eve that he would strike at the heel of her offspring, but would be crushed. Jesus is that offspring – suffering and dying at the hands of the snake, but defeating him in the same stroke.
Cain makes an imperfect sacrifice and kills his brother, the shepherd, who made a good one. The Jewish priests, who sacrifice animals, kill their brother, Jesus, the good shepherd and the perfect sacrifice. God commands Abraham to sacrifice his son, but stops him, differentiating Himself from the pagan gods. In Jesus, God fully reverses the pagan sacrifices by sacrificing His son, for us. Joseph, the beloved son of Israel, is sold into slavery by Judah for a few silver coins; he rises from that state and eventually rescues his 12 brothers and their tribe from famine. Jesus, the beloved son of God, is sold unto death by Judas for a few silver coins; He rises from that state and rescues His 12 Apostles and the whole world from death.
Moses ventures into the desert for forty years before starting his ministry. Jesus fasts in the desert for forty days before starting His. Moses protects his people from death through the blood of the lamb, and then the manna in the desert. At the Last Supper, Jesus reveals that bread and wine can be transformed into His body and blood. Christ fulfills the offerings of Melchizedek, is the perfect Passover lamb who protects men from spiritual death, and makes His body the eternal Manna. Moses led his people out of Egypt through the Red Sea; Jesus washes away man’s sin through Baptism. Moses healed his people from poison by placing the icon of the snake on the pole. Christ heals His people from death through His placement on the cross.
The Old Covenant was made at one time with all the people present and all those to come (Deut 29:9-15). Jesus makes His future sacrifice present to the Apostles at the Last Supper and ushers in the New Covenant before the crucifixion. Both covenants stand outside of linear time.
God revealed Himself to Moses through the fire of Mt. Sinai, providing the law written on stone. The Holy Spirit revealed Himself to the Apostles through tongues of fire, replacing their hearts of stone and wrote the law on them, as prophesied by Ezekiel and Jeremiah (Ezekiel 36:26, Jeremiah 31). The Ark of the Covenant stored the Law, the Manna, Aaron’s staff, and the presence of God. Any Tabernacle with the Body of Christ in it stores – in Him – the new law, the bread from Heaven, the authority of God, and the physical presence of God. Moses established the Sanhedrin to judge matters of Jewish law, and to carry his authority throughout the ages. Jesus established the Apostles to judge matters of eternal law, and to carry His authority throughout the ages.
The book of Joshua is the establishment of the Mosaic governance. Joshua, who has the authority of Moses, subdues the great pagan empires with the Israelite army by the sword. The book of Acts is the establishment of the Christian governance. Peter, who has the authority of Christ, subdues the greatest pagan empire, Rome, with the Christian evangelists by martyrdom.
Jesus and Elijah both demonstrated power over the elements, denounced sin among the ruling class, prophesied, multiplied bread, raised the dead, fasted forty days and nights, and ascended to Heaven. Jesus reveals that Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel’s “glorious dwelling place” is Heaven, and their “place of judgment” is Hell. He is the “Suffering Servant” in Isaiah. He is the New and everlasting Covenant promised to all three. Jesus fulfills and adds to the moral and liturgical law of the Torah, as Ezekiel did. His descriptions of Heaven complete Ezekiel’s vision of bodily resurrection and everlasting life.
Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Saul, David, Solomon, Elijah, and all the chosen ones of the scripture sinned and fell short. Jesus did not, fulfilling the old covenant and ushering in the new epoch.
Though no two men will agree on the meaning of the Jewish scripture without the Gospel, the inclusion of the Gospel makes the narrative clear. Christians can disagree on whether certain parts of the Jewish scripture were symbolic, embellished, or mythological, and it makes no difference. The scripture is entirely about Christ, and ultimately, that’s all that matters. So, the Tanakh fails to serve as good evidence for itself, and succeeds at being good evidence… against Talmudic Judaism.
Continuity
The key features of the religion of Moses were right sacrifice, God’s presence, and access to the sole truth. These distinctions separated the Jews from the pagans. Modern Judaism has none of these features. A proper Mosaic sacrifice involves making the offering, killing the offering, and then eating the offering at the Temple. But the Temple does not exist, so there is no right sacrifice. The Ark of the Covenant, which contained God’s presence, is lost. Judaism does not have a Sanhedrin to rule on matters of doctrine, which has led to as many interpretations of Judaism as there are believers.
The Catholic Church, which also claims to be the continuation of the religion of Moses, claims to have all three of these distinguishing features. At every Mass, the sacrifice of Christ is present. That is, there was only the one true sacrifice, but to be at Mass is to be there, the same way entering into the Mosaic covenant was to be there at Mount Sinai. The sacrifice fulfills all three of the ritual requirements. The bread becomes the true and real body of Christ, the Eucharist. It is offered to God, sacrificed (with the splitting of body and blood), and then consumed. The Tabernacle contains the Eucharist; it is the new Ark of the Covenant. All Catholics unite under the truths decided by the bishops and the Pope, the new Sanhedrin and Nasi (president).
On top of this, consider one of the major themes of scripture: election. Over and over, God takes some obviously preferable option and then chooses a massively disadvantaged one instead. Here are a few examples: God chooses Abraham and Sarah, past childbearing years, to sire His nation. Cain is the firstborn, but God chooses Abel. Ishmael is firstborn, but God chooses Isaac. Esau is firstborn, but God chooses Jacob. Joseph was one of the youngest brothers, but God chose him to lead the family. God chooses Moses, who has a speech impediment, to trade words with Pharaoh. Moses leads the people to the Promised Land, but Joshua is the one who gets to see it. God chooses the shepherd David over the wealthy, upper-class Saul. God chooses Solomon over the firstborn heir. Under King David, God chooses Jerusalem (Judah) over Israel (Hebron).
The New Testament shows a series of similar elections which satisfy the narrative of the Jewish scripture. After Adam and Eve sin in a perfect world, God chooses Jesus and Mary to be sinless in a sinful world. Instead of sending a powerful mortal to save Israel, God Himself shows up as a pauper. God chose the educated Sanhedrin to have authority over the imperfect law, but the hardly-literate Apostles to have authority over the perfect law. Ritually clean Levites made imperfect sacrifices, but God chooses tax collectors and fishermen to make the perfect sacrifice of the Eucharist. God chooses a pharisee – a master of scripture – to spread a faith-based religion. The Jews were the “firstborn sons” of God, but God chooses the Christians out of all the nations. Jerusalem was the seat of God’s Kings, but God chooses Rome – the seat of pagan emperors – to host His Popes.
Judaism has the outward signs of the religion of Moses, but is entirely lacking in the substance. The Catholic Church has this substance, and its existence is explained by a series of elections which satisfy and perfect the election motifs of the Jewish scripture.
The Messiah
Judaism obviously rejects Jesus as the Messiah. Often, apologists will cite examples of unfulfilled prophecies: world peace (Isaiah 2:4, Ezekiel 39:9), universal knowledge of God (Zechariah 14:9), peace among the animals (Isaiah 11:6-8), the end of death and sadness (Isaiah 25:8), the end of hunger and illness (Isaiah 25:8), the resurrection of the dead (Isaiah 26:19), and all the worthy desires of man’s heart being met (Psalms 37:4).
The Christians have a simple answer to these prophecies: they describe Heaven, and the second coming of Christ. Judaism, as with any topic, does not have a coherent consensus on what the Messiah will be like, but the general idea is that he will only come once, will be a mortal man, and will be a political leader who brings Israel to leadership of the earth.
My first contention is that the Jewish interpretation raises far more questions than the Christian one. How could the Messiah be a mortal man when he’s prophesied to end death? How could he meet the worthy desires of all men’s hearts? Or, how could he possibly assure universal knowledge of God? Heaven is the only place these prophecies make sense. If the Messiah isn’t ushering in Heaven, you have to ignore some of the prophecies regardless.
My second contention speaks more to the heart of the contention, however: God did not choose the Israelites to be his people because they were strong. He chose them because they were weak, and chose them at their weakest. The offspring of an elderly couple, slaves, sinners, and shepherd-kings are God’s glory. Yet the Jews expected (and still expect) the same sort of Messiah that the pagans would: a superhuman leader who would make them mighty beyond compare. For all their preparation, the Jews failed (and still fail) to recognize that God does not reveal Himself through the strongest of the strong, but the weakest of the weak. As St. Paul says, critiquing his people, “Jews demand signs, but we preach Christ crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:22-23). The crucifixion is the sign.
Look at the difference between Christianity and Judaism under the Roman Empire. The Christians were meek like Christ, suffering centuries of oppression and martyrdom. In 380 CE, Christianity became the official state religion; it conquered the Roman Empire without ever lifting a sword. On the other hand, the Jews tried to violently rebel against Rome between 66-136 CE, resulting in their destruction and permanent scattering. God’s favor and God’s judgment leaping off the pages of the Bible and into history books.
Summary
The New Testament is the only way to make sense of Jewish scripture. It provides evidence for the legitimacy of the Jewish scripture, reveals the coherent, overarching narrative, and provides clarity to its meaning. Modern Judaism has no evidence for their scripture, no key to unlock the narrative, and cannot derive any clear instruction from it.
Except for its monotheism, modern Judaism is indistinguishable from ancient paganism. Its bases are unverifiable myths, it does not make worthy sacrifice, does not have the physical presence of God, and does not claim absolute truth. The clear continuation of the Mosaic religion is Catholicism, not Judaism. The evidence for Catholicism is objectively stronger and clearer, and it has the three key claims of right worship, absolute truth, and God’s presence. It fulfills the prophecies related to the new and everlasting covenant and the motif of election.
The Jewish rejection of Jesus as Messiah is self-contradictory, considering the prophecies they cite. Further, the idea of the Messiah being a political superhero contradicts the whole of scripture. God’s glory is perfect in weakness, not in strength. The Christians who accepted death with meekness defeated the greatest pagan empire on earth. The Jews who fought Rome with swords and steel were destroyed.