What Do Jews Think of Jesus Christ?

Question

"The rabbis teach their fellow Jews that their Gentile neighbors are spiritually and morally unclean; that they are subhuman, on a level with the beasts of the field; and that they hate Jews and must be hated in return. Jews are taught that the Christian religion is a religion fit only for animals, and that its founder, Jesus, was the son of a prostitute and is presently immersed in a pit of boiling excrement in hell".

Jewish Religious Hatred of Gentiles: Published by Israel Shahak. Pluto Press (London, 1994).

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Israel+Shahak,+with+a+foreword+by+Gore+Vidal.+Published+by+Pluto+Press+(London,+1994).&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

Answer 1

ACCORDIG TO QURAN THEY CALLED HIM IMPOSTOR & TRY TO KILL HIM BUT THE GOD SAVED HIM ( PEACE BE UPON HIM)
2:87 We gave Moses the Book and followed him up with a succession of apostles; We gave Jesus the son of Mary Clear (Signs) and strengthened him with the holy spirit. Is it that whenever there comes to you an apostle with what ye yourselves desire not, ye are puffed up with pride?- Some ye called impostors, and others ye slay!

BUT THEY DIDNT KILL HIM >> 3:55 Behold! Allah said: "O Jesus! I will take thee and raise thee to Myself and clear thee (of the falsehoods) of those who blaspheme; I will make those who follow thee superior to those who reject faith, to the Day of Resurrection: Then shall ye all return unto me, and I will judge between you of the matters wherein ye dispute.

4:157 That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah.;- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:-

Answer 2

I've never been taught that in my life, nor EVER have heard of that opinion. That must come from some strange extremist sect of whatever, but I'm sure it's not really Judaism. Anyway, I think most Jews claim Jesus as one of their own. Jesus was a Jew, and is embraced by the Jewish community, just not as their Messiah. Some belief he was a saint, prophet, or just a great man, but not the Messiah. When the Messiah comes the dead are supposed to rise, heaven is supposed to exist on Earth and everything is supposed to be just wonderful. Since this did not happen, Jews don't believe Jesus was the Messiah.

There is even a whole entire movement of Jews for Jesus.

The only way in which Jews discriminate against gentiles is in when marrying off their children. Many Jewish people would prefer their children to marry a Jewish spouse, to keep the traditions alive in an ever-dwindling population of people. Also, the Jewish heritage is largely inherited, valuing maternal lineage, so it is important to stay within the Jewish race, if you will.

Answer 3

Israel Shahak is hardly an impartial commentator on Judaism, and the passage that you cited above is not an example of Shahak's intellectual scholarship, but rather a passage from a book of Shahak's opinions. He was not, for example, quoting from a historical religious document such as the Torah.

Shahak is a darling of the Palestinian and anti-Semitic press and Holocaust deniers. Shahak was an Israeli Defense Forces agent, who claims to have been turned against the "outsider's view" of Israel as a result of injustice during the 1967 Six-Day War.

It's easy to reject criticism of Shahak's scholarship by saying "of course he was criticized, because he was saying things that certain people didn't want to hear." It's just as likely that he was criticized because his scholarship was sloppy, his "sources" were inaccurate, and his opinions were biased and intentionally inflammatory.

Shahack believed that he was making Israel a better place by forcing a public dialogue about issues that deserved closer scrutiny. At the same time, he considered himself an Israeli patriot, and he was very much in love with his country, warts and all. He resented that anti-Semitic writers adopted snippets of his writings, out of context, to make it seem that he was virulently anti-Israel and anti-Jewish. He abhorred racism and anti-Semitism.

I think you'll need to find a better rabinnical source for your diatribe about the relations between Jews and Gentiles - and the historical teachings of the rabbis with regard to how Jews should interact with their neighbors. Perhaps you could reprint passages from Werner Cohn and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion for us next.

Answer 4

As a Jew, I must say that I don't know who that "Israel Shahak" is, but he sounds like a real moron and does not speak for all Jews. Jews treasure all life and all people. Jewish charities on a regular bases help non-jewish causes. Jews, being prosecuted for ages for their religion, strongly believe in the right to freedom of religious expression and self-determination.

Now, as for Jesus, the "standard" jewish view is that he really did exist but he was not a messiah - he was a rabbi and a renegade philosopher that posed problems to both Romans and possibly Jewish religious establishment and therefore had to be dealt with. It is also believed that it was VERY UNCOMMON for a man at that time to be unmarried and therefore it is VERY probable that he was married and had children.

Bible was written several hundred years after his death and therefore is a subject to a few "embellishments" to make him "look good" and "sell" him to uneducated Roman masses.

As for virgin birth... don't make me laugh. Where have you seen a married woman that's a virgin?

Basically Jews take "practical" approach to the story of Jesus: which parts of the Bible make SENSE? Personally, not many do. Only way one can believe them is to either be born into that tradition or unable to think critically.

Oh, and he looked nothing like he does on the crosses and icons and he was NOT born on Dec. 25, that's and old Roman holiday adopted by early Christian Church in order to, again, attract masses.

That's the traditional Jewish view.

Answer 5

Orthodox Judaism believes that IF jesus existed, he might have been a community leader who taught some incorrect things and led people away from Judaism.

However, Shahak's claims are wrong (he is not exactly an authority you should be putting faith in). He is taking a variety of talmudic and rabbinical sayings and stripping them of their language, meaning and utility and then reapplying them to paint a certain picture. Academically and intellectually dishonest.

Answer 6

``Jews are taught that the Christian religion is a religion fit only for animals´´

``Jesus, was the son of a prostitute and is presently immersed in a pit of boiling excrement in hell´´

Inconsistent:
If Jesus was so deserving of punishment, why would his religion even be fit for animals?

Answer 7

Your quote is totally innapropriate. Most jews are very aware that Jesus Chirst was jewish. In fact, purely speaking, all Christians are Jews that have accepted Him as the Messiah. So, this is not the main point of debate. The point of debate is: Was Jesus the Messiah or not?

Answer 8

I'm a Jew and what I think, and what I was always taught was that Jesus was definetely a real person and a good man, he just wasn't the son of G-d. Jews certainly do not hate Christians. Sure, Jews do not always agree with Christians, but we're supposed to be friends with everyone even if they don't always see things our way.

Answer 9

Traditional Jews reject Jesus as their Messiah.
Messianic Jews believe Jesus is The Messiah for them and the world.

Answer 10

Jews aren't Borg. They don't all share the same opinions. Some think Jesus was a heretic, some think he was a good rabbi who was exploited by those who came after him, some think he never existed.

Answer 11

At the time of his appearance, I believe he was held 'not' to be the Messiah which had been awaited for so long. Many still feel the true Messiah has not yet appeared.