The Chebar
Judeo/ Christian Studies, News & You!
Judeo/ Christian Studies, News & You!
Welcome! Whether you are a Christian, a believer in God, or someonesearching for meaning and understanding in your life and not sure whatyou believe, studying the Bible -the Word of God, guided by theteachings of the Sages of Israel, the Fathers of the Church, and otherteachers will be truly inspiring! Empower your faith now and join in aswe combine Jewish and Christian learning along the banks of The Chebar,the place where the prophet Ezekiel looked into the water and saw theThrone of God.
As a Christian, I am commanded to preach the Gospel, which is simply the good news about "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him." (Acts 10:38)" In Matthew 5:14 Jesus reminds us that we ". . . are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid."
More than 1000 years earlier this same Holy Spirit in Deuteronomy 4:6 declared to the Israelites concerning His laws: "Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." The Jews believe that their national mission is to be a light to the world; living and teaching the word of God, literally placing on themselves the challenge ". . . I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth." (Isa 49:6)
Though denial, separation, mistrust and animosity have through the many centuries often kept the message of the Spirit of God via the Word taught to and then preserved by the Jews from joining that same message preached through Jesus, from melding together and teaching the world, we are all promised that
". . . the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one." (Zech 14:9)
Now, this attitude has spread through the ranks of Christendom and there is appeasement between Jews and Christians. But, it is the mission of this site to open the teachings of Judaism and Christianity and to use all this combined learning to approach and understand the Bible. Thousands of years ago Christianity was seen to many as simply a sect of Judaism. Today we need to remember that the two religions worship the same God and that there differences are prophesied to one day disappear when the Lord returns.
What we Christians can learn from combining Jewish and Christian thought can take our faith to the next level.
The Pope (when still a Cardinal) wrote an essay about the validity of understanding what the Jews know, learned and teach about the Bible.
THE JEWISH PEOPLE AND THEIR SACRED SCRIPTURES IN THE CHRISTIAN BIBLE
From the Preface of this work by Cardinal John Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI):
"It is clear that a Christian rejection of the Old Testament would not only put an end to Christianity itself as indicated above, but, in addition, would prevent the fostering of positive relations between Christians and Jews, precisely because they would lack common ground. In the light of what has happened, what ought to emerge now is a new respect for the Jewish interpretation of the Old Testament. On this subject, the Document says two things. First it declares that "the Jewish reading of the Bible is a possible one, in continuity with the Jewish Scriptures of the Second Temple period, a reading analogous to the Christian reading, which developed in parallel fashion" (no. 22). It adds that Christians can learn a great deal from a Jewish exegesis practised for more than 2000 years; in return, Christians may hope that Jews can profit from Christian exegetical research (ibid.). I think this analysis will prove useful for the pursuit of Judeo-Christian dialogue, as well as for the interior formation of Christian consciousness."
Rome, the feast of the Ascension 2001
Found via a lens and then via the following blog
http://gabriella.unblog.fr/2007/11/13/the-jewish-people-and-their-sacred-scriptures-in-the-christian-bible-preface/
More than 1000 years earlier this same Holy Spirit in Deuteronomy 4:6 declared to the Israelites concerning His laws: "Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." The Jews believe that their national mission is to be a light to the world; living and teaching the word of God, literally placing on themselves the challenge ". . . I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth." (Isa 49:6)
Though denial, separation, mistrust and animosity have through the many centuries often kept the message of the Spirit of God via the Word taught to and then preserved by the Jews from joining that same message preached through Jesus, from melding together and teaching the world, we are all promised that
". . . the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one." (Zech 14:9)
Now, this attitude has spread through the ranks of Christendom and there is appeasement between Jews and Christians. But, it is the mission of this site to open the teachings of Judaism and Christianity and to use all this combined learning to approach and understand the Bible. Thousands of years ago Christianity was seen to many as simply a sect of Judaism. Today we need to remember that the two religions worship the same God and that there differences are prophesied to one day disappear when the Lord returns.
What we Christians can learn from combining Jewish and Christian thought can take our faith to the next level.
The Pope (when still a Cardinal) wrote an essay about the validity of understanding what the Jews know, learned and teach about the Bible.
THE JEWISH PEOPLE AND THEIR SACRED SCRIPTURES IN THE CHRISTIAN BIBLE
From the Preface of this work by Cardinal John Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI):
"It is clear that a Christian rejection of the Old Testament would not only put an end to Christianity itself as indicated above, but, in addition, would prevent the fostering of positive relations between Christians and Jews, precisely because they would lack common ground. In the light of what has happened, what ought to emerge now is a new respect for the Jewish interpretation of the Old Testament. On this subject, the Document says two things. First it declares that "the Jewish reading of the Bible is a possible one, in continuity with the Jewish Scriptures of the Second Temple period, a reading analogous to the Christian reading, which developed in parallel fashion" (no. 22). It adds that Christians can learn a great deal from a Jewish exegesis practised for more than 2000 years; in return, Christians may hope that Jews can profit from Christian exegetical research (ibid.). I think this analysis will prove useful for the pursuit of Judeo-Christian dialogue, as well as for the interior formation of Christian consciousness."
Rome, the feast of the Ascension 2001
Found via a lens and then via the following blog
http://gabriella.unblog.fr/2007/11/13/the-jewish-people-and-their-sacred-scriptures-in-the-christian-bible-preface/
What this site is all about
ABOUT
Who is The Chebar?
The site is owned and operated by a single individual - me, Jim Burns. I am a Christian with no particular denomination or affiliation. I am not a degree holder in Theology or Apolegetics - just an avid student of the Bible. I have read the Old Testament twice and the New Testament about half a dozen times. I have read many books, studied with a Rabbi, watched inummerable preachers, listened to radio shows and have always attempted to live the Christian lifestyle to the best of my ability and keep an open dialogue with the Almighty. When not working on The Chebar I spend time making my living in the world of Internet advertising - look me up on LinkedIn.
I found in my early studies that the strictly Christian approach was not answering all my questions about the Bible. Jesus lived his life on earth as a Jew and the Jews have been living the life of the Old Testament for thousands of years, so it seemed logical to also learn what the Jews have learned. The result is The Chebar - a collection of sources to learn from both Christians and Jews the truths about the Bible. However, God says to look to the Creation - so I have studied and included sources from science and history to deepen my understanding of the Bible. Science is not at odds with the Bible. History can enlighten the Bible. You just need to be open and to be willing to learn and put it all together. The more you study the Bible - the more questions you have. The more questions you have the more you will learn.
There are many news sources on this site because religion and people's spirits are important to understand. The Christians of this world are under attack from the stictly secular and it would behoove all to keep abreast of what goes on, stay current with what people think, be cognizant of particular groups and what they are trying to build, change or destroy; and be in the know of what science and the historians have to tell us about what we really already know from the Bible or elucidate those things we don't quite understand.
I found in my early studies that the strictly Christian approach was not answering all my questions about the Bible. Jesus lived his life on earth as a Jew and the Jews have been living the life of the Old Testament for thousands of years, so it seemed logical to also learn what the Jews have learned. The result is The Chebar - a collection of sources to learn from both Christians and Jews the truths about the Bible. However, God says to look to the Creation - so I have studied and included sources from science and history to deepen my understanding of the Bible. Science is not at odds with the Bible. History can enlighten the Bible. You just need to be open and to be willing to learn and put it all together. The more you study the Bible - the more questions you have. The more questions you have the more you will learn.
There are many news sources on this site because religion and people's spirits are important to understand. The Christians of this world are under attack from the stictly secular and it would behoove all to keep abreast of what goes on, stay current with what people think, be cognizant of particular groups and what they are trying to build, change or destroy; and be in the know of what science and the historians have to tell us about what we really already know from the Bible or elucidate those things we don't quite understand.
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