This essay continues a sequence. Read the previous one here.
The brain observes appearance and then infers meaning. The spirit senses meaning, and then interprets appearance.
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No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment,
for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment,
and the rent is made worse.
Neither do men put new wine into old bottles:
else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out,
and the bottles perish:
but they put new wine into new bottles,
and both are preserved
— KJV, Matt 9:16-17 / Mark 2:21-22 / Luke 5:36-38
Truth vs Religion
Christ was born and raised a Jew. This, along with certain teachings of His followers, have led many to believe that Christ’s Message is somehow influenced by, related to, or derived from Judaism.
This is a religion-oriented view of The Word, not a Truth-oriented one (ref. “What Is Truth?“).
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
— John 1:1
The Word existed before mankind and before religions. The eternal is far beyond the temporal. Truth is far beyond religion.
The relationship of The Word to Judaism (or any religion) is like the relationship of Heaven to Earth: worlds apart.
Old vs New
Old (unshrunk) cloth cannot bear new cloth. And the same applies to old (i.e. brittle) bottles filled with new wine.
The Word, Christ’s Message, is not to be shoehorned into existing (old) views, but to be received with an open (i.e. humble) mind.
Some may argue that there is a contradiction, citing:
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets:
I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
For verily I say unto you,
Till heaven and earth pass,
one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
— Matt 5:17-18
We already clarified this in “Letter of The Law” and “Spirit of The Law“.
Christ brought Truth, i.e. an explanation of how the world works (ref. “What Is Truth?“). Truth is not religion-specific, any more than “communication” is language-specific.
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Fulfilment As Progressive Revelation
Truth provides the correct basis for human laws (ref. “Blessed Are They That Hunger And Thirst For Righteousness“).
Therefore, Christ’s Word will not destroy human laws that are Truth-aligned, but fulfil them i.e. clarify their “why”.
The core of Judaic Law is the Mosaic Law of the Ten Commandments. These Commandments are Truth-based, and therefore timeless and acceptable in virtually every sociocultural context (ref. “Spirit Of The Law“), if properly interpreted.
The Word does not overthrow the sense of this law, only wrong interpretations of it.
Interpretations of Truth expressed in human laws should evolve as human beings mature, but the Laws of Creation are eternally unchangeable, even if heaven and earth pass (ref. “The Nature of God’s Laws“).
Content vs Form
A Truth-bringer must speak in terms understandable to His audience. Christ had to speak in terms understandable to Jews.
Had Christ been born amongst Buddhists, for example, He would still have transmitted The Word, and It would be expressed in language understandable to that community.
That is not to say His being born a Jew was a random event. The Jews had developed a relatively high concept of spirituality, and were therefore an appropriate people to receive a Truth-Bringer.
Christ celebrated the Passover et al but did not interpret these activities the way the average Jew did. He provided radically different interpretations of the Sabbath (ref. “Is His Love Blind?“), fasting (ref. “To Fast Or Not To Fast“), and so much else.
Christ brought Truth. It is an apples-to-oranges error to gauge His Message through the lens of any religion.
Truth As The Basis of All Real Knowledge
Nonetheless, the nature of Truth is that it can extend our understanding of everything, including religion. Therefore, an open-minded Jew (or Buddhist, or Muslim, or Hindu, etc.) or scientist can gain deep insights by studying The Word.
In its fundamental nature The Word is not an extension of anything. But if we human beings accept it (i.e. apply it) it could become the basis for extension of all our activities.
Today’s Resolution:
- We thank God for sending His Son to bring Truth to all mankind.
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