TAAM: Torah Answers for Anti-Missionaries

This page deals with Torah Answers in the category:

Objections & Questions : from Anti-missionaries (Index)

(Last Update:  31-oct-12 )

This index deals with objections to Yeshua as Messiah, or faith in Him, based on arguments from Torah and Jewish tradition.
For objections to teachings of Yeshua or the New Testament, see Myths that Muddy the Waters: About Yeshua & His Apostles.

Yeshua's claim to the title of Messiah

"Jesus didn't fulfill what Messiah has to do."
"Christians say Jesus will fulfill Messianic prophecies in a 'second coming', but no such thing exists in the Jewish Bible."
"Messiah will be a great prophet. Jesus appeared on the scene 350 years after prophecy had ended."
"Jews don't believe in a divine Messiah - 'Son of G-d' is a pagan concept."

"Belief that salvation comes through a man, or that the Messiah has already come, is not a Jewish faith."
"Jesus died without bringing peace and justice to the world, a major requirement for the Messiah."
"Yeshua was a faithful Jew in his day, and even a good Torah teacher.  He just wasn't the Messiah."
"Jesus made himself the messiah of a new religion. The Jews who believe in that man abandon the Torah."

"I can believe that Jesus is the Messiah for the Gentiles. But Jews don't need Jesus as a way to G-d."
"I need to see proof. I've been shown nothing straight from Tanach that Yeshua is the Messiah."
"The Messiah must be descended on his father's side from King David. If Jesus was the product of a virgin birth, he had no father."
"The case of the daughters of Zelopahad proves that tribal inheritance is from the father."

"The lineage in Matthew is Jesus' adoptive father Joseph. There is no Biblical basis for a father passing on his tribal line by adoption."
"Messiah must be a descendent of David through Solomon. Luke is irrelevant because it describes lineage of David's son Nathan."

Tanach passages that are applied to Yeshua   (still in progress... check back for new entries)

     Isaiah 7
"The virgin birth claim in Isaiah 7: 'Almah' in Tanach is simply a young woman."
"You rely on the Septuagint for Isaiah 7:14, but orthodox Jews consider the Septuagint a tragedy in Jewish history."
"Even accepting the Septuagint, the same Greek word was also used for Deena after Shechem raped her.  So it cannot always mean virgin."
"What kind of a 'sign' is a 'virgin birth' anyway?"

"Isaiah 7 still wasn't about Jesus.  It's about Pekeh and Resin in their war against Ahaz."
"When was Jesus ever called Immanuel, as the NT claims?"

     Isaiah 53
"This chapter doesn't speak of Messiah; it speaks of the nation of Israel."

    Isaiah 9
"The passage 'Unto us a son is given...' (Isaiah 9:6) refers to Hezekiah, not the Messiah.

    Micah 5
"The passage 'From you shall come forth to Me the one who will be ruler...' (Micah 5:2, v.1 in Heb.) is not proof that Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, but only that he would come from David who came from Bethlehem."

Objections based on Torah & Prophets

"Why do you say that the 'new covenant' is in the Torah? I don't see it anywhere."
"There is no support in Tanach for the idea that G-d even has a son."
"If Mashiach is so important (i.e., according to Christian teaching, if you don't 'believe' in him, you will burn in hell!), why didn't those who recorded the Torah proclaim his importance?"

"How did the great Jewish prophets teach the world about G-d and write Tanach, without Yeshua?"
"If Jews before Yeshua had an intimate relationship with Hashem, like King David, why can't I do the same?"
"When King David sinned with Bathsheva, he was forgiven through prayer - G-d does not desire blood, or even sacrifices."
"We don't need Korbanot to forgive our sins. Prayer, repentance and good deeds are the modern equivalent."

"Why should we accept someone who died on a cross for atonement? Torah says such a person is cursed."
"Judaism does not accept the idea that the shed blood of any human being can save others."
"The Jewish scriptures do not allow for G-d to become a man."

Objections based on rabbinic authority

"We believe in 'fences' to protect us from violating Torah [by discussing this material]. To observe these fences is to obey G-d."
"We follow an unbroken line of Torah handed down from Sinai.  You are breaking with this line, so you are not really keeping Torah."
"We have an obligation to keep unity in the Jewish community. People with unacceptable opinions about Jesus cannot be part of us."
"My rabbi has forbidden me to talk to you - it's against Halacha."

"Others have also told me to 'ask G-d' for myself about Yeshua. Why would G-d want to speak to me one-on-One? This concept is not Jewish."
"You have misinterpreted the Torah and Prophets. You need to learn with a rabbi in order to understand what you read."

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