So, what do you think Yeshua taught:
● “BELIEVE ME” -- Do what I teach.
● "BELIEVE IN ME” -- Believe I existed or believe theologies about me that I never taught.
The choices Christians make defines the purposes of their lives, as well as the priorities of Christianity.
If Christians "believed Yeshua," instead of "believed in Jesus" there would not have been crusades, inquisitions or any other "life taking" acts done in the name of Christianity.
Christians would not be passive bystanders in the midst of cruelty and suffering because they believed that they aren't under the law and doing good isn't a high priority. They would be active participants in making lives much better and safer.
Rabbi Harold Kushner addressed a similar situation in his book Nine Essential Things I’ve Learned About Life (p. 159) when he asked -- Does it make a difference if Abraham "believed God" or "believed in God"? Pay close attention to his answer:
(1) It makes a significant difference.
(2) To BELIEVE IN God is a statement about God, that He exists and is not the product of wishful thinking. It is theology . . . something that exists inside an individual’s heart and mind.
(3) To BELIEVE God is a statement about Abraham, that Abraham was prepared to trust God, to rely on God to do what He had promised to do . . . to act in obedience to God’s demands.
So, what’s the difference between “BELIEVE IN Jesus" or “BELIEVE Yeshua"?
(1) To BELIEVE IN Jesus is a statement about whether he exists and is a product of theology.
(2) To BELIEVE Yeshua is a statement about the person that believes – he or she demonstrates that trust by doing what Yeshua taught -- laying up treasures with God, being SHALOM makers, doing acts of TZEDAQAH, etc.
After many years of research we now know that Yeshua's movement and teachings are based on the most important section of the Torah, specifically the first eleven chapters of Genesis. This is the foundation upon which the entire Torah rests. It is where TZEDAQAH is introduced when a man named Noah did TZEDAQAH and save the lives of his family -- and saved mankind.
Yeshua's Jewish audience understood the connection and all of subtle nuances linked to those words. For example, TZEDAQAH doesn't exist alone, it requires MISHPAT (justice). They understood that TZEDAQAH and MISHPAT are both required for in the world to fulfill the plan of the Creator. They also understood something else about the Creator -- he used a standard to measure his work called the TOV Standard. When Yeshua taught about TZEDAQAH, he was teaching about doing like the Creator and doing TOV.
For acts to be TOV, they must beautiful to the sight, protect life, preserve life,
make life more functional and increase the quality of life.
There was no requirement to believe in him, join his movement or convert to his religion. We now call these TOV Values because they are time tested and their worth has been proven. We are actively involved in the following projects:
(1) We created the TOV Center to help people learn more about TOV Values.
(2) The Biblical Heritage Center is committed to providing accurate information about the life and teachings of Yeshua and the histories of Christianity and Judaism.
(3) We are in the process of setting up a TOV Team called Christians for TOV -- a group that BELIEVES YESHUA and are committed to the Time Tested Values that Yeshua taught. We also believe that transparency in the history of Christianity -- revealing the good and bad things done in the name of Christianity -- is essentail and very valuable. Bookmark our new webpage Christians for TOV (keep in mind it is under development) and visit it often because new materials will be added regularly.
You are invited to join with us on this exciting journey of doing and teaching TOV.
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