Not of Abraham (Part III): The Myth of Judeo-Christian Values

Why the concept of "Judeo-Christian ethics" is wildly fabricated.

Talmudic Judaism, also known as Rabbinic Judaism, marks a significant evolution in Jewish religious practice and scholarship, beginning around the 2nd century A.D. Although its origins, chiefly the oral tradition of the rabbis, began before Christ, what we know as “Judaism” today didn’t originate until God destroyed the temple through Roman hands in 70 A.D.

The religion installed by God through Abraham, and later expounded upon and expanded through Moses, required certain aspects of worship that were made impossible by God’s judgment upon the Jewish people for rejecting Christ and persisting in their hard-heartedness. Without a temple or priesthood, without blood sacrifice, and without a Jerusalem-centric religion, Judaism as Moses knew it ceased to exist in the First Century. What arose was an altogether different religion.

ORAL TRADITIONS

By the time of Christ, many “oral traditions” had already developed, and as we see witnessed in the pages of the gospels, Jewish believers often considered the traditions of equal authority with the written laws. Jesus himself had to deal with this, as time and again, the Pharisees accused him of “breaking God’s law.”

And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him (Matthew 12:10-14).

Of course, Jesus broke none of God’s laws, including the Sabbath. Had he done so, he could not have been a perfect sacrifice for the sins of men. In the passage above, the Lord of the Sabbath made no new law, and neither did he abrogate one. Rather, he explained the proper understanding of the law. In this case, he brought to mind the common sense with which God always intended Sabbath observance to be understood. Elsewhere, Jesus explained to them that their understanding of the Sabbath had to accord with the purpose and design for the Sabbath, that “the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”

When they crucified Christ, they could find no law to hold against him. What they did find, repeatedly in Jesus’ ministry, is his disregard for Jewish traditions that were no law at all. The Jews, on the other hand, considered their understanding of the law (their traditions) to be the same as the law itself.

After the Temple's destruction, Jews had to invent a religion that could be observed, despite the diaspora, the temple being destroyed, and the priesthood being abolished. Rejecting Jesus as their high priest, Jews adopted a system utterly foreign to Mosaic Judaism.

The Talmud is a combination of several things. The first is the Oral Torah, which existed alongside the Written Torah (the Old Testament Law) given by God to the world through Moses and the prophets. It was the “Oral Torah” that Jesus regularly broke, and seemed to have a special disdain for.

But the second ingredient of the Talmud is the Mishnah. This was compiled by Yehudah HaNasi (Rabbi Judah the Prince) who wrote down these oral traditions. It is is divided into six orders, each containing various aspects of Jewish Law.

The third is the Gemara. After the Mishnah was complete, rabbis continued to discuss and debate these manmade religious laws. There are two versions of the Gemara; the Babylonian Talmud, compiled in Babylonia, which is more authoritative and extensive, and the Jerusalem Talmud, which is smaller and was compiled in Palestine.

Together, the Mishnah and Gemara form the Talmud, a vast compendium of Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. It's written in a mixture of Hebrew and Aramaic.

Key Features of Talmudic Judaism

One could rightly argue that Jesus and his atonement is the central theme of the Old Testament. Christ is preached and prophesied in each of the books. He is the Seed promised to Eve. He was the Ark of Noah. Jesus was the pillar of fire by day and pillar of cloud by night that led the Israelites in the Wilderness. He is the Temple, the altar, and the Mercy Seat. Jesus’ death was foreshadowed by Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac on Mt. Moriah (which is likely the same mount as Calvary). Jesus was foreshadowed by the Shepherd-King, David. Jesus is the Suffering Servant of Isaiah. He is the be-all and end-all of the Jewish faith. It all points to him. It existed for him. It prophesied him. It worshipped him.

Jesus made this clear when in the Gospel of John, at the Festival of Tabernacles, Jesus declared himself the Bread of Life during their feast of unleavened bread, the Living Water during the libation ceremony, and the Light of the World during their lighting of the candelabra. This is why John begins his gospel by saying that Jesus was made incarnate and “tabernacled among men.” It’s all about Christ.

But if it’s true that Mosaic Judaism was all about Christ, it’s also true that Rabbinic Judaism is all about rabbis. With the priesthood gone, authority shifted to the rabbis, who became the interpreters (and inventors) or Talmudic Jewish laws. With no temple, synagogues became central to Jewish life. Instead of rites and rituals that point to a Savior, these new rituals and rites are done for no deeper purpose at all, besides the rituals and rites themselves, emptily.

The Talmud contains both Halakha (laws and legal rulings) and Aggadah (narratives, ethics, and homiletic materials), shaping Jewish thought and practice. And essentially, all these things were necessary for unbelieving Jews, having been branches sawed off of Abraham’s tree by God himself (Romans 11), to adapt and survive with God having laid waste to the means of Christless Jewish religion.

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JUDEO-CHRISTIAN?

he term “Judeo-Christian” has evolved over time, reflecting changes in cultural, religious, and political contexts. Here's a concise overview of its development:

The term "Judeo-Christian" began to appear in the 1800s, especially in academic and theological circles surrounding the development of Zionism (the desire, whether held by Jews or Gentiles, to maintain a political Jewish state. Its first use by Alexander McCall in 1821 to describe not shared values or ethics (no one would have considered Christians and Jews to have shared morals or ethical values back then), but merely to note that Judaism splintered into Christianity historically.

However, use of the term in this context was very limited until the last decade of the 1800s when Jews in Europe began to argue for a Jewish state in Palestine (some advocated for one in Argentina). It was essential to get the Christians of Europe to go along with this scheme, and so Jews began to accent and highlight the origins of Christianity within Judaism for political purposes.

The term gained more popularity in the early 20th century, particularly in the United States, as part of discussions on ethics, morality, and the foundation of Western civilization. It was employed to highlight supposed shared values, like monotheism, ethical monotheism, and certain moral codes, which were seen as underpinning both religions.

As the Holocaust and WWII developed, Zionism began to spread rapidly as the British bought-in to the scheme to send European Jews to Palestine to occupy the territory and colonize it for European powers. As Scofield’s Bible translation - published by Zionists at Oxford University (and owned by them) - became popular in America, it simultaneously popularized the novel and new doctrines of Dispensationalism, postulated by the Plymouth Brethren of Scotland led by John Darby.

A concerted effort was made by the British and by Jews in Europe to convince Christians that it was their spiritual responsibility to help the Jews prosper, and so reminding them of their mutual origins in the religion of Abraham became essential. With this in mind, the term “Judeo-Christian” became a necessary and powerful propaganda tool.

The Zionist push to colonize Palestine and simultaneously getting problematic Jews out of Europe (killing two birds with one stone), very much required Christians to feel spiritually obligated to support Jews. Because Jews were only .2% of the world’s population, and Christianity was arguably the world’s most powerful religion, being able to piggy-back on Christian influence was essential for Jews to keep powerful positions of influence.

During the Cold War, "Judeo-Christian" values were often invoked in American political rhetoric to contrast Western civilization with atheistic communism. This usage helped to cement the term in the cultural lexicon, emphasizing a shared moral and cultural foundation that included, but was not limited to, religious practices.

DO JEWS AND CHRISTIANS SHARE MORAL VALUES?

Some express surprise that Jews (on average) vote far differently than either evangelical Christians or committed Roman Catholics (non-committed Romanists vote almost identically to the culture at large). When Christians don’t comprehend that Talmudic Judaism is a different religion from Mosaic Judaism, this indeed is odd. The Christian thinks, “Don’t Jews share the Ten Commandments? Don’t Jews have the same moral precepts?”

This naivety indeed causes misunderstanding, as Christians stand gobsmacked, looking at the demographic belief differences between Jews and Christians that stand in sharp contrast.

Historically, Jewish voters in the United States have shown a strong tendency to support Democratic candidates. In recent elections, a significant majority of Jewish voters have aligned with the Democratic Party. For instance, in the 2018 midterm elections, about 79% of Jewish voters supported Democratic candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives.

Jewish voters often prioritize issues like social justice, civil rights, healthcare, education, and peace in the Middle East. There's a significant focus on domestic policy issues, including support for policies that promote diversity, inclusion, and equity, and welfare.

Evangelical Christians, on the other hand, particularly white evangelicals, have a strong association with the Republican Party. In the 2018 midterms, approximately 75% of evangelical or born-again Christians voted for Republican candidates. In other words, evangelicals and Jews are virtually the opposite on important moral issues.

Evangelicals tend to vote based on moral and religious values, with significant emphasis on issues like abortion, traditional marriage, religion freedom, and more recently, immigration and the economy (they generally oppose illegal immigration, and Jews largely condone it).

ABORTION

According to traditional Jewish law, an unborn baby is not considered a full person until it is born. The Talmud (Oholot 7:6) endorses abortion. Jews claim that the principle known as Pikuach Nefesh in Jewish law prioritizes saving human life, which they interpret to mean that abortion must remain legal even if the mental health of the mother is in jeopardy, let alone physical danger (less than 1% of abortions are done for the physical health of the mother).

Jews appeal to periods of persecution where control over reproduction was a means of survival and cultural preservation. In extremely odd reasoning, Jews argue that because in times past their reproductive rights were limited (or babies were murdered, like in the days of Pharaoh), they should maintain the “reproductive rights” to kill their child (as nonsensical as this is).

The Mishnah (Niddah 5:3) and further discussed in the Talmud, outlines that for the first 40 days of gestation, a fetus is considered "mere water." This is one reason a significant majority of American Jews support abortion rights. According to the Pew Research Center (2015), 83% of American Jews believe abortion should be legal in all circumstances. A Public Religion Research Institute’s poll (2022) found that 79% of abortion should be legal in all circumstances.

Over the years, Jews have been heavily involved in Planned Parenthood in various capacities, including as donors, volunteers, staff members, and leaders. Rabbi Israel Margolies was one of the earliest supporters of Margaret Sanger's work, and Jewish activists like Hannah Mayer Stone played significant roles in the organization's early days, particularly in establishing abortion clinics.

The majority of Planned Parenthood presidents, board members, and influential figures in Planned Parenthood's history are Jewish.

Planned Parenthood has had clinics in areas with significant Jewish populations, and Jewish community leaders have usually supported or collaborated with Planned Parenthood on health initiatives.

A survey cited in a 2011 Freakonomics article, which referenced Jezebel.com's summary of earlier data, stated that 40.2% of Jewish doctors were willing to provide abortions, compared to FAR lower percentages for other religious groups. Some estimate that upward of 60% of abortion doctors are Jewish. Despite Jews being disproportionately represented in the medical field, this is still a huge number for those making up only .2% of world population.

PORNOGRAPHY AND THE SEX INDUSTRY

There has been notable Jewish involvement in the pornography industry, particularly in the United States during the 20th century. Several key figures in the early and modern pornography industry have been Jewish, including Reuben Sturman, often referred to as “the Walt Disney of Porn” and Al Goldstein, founder of “Screw” Magazine.

Playboy was distributed by a Jewish investor, Milton Luros, and its editor, Nat Lehrman, was Jewish. Vivid Enterainment (the world’s largest pornographer) was owned by a Jew, Steven Hirsch. Wicked Pictures is owned by a Jews, Steve Orenstein. Monarchy Distributors was owned by a Jew, Mike Kulich. Only Fans’ owner is a Jew, Leonid Radvinsky.

In his 2004 article “Triple Exthnics,” for Jewish Quarterly, Nathan Abrams, a Jewish scholar, admits a disproportionate representation of Jews in the pornography industry. The current owner of PornHub is a devout Jew and former Rabbi, Rabbi Solomon, who donates huge sums of money to the AIPAC (a Zionist lobbying group, and hugely influential force in American politics).

Historically, Jews have engaged heavily in sex trafficking. Perhaps the most well-known historical case involving Jews in sex trafficking was the Zwi Migdal organization, active primarily in Argentina from the late 19th to early 20th century. This was a criminal network made up of Jewish men who trafficked Jewish women from Europe into prostitution.

This is just the modern era. Beginning in the Middle Ages, Jews in Europe were repeatedly accused of loose sexual ethics, prostitution, and the corruption of Christian sexual ethics. It’s surely not all an “antisemitic plot.”

HOMOSEXUALITY

A 2013 Pew survey found that about 76% of American Jews supported the legalization of same-sex marriage, which was significantly higher than the general U.S. population at the time. According to a Public Religion Research Institute poll in 2019, 80% of Jewish Americans supported the LGBTQ. This was among the highest of any religious group surveyed. According to a 2023 report by the Human Rights Campaign, 73% of Jewish Americans supported the LGBTQ.

Magnus Hirschfield, a Jewish-German physician and sexologist, was a pioneer in advocating for gay rights. He founded the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee in 1897, which was the first gay rights organization in the world. Hirschfeld's work laid foundational stones for the understanding of sexual orientation and identity.

In 1972, the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) passed a resolution calling for support of the LGBTQ. In 1990, the Union for Reform Judaism did the same. In 1996, the CCAR passed a resolution in favor of gay marriage.

In 1985, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association endorsed homosexuality as a “normal variant of sexuality that is neither abnormal nor pathological. In 2012 the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards officially permitted the ordination of gay rabbis.

Founded in 2001, Keshet works for the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Jews in Jewish life. It has significantly influenced Jewish institutions to become more inclusive.

In 2004, Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, the world's largest LGBT synagogue, officiated at the first legal same-sex wedding in New York City. In 2010, Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl, the first Asian-American to be ordained as a rabbi, and one of the first women to lead a major U.S. synagogue, has been vocal in supporting marriage equality.

Many Jewish organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, and the National Council of Jewish Women, have long supported marriage equality and non-discrimination laws for the LGBTQ community.

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