The Tradition of Christianity, Part I. Famous Quotes about Christianity and Jesus Christ

Part I. Famous Quotes about Christianity

The tradition of Christianity officially began in the year 0 A.D. and then began to spread like wild-fire after the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Rabbi Joshua (Jesus) in 33 A.D. Here are just a few samples of famous quotes from historically important people about the tradition of Christianity.

Famous Quotes about the Christian Bible

Both read the Bible day and night, but thou read black where I read white.

- William Blake (1757-1827) British poet and painter

Prosperity is the blessing of the Old Testament; adversity is the blessing of the New.

- Francis Bacon (1561-1626) British statesman and philosopher

Famous Quotes about Rabbi Joshua (Jesus)

Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires; but what foundation did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded an empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for Him.

- Napoleon I (1769-1821) Napoleon Bonaparte. French general

Every time that I think of the crucifixion of Christ, I commit the sin of envy.

- Simone Weil (1910-1943) French Philosopher

By a Carpenter mankind was made, and only by that Carpenter can mankind be remade.

- Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536) Dutch humanist and theologian

Famous Quotes about Christianity

Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue with that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first -- rock and roll or Christianity.

- John Lennon (1940-1980) British musician.

I believe in Christianity as I believe in the rising sun; not because I see it, but by it I can see all else.

-C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) Irish author and scholar

Christianity has operated with an unmitigated arrogance and cruelty, necessarily, since a religion ordinarily imposes on those who have discovered the true faith the spiritual duty of liberating the infidels.

-James Baldwin (1924-1987) African-American writer

Christianity is art and not money. Money is its curse.

-William Blake (1757-1827) British poet and painter.

The word ''Christianity'' is already a misunderstanding -- in reality there has been only one Christian, and he died on the Cross.

- Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) German-Swiss philosopher

I believe in Christianity as I believe in the rising sun; not because I see it, but by it I can see all else.

- C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) Irish author and scholar.

Two great European narcotics, alcohol and Christianity.

- Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) German-Swiss philosopher and writer.

Christianity makes suffering contagious.

- Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) German-Swiss philosopher and writer

He who begins by loving Christianity better than truth, will proceed by loving his own sect or church better than Christianity, and end in loving himself better than all.

- Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) British poet, critic, and philosopher.

If there is any moral in Christianity, if there is anything to be learned from it, if the whole story is not profitless from first to last, it comes to this: that a man should back his own opinion against the world's.

- Samuel Butler (1612-1680) British poet and satirist

I have a great mind to believe in Christianity for the mere pleasure of fancying I may be damned.

- Lord Byron (1788-1824) British poet.

Christianity is the highest perfection of humanity.

- Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) British author

The glory of Christianity is to conquer by forgiveness.

- William Blake (1757-1827) British poet and painter

People in general are equally horrified at hearing the Christian religion doubted, and at seeing it practiced.

- Samuel Butler (1612-1680) British poet and satirist

The Christian religion, though scattered and abroad will in the end gather itself together at the foot of the cross.

- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749-1832) German poet, novelist and dramatist

I am not a Catholic; but I consider the Christian idea, which has its roots in Greek thought and in the course of the centuries has nourished all of our European civilization, as something that one cannot renounce without becoming degraded.

- Simone Weil (1910-1943) French Philosopher

Famous Quotes about Christians

If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today.

- Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) Preeminent leader of Indian nationalism.

A Christian is nothing but a sinful man who has put himself to school for Christ for the honest purpose of becoming better.

-Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) American politician.

The test of Christian character should be that a man is a joy-bearing agent to the world.

- Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) American politician.

The Church is not a gallery for the exhibition of eminent Christians, but a school for the education of imperfect ones.

- Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) American politician

The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.

- Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) British journalist, novelist and poet

To be like Christ is to be a Christian.

- William Penn (1644-1718) British religious leader.

What the world requires of the Christians is that they should continue to be Christians.

- Albert Camus (1913-1960) French novelist, essayist and dramatist.

The early Christian rules of life were not made to last, because the early Christians did not believe that the world itself was going to last.

- George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish writer

May the LORD God bless you in the name of the Judeo-Christian tradition.

The Good News Talmud, Part X. The Town and Country Animosities of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of Heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.

- Matthew 13:52

Part X. The Town and Country Animosities of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

A Jewish Rabbi and Catholic Priest Study Talmud Together

Because of the Internet, there will someday be a website where every single passage from the Gospels will be cross-referenced with at least two or three corresponding passages from the Talmud. A free information society benefits the Judeo-Christian tradition tremendously. Some Christians remain hesitant because of the old animosities between the Church and Jewish Rabbis and Scholars. This tendency is completely explainable. Many of the Church's best intellectuals, like Rabbi Joshua ben Joseph (Jesus Christ) Himself, were from the countryside, and were not the wealthy and important physicians, advisers, and bankers of Kings and Queens, as quite a few Talmudic Rabbis happened to be at the time. Tomorrow's Christians will understand the continuing tension between Nazareth (country), the hometown of the common man and scholar, and Jerusalem, the cesspool capital of the elite media's hypocrisy, nepotism, and corruption (town).

The debate about the wickedness of the Talmud is over as more Christians finally read and discover the Judeo-Christian goodness clearly written in the very text that has been misquoted and vilified for far too long. The real fight is between the common man and the secular elites who scoff at the Gospels, the Talmud, the Old Testament, and many other religious texts they dismiss as 'out-dated', 'superstitious', and 'mythological'. The Wisdom of the Talmud lives in throughout the country, while the city gleefully mocks Judeo-Christian believers just as Pharaoh and his magicians, Caesar and his Senatorial elite, and Greco-Roman Philosophers did so long ago. In the end, the Talmud will end up as a major study tool of the 21st Judeo-Christian scholars of tomorrow.

TALMUD: He who refuses to accept an apology from one who has offended him is wicked. (Numb. Rabba 19.
GOSPEL: If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them. (Luke 17:3-4)

TALMUD: If you have not acquired knowledge, what can you claim to be possessed of? If you have knowledge, what do you lack?(Numbers Rabba 19)
GOSPEL: After three days they found Him (Jesus) in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. When they saw Him, they were astonished...And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Luke 2:46-52)

TALMUD: Let not the nations of the earth say that God has favoured Israel and neglected them, for whatever benefit He bestowed on Israel was given also to other nations. (Numbers Rabba 20)
GOSPEL: These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ (Matthew 10:5-7)

TALMUD: In man's intellect there seem to be four degrees, and thus we find him losing his wits by four several degrees when indulging in strong drink. When a man drinks one-fourth more than is good for him, he loses one-fourth of his intellect; when he indulges in as much again, half of his faculties are for the time paralysed; after the third cup over and above what is good for him, he begins to speak incoherently, indeed he knows not what he says; and when he has indulged in the full four parts he is intellectually wrecked. (Numbers Rabba 10)
GOSPEL: Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. (Luke 21:34)

TALMUD: Rabbis Gamaliel, Joshua, Eleazar b. Azaria and Akiba were preachers in Rome. (Exodus Rabba 30)
GOSPEL: On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. And the Gospel must first be preached to all nations. (Mark 13:9-10)

The Talmud is not anti-Christian, but is filled with Rabbis who disagree

TALMUD: Of the many that go to sea most return, only a small percentage are lost. Also of those who plunge into the sea of matrimony most are happy, and only a small number are misalliances. (Numbers Rabba 9)
GOSPEL: Jesus answered, 'Moses allowed you to divorce your wives because you refused to accept God's teaching, but divorce was not allowed in the beginning.' (Matthew 19:7-9)

TALMUD: If any one tells you that there is no such thing as resurrection, refer him to what one of God's servants (Elijah) did (1 Kings 17) (Numbers Rabba 14)
GOSPEL: Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. (John 5:24-25)

TALMUD: If any one tells you that there is no such thing as resurrection, refer him to what one of God's servants (Elijah) did (1 Kings 17) (Numbers Rabba 14)
GOSPEL: That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question....Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. But about the resurrection of the dead-have you not read what God said to you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching. (Matthew 22:23-33)

Study Talmud Christian Scholars and Be Surprised by Goodness!

TALMUD: Man's eyes and his heart prompt him to sin. (Numbers Rabba 17)
GOSPEL: I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
(Matthew 5:28)

TALMUD: If you have not acquired knowledge, what can you claim to be possessed of? If you have knowledge, what do you lack?(Numbers Rabba 19)
GOSPEL: Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering. (Luke 11:52)

TALMUD: The truth of the Torah is a weapon to its possessor. (Numbers Rabba 12)
GOSPEL: All who stand before others and say they do not believe in me, I will say before my Father in Heaven that they do not belong to me. Don't think that I came to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. (Matthew 10:33-34)

An Illuminated Page of the Talmud

TALMUD: He who refuses to accept an apology from one who has offended him is wicked. (Numb. Rabba 19.
GOSPEL: Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?' Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.' (Matthew 18:21-22)

May the LORD God bless you in the name of the Judeo-Christian Tradition

A Young Male Reads Talmud for the Camera

Part IV. Metaphorical Use of Both the Eye Below and Above

You are to take a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.

- Exodus 21:23-25

Part IV. Metaphorical Use of Both the Eye Below and Above

Heaven + Earth = God's Creation








'I have created somethings in pairs,' says God, 'such as Heaven and Earth, the sun and the moon, Adam and Eve, male and female in all animals, this life and the future life; but I am One.' He that proclaims the absolute unity of God proclaims the kingdom of Heaven.

- Deuteronomy Rabba 2

Simple Views from Above and Below

Fangs of the Shark


A tooth for...




...a tooth. (Deuteronomy 19:21)



Love and Lust


An eye for...




...an eye.(Deuteronomy 19:21)



Don't Fall Down into the Sun or the Moon which Shines Above


And he laid hold of the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him down into...



...the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more. (Revelation 20:1-3)


The Rock of Ages


You are Peter, and upon this Rock I will build my Church and...




...the Gates of Hell will not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18)



The Building and its Foundation


According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation and...




...another is building upon it. But each one must be careful how he builds upon it for...




...no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely Rabbi Jesus.(I Corinthians 3:10-11)


Look up, Good Earthling!


If all your life is given up to the pursuit of earthly things, it is quite consistent for you to look downwards...



...But if you pursue the higher life, look upwards. - The Talmud, Midrash Psalms 32



May the LORD God bless you in the name of the Judeo-Christian Tradition.

The Good News Talmud, Part VIII. Christian Animosity of the Talmud

Every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of Heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.

- Matthew 13:52

Part VIII. Christian Animosity of the Talmud

Why was the Talmud burned? Because sometimes self-opportunists will use hatred and violence to advance further in their careers, whether they are a Priest or a Prince, a Bishop or a King. The fact remains that the sexual morality expressed throughout the Talmud makes even the most puritanical Christian doctrines look tame. In short, the Jews, both then and now, are a sexually modest and normal group of people who have, indeed, seen it all throughout the centuries, but have not approved of very much of what they have seen. Judgmental? No. Understanding? Maybe? Natural and tolerant? Most probably. Indeed, it was completely against the laws of the Talmud to have sexual intercourse unless the act was done in total darkness. Lights off, Judeo-Christian children, it is time to return to the Talmud's sexual modesty once again.

TALMUD: Where wine goes in, intellect comes out, as well as secrets. (Numbers Rabba 10)
GOSPEL: When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, 'Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.' They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?” Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.'...Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?' Jesus answered, 'You have said so.' (Matthew 26:20-25)

TALMUD: Israel will have her kingdom restored to her. (Numbers Rabba 10)
GOSPEL: The Jews then responded to him, 'What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?' Jesus answered them, 'Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.' They replied, 'It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” (John 2:18-20)

TALMUD: Most of the many misdeeds which man is liable to commit he can to some extent redeem--such as theft, fraud, but adultery never. The man who seduces another man's wife is beyond redemption. (Numbers Rabba 9)
GOSPEL: I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. (Matthew 5:32)

TALMUD: He that sanctifies himself here will receive sanctification from on high. (Numbers Rabba 10)
GOSPEL: He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the Earth is from the Earth and speaks of the Earth He who comes from Heaven is above all. What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies. (John 3:30-32)

TALMUD: 'I have made thee a god to Pharaoh,' said the LORD to Moses: a god to Pharaoh, but not a god.--Numb. Rabba 14.
GOSPEL: The Jews answered Him, saying, 'For a good work we will not stone you, but for blasphemy and because thou, being a man, makes thyself God.' Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, I said 'You are gods'? If He called them gods unto whom the Word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken)." (John 10:33-35)

TALMUD: 'No man shall see me and live,' said God (Exodus 33). Not in this earthly life, but in the higher life. (Numbers Rabba 14)
GOSPEL: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Matthew 5:8)

TALMUD: God, notwithstanding the various injunctions concerning light (Exodus 27, Leviticus 24, and Numbers 15), requires no light from man. There is no darkness with Him (Psalm 139 and Daniel 2). (Numbers Rabba 15)
GOSPEL: Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, 'I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.' (John 8:12)

TALMUD: Man's eyes have white and black in them; but the power of sight, the lens supplying light, is the black. (Numbers Rabba 15)
GOSPEL: The eye is a light for the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. And if the only light you have is really darkness, then you have the worst darkness. (Matthew 6:21-23)

TALMUD: The respect and honour due to one's teacher, and indeed to learned men in general, includes the following: not to stand or sit in the place he has temporarily vacated, not to contradict anything he says, not to interrupt him whilst he speaks; to put any question you may have to put to him with marked respect, and to reply to anything he asks of you without frivolity. (Numbers Rabba 15)
GOSPEL: And He also spoke a parable to them: 'A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit? A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.' (Luke 6:39-40)

TALMUD: Most of the many misdeeds which man is liable to commit he can to some extent redeem--such as theft, fraud, etc.; but adultery never. The man who seduces another man's wife is beyond redemption.--Numb. Rabba 9.
GOSPEL: Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. (Mark 10:11)

TALMUD: Wine was given to a criminal sentenced to death, before the execution, to mitigate his sorrow. (Numbers Rabba 10)
GOSPEL: Standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, 'Woman, behold, your son!'...After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, 'I am thirsty.' A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, 'It is finished!' And He bowed His head and gave up His ghost. (John 19:25-30)

TALMUD: 'Thy camp shall be holy' (Deut. 23.). This is Moses' warning against adultery when going to war, as God would remove his presence from their midst if there were adulterers in their camp. (Number Rabba 9)
GOSPEL: I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. (Matthew 5:32)

TALMUD: However the Israelites in Egypt may, by reason of their slavery, have gone astray, they kept themselves pure from sexual vice. (Numbers Rabba 9)
GOSPEL: But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:28)

TALMUD: It is not judicious to lodge in the same house with any woman- even with wife, daughter, or sister -if the relationship is not known to the people of the place; for the world is slanderously inclined. (Numbers Rabba 10)
GOSPEL: Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word. (Luke 10:38-39)

TALMUD: Intoxicants lead to fornication. (Numbers Rabba 10)
GOSPEL: But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:28)

May the LORD God bless you in the name of St. Judas Maccabaeus.

The Good News Talmud, Part VII. The Growing Internet Awareness of the Talmud

Every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of Heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.

- Matthew 13:52

Part VII. The Growing Internet Awareness of the Talmud

Because of the internet, along with unprecedented Gentile access to the Talmud, the animosity towards this astonishing volume of ancient literature will grow old, stale, and finally die. The fact remains that what some scholars refer to as the objectionable, or controversial, portions of the Talmud comprise a bare .01% of the entire text and are basically no more than a few sentences anyway. If one were to judge the Bible by the same standard, then it too would probably fall short. Put bluntly, because of the free access to the real Talmud the Age of the Christian Talmud-haters is going, going, gone.

TALMUD: 'The gates of prayer,' replied the Rabbi, 'may sometimes be closed, in contradistinction of the gates of repentance, which are never closed. (Deuteronomy Rabba 2)
GOSPEL: Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out...Therefore Jesus said again, 'Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.' (John 10:1-9)

TALMUD: When God first called Moses, not being then an expert prophet, he was addressed in a voice similar to that of his own father, and he thought that his father had come to him from Egypt. God then told him that it was not his earthly father who called him, but the God of his father. Then, we find, Moses hid his face, which he did not do when first called by his name, not in fact until he heard the words, 'I am the God of thy fathers.' (Exodus Rabba 45)
GOSPEL: 'The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out...his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice'...Therefore Jesus said again, 'Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.' (John 10:3-8)

TALMUD: God knows our thoughts before they are formed. (Genesis Rabba 9)
GOSPEL: But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, 'It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.' Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?' (Matthew 12:24-26)

TALMUD: There is a limit to everything except to the greatness and depth of the Torah. (Genesis Rabba 10)
GOSPEL: For truly I tell you, until Heaven and Earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of Heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20)

TALMUD: The present Rome is Edom. (Leviticus Rabba 22)
GOSPEL: Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him...Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! (John 8:43-45)

TALMUD: Michael and Gabriel acted as 'best men' at the nuptials of Adam and Eve. God joined them in wedlock, and pronounced the marriage benediction on them. (Genesis Rabba 8)
GOSPEL: Now Mary Magdalene stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, 'Woman, why are you crying?' 'They have taken my Lord away,' she said, 'and I don’t know where they have put him.' (John 20:11-13)

TALMUD: The inhabitants of Canaan had vices similar to those of the Egyptians, as regards witchcraft and immorality. The Israelites, who had seen nothing but evil practices up to now, would be prone to conclude- seeing the same vicious practices amongst the remaining nations of Canaan, that these practices were common to mankind. Wherefore God tells them (Leviticus 18:2), 'After the doings of the land of Egypt wherein you dwelt shall ye not do, and after the doings of the land of Canaan wherein I bring you shall ye not do.' As in Egypt, so will you be in Canaan, a rose amongst thorns. (Leviticus Rabba 24)
GOSPEL: I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves. (Matthew 10:16)

TALMUD: 'Thy camp shall be holy' (Deut. 23. 15). By this it is meant that we must be choice in speech. (Leviticus Rabba 24)
GOSPEL: And the Gospel must first be preached to all nations. Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Ghost. (Mark 13:10-11)

TALMUD: God knows our thoughts before they are formed. (Genesis Rabba 9)
GOSPEL: Jesus knew their thoughts (Matthew 12:25)

TALMUD: The Israelites were commanded to plant trees in Canaan when it came into their possession (Leviticus 19:23). Thus they were to occupy themselves in agriculture, and even imitate their God, who after calling the world into existence planted trees therein. (Leviticus Rabba 25)
GOSPEL: The kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches. (Matthew 13:31-32)

TALMUD: King Saul's conduct may well be compared to that of the king who decreed that all the cocks of the town should be destroyed, but the following day, having to undertake a journey and wishing to rise early, gave orders to procure him a cock to wake him at an early hour. Saul ordered all witches and wizards to be destroyed, and yet he was anxious to seek out a witch to learn from her the secrets of Heaven. (Leviticus Rabba 26)
GOSPEL: Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him...Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! (John 8:43-45)

TALMUD: It cannot be doubted that those who instigated the Israelites to make the golden calf were of 'the mixed multitude,' who fastened themselves on to the Israelites at the Exodus, and there is incontestable evidence of this in the words employed at the end of the pernicious work, for it is said (Exodus 32:4) 'These are thy gods.' Had the Israelites been the workers of this iniquity, they would have more appropriately said, 'This is our god that brought us out,' etc. (Leviticus Rabba 27)
GOSPEL: These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’" (Matthew 10:5-7)

TALMUD: If you want to court derision, give your opinion on weighty matters in the presence of your teachers or your superiors. (Leviticus Rabba 20)
GOSPEL: When He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem...Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. So when they saw Him, they were amazed...And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Luke 2:41-52)

TALMUD: God knows our thoughts before they are formed. (Genesis Rabba 9)
GOSPEL: An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. Then he said to them, 'Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.' (Luke 9:46-48)

May the LORD God bless you in the name of Rabbi Joshua ben Joseph, the Nazarene.

The Good News Talmud, Part VI. Rivalry and Similarity Between the Talmud and the Gospels

Every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of Heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.

- Matthew 13:52

Part VI. Rivalry and Similarity Between the Talmud and the Gospels

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the
Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
For truly I tell you, until Heaven and Earth disappear, not the
smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means
disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore
anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and
teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of
Heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will
be called great in the kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you that unless
your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers
of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of Heaven.

- Matthew 5:17-20

Even though this has been said before, it should be said again that the sayings, and even the parables, of Jesus Christ were not all of His own, but were the culmination of many centuries of ancient Israelite and Jewish tradition. These words of wisdom did not inspire, nor impress, the Greco-Roman elites and their philosophers or cause them to believe, on the contrary. What did finally cause them to convert was the miraculous transformation they saw in people who were diseased, sick, or in despair, as well as the very real supernatural miracles performed by the Apostles, Disciples, and the dozens of Saints who came after them. The Rabbis crucified R. Joshua ben Joseph because they thought He was practicing black magic or was hopelessly (and helplessly) possessed by the Devil. 2,000 years later, His magic lives on within the most famous compilation of Jewish wisdom and advice ever written- commonly known as the Gospels of Jesus Christ. Enjoy the following comparisons.

TALMUD: The builder mixes a thick sand with a thinner one in the mortar, by which contrivance the latter becomes very strong and the building more substantial. In creating the first pair, something of this method was adopted. Adam was the strong and Eve the weaker. This mixture of the weak with the strong is beneficial to the human race. (Genesis Rabba 14)
GOSPEL: ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate. (Mark 10:7-9)

TALMUD: Man was originally formed with a tail like the lower animals, but this was afterwards taken from him out of consideration for him. (Genesis Rabba 14)
GOSPEL: Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. (Matthew 7:6)

TALMUD: Man in celibacy is in sublime ignorance of what is meant by the words good, hell, joy, blessing, peace and expiation of sin. He is, in fact, not entitled to the dignified name of man. (Genesis Rabba 17)
GOSPEL: Jesus replied, 'Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others- and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.' (Matthew 19:11-12)

TALMUD: God designed man for work, to work for his own sustenance. He who does not work shall not eat. (Genesis Rabba 14)
GOSPEL: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23)

TALMUD: After Adam's fall came Abraham, who established in the world the knowledge of God. As a builder puts the strongest beam in the centre of the building, so as to support the structure at both ends, so Abraham was the strong beam carrying the burden of the generations that existed before him and that came after him. (Genesis Rabba 14a)
GOSPELS: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. (Luke 9:23-24)

TALMUD: Dreams, something like prophecy, are the offspring of imaginations and comparisons which we may form whilst awake. (Genesis Rabba 17)
GOSPEL: Because Mary's husband, Joseph, was a good man, he did not want to disgrace her in public, so he planned to divorce her secretly. While Joseph thought about these things, an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, 'Joseph, descendant of David, don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the baby in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.' (Matthew 1:19-21)

TALMUD: After Adam's fall came Abraham, who established in the world the knowledge of God. As a builder puts the strongest beam in the centre of the building, so as to support the structure at both ends, so Abraham was the strong beam carrying the burden of the generations that existed before him and that came after him. (Genesis Rabba 14a)
GOSPEL: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. (Mark 8:34)

TALMUD: Here in this life we have the Spirit = the soul, blown into our nostrils, hence it goes from us at death. In the future, the soul, when restored, will be given to us, as it is said in (Ezekiel 37:14): a complete gift never to be returned. - Genesis Rabba 14
GOSPEL: Jesus, when He had cried out again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost...Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee onto a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw Him (again), they worshiped Him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, 'All power is given unto Me in Heaven and on Earth.' (Matthew 27:50, 28:16-18)

TALMUD: The river Euphrates is the chief and choicest of all rivers. (Genesis Rabba 16)
GOSPEL: And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. (Mark 1:4-5)

TALMUD: The Greeks, amongst other insults which they heaped on Jews, had a satirical saying. The Jews should write on the horn of an ox- alluding to the making of the golden calf, that they are not the portion of the God of Israel. (Genesis Rabba 16)
GOSPEL: They said to Jesus, 'Teacher, this woman was caught having sexual relations with a man who is not her husband. The law of Moses commands that we stone to death every woman who does this. What do you say we should do?' They were asking this to trick Jesus so that they could have some charge against him. But Jesus bent over and started writing on the ground with his finger. When they continued to ask Jesus their question, he raised up and said, 'Anyone here who has never sinned can throw the first stone at her.' Then Jesus bent over again and wrote on the ground. (John 8:4-8)

TALMUD: Sleep is a sixtieth portion of death, a dream is the same proportion of prophecy and the Sabbath of the Future bliss. (Genesis Rabba 17)
GOSPEL: Then Jesus went back to his followers and found them asleep. He said to Peter, 'You men could not stay awake with me for one hour? Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. The spirit wants to do what is right, but the body is weak.' (Matthew 26:40-41)

TALMUD: 'Why,' asked a matron of Rabbi José, 'did God steal a rib from Adam?' 'Steal, did you say?' replied the Sage. 'If one were to take away from your house an ounce of silver, and give you in return a pound of gold, that would not be stealing from you.' 'But,' Persisted his friend, 'what need was there for secrecy?' 'It was surely better,' replied R. José, 'to present Eve to Adam when she was quite presentable, and when no traces of the effects of the operation were visible.' (Genesis Rabba 17)
GOSPEL: After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb (of Jesus).There was a violent earthquake, for an Angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow...The Angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples'...So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy...Suddenly Jesus met them. 'Greetings,' he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. (Matthew 28:1-9)

TALMUD: That woman exercises more influence over man than he possesses over woman was illustrated by a couple who were famous for their piety, but who were eventually divorced. The man married a woman of questionable habits, and soon copied her conduct and became like his new wife, conspicuous for his evil deeds; whilst the divorced woman married a notorious sinner, and converted him into a pious man. (Genesis Rabba 17)
GOSPEL: A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is-that she is a sinner.' Jesus answered him, 'Simon, I have something to tell you'...Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, 'Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven-as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.' Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.' (Luke 7:37-48)

TALMUD: Dreams, something like prophecy, are the offspring of imaginations and comparisons which we may form whilst awake. (Genesis Rabba 17)
GOSPEL: So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, 'Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?'...While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, 'Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.' (Matthew 27:17-19)

TALMUD: Dreams, something like prophecy, are the offspring of imaginations and comparisons which we may form while awake. (Genesis Rabba 17)
GOSPEL: On coming to the house, they (three wise men) saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. (Matthew 2:11-13)

TALMUD: Sleepiness and laziness in a man are the beginning of his misfortune. (Genesis Rabba 17)
GOSPEL: Then Jesus went back to his followers and found them asleep. He said to Peter, 'You men could not stay awake with me for one hour? Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. The spirit wants to do what is right, but the body is weak'...Then he went back to his followers, and again he found them asleep, because their eyes were heavy. So Jesus left them and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing. Then Jesus went back to his followers and said, 'Are you still sleeping and resting? The time has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to sinful people. Get up, we must go.' (Matthew 26:40-46)

TALMUD: Man in celibacy is in sublime ignorance of what is meant by the words good, hell, joy, blessing, peace and expiation of sin. He is, in fact, not entitled to the dignified name of man. (Genesis Rabba 17)
GOSPEL: 'The only reason for a man to divorce his wife is if his wife has sexual relations with another man.' The followers said to him, 'If that is the only reason a man can divorce his wife, it is better not to marry.' Jesus answered, 'Not everyone can accept this teaching, but God has made some able to accept it. There are different reasons why some men cannot marry. Some men were born without the ability to become fathers. Others were made that way later in life by other people. And some men have given up marriage because of the kingdom of Heaven. But the person who can marry should accept this teaching about marriage.' (Matthew 19:9-12)

TALMUD: Rabbi Meier wrote a scroll for his own use, on the margin of which he wrote, in connexion with the words: 'And God saw that it was good,' 'This means death, which is the passing from life transitory to life everlasting.' - Genesis Rabba 9
GOSPEL: Then Jesus said to his disciples: 'If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it. For what does it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?' (Matthew 16:24-26)

May the LORD God bless you in the name of the Judeo-Christian tradition.