Ooops! I am NOT the one in which you should be talking to .. though I can give my own view of it (but that is all it is, my view). I am not Jewish ... only, I can see where it is the content of your thread would have offended others (and believe me, I only recognize offense given that I am the expert at being an offender of others though it is NEVER my intent ... honestly).
Personally, I was quite impressed,
not with the whole of it particularly the op, *bites nails,* but rather with the part you mentioned of Jesus being an "angel" due to the words attributed to him ... that is why I have pointed out Exodus 23.
I do not believe in the after life that most of the superstitious hold to and rather, I believe that there is the spirit in the words of the great that lives on. In Exodus 23, it seems to me that the angel that Moses would be alluding to for the People would be just that ... and given verse 7 and 8 and what it is most would believe of Jesus ... well, the warning makes it all that much more a possibility in my mind.
But keep it in your head that I do not believe Jesus is alive as the Christians teach, only the spirit of the People can be found in the words attributed to him (for the most part) .. and in that sense, the spirit of the People reaches out to the world. I 100% agree w/ verses 7 and 8 .. human sacrifice is barbaric and I do not believe that it justifies ANYONE and rather is a mark against those who would accept such. Then, that Jesus said that it was not his will to die, I think that looking at his life and the People in which he loved and was clear he came for (even he was clear it was not for the world) is enough to realize that anyone who TRULY believes him would support the People, Israel, and their ways of living (including their laws as it applies to them, a special People, and not all of mankind ... though, why anyone WOULD NOT accept them is beyond me as they teach Wisdom that is so deep as to, certainly, be of Divine origin, IMHO).
When the focus is placed on his life, the picture is MUCH different than that which is generally painted when the focus is placed on his death. The latter has caused GREAT harm. The cross? <--- well, that was merely something I wanted to point out as a symbol of the harm that mankind has caused the Jewish People and not only one of their own. That, the cross, is not something that we should look at with admiration and rather, as the rest of the world, with shame for what it is we have put them through. Do you not believe that Jesus would agree given that he was hardly the only one suffered in such a way, even clearly getting out of it much more quickly than others of the Jewish did? Not to undermine his suffering as his suffering is what affected me so greatly as to make me sit up and take note of something being SO wrong w/ the mentality of so many that they would promote and glory in such torture of ANY ONE .. especially someone who most agree was good. :sad:
Anyway, I did not take it that you meant to offend anyone. I do not hold the cards to know what anyone else would say of it ... only ...
well, how would you feel if several of those you loved were tortured to death in horrific ways and yet only one was held up ... and not as an example of what we should NOT do to others, but as an example of why it is human sacrifice supposedly paid off?
The People, Israel, is the Messiah .. that is, the annointed .. according to the Scriptures that Jesus not only taught from (the Tanach) but also confirmed as seen in Matthew 5:17-19. To lift up one above the other is to deny the GORGEOUS work that is of God ...
but, so as to not offend anyone else ... that is not to debate. Only that is my opinion. Not the opinion held to of everyone else and even I know all too well how in the minority I am in my ways of thinking .. then, I understand why it would be that my thoughts are rarely taken seriously. If you think I am wrong, then in your head I assure you, I am. I can live with it and thus, I will no longer be responding to this thread. There are others who are, I am quite sure, better suited to discussing this with you than I would be.
Good luck on your search. :yes: