The ancient Jews had one view of the Law as it was written. It was not ambiguous because the Law spelled everything out very concisely.
This is just nonsense. The law is NOT spelled out precisely. For example, we are not to work on the Shabbat. But the Torah never defines work. It took the religious authorities to nail down what precisely work was, so that we didn't run into the problem of one person interpreting it one way and another interpreting it another way.
And even with the Sanhedrin ironing things out, there were many details about the Shabbat that were still left unanswered even in Jesus day. You see Jesus arguing the school of Hillel position and the Pharisees of the school of Shammai arguing a different one.
There were no extremes in worship either way back then because the law did not allow for it
Sure there was. What do you think the Nazarite vows were, except a God sanctioned expression for extremists who wanted to go above and beyond?
It was when sects began to appear that the Jews lost the plot. By the time of Christ's appearance, the Pharisees had so altered and added to the meaning of God's written law by their ridiculous interpretations of it, that when Jesus came (around 400 years after the last prophet was sent to God's wayward people) there was 400 years worth of deviation that had crept in and Judaism was fractured into disunited sects, like it is to this day. The Pharisees had taken their own manufactured traditions and passed them off as Law. The people knew nothing else. So when Jesus exposed the Pharisees for the religious frauds that they were, it threw the whole Jewish nation into turmoil. But interestingly, Jesus was not sent to the leaders of Judaism, but to those who were "lost" because of them. He gathered these lost ones and led them to the truth of God's word.....something that had become out of reach for them because of the attitude of the Jewish leaders. Any wonder they hated Jesus enough to want him dead!
Wow, such vitriol.
Let's start with your accusal that the Oral Torah (which did not begin with the Pharisees) adds to the Torah. It does not. It clarifies the Torah -- Oral Torah is to Torah as Case Study is to Law. But what is even more important than the obvious logical necessity of Oral tradition, is the fact that God himself set it up in Deuteronomy 17:8-13.
ח כִּי יִפָּלֵא מִמְּךָ דָבָר לַמִּשְׁפָּט, בֵּין-דָּם לְדָם בֵּין-דִּין לְדִין וּבֵין נֶגַע לָנֶגַע--דִּבְרֵי רִיבֹת, בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ: וְקַמְתָּ וְעָלִיתָ--אֶל-הַמָּקוֹם, אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בּוֹ.
8 If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, even matters of controversy within thy gates; then shalt thou arise, and get thee up unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose.
ט וּבָאתָ, אֶל-הַכֹּהֲנִים הַלְוִיִּם, וְאֶל-הַשֹּׁפֵט, אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם; וְדָרַשְׁתָּ וְהִגִּידוּ לְךָ, אֵת דְּבַר הַמִּשְׁפָּט.
9 And thou shall come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days; and thou shalt inquire; and they shall declare unto thee the sentence of judgment.
י וְעָשִׂיתָ, עַל-פִּי הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר יַגִּידוּ לְךָ, מִן-הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא, אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר יְהוָה; וְשָׁמַרְתָּ לַעֲשׂוֹת, כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר יוֹרוּךָ.
10 And thou shalt do according to the tenor of the sentence, which they shall declare unto thee from that place which the LORD shall choose; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they shall teach thee.
יא עַל-פִּי הַתּוֹרָה אֲשֶׁר יוֹרוּךָ, וְעַל-הַמִּשְׁפָּט אֲשֶׁר-יֹאמְרוּ לְךָ--תַּעֲשֶׂה: לֹא תָסוּר, מִן-הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר-יַגִּידוּ לְךָ--יָמִין וּשְׂמֹאל.
11 According to the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do; thou shalt not turn aside from the sentence which they shall declare unto thee, to the right hand, nor to the left.
יב וְהָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר-יַעֲשֶׂה בְזָדוֹן, לְבִלְתִּי שְׁמֹעַ אֶל-הַכֹּהֵן הָעֹמֵד לְשָׁרֶת שָׁם אֶת-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, אוֹ, אֶל-הַשֹּׁפֵט--וּמֵת הָאִישׁ הַהוּא, וּבִעַרְתָּ הָרָע מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל.
12 And the man that doeth presumptuously, in not hearkening unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die; and thou shalt exterminate the evil from Israel.
יג וְכָל-הָעָם, יִשְׁמְעוּ וְיִרָאוּ; וְלֹא יְזִידוּן, עוֹד. {ס}
13 And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.
So when it is necessary for the understanding of the law, the religious authorities, such as the Levites and the Elders/Judges/Pharisees/Rabbis (as they are called in their respective ages) have God given authority to establish these traditions that have the force of God-given law. Jews are required by God not to even question them.
As to "wanting Jesus dead," you have to understand that Caiphus was corrupt as were his cronies. He was so corrupt that the Talmud remembers him as notoriously corrupt. If you take your own gospels at their word, you will note that the religious trial of Jesus was not the full Sanhedrin and was done illegally. It was a farce. The Sanhedrin cannot be blamed for it, nor can Jewish law.
Finally, they did not themselves put Jesus to death for blasphemy. It was the Romans who put Jesus to death for riling up the people with his messiah talk. So if you want to blame someone for his death, look solidly to the Romans, who were notorious for these sorts of executions.
"I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness!’"
This is basically what Jesus also told the Pharisees. (Matthew 23:37-39)
I'm not sure if I've said this to you before or not, but although I find the Christian Scriptures (what you call the NT) intellectually interesting, they are no authority to me. I think they mix history with legend, and are theologically corrupt.
So what is a Jew? Is it a religion or a nationality?
A Jew is a member of a TRIBE, the Children of Israel. The easiest way to become a member of this tribe is simply to be born into it. However, as with most tribes, people are sometimes adopted in. With us, this is done via conversion to Judaism. Iow, this conversion process doesn't mean that you merely take on the religion, but also that you become a member of the tribe, b'nei Yisrael.
[/quote]Can you stop being God's people?[/quote]
No, you cannot stop being a Jew. Even if you become a terrible sinner, you are still part of God's people, the Children of Israel. If you are born a Jew and grow up to be an atheist or a Buddhist, you are still a Jew. If you apostatize and lose all rights as a Jew, you are still technically a Jew.
And again, what John the Baptist says, holds no authority on the matter. Jewish halakha (Jewish Law) is the only authority on this issue. How would you like it if Mormons came around and started telling you who was and who was not a "real" Christian?
True worship is identified by its unity and balance....never by its unbalanced extremes.
If true worship is identified by its unity, then Christianity is out of the running.
The apostles who were present saw Jesus as the glorious King of God's kingdom. His promise was fulfilled, just not as you think it should have been. It was a "vision" that they were forbidden to speak about until after Jesus' death and resurrection.
I don't buy this. Not in the slightest. The Kingdom of God is known in the heavens, where the angels and the celestial bodies like the stars and planets, all obey God's commands. That is not true here on earth -- YET. Someday that will change, and the Kingdom of God will exist here on earth, but like I said, it hasn't happened yet, that much is obvious.