“Once upon a time a Preacher, Professor &
Rabbi . . .” sounds like the beginning of a good joke, but in this case it is
the beginning of a twenty-five journey. I am the preacher, Dr. Ike Tennison is the Professor and the Rabbi is Jeffrey Leynor. Our destination was to
more accurately understand the words of our Bibles and the histories of our
religions – Christianity and Judaism.
We specifically wanted to focus on the first century CE when both of our
religions were Jewish sects and part of Second Temple Judaism and learn more
about how one of those sects – the Jesus
Movement – became a universal Gentile religion, and the other – the Pharisees – became Rabbinic Judaism.
What we discovered, however, is much more important than what we planned.
Today, the social bonds that are required to hold Americans together and make
it possible for our democracy to exist are breaking down and many of the
problems we face – political, economic
and religious – are the result. We believe that what we discovered on our
journey has the power to strengthen those bonds and bring Americans together --
especially those with Judeo-Christian values
and heritages. Click on “Once upon a
time a Preacher, Professor & Rabbi” at -- http://www.myerscommunications.us/biblical-heritage-center-resources-page.html
The witnesses, laying their coats at the feet of Saul, were the men that would cast the first stones at Stephen in Acts 7. Why did they all lay their coats at Saul’s feet? The Talmud contains a very interesting account of the act of stoning that may provide the answer. “When the trial was over, they take him [the condemned person] out to be stoned. The place of stoning was at a distance from the court, as it is said, ‘Take out the one who has cursed.’ [i] A man stands at the entrance of the court; in his hand is a signaling flag [Hebrew sudarin = sudar , ‘scarf, sweater’]. A horseman was stationed far away but within sight of him. If one [of the judges] says, ‘I have something [more] to say in his favor,’ he [the signaler] waves the sudarin , and the horseman runs and stops them [from stoning him]. Even if [the condemned person] himself says, ‘I have something to say in my favor,’ they bring him back, even four of five times, only provided that there is some substance to...
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