Many people interpret Ephesians 2:14 as teaching that the Torah [Law] was done away with so that Jew and non-Jew could be “one new man” in Yeshua. Is this what Paul was teaching? This paper looks at the context, the grammar, and the words of the text in order to properly interpret the passage. 16 pages
Link to article by Tim Hegg (you will be directed to a PDF file on his site.)
You might begin reading on page three and skip the introduction which has little to do with the Text.
This is very detailed, so if you like to have all of the possible support for a position, this will be it.
Sean Daily
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Sean,
I just discovered your blog. The question you are posing is the very question I have contemplating for the past year or so. Thanks for all the time and effort you put into this site. I will be spending a lot of time here in the next few months reviewing all the good information. I am curious to know where you are personally landing, after your 6+ years of examination of this question. For me, it’s hard to discount the careful treatment of the Text by the Hebrews Root movement, but it is so contrary to our standard Christian teachings. It has been hard to get most Christian scholars to do a serious examination of the Hebrew Roots viewpoint, because it is so different that it is often discounted without due consideration. I wish I had a year or two of free time to assume the Hebrew Roots viewpoint and study all Paul’s writings in depth to see for myself if there are any inconsistancies. All for now.
Thanks again.
Wyn Laidig
Wyn,
I am sorry for the late response. We have been exceptionally busy here and on top of that, I can’t seem to get the blog comments to work on blogger.com through my computer.
As far has your questions:
1) “Where do you stand personally after this long?” I land with Tim Hegg and Daniel Lancaster. Not that I do not disagree on some finer minute points, but the basic structure is the same. I came from a Dutch Reformed viewpoint. The replacement theology I disagreed with even when I was young. When I began to seek out these questions seriously, I took so long because a) these issues shouldn’t be taken lightly; b) I mostly expected to show them wrong, but found them to be right. In other words, from a scientific perspective, my hypothesis was proven to be wrong; c) I am very busy with life and so I do not have the time and resources to do this full time. I have journeyed mostly with a group of others who, to this day, do not all agree fully on everything.
2) “It has been hard to get most Christian Scholars to seriously examine this view point.” I have had discussions with “serious” Christian Scholars and I have found them to fall in three categories. 1) dismissive, 2) un able to handle this discussion past the basics. They simply do not have a good grasp of the topic. And yes, these are good seminary trained teachers/pastors. 3) They agree with much of the Hebrew Roots approach with some differences mostly to do with the so called “identity” laws. Such scholars as NT Wright, EP Sanders, Craig Evans and the like. These are individuals who really know what they are doing, especially Evans who is known and respected in every camp (that I found).
3) “I wish I had a year or two.” Unless you have a terminal illness, you do. This is a journey, not a destination. You actually will never “arrive” at your “goal” excepting the goal who is Messiah. But even once you reach Jesus, the journey just begins. Our “Greek” mind generally sees study with the end product in mind, but the “Hebraic” mind sees study as a journey. This is not to say one is over and above superior to the other, but keep in mind that as far as your “walk” with God is concerned, you are on a journey…a walk.
4) “Study Paul’s writings in depth.” Email me and I will give you a list of books that will help. Also, I will discuss this more specifically if you wish. You’re the very type of person I had in mind when I started this, but I do want to keep this blog a bit more open ended than simply preaching a specific idea. Therefore, once I know you read this, I will probably delete most of this comment and turn it into a more generic post. I can be reached at baruch0517@yahoo.com. This is an email that I check only periodically, but I like my anonymity, so it will have to do.
Sean
Hey Sean,
Love you commentaries so far. Hopefully I’ll get some time to study them some more in the coming weeks. Have you ever heard of or listened to George Gordon? And can you email me a list of books you recommend.
Thanks
- Truthsource