Q&A: Theology
Theology
Question
Hello Rabbi
Does the Rabbi think that the Christian belief that God became incarnate in flesh is idolatry?
It seems that Jesus’ appearance on the stage of history דווקא fits the prophecies of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh):
“Hear, all you peoples; listen, O earth and all that fills it; and let the Lord God be witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple. For behold, the Lord is coming forth from His place; He will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.”
Alongside the defined role of the messiah in bringing salvation, Scripture assigns salvation exclusively to God: “I, I am the Lord, and besides Me there is no savior.” (Isaiah 43:11). “For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” (Isaiah 43:3). “And I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt; you know no god but Me, and besides Me there is no savior.” (Hosea 13:4)
“For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; He will save us.” (Isaiah 33:22) If God comes to save the world from within the world, is it not reasonable that He would reveal Himself as the messiah?
The Sages believed in two messiahs, one a victorious king who brings peace, and the other poor, suffering, and dying; Christianity believes that this is the same messiah who simply appears twice.
Of course, there is the issue of abolishing the commandments, but Jesus himself says that he did not come to abolish anything from the Torah.
What does the Rabbi think?
Answer
There are lots of things that fit the prophecies in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh). That proves nothing. Your interpretations are a great proof of that. You decided that God is the savior without any intermediary. But that’s just an arbitrary decision. By the same token, He could save through someone.
As for incarnation in flesh and the rest of these theological statements, none of that says anything to me. They are just words. So there is no point discussing whether this is heresy or not.