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Jesus was Jewish, but Christians aren't
(lemmy.world)
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this post was submitted on 24 Sep 2025
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There's some line in the New Testamant that absolves Christians of the obligation to observe the laws of Kashrut and whatnot, if I recall, but I couldn't tell you where it is or how exhaustive it is.
- Matthew 5:17 KJV
To be a follower of Jesus, which is what the disciples originally called themselves, you would need to observe the law... IE, follow the original kosher laws and such.
The real (historical) reasons why Christians don't follow Jesus's religious traditions, come from an ease of assimilation. The Catholic church assimilated pagans into the religion, and it was easier to do so by telling them they don't have to change their current traditions, and that they just have to celebrate Easter, for example, for the birth of Christ and not as a celebration of the goddess of war, love, and fertility.
There are movements that try to go back to this core belief, though. Jews for Jesus and Messianic Judaism are two such movements, where they celebrate Judaism nearly in its entirety, while also believing Jesus was their savior and following his teachings. Truly an interesting, seemingly contradictory, mix of views.
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I am fully aware that there are disagreements on whether or not Catholicism is Christianity or even whether it's a monotheistic or polytheistic religion, and, as such, whether the Catholic assimilations of pagans were relevant to Christianity as a whole. But, honestly, I couldn't care less. In the wise words of Shepherd Book, "I don’t care what you believe in, just believe in it".
I think it goes a bit deeper than just ease of assimilation. A big part of Paul's ministry was the idea that only Jesus can provide salvation, which implies that following all the laws can not. At least that was my understanding based on what I remember reading.
But what does that even mean? Jesus comes to you and holds you by the hand into salvation? Or following the teachings of Jesus does? Because if that's so, then you'd also have to follow the law, right? Paul is a trickster.
Exactly. The letter to the Romans or Acts 15 for instance. Im not defending Christianity, to be clear, I'm defending Lemmy from nonsense. I'm a card holding Satanist.
But like...would Jesus have been cool with that?
In his words, seemingly fine with it; Two commandments
This doesn't appear to include anything about allowing religious freedoms in the sense of the question. It's not "you dont have to be Jewish"
The reference just says "the most important thing is to love god and your neighbor"
This is one of the parts they use. Knowing what to look for I prompted these: Hebrews 8:13: "By calling this covenant ‘new,’ he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear". Jeremiah 31:31-33: "The days are coming… when I will make a new covenant... I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they will be My people". 2 Corinthians 3:6-11: Contrasts the "ministry of death" (Old Covenant) with the more glorious "ministry of the Spirit" (New Covenant). Romans 8:2: "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death". Galatians 5:4: "You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace". Colossians 2:16-17: Advises not to be judged by Old Covenant regulations on food, festivals, or Sabbaths, as these were a "shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ". Matthew 22:36-40: "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets". In this passage, Jesus summarizes the entire law into two commands: love God and love your neighbor. Christian theology understands this not as a replacement of the law, but as Jesus revealing its core purpose. The New Covenant, which emphasizes a transformed heart and life by the Holy Spirit, is seen as the means by which believers are now empowered to fulfill this ultimate intent of the law. Acts 15:10-11, 19-20: Documents the conclusion of the Council of Jerusalem, which decided that Gentile believers were saved by grace and were not required to observe most of the Mosaic Law.
TLDR: New Covenant updated the rules
Who could say? Not me. Maybe a theologian
I mean, for the line in the New Testament to have any authority it'd have had to come from Jesus himself, so presumably yes.