1.9 I won't betray my ancestors! I won't forsake the faith of my fathers!
This is a noble sentiment, and G-d appreciates the fact that you honor the memory of your forefathers. . .If we truly love our family and our heritage, then the most noble thing we can possibly do is be faithful to G-d and the Messiah at any cost. In the end, we will be the shining lights in our family history. And when you say, "I can't forsake the faith of my fathers," I remind you, Abraham did.
1. Note that he puts the messiah and G-d on the same level. "At all costs we must be faithful to G-d AND the messiah."
Where is this in the Torah? Again, this is Brown speaking as if HE were G-d. As if HE were the one who knows right from wrong and not Torah.
2. Note that Brown ignores the fact that we are told repeatedly in Torah that "G-d is one", "G-d is not a man," and that the Jewish covenant with G-d is eternal. We are to throw away Torah, and the covenants G-d made with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses.
Why?
Because Brown says so. Because Abraham turned away from his father's religion of idol worship, we should turn away from the G-d of Israel and return to idol worship of J-sus. . .Because Brown says so.
Brown goes on in this section to equate Xianity with Chassidism and Reform Judaism. Brown says (page 26):
What if your ancestors were incorrect in some of their positions and traditions?
This seems to follow in line with many Xians who seem to think one must be perfect and if our ancestors (or us) make one mis-step in mitzvot we are somehow damning our souls. Somehow if one minhag is wrong, we should just throw all of Torah and Judaism away and become idolaters worshipping the man-god who died 2000 years ago without fulfilling even one messianic prophecy.
Then Brown tries the emotional pull -- the old fear factor of "if you don't believe in J-sus you'll burn in hell" routine. From page 27:
"Alwyas emember that you will have to live with your choices forever, and when you die and stand before G-d, no one -- not your mother, or father, or sister, or brother, or son or daughter -- will be there to hold your hand. Will you be able to look G-d in the face and say, "I felt deep down in my heart that J-sus was our messiah, but I didnt want to seem disloyal to my family. Instead, I chose to be disloyal to you."
Talk about your guilt trip! By following Torah and G-d's word (which the Xians also say is G-d's word) you were disloyal to G-d! How? By believing Him when He said not to worship gods you did not know at Sinai.
By believing Him when He said he stood alone. When He said He was one. When He said He was not a man.
All emotional. All fears about hell and damnation and disappointing G-d by doing the very things G-d tells us to do!
Brown goes on to say that most Jews rejected Chassdism and also Zionism -- so the fact that most Jews now reject Xianity means you should embrace it!
"Who was right and who was wrong?"
As if to say two wrongs make a right, or a right makes a wrong.
And nowhere does he support any of what he says in 1.9. Brown gets only one thing right in 1.9. He says:
page 34.The bottom line is that truth is truth.
Yes it is. But 1.9 is nothing more than Brown's opinions wrapped in a lot of fear mongering. The truth can be found in the Torah.
