Just so the Jews don't feel left out at Easter!

Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know!) and is available at the web site www.God-101.com

Visit the blog "Perspective" at http://God-101.blogspot.com

The Church of Allan - The Plain Truth About God

A serialization of the book, The Plain Truth About God.

Chapter 8. Let My People Go!

Of all the civilizations archaeologists have studied there seems to be a special interest in the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians.

This is probably because Babylon and Assyria had a close connection with the world that was depicted in the Old Testament of the Bible.

A great part of archaeology revolves around attempts by people to find records of this culture that lend support to their faith in the Bible.

So much so, that with the beginning of a critical study of the Bible, questions were posed as to the accuracy of many of the passages that had been considered historical fact instead of the metaphorical stories they were intended to be. (See forward: by Dr. Burton L. Mack)

It was this desire to find corroboration of the Biblical narrative that first started scholars on their search throughout the Babylonian and Assyrian area of the Middle East.

It was known from the Old Testament that there was a close relationship between the civilizations of the Hebrew and the Babylonian-Assyrian people.

Abraham himself had become a migrant to the west when he left the Babylonian city of Ur after the Assyrians and Babylonians became a political threat to the independence of the Hebrew people.

The ten northern tribes of the Hebrews were eventually dispersed by the Assyrians, while a small group continued in Babylonian captivity.

With the superior force of their enemies, the Hebrews were to begin their Exile, much as they had endured the Exodus about 600 years before.

The Babylonians, much like the Assyrians and the Egyptians had many writings that were in the nature of scripture but they never set aside a specific book that was described as having Divine origin.

It is without doubt that there was much borrowing between the Hebrews and Babylonians though, and from this “borrowing,” we have a remarkable similarity between Babylonian and Egyptian stories.

1. The creation and flood story
2. Hymns and prayers
3. Ritual texts
4. Their legal code and -
5. Omens, all of which find some correspondence in the Bible.

** Moses came down from the mountain carrying two stone tablets. Today he would have gotten the information over the Internet and on a CD disc! -A.W. J.

Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Chaldeans and the Babylonian empire, started to deport most of the prominent citizens of Judah about 597 B.C.E., and by 586, B.C.E. Judah ceased to be an independent kingdom.

Although most of the professionals, priests, artisans and the wealthy were deported, the “people of the land” were allowed to stay and then gathered in a single place by Nebuchadnezzar.

These people called themselves the “Gola.” (Exiles) They forged a new national identity and a new religion that was a reworking of the cult of Yahweh.

These “exiles” lived in a time of despair and loneliness that was brought about by the realization that the ‘Exile’ itself was unexplainable.

Hebrew history had been built on the promise of Yahweh (God) protecting them and using them for his purposes throughout human history.

This defeat and the loss of land promised to them by Yahweh implied that their faith in him was somehow misplaced.

This crisis, when their view of reality and the fact of reality did not match, resulted in a most profound despair.

It eventually led to a reworking of the Hebrew “world-view” that had existed until then.

Biblical texts such as Lamentations, Job, and many of the Psalms were written at this time.

Job in particular, an upright deserving man, is made to suffer the worst series of calamities possible.

When he finally despairs and states that there is no cosmic justice, the only answer he receives is that humans should not question God’s will!

Out of shear necessity, the Jews of Babylon had to re-make themselves.

They grew to blame the disaster of the Exile on their own impurity and lack of direction in following the word of Yahweh.

They had betrayed God and allowed their laws and practices to become corrupt.
Their exile was the final proof of God’s displeasure.

It was during this period that the direction and emphasis of the Jewish faith changed from a religion of judgment to a theology of salvation.

In texts such as Isaiah and Ezekiel there was talk of a purified and renewed faith where the Israelites would be gathered together in a purified religion and just society.

They talked about the re-establishment of a Davidic kingdom.

It was also during this period of resurgence in Jewish tradition that the Torah started to take its final shape and became the central text of the Jewish faith, helped along by “Cyrus the Persian.”

When “Cyrus the Great” conquered Mesopotamia around 535 BCE, he set in motion a series of events that was to shape the Jewish people and faith for all time!

The Persian people before that time (1000-800 B.C.E.) were a rag-tag group of tribes living north of Mesopotamia and part of the widespread group of Indo-European families.

The Mesopotamians had considered them no better than animals and they were largely ignored.

All this changed about 750 BCE when the followers of the “prophet” Zarathustra, already well entrenched in other areas of the Middle East, came to the fore in this area as well.

They spread their religion of Zoroastrianism which stated that Cosmic history was simply the epic battle between the two Divine forces of good and evil.

At the end time, a climactic battle would decide, once and for all, which of the two forces would dominate the universe.

Human beings were part of this struggle, as well as all the gods and religions.

Cyrus the Great was a follower of Zarathustra and set out to conquer not only the Middle East, but also the entire world.

He did this out of a wish to guarantee his territorial safety by conquering potential enemies, but he also wanted the whole world united for religious reasons.

Cyrus believed that the final battle between good and evil (The End Time) was fast approaching and the legions of humanity had to be brought to the side of the good forces.

He sought to conquer the entire known world, much like Alexander the Great did some few hundred years later.

Cyrus was the greatest conqueror the world had ever seen up to that point and his empire reached a sized never before imagined by anyone.

He was wondering about the circumstances for the Armageddon to come and believed that the Hebrew God “Yahweh” was aligned on the side of good and visited him one night in a vision.

In this vision he was commanded to re-establish Yahweh worship in Jerusalem and rebuild the temple there.

After the temple was rebuilt, Cyrus ordered the Jews in Babylon to return to Jerusalem and worship Yahweh for the forgiveness of their sins.

At the same time during this Exile, the Jews had set about “purifying” their religion and were attempting to return to the laws and cultic practices of their Mosaic origins.

This newfound concern with cultic purity and the Mosaic laws, combined with the re-establishment of Judah as a theological state, produced a totally different society from what had gone on before.

The Jews had adapted many things from the Persians and included these elements into their religion as well. This attempt to purify their faith resulted in a belief in a dualistic universe.

In early history everything happened from two forces, Yahweh and human will.

Now, in an effort to make sense of the Exile, the Hebrews adapted the Persian idea that the universe is composed of two opposite forces, one good, and the other evil!

This development closely followed the Zoroastrian concept of duality, which was now the foundation of their faith. Therefore, after the Babylonian exile, the Hebrews talk of an evil force opposed to God, which became the “Devil” in Christianity.

Before the Exile, the Hebrews believed that the soul of a person lived on for a short time before fading completely from existence, thus making it a this-world religion.

The Persians, meanwhile, believed the souls of good people would re-unite with the forces of good in eternal bliss and the souls of evil people would reunite with the forces of darkness until the final defeat of Evil.

This view of the afterlife that was adapted by the Hebrews explained all the suffering of this life, such as the Exile, and made it apparent that cosmic justice was apparent only after one’s death rather than during their lifetime.

This laid the foundation of the Judaism we have today!

Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know!) and is available at the web site www.God-101.com

Visit the blog "Perspective" at http://God-101.blogspot.com

JEWS! or, The Chosen People say; "Choose Someone Else!"

I just got a letter from a reader today asking a question I hadn't really thought about too much!

Basically what this person wanted to know was why I picked on, (or ran down) Muslims and Christians but had very little to say about the Jews?

After a bit of thought I came up with the answer......the Jews don't really cause any trouble.

They don't discriminate against other religions. They don't bother people who are of a different religion. They don't consider it their duty to convert other people to their beliefs or kill them if they don't convert. They don't bomb other faiths like the Northern Irish or the Arabs do. They don't run around claiming that science is garbage and only their interpretation of the world is relevant. They don't start wars but simply defend themselves when necessary.

In fact, the only negative thing I can say about the Jews is that they are always letting other people know that they are Jews and are different!

Now there is a reason for this! The concept of being different and apart from society is born out of the fact that they regard themselves as "The Chosen Ones" and are set apart from other people by God.

This belief has been the Jews biggest blessing and also their biggest curse over the years.

It has been a blessing because this sense of being different and apart from others is what has kept the Jews together over all these thousands of years when they didn't have a country or homeland to call their own.

Without their pride in being Jewish this group would have been assimilated by other cultures and religions a long time ago, and their race and religion would have been dispersed in the wind.

On the other hand it has also been their biggest curse because this attitude of being different and even "better" than others has made them disliked and even hated over the years.

Anti-Semitism is a direct result of this attitude and has been a stone around the neck of Jews since antiquity.

Isn't it ironic that a concept and a way of living can be such a curse and blessing all at the same time.

And who says God doesn't have a sense of humor!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Actually, from my book "The plain truth about God!" God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh!)

On top of everything else, this news release was sent to the "Perspective" research department and came in a few minutes ago!

Jerusalem Update — Jews, whose troubled, 10,000-year term as God's "chosen people" finally expired last night, woke up this morning to find that they had once again been hand-picked by the Almighty.

Synagogues across the globe declared a day of mourning.

Asked if the descendants of Abraham shouldn't be pleased about being tapped for an unprecedented second term, Jerusalem Rabbi Ben Meyerson shrugged. "Of course, you are right, we should be thrilled," he said. "We should also enjoy a good swift kick in the head, but for some reason, we don't.

"Now don't ask such questions until you watch the news, or read history, or at least rent 'Fiddler on the Roof'."

Much of the world's re-blessed Jewish community shared that feeling. "It's always been considered a joke with us. You know, 'Please God, next time choose someone else,' ha ha," said New York City resident David Bashert.

"Ha. Ha ha," Bashert added. "Shit."

According to a worldwide survey of faiths, not a single group expressed an interest in being chosen, and the only application submitted before last night's filing deadline, on behalf of the Islamic people, proved to be a fake.

"Somebody filled out a form and signed our name to it, but I guarantee it wasn't us," said Imam Yusuf Al Muhammed of Medina, Saudi Arabia. "I'm not going to say who it was, but the application was filled out in Hebrew."

"Oh, don't be such a k'vatsh," responded Meyerson. "It's only 10,000 years. Trust me, after a few diaspora, you would have gotten used to the universal hatred thing."

Due to the absence of voluntary candidates, God's Law stipulated that the Almighty had to choose a people at random to serve out the next 10-millenia term. Elias Contreau, director of the International Interfaith Working Group, said he wasn't surprised it came to a blind drawing.

"According to the Bible, God promised to bless Abraham and those who came after him," said Contreau. "Who knows, maybe that sounded good at the time, or maybe 'blessed' meant something different back then, like 'Short periods of prosperity interrupted by insufferable friggin' chaos.' Whatever, I think it's safe to say that people didn't know what they were agreeing to."

Now they do, Contreau added, which he said explains why so many religions had lately been exalting God's existence, but downplaying their own.

"We were not avoiding Him. We just told our parishioners that if Anyone asks, we're out," insisted Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. George Carey, who had called off services during February. "Besides, we weren't the only ones. I didn't see the Hindus raising their hands."

"Now look, it's like we told the ethereal vision who dropped off the application, 'Sure, we have a strong shared faith and all that, but I wouldn't exactly say we're a 'people,' not really,'" recalled Hindu leader Samuldrala Swami Maharaj of Calcutta. "Plus, you know, I told him we had a lot of other commitments. We'd like to help, honestly. Another time, maybe."

In Jerusalem, Jewish leaders said they will propose an amendment to God's Law prohibiting a people from having to serve more than two consecutive terms. "Hopefully, God will hear our prayer," said Meyerson. "No, wait, that's what got us into this."

Americans, meanwhile, expressed outrage at the decision, saying they had assumed they were God's chosen people. However, explained Archbishop Carey, "It only seems that way because so many people don't like you."

Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God at www.God-101.com and the blog "Perspective" at http://God-101.blogspot.com

The difference between Jews and Arabs.

A lot of Jews and Arabs look alike because they have the same general ancestry, but, it is the cultural differences that set them apart.

This was driven home to me a few days ago and also explains why the Arabs can't beat the Jews in a war even though they outnumber them many times over.

Here's the scoop! I was listening to a rabbi on CBC radio explaining what (over and above the standard Provincial school curriculum) is taught in a Jewish school in Toronto.

He explained that one of the most important lessons taught in the Torah was a quote that said; (I have to para-phrase here!.) "God is great, but don't expect God to do things for you with miracles. God helps those who help themselves!!"

The cultural difference was brought to light by my wife (who spent over two years in Saudi Arabia) who said; "In the Arab world everything revolves around "Insha'Allah."

In šaʾ Allāh (إن شاء الله) is an Arabic term evoked by Arabic speakers to indicate hope for an aforementioned event to occur in the future. The phrase translates into English as "God willing" or "If it is God's will".

The term is also related to another Arabic term, Mā šāʾ Allāh (ما شاء الله), which means "God has willed it".

This word is often used to indicate a desire to do something that you wish may occur. This also provides Allah's blessing on what you are about to do. For example, if you want to do something, in particular if you know that it is very hard to achieve, you invoke Allah's blessing before it occurs or before you set out to do it.

Muslim scholar Ibn Abbas stated that it is in fact obligatory for a Muslim to say Insha'Allah when referring to something he or she intends to do in the future. If carelessness leads to the omission of the phrase, it may be said at a later time upon the realization of the omission.

BUT! Here is the important part. This phrase imparts an attitude of "Laissez-faire " on the speaker because if they don't get around to it or don't feel like it then of course it is "Insha'Allah," or God's will and therefore not their fault.


One attitude(Jewish) sets you up for success, and the other(Muslim) pre-supposes failure.

And there is the difference.

Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God at www.God-101.com and the blog "Perspective" at http://God-101.blogspot.com

Islam Undermining Britain From the Inside.

Nearly half of Britain’s mosques are under the control of a radical Islamic sect whose leading preacher strongly opposes Western values, it was reported today. The Deobandi movement runs more than 600 of Britain’s 1,350 mosques, according to a police report.

It goes on to allege that a series of sermons by one of its main preachers, Riyadh ul Haq, are anti-Western. The paper claims that Mr ul Haq “heaps scorn” on any Muslims who say they are “proud to be British” and that he says friendship with a Jew or a Christian makes “a mockery of Allah’s religion.”

It says other sermons have warned believers to stay away from the “evil influence” of British non-Muslims and music was used by Jewish people to corrupt young Muslims.

It goes on to say that its investigation casts “serious doubts” on government statements that foreign preachers are to blame for spreading radical Islam in British mosques.

After all is said and done, it doesn't really matter where the radicals come from. What is important is that we have a group that is working against societal norms and acceptable behaviour.

In different times their actions would have been looked upon as treasonous, but in today's P.C . climate the only Religion that has to mind it's P's and Q's is Christianity.

Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God at http://www.god-101.com/

Straight from the horses mouth!

Adham Benni is past president of the Arab Students' Association here at The University of Western Ontario and has been quite vocal over the years with sharing his views on the relationship between Christians Jews, and Muslims.

Here is a small excerpt by him from this weekend's London Free Press and the reason I make note of it here is that we need a lot more people just like him. The silent majority might be most of us, but we sure don't say much!"

Enough is enough with Muslim apologetics. Just step back for one second, and ask yourself why do Muslims choose to live in Canada, and not live in their homelands?

The answer is simple; they are running away from Shari'a or man-made Islamic Medieval laws that has caused Muslim civil wars, bigotry, demagogy and stagnation.

You know very well that most Shari'a law is politicised and has many biases against women, non-Muslims and other minorities. As a Canadian Muslim, I do not abide by these man's made laws; especially laws that promotes Jihad against the Infidels (Christians and Jews).

This was the language of old conflicts between the Christian Crusaders and the Muslim Jihadists.

Christians have reformed and separated politics from religion and prospered, where we as Muslims have failed miserably.

Most Muslims are peace-abiding citizens, but we cannot keep our head in the sands and pretend that there is no problem with how Islam is interpreted to justify Holy killings. So as a Moderate Muslim, why don't you stop blaming Bush for Muslim failings to adapt and accept modernity, and start the crucial task of confronting extremism within our communities, and make the world a safer place?

Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God at www.God-101.com

Salman Rushdie is not the problem. Muslims are!

In a battle between flaming fundamentalists and mute moderates, who do you think is going to win?

GUEST POST by Irshad Manji. (Times Online)

Growing up in Vancouver, I attended an Islamic school every Saturday.

There, I learned that Jews cannot be trusted because they worship “moolah, not Allah,” meaning money, not God.

According to my teacher, every last Jew is consumed with business.

But looking around my neighbourhood, I noticed that most of the new business signs featured Asian languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Punjabi and plenty of Urdu. Not Hebrew. Urdu, which is spoken throughout Pakistan.

That reality check made me ask: What if my religious school is not educating me? What if it is indoctrinating me?

I am reminded of this question thanks to the news that Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses and ten other works of fiction, will be knighted by the Queen of England.

On Monday, Pakistan’s religious affairs minister said that in light of how Rushdie has blasphemed Islam with provocative literature, it is understandable why angry Muslims would commit suicide bombings over his knighthood.

Members of Parliament, as well as the Pakistani government, amplified the condemnation of Britain, feeding cries of offense to Muslim sensibilities from Europe to Asia.

As a Muslim, you better believe I am offended – by these absurd reactions.

I am offended that it is not the first time honours from the West have met with vitriol and violence.

In 1979, Pakistani physicist Abdus Salam became the first Muslim to win the Nobel Prize in science. He began his acceptance speech with a verse from the Quran.

Salam’s country ought to have celebrated him.

Instead, rioters tried to prevent him from re-entering the country. Parliament even declared him a “non-Muslim” because he belonged to a religious minority.

His name continues to be controversial, invoked by state authorities in hushed tones.

I am offended that every year, there are more women killed in Pakistan for allegedly violating their family’s honour than there are detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

Muslims have rightly denounced the mistreatment of Guantanamo prisoners.

But where is our outrage over the murder of many more Muslims at the hands of our own?

I am offended that in April, mullahs at an extreme mosque in Pakistan issued a fatwa against hugging.

The country’s female tourism minister had embraced – or, depending on the account you follow, accepted a congratulatory pat from – her skydiving instructor after she successfully jumped in a French fundraiser for the victims of the 2005 Pakistan earthquake.

Clerics announced her act of touching another man to be “a great sin.” They demanded she be fired.

I am offended by their fatwa proclaiming that women should stay at home and remain covered at all times.

I am offended that they have bullied music store owners and video vendors into closing shop.

I am offended that the government tiptoes around their craziness because these clerics threaten suicide attacks if confronted.

I am offended that on Sunday, at least 35 Muslims in Kabul were blown to bits by other Muslims and on Tuesday, 87 more in Baghdad by Islamic “insurgents”, with no official statement from Pakistan to deplore these assaults on fellow believers.

I am offended that amid the internecine carnage, a professed atheist named Salman Rushdie tops the to-do list.

Above all, I am offended that so many other Muslims are not offended enough to demonstrate widely against God’s self-appointed ambassadors.

We complain to the world that Islam is being exploited by fundamentalists, yet when reckoning with the opportunity to resist their clamour en masse, we fall curiously silent.

In a battle between flaming fundamentalists and mute moderates, who do you think is going to win?

I am not saying that standing up to intimidation is easy.

This past spring, the Muslim world made it that much more difficult. A 56-member council of Islamic countries pushed the UN Human Rights Council to adopt a resolution against the “defamation of religion”. Pakistan led the charge.

Focused on Islam rather than on faith in general, the resolution allows repressive regimes to squelch freedom of conscience further – and to do so in the guise of international law.

On occasion, though, the people of Pakistan show that they do not have to be muzzled by clerics and politicians.

Last year, civil society groups vocally challenged a set of anti-female laws, three decades old and supposedly based on the Quran.

Their religiously respectful approach prompted even mullahs to hint that these laws are man-made, not God-given.

This month, too, Pakistanis forced their government to lift restrictions on the press.

No wonder my own book, translated into Urdu and posted on my website, is being downloaded in droves.

Religious authorities will not let it be sold in the markets. But they cannot stop Pakistanis – or other Muslims – from satiating a genuine hunger for ideas.

In that spirit, it is high time to “ban” hypocrisy under the banner of Islam.

Salman Rushdie is not the problem. Muslims are!

After all, the very first bounty on Rushdie's head was worth £1 million. It increased to £1.25 million; then higher.

The chief benefactor, Iran's government, claimed to have profitably invested the principal. Hence the rising value of the reward.

Looks like Jews are not the only people handy at business.

A Senior Fellow with the European Foundation for Democracy, Irshad Manji is creator of the new documentary Faith Without Fear and author of The Trouble with Islam Today: A Wake-Up Call for Honesty and Change

Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God-101 (what the church doesn't want you to know!) www.God-101.com

T.G.I.F.

OH, OH! Nessie strikes again!
What's the matter with kids these days?
The return of Godzilla!
Personally, I have no problem with the Jews at all! No sir!
(Especially not her!)












Can we say; "Jewish Princess?"

Slap this guy!

Now just so you don't think I am only down on Christian and Muslim mainstream religions, it seems the Jews have their fair share of assholes as well.

MIDDLETON, Wis. -- In Wisconsin, a Jewish man whose polling place was at a Catholic church said he was disturbed to see a crucifix hanging over a ballot box.

Dr. Zeev Bar-Av of Middleton said issues on Tuesday's ballot such as gay marriage and the death penalty "are essentially on the national divide on religion and non-religion."

The 65-year-old Middleton man said, "If there is a place where church and state should be separated, the polling place should be it."

Wisconsin Elections Board executive director Kevin Kennedy said the state and municipalities struggle to come up with adequate polling places, and churches have plenty of parking.

He adds that polling places don't have to be redecorated to protect voters from feeling uncomfortable, and voters who are bothered can always vote absentee.

This guy is a well educated "Doctor," but it seems that knowledge is no impediment to ignorance! (After all, he was in a CATHOLIC CHURCH for God's sake!)

As a rule I am not for violence of any sort but it seems to me that this guys needs a couple of good hard slaps to knock some sense into him.

Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God-101 (what the church doesn't want you to know!) at; www.God-101.com
And the petition to have people mind their own business instead of yours at; http://www.petitiononline.com/moses/petition.html

Do we move the Jews again?

A couple of notes on the Mid-East situation.

A senior U.S. diplomat has criticized his country's role in Iraq while President George W. Bush says the United States is still expecting to win the war, but is changing its tactics.

"We tried to do our best but I think there is much room for criticism because there was arrogance and stupidity from the United States in Iraq," Alberto Fernandez, an Arabic-speaking diplomat in the State Department's bureau of Near Eastern affairs, said on Al-Jazeera television on Saturday.

Well, this is all fine and good for making political hay but the sad fact of the matter is that most of the trouble in Iraq has little to do with the U.S.

Irag is in a state of virtual "civil war" and it's not against the States as much as it is the (Iranian sponsored) Shia against the Sunni Arabs. Until this issue (and the Kurds) is resolved there will be no peace or harmony in that country.

The U.S. has one of two options, either get further involved in a no-win situation or get the hell out. Period.

NOW, I said some weeks ago that I would look at the situation in the Middle East in general terms and see if there was a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

After pondering this difficult question for days on end I am afraid that the only thing that will heal tensions in the Middle-East is TIME.

No amount of brokering will solve conflicts there in an expedient manner.

No amount of negotiations will heal the rift between factions in the Middle East except distance.

No person will have the sway and influence to unite all the parties in a comprehensive peace process.

No. Other than letting time make these issues irrelevant the only other solution would be to take all the Israelies and move them to the United States.

The best solution there would be to give/sell the Jews "Long-Island" and let them set up the state of Israel there.

It's either that or put them in Utah. We can then send all the Mormons to the Middle East, where with their multiple-wives, they would fit in quite nicely!!!

(Now we all know that this last suggestion was done "tongue-in-cheek" but the sad fact of the matter is that it has about as much chance of happening as any other solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.)

Your Mid-East Peace Broker
Allan W Janssen

Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God-101 (what the church doesn't want you to know!) at; www.God-101.com
And the petition to have people mind their own business instead of yours at; http://www.petitiononline.com/moses/petition.html

The Plain Truth About God-101 (what the church doesn't want you to know!)

In the teachings attributed to Jesus, it is abundantly clear that he was an apocalyptic teacher who believed that the world would end within the lifetime of the people to whom he was speaking.

The foundation of these teachings was that human beings could be saved by both believing his word and by modeling their lives on the higher moral law of God.

That higher moral law was the foundation of Jewish law. To this end, he believed that pharisaical teaching was an appropriate guide to following this higher moral law.

His criticism of the Pharisees was that they did not live by what they taught.

In line with this higher moral law, Jesus of Nazareth preached an ethics of selfless concern for the welfare of others, rejection of material wealth, and non-retribution, all of which were standard in Jewish ethics.

In his statements, Jesus of Nazareth explicitly rejects government and politics as a legitimate sphere of human action.

The religion that he taught was an intensely individual religion.

Righteousness, which means the performance of right actions, was not a quality of actions but rather a quality of the interior state of the individual. This was not really a break with the Jewish tradition, but it was the core of the way Jesus defined the human relationship with the divine.

There is abundant evidence in the Gospels that Jesus considered his teachings to be for Jews only. This is a curious tradition to maintain in the face of the massive spread of Christianity into the Gentile world, but nowhere does Jesus of Nazareth construct his teachings or the religion he is espousing as anything other than for Jews. In one place explicitly says that his mission is only to the Jews.

Included in the gospels are a number of miraculous events, many of which correspond with shamanic practices of curing the sick and casting out demons.

In the gospels, Jesus is perfectly comfortable with many of the superstitions of the popular Judaism of the time, such as belief in demons. His followers, however, are less comfortable with these stories and present these miracles as arguments for the divinity and special mission of Jesus rather than in the shamanic tradition from which they are derived.

Ultimately, the Jesus who emerges from the gospels is concerned with preparing the Jews for the last event in history, and who actively preaches that human beings can individually enter into a correct relationship with God. They can do this through faith and trust in God and through an active, ethical concern with both the material well-being and the suffering of others.

The Christian religion was at first, obviously, a Jewish religion. It was a movement amongst the population in the immediate area of the land Jesus lived in. Its message aimed directly at a Jewish audience by Jews.

However, with the advent of the Prophet Paul the message changed and was geared towards a Gentile population that was also eager for the “Word.”

Allan W Janssen is the author of the book "The Plain Truth About God-101" (what the church doesn't want you to know!