RESPONSES TO JEWS FOR JUDAISM [J. F. J.]

The following articles address objections found in Jews for Judaism's FAQ. All articles listed here can be found elsewhere on the site (see the index of objections).
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Resurrection Did Jesus fulfill his prediction that he would be buried for three days and three nights and then be resurrected? (JFJ article)
Objection: Jesus was only buried for two nights, not three, and therefore didn't fulfill his prediction.
See How long was Jesus in the tomb?

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Original Sin Do Jews believe in the doctrine of original sin? (JFJ article)
Objection: Right standing with God depends on right living, and is therefore available to everyone (as opposed to the Christian belief that one must believe in Jesus).
"Original sin" refers to the doctrine that we inherited a sinful nature from Adam and Eve (for more on this, see Is original sin an unjust doctrine?).
I don't mean to debate whether or not Judaism includes this doctrine, but to respond to the author's claim that everyone can be saved/be right with God if only they do what is right and are repentant for their sins. This claim is addressed in What distinguishes Christianity from other monotheistic religions?
See also Is Jesus the only way to God?

What are the implications of the Christian doctrine of original sin? (JFJ article)
Objection: Christianity teaches that those who have never heard of Jesus are automatically condemned.
See What happens to those who never hear about Jesus?

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New Testament Anti-Judaism Were the NT authors contriving anti-Jewish episodes? (JFJ article)
Objection: Did the New Testament authors blame the Jews for Jesus' death?
See Is the New Testament anti-Semitic? In particular, JFJ asserts that no Roman is ever blamed for Jesus' death, yet Acts 4:27 explicitly names the Roman government and Gentiles as conspirators against Jesus.

Could Jesus have hated anyone when he spoke words of forgiveness and non-resistance to wickedness? (JFJ article)
Objection: Jesus and Paul preached forgiveness and non-resistance, but didn't practice either.
See Did Jesus practice forgiveness?, Jesus' anger and Was Jesus a pacifist? Concerning Paul's cursing the high priest, see Paul and the high priest.

Is it true that the NT criticism of the Jews is quite mild? (JFJ article)
Objection: The NT harshly and unfairly criticizes Jews.
See Is the New Testament anti-Semitic? Matthew 23:35 is addressed in Does God punish children for their parents' sins?

Why is it said that Luke 19:11-27 calls upon Jesus' followers to murder Jews who do not accept him? (JFJ article)
Objection: Jesus' parable has been used by Christians to justify murdering Jews.
See Does Christianity endorse killing nonbelievers?

Whom does the author of the Book of Matthew blame for the death of John the Baptist? (JFJ article)
Objection: Jesus blamed the Jews for rejecting John and killing him.
See Did Matthew blame the Jews for killing John the Baptist?

How does the Book of Revelation promote hatred of Jews? (JFJ article)
Objection: Revelation 2:9 and 3:9 promote hatred and persecution of Jews.
See Does Revelation justify persecution of Jews?

According to the New Testament, should all of Christianity be condemned because some that profess to be Christians have perpetrated horrific crimes in the name of Jesus? (JFJ article)
Objection: Jesus said that a good tree can't produce bad fruit, and vice versa. Since the Bible's teachings have produced bad fruit in the form of religious persecution, Christianity itself is evil.
JFJ's claims that the NT teaches Christians to persecute Jews and other nonbelievers are refuted above. Without a clear indication that Christians doing evil were following the NT (instead of misinterpreting it or contradicting it altogether), their claim that Christianity itself is evil doesn't hold.

ANSWERING JEWISH OBJECTIONS TO CHRISTIANITY Part 2

This section of scripture is central to the Christian view of Messiah, written over 700 years before the birth of Jesus, Christians see Jesus as the fulfillment of these verses.  Jewish interpreters object to this reading, they see the servant here as; the nation of Israel, Jeremiah or the Messiah, but not Jesus.

            The importance of this scripture in the Jewish-Christian debate on the Messiah can be traced back to the time of Origen (185-254 A.D.) and earlier. In the book of Acts, we see a man, a eunuch, of Candace queen of the Ethiopians, sitting his chariot reading from Isaiah 53, not understanding what he is reading. Phillip then explains to the man in the chariot the meaning of the verses in Isaiah, according to the Christian understanding (Acts 8:30-35).

            Who is the person or group being referenced to in this section of Isaiah?  The meaning of this scripture is a touchstone on the understanding of just who the Messiah is in Christianity.

ANSWERS TO JEWISH OBJECTIONS TO CHRISTIANITY Part 1

                               EXAMINING THEIR OBJECTIONS TO ISAIAH 7:14 AND ISAIAH 9:6
The Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) proclaims the coming Messiah, will be a descendent of David, (Son of David).   When we compare the Jewish and Christian understanding of who the Messiah is, we see two different people.  Although there are similarities between the Christian and Jewish views of Messiah, the differences outweigh any similarities.