What in the world is a B'rit Chadasha?
Glad you asked! B'rit Chadasha simply means "New Covenant" or "Renewed Covenant" in Hebrew.
So why don't you just say "New Covenant" then? What's with all the confusing Hebrew terms?
That's a fairly easy one to answer: I'm wierd.
I'm a Goy (Gentile) by birth. Nevertheless, I worship a very Jewish Messiah, Yeshua. You're probably more familiar with His Anglicized name, Jesus Christ. And that's fine if you call Him that: This isn't a blog by some "sacred-name" nut who thinks that if you don't pronounce God's Names exactly right that you're not saved (in which we'd all be hosed since nobody is quite certain how to properly pronounce the Tetragrammaton).
So why do I call the Lord Yeshua instead of Jesus, then? Simple:
It's what His disciples called Him.
It's what His brothers and sisters called Him.
It's what His mother called Him.
It's what His Father called Him.
Yeshua means "Salvation" in Hebrew. The longer form, Y'hoshua, means "Yah's Salvation." I like to preserve the meaning.
As I said, I'm a Gentile by birth, of English descent with possibly some Polish in there, and despite what some people may think, I'm not in the least shamed by it. I can actually trace my mother's ancestry to the Mayflower Pilgrims, and I'm rather proud of that. So why then would I "pretend to be Jewish" or "Judaize," as some have accused?
This isn't about pretending. I'm fully dedicated to living a Torah-observant lifestyle. I do not believe that I must be Torah-observant to be saved; rather, I strive to be Torah-observant because I am saved, and I want to be more like my Savior.
I'm dedicated to living a Jewish lifestyle because Yeshua and all the Scriptures are written from a Jewish cultural perspective, and I am fully convinced that they are best understood from within that cultural perspective rather than their transplanted Western culture. As Rabbi Sha'ul, aka the Apostle Paul, writes, "What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God" (Rom. 3:1-2).
This started off just as a simple little blog on Easyjournal. However, as the number of articles grows, I find that I need a more flexible blog. Hence the move here.
I strongly suggest that new readers check out the Introductory Articles, which explain why I don't believe that Yeshua did away with the Torah, why I don't believe anyone else has the authority to selectively pick-and-choose or change commands, and how I think Tradition (whether Church or Rabbinical) should be incorporated into a Biblical base.
Hopefully this page will serve as a bridge both to Christian brethren and Jewish readers, God willing.
Shalom,
Michael D. Bugg
No comments:
Post a Comment