A Modern Parable: The Crumbling Basilica of the Nativity

Jesus made a habit of teaching in parables. In the modern age, the church that claims Him as its Lord has a story to tell that is very much a parable on what is left behind in His Name.

Some 1650 years ago, St. Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine the Great made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. She started a trend that continues to this very day at the rate of over 3,000,000 people per year. Those who come to the Holy Land come to see many things but the most popular places are the places that Jesus walked and performed his miracles. Two of the most beloved places are the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Basilica of the Nativity. Because of their importance, several denominations claim the right to be present at these churches. In the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Roman Catholics, the Greek Orthodox, the Armenians, and the Coptics claim equal authority and at the Basilica of the Nativity, the Roman Catholics, the Greek Orthodox, and the Armenians claim equal rights. 

These competing claims have created a tradition which says that the denomination which makes a repair has ownership rights to that which is repaired. This tradition has been a major obstacle to maintenance at both churches. The Basilica of the Nativity was built in the fourth century and torn down and rebuilt in the sixth century by the Emperor Justinian. For 1500 years, the Basilica, once adorned with mosaics and artwork, has been neglected due to this tradition. Since 1461, it has been noted that the roof is in disrepair, that the beams are rotting away, that the roof leaks and is destroying the mosaics and artwork, and that the competing parties cannot agree to repair any of the problems. 

The problem has become so acute that the Palestinian Liberation Organization, a mostly Muslim group, has decided that the 2,000,000 visitors yearly to the Basilica are in grave danger. This danger threatens the very economy in the West Bank. The Muslims cannot afford to wait for the Christians to deal with their problems anymore. So, despite the poverty and needs of the people of the West Bank, the PLO has decided that the roof must be repaired at the cost of $10,000,000 to $15,000,000. This is money that is meant for the starving poor, but in order to guarantee that there will be some tourist dollars, the PLO must spend the money to save the roof of a Christian church.  What a disgrace. 

The parable is that Jesus prayed in the Gospel of John that Christians would all be in agreement even as He and His Father were in agreement. At the first, it seemed as if his prayer was being answered, but just as this shiny new church built 1500 years ago has become decrepit and dangerous so also has the Christian faith become decrepit and dangerous. Various branches of the faith -- Catholic, Orthodox, Armenian, Coptic, and Protestant -- have ignored the words of Jesus and allowed their petty differences to keep them from what is important. Jesus told them that on the day of Judgment they would be judged by how they feed the poor, visited the sick and prisoner, and showed forth love to each other. But in our modern day, we are left with Muslims, despised due to terrorists, to fix the Holy Sites of the Christianity. The Church where Jesus was born has joined the homeless and the wealth that has come to those who claim his name is spent on warfare rather than peace. 

Perhaps, today is a good day to change all of this. For just one penny per Christian person, $20,000,000 can be raised to fix the Basilica of the Nativity and make it safe for the faithful. The seamless garment conceived by Jesus and represented by the clothes he wore to his execution may begin to be repaired by a joint act of all Christians to repair his birthplace. We should be shamed that we spend more money in America keeping up the shrines to Lincoln, Washington, Grant, Kennedy, and Martin Luther King than what it would take to repair the birthplace of Jesus the Christ. 

Merry Christmas

The Argument for the Cicumcision of Gentiles

The Book of Acts written by Luke, the secretary of Paul, alleges that the Council of Jerusalem authorized the Gentiles to join the Church without the requirement of circumcision. I want to consider whether this alleged act of the Council is in fact the Will of G-d.

Abram was a Gentile. When he was 99 years old, El the Almighty appeared to him and made a covenant with him promising to make him the Father of Nations and to give him the Land of Canaan. In return, El required that all the males of Abram's house must be circumcised, including the slaves of the house. So, G-d El specifically required that those who would attach themselves to Abraham must be circumcised whether they be Jews or Gentiles. Genesis 17:9-14. Now the Jews understood that this covenant required them to circumcise their sons and the Arabs likewise understood that they must circumcise their sons. So, how do we reconcile the claim that the Holy Spirit, the representative of El, would allow for Gentiles to follow El or Yeshua without being circumcised.

The Prophecies of Isaiah as included in the book by his name are heavily quoted as proof-texts to prove that Jesus was the promised Messiah. One passage in the Prophet Isaiah is Chapter 56:1-8 in which the Prophet prophesies that the Gentiles would become believers. A reflection on that Chapter would be useful in this current discussion.

One possible translation of the Isaiah 56:1-7 is: "Thus says YHVH: Observe what is right, do what is just; for My Jesus is about to come, my Justice, about to be revealed. Happy is the man who does this, the Son of Man who holds to it; who keeps the Sabbath free from profanation, and his hand from any evildoing. Let not the foreigner say, when he would join himself to YHVH, 'YHVH will surely exclude me from his people'; nor let the eunuch say, 'See I am a dry tree.' For thus says YHVH: To the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths and choose what pleases me and hold fast to MY Covenant, I will give, in my house and within my walls, a monument and a Name better than Sons and Daughters; an eternal, imperishable Name will I give them. And the foreigners who join themselves to YHVH ministering to him, loving the Name of YHVH, and becoming his servants -- all who keep the Sabbath free from profanation and hold to My Covenant, them I will bring to MY HOLY MOUNTAIN and make joyful in MY HOUSE OF PRAYER; their holocausts and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, for MY HOUSE shall be called A HOUSE OF PRAYER for all peoples."

The Prophet specifically says that during the time of the coming of His Jesus a pouring out of the Spirit will allow the Gentiles to be joined to YHVH provided they do certain things: First, keep the Sabbath free from profanation; second, hold fast to His Covenant; third, love the Name of YHVH and  become YHVH's servants; fourth, offer sacrifices. Now, we know that one must keep a Sabbath rest on the Sabbath day, Saturday. We know that we are to love YHVH with all our heart, mind and soul. But what does YHVH mean when he says "hold fast to MY COVENANT". The Gentiles did not have a covenant with YHVH to keep the Torah. But they did have a covenant to be circumcised, see Genesis above. Thus, the Covenant which the  foreigner, the eunuch and all the Gentiles must keep is circumcision.

Some will try to argue that Jesus never required that Gentiles keep the covenant of circumcision and I would agree that he never directly said that. But, he did allude to the requirement to be circumcised. At Mark 11:15-17, Mark records the cleansing in the Temple. This alleged cleansing was not in the Temple proper, but was rather in the Court of Gentiles. Jesus says: " Is it not written: My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples." Jesus is therefore quoting from Isaiah 56:1-7 where it is promised that the Court of Gentiles would be called a HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL PEOPLES. Isaiah specifically mentions that all of this will occur on Mt. Zion, the Holy Mountain, and that it will occur in the Court of Gentiles and it promises that the sacrifices of the Gentiles will be more acceptable than those of the Jews because of their Love of the Name of YHVH. Now the Name of YHVH is the Archangel of the Presence. See Exodus 23:21. And the Archangel of the Presence is Jesus. So we see that Jesus is the one upon who the Name of YHVH rests and that he is therefore the personification of the Name. Jesus had all of this in mind when he was cleansing the Temple.

This is one more proof that the lies of Paul and his cohorts must be denied. We know as a fact that James taught that all must be circumcised in order to become members of the House of Jesus and Abraham. Paul lies when he says that circumcision of Gentiles is not required.

In order for Gentiles to be accepted into the Nasorean faith, they must be mikvahed (baptised) in the name of Abraham and Yeshua (Jesus), they must be circumcised, they must keep the Sabbath, and they must offer the sacrifices of the Church.