THE LAW - Simplified
A Brief History of Jewish Law(s)
Mosaic law, started with the 10 commandments from Moses. Then, over the years and centuries, as certain men read the Torah, they thought they saw finer definitions on how the Hebrews and People of Judah should act, or not act. Thus, they came up with more and more laws. So, today, to be a good Jew, you have to follow about 613 different laws in order to keep your covenant with God, so that you are "acceptable" before Him.
The good Jewish boy, Jesus of Nazareth, came to simplify the law
Jesus came to simplify all these laws, not to fulfill them, but to bring people back to a simpler way of life lived; loving one another, which brings the opportunities for peace to live in every heart.
Jesus, himself said, "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." (Matt 7:12) He came as a teacher and an example of love on earth; not to build the hierarchy of a church and not to tell us that God puts onerous requirements upon us.
So, later, when asked by some Pharisees, who held the letter of the laws of Judaism above all else, testing him, they asked, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matt 22, 36-40)
Then, again, when asked by others about The Law, Jesus told them, "Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; you pay the tithe on mint, dill, and cumin, while you have neglected the weightier requirements of the Law - just judgment, mercy, and faithful dealing. These things you ought to have done, and yet you ought not to have left the others undone. (Matt 23:23)
Jesus followed his heart; not the written laws.
Then the man, Saul of Tarsus came along proclaiming to be The Apostle Paul
After meeting Jesus on a road to Damascus, and finding out how loving, honest, truthful, real and genuine this man was, Paul realized that he had unjustly persecuted others (and persecution is not a part of love) he changed his ways. Believing Jesus to have died several months earlier, he decided that this was a vision and therefore this man must be a God. Thus, he set about putting together his story of Jesus, the Man-God.
Thus, over the following centuries, this Man-God was seen by many, that Paul talked to, to be more magical and powerful than all the Greek and/or Roman Gods and Goddesses, the Celtic and/or other "Pagan" deities and even the honored One God of the Jews. Paul was a good salesman!
However, Paul created a religion that worships Jesus rather than honoring our oneness with all of Creation and Creator. This was not the message that Jesus brought, which was (even from his birth) ... "Peace on earth comes from practicing love and good will to and with all people".
The Way is simple, it need not be laborious:
Life is a living expression of love, and so it is simply to live your life to its fullest, with respect for all other life, knowing that all forms are various expressions of Light (the entire E-M spectrum), God and Goddess, Yin and Yang, in a continuing dance of love! Join the Dance ... you're already a part of it! Be not afraid ... you are already a part of it and it's all around you! ENJOY!
