Introduction
اليهودية سبقت المسيحية في الوجود. تنتسب إلى إبراهيم وولده اسحق وحفيده يعقوب ابي الأسباط الاثني عشر. إلا أنها لم تَحُز كياناً ذاتياً مستقلاً إلا مع النبي موسى. قبل الرحيل إلى مصر كان العبرانيون قوماً رحلاً. في مصر عملوا لدى المصريين، فكانت أيامهم الأخيرة فيها مذلات. أخرجهم موسى من مصر بمعجزة، وأدخلهم صحراء سيناء حيث تجولوا كالقبائل الرحل مدى 40 سنة. وأخيراً، أدخلهم يشوع بن نون فلسطين، فتفرقوا فيها كالرحّل. وأخيراً، وحدهم النبي داود وابنه سليمان. ثم شق ولدا سليمان المملكة إلى قسمين شمالي وجنوبي. وظهر الأنبياء تباعاً. أخيراً تكون لديهم على مراحل طويلة كتابهم المقدس الذي يسميه المسيحيون “العهد القديم”. وهو كتاب ديني يحوي العقيدة والطقوس إلى جانب قسم تاريخي وتشريعي. فاليهودية دين ودنيا. نسل داود الملكي ركن من أركانها.
The spiritual, prophetic and hymnological section is very important. The hopes of the Jews are pinned on the coming of the Messiah who will expel foreign rulers and establish a world kingdom for them. Their worship revolves around the Temple of Jerusalem. That is, since the eighth century they have been subjected to humiliation at the hands of foreign conquerors: the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans. In the year 70 the Romans destroyed the Temple of Jerusalem and dispersed the Jews. The disasters were repeated around the year 134 (?), so they wandered the earth pinning their hopes on the coming of the Messiah who would gather them together and build their temple of worship.
But Christ appeared and they rejected Him. He told them that their temple would be destroyed forever and that they would be led to the vast house of God scattered. Despite this, they became more envious and disbelieving of Him, and poured out their wrath on Him. They mentioned Him and His mother, the Virgin Mary, in an ugly manner in their books, and accused His mother of adultery. (*1).
وقبل مجيء المسيح نشأ لدى اليهود علم التفسير، فبلغ حين التدوين مجلدات معروفة باسم “التلمود”. تلمودهم شوّه معاني الكتاب. وقد وبخهم المسيح على ذلك مراراً. وعبثاً حاول ردهم إلى معاني الكتاب الأصلية. كان رؤساء الكهنة لا يؤمنون بوجود الروح والملائكة ولا بالبعث (متى 22: 23، مرقس 12: 18، لوقا 20: 27، اع 23: 8). إذاً: كانوا ماديين. وفي أعياد الفصح كانوا يحولون الهيكل إلى بازار حيوانات للتجارة بعواطف الناس الملزمين أن يضحوا. فطرد المسيح مرتين الحيوانات والصيارفة من الهيكل (يو 2: 13- 15، مرقس 11: 15-16، متى 21: 12).
Christ confined his preaching to the Jews almost exclusively, because their book was the best guide to knowing him. However, they hardened their hearts and were unable to be guided, despite the flood of miracles and the loftiness of his teachings. The tension between Christ and the Jewish religious authorities reached an obscene level. The chief priests saw him as a competitor. The Pharisees, who were responsible for preserving and interpreting the Bible, saw him as a dangerous teacher who rivaled the traditions of the Talmudic fathers. In the end, they arrested him, sentenced him to death, and brought him to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, who ordered his crucifixion.
Christ left no books. His teaching was oral.
1- Sources of Christian education
The Jewish Old Testament is part of the Bible of Christ. The apostles first preached to the Jews, relying on the Old Testament as their argument. When rejected, the missionaries turned to the Gentiles. The Jews were spread throughout the Roman and Persian empires. On the day of Pentecost, the Acts of the Apostles mentions Jews from the Roman Mediterranean basin, Media, Persia, Daylam, Arabia, and the Black Sea region (Acts 2:9-11). In the Roman Empire (outside Palestine and the Aramaic-speaking regions), the Jews read their Bible in a Greek translation from the 3rd-2nd century BCE. Therefore, the preaching was in Greek. In the Acts of the Apostles, we see the missionaries quoting the Old Testament to lead the Jews to Christ. On the day of Pentecost, about 3,000 Jews or converts were baptized. Those who returned spread the Christian religion. We learn from the Gospel of John about the interest of the Jews of the Diaspora in Jesus (chapters 7 and 12).
مع انتشار المسيحية، كان لا بد من تدوين لحياة المسيح ولتعليم رسله. بحسب التواريخ نعلم أن الرسول متى هو أول من كتب باللغة الآرامية، لغة المشرق العربي الحالي. ولكن رجحان الثقافة اليونانية لدى المؤمنين فرض على الرسل الكتابة باليونانية. فدون الإنجيليون الأربعة فيها بشائرهم. وهي سيرة المسيح. وفي مسيرة البشارة طرق الرسل مواضيع الديانة الجديدة، فكانت كتاباتهم مقدسة. وأرَّخ لوقا الإنجيلي انتشار الدين، فأنشأ سفر أعمال الرسل. أما يوحنا الإنجيلي فانشأ سفراً نبوياً عن مصير الكنيسة في التاريخ وما سيصيبها من ظلم الرومان. وهكذا تكوّن كتاب مقدس جديد يسمى “العهد الجديد”. يدور قسم كبير منه على محاجة اليهود للتدليل على أن يسوع هو المسيح المنتظر، وعلى أن شريعة اليهود اكتملت بشريعة المسيح، إذ كانت ظلاً لها (العبرانيون 8-11).
Christianity received the Old Testament from the Jews and turned it into a sword in the belly of Judaism that announces its end because the shadow is nullified by the appearance of the truth. The truth is Christ. The Christian-Jewish dialectic is based, therefore, on the Old Testament’s evidence of the disappearance of Judaism with the appearance of Christianity, because Judaism is a stage of preparation for Jesus.
طبعاً، الصدمة كبيرة جداً. تضايق اليهود جداً من أقوال يسوع التي تشعر انه أعظم من إبراهيم (يو 8: 58 -59) وسواه (يو 6: 27 – 34) وانه مساوٍ لله آبيه (يو 5: 17 – 18). وهكذا دواليك (يو 10: 29- 33).
ويستطيع المرء أن يدرك عمق التناضح بين العهد القديم والعهد الجديد إن فحص بتدقيق طبعات الكتاب المقدس المسماة “المشوهدة”.
2- The New Testament
The New Testament consists of the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, 14 Epistles of Paul the Apostle, one of James, two of Peter, three of John, one of Jude, and the Revelation of John. These books were written by well-known apostles. Matthew, John, Peter, and Jude, the brother of the Lord, one of the twelve apostles. Mark, a disciple of Peter and Paul. Luke, a disciple of Paul. James, the brother of the Lord in the flesh. Paul, an enemy of the Church who was converted at the gates of Damascus. The Epistle to the Hebrews does not bear the name of its author. It owes its ideas to Paul. Scholars believe that it was written by Apollos, his disciple and friend.
3- The concept of divine inspiration
The Old Testament authors are an army. After more than 2000-4000 years, we cannot dig up the names of people who wrote during more than 1200 years B.C. Today we are in the year 1993, probably 1997 A.D.
نعرف العهد الجديد أكثر لأن الكنيسة احدث سناً من جهة، ولأنها تسلمت جل كتابها من فترة قصيرة لا تزيد عن 20-35 عاماً. وتناولته فوراً بالاستشهاد والتفسير والتلاوة في الصلوات والمنازل. فكتاب “تعليم الرسل” منشأ –بحسب آراء النقاد الأخيرين- بين العام 50 والعام 70 للميلاد. وهو يستشهد كثيراً بإنجيل متى. واغناطيوس الأنطاكي المتوفي في العام 107 للميلاد يستشهد كثيراً بالعهد الجديد. وهكذا دواليك اكليمندس روما ورسالة برنابا وسوى ذلك من الكتابات ألت تتراوح بين العام 50 – 150 للميلاد. ومع انتشار المسيحية استفحل استعمال العهد الجديد كمصدر الإيمان والتقوى والعبادة. وتُرجم باكراً إلى السريانية واللاتينية ثم إلى سواها من لغات الدنيا. فلا تخلو اليوم منه لغة.
As for the Old Testament, the Church continued to use it in Greek, and it was translated from it into Syriac and Latin. However, Saint Irenaeus (Jerome) translated it in the fourth century from Hebrew into Latin, and it became popular in the West. As for others, it remained in Greek.
4- Inspiration in Christianity
تعليم المسيحية في الإلهام واضح. بطرس الرسول قال أن الروح القدس حمل الكتبة على ذلك (بطرس الثانية 1: 20- 21). بولس الرسول قال: “الكتاب كله من وحي الله” (تيموثاوس الثانية 3: 16. انظر رومية 15: 4).
The Holy Spirit moves the religious scribes to write. The opening of Luke's Gospel indicates that many began to write down the story of the events that had unfolded. He explains this in great detail. He mentions that the witnesses and servants of Jesus delivered it to them. He writes to his dear Theophilus to verify the accuracy of the teaching he has received.
So: Luke investigated, examined, asked, scrutinized, and took matters from their original sources. The Holy Spirit prompted him to write, but he placed his energies and abilities at the disposal of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit did not dictate to him. The human element is not passive, but active. The Holy Spirit and the apostles worked together, and they created the New Testament. Those who witnessed the events of life are known: the Virgin Mary, the apostles, in general the first generation of Jesus’ witnesses and servants. Theophilus received an education. The Gospel of Luke came to confirm to him the truth of what he learned.
There is the oral teaching that has penetrated the churches of the world. On the basis of it, the church decides what is true and what is false. The authenticity of the attribution of the writing to an apostle must be proven and the book must be in accordance with the prevailing teaching in the church. The church is the judge. What it rejects is rejected and what it accepts is accepted.
فهناك كتب كثيرة أطلقت الكنيسة عليها اسم “أبوكريفيا”. اللفظة يونانية. معناها “مستور، خفي، مجهول…” اسمها يدل عليها. طابعها خرافي. الطبعة الكاملة الجيدة المدرسة المدققة المنقودة تقع في 4 أجزاء باللغة الايطالية. من تسميتها يدرك المرء أنها مشبوهة وباطنية خطرة.
5- The Church’s preservation of its book
The Jews were very careful to preserve their book, counting its words and taking great care in copying and preserving it. The Christians preserved the New Testament. They have fragments, incomplete copies, fragments and complete copies dating back to 300 and before until 125 AD. There are thousands of copies in the treasuries of Europe and America. One sees a brief list of them in the last Greek editions printed in Stuttgart, Germany, on behalf of the United Bible Societies.
In addition, there are numerous editions of the works of the ancient Church Fathers, the most famous of which are the Paris editions in Greek, Latin and Syriac. Their huge volumes may exceed 470 volumes. The Greek section of them is 161 volumes, of which 96 volumes were published until the death of John of Damascus in 749/750. The Church was keen everywhere on the purity of education.
وقد استعمل اغناطيوس الأنطاكي وبوليكربس أزمير (المتوفي في 156) لفظة (كاثوليكي) اليونانية للكنيسة المستقيمة أي الأرثوذكسية الإيمان و العبادة. أما الشيع فاسمها “هرطوقية” لأنها اختارت أموراً انفردت بها عن الإيمان القويم. فجرى التمييز باكراً بين الكنيسة الكاثوليكية أي الأرثوذكسية المستقيمة (وبين) الذين يتفردون بتعليم خاص لم تتسلمه الكنيسة من الرسل. وعلى هذا الأساس أيضاً رفضت أناجيل وكتب الأبوكريفا.
Since the time of the apostles, heresies have arisen. In the year 49, the Council of the Apostles and Disciples was held in Jerusalem against the Christians of Jewish origin who said that it was necessary to preserve the Law of Moses. The Council decided to reject their claims (Acts 15, especially 15:28).
The Church has preserved this principle, holding ecumenical and regional local councils against heresies. The most famous of these councils among the Orthodox and Catholics are the seven ecumenical councils, which confirmed the inherited faith and separated heresies and their proponents. These councils are a very important framework for basic doctrines. Lutherans accept the content even if they do not recognize the number 7. Some other Western sects agree with them, although it is difficult to list them because their number is large and complex.
The Syriacs, Copts, Armenians and Ethiopians accept the first three councils. However, in their meetings with the Orthodox, they accepted the content of the six councils without declaring their acceptance of the number 6. The Armenians refused to sign the 1971 statement issued at a meeting in the Orthodox Monastery of Balamand in Lebanon. Their argument was that they were a religion and a nationality. But now everyone has accepted the seven. (*2)
(*1) هذا الاتهام لم يظهر إلا بعد فترة طويلة من الزمن -كما هو واضح من تسلسل الأحداث في السطر أعلاه- تتجاوز 200 عام بعد الصعود… (الشبكة)
(*2) يُرجى مراجعة “Between Ephesus, the robbers, and Chalcedon” للوقوف على رأي الكاتب في عام 2005 من هذه القضية…. (الشبكة)