A Work in Progress

I hold the following understanding:

• God exists

• There is only ONE God   

• The Law of God was given at creation, and known and obeyed by Adam, Noah, Abraham etc

• The Word of God was given to Israel as the manifesto of their new nation, at Mt Sinai, where it was recorded by ‘the finger of God’ (which may or may not be an idiom, but which in any case attaches a very specific and distinct  importance to the ten words) and is divine and the ‘plumb-line’ for the rest of the Law as well as in determining how to interpret or accept other writings

• The Torah (first 5 books) contain the teaching of God, and understood in relation to the ten words

• The Prophets call people back to the Law, they don’t add new teaching

• The Psalms and Writings are descriptive of the Law and a lawful life, but don’t add new teaching

• The Rabbinic writings and the ‘New Testament’ may contain good description of a lawful life, but don’t add new teaching and aren’t necessary to understand the Law, and if they contradict or appear to contradict the Law, they’re either misunderstood or in error

• The teaching of God is understood as a whole unit and not bits and pieces, and it makes common sense

• The Law teaches how to honour God and how to show that honour in relationships with fellow creatures

• The ‘New Covenant’ is the Law written not on tablets of stone, but on thinking minds and expressed in daily life        

• I reject any concept of God not taught in Torah; including ‘trinity’, God being or becoming human, and of any other divine being (‘Satan’) holding power in opposition to God for the souls of men 

• We're meant to learn Torah individually but also as a community; our Teacher is our Father; there's a need to remain humble and teachable in all states of knowledge, arrogance kills communication and stifles growth