Below is a note from a very dear friend I recently reconnected with via Facebook. On her Facebook page, Trula says that she is a very blessed [and] observant Messianic Jew in love with Yeshua (the Syriac name for Jesus). Her life, and the sufferings she has endured, is a testament to her deep and abiding faith and belief in Yeshua as written about in the Peshitta – which, as I understand, is the standard version of the second century Christian Bible from the Syriac language. I encourage readers to read Trula’s abridged letter to me and post any questions to her. I have every confidence that Trula would welcome the opportunity to share more about her Christian faith as a Messianic Jew.
Dear Bob,
In the west, Christians attending a “Christian or denominational” Bible college or seminary will be learning from the framework or context of that particular denomination’s dogma. Therefore, most Christian’s have never heard of the Hebrew original Brit Chadasha, Aramaic/Syriac Peshitta, the great body of liturgy of the ancient Oriental Church, the original church of Jerusalem, the Nazarenes, the missionary journeys of St. Thomas or the colloquial language spoken for 3,000 years in and around Mesopotamia during the time of Jesus.
The main problem is that western Christianity knows only half of their own anti-Semitic history and nothing of the Oriental church, which loved and accepted the Jews. I’m sure you know that Jesus and his disciples spoke Aramaic and Matthew surely wrote in Aramaic and Latin, as he was a tax collector for the Romans. Western Christianity doesn’t realize that the Gospels are full of Aramaic parables and idiomatic phrases that cannot be translated into English proficiently unless you speak the language and know the customs.
One of the customs practiced by the Oriental church (and the Hebrews as well) was the sacrament of sending the older used holy scripture scrolls back to God. When it was necessary to make a new copy, a group of scribes (following the Jewish practice) was called for the work. They were anointed with oil and sent to their task. As soon as the copies were finished, the Council of the Elders was called to inspect the scroll’s integrity. If a word or dot was misplaced, the entire scroll was disqualified and burned. After the scrolls were approved, there was a ceremony consecrating the new copy of scripture and the older copy was burned to keep it from becoming defiled.
For further information, please visit the website http://www.aramaicpeshitta.com and look for the books:
- Was the New Testament written in Greek?
- Idioms in the Bible Explained and a Key to the Original Gospels
You can also read the Peshitta for yourself online at: http://www.lamsabible.com/
Most Sincerely,
Trula
Martin's Mercurial Musings 