Q: Was the apostle Paul a Jew or was he an Israelite and accepted Judaism which made him a Jew? Judaism is something you are not born with isn't it some thing you accept and therefore because you do you become a Jew and embrace there belief.?????? still not sure......
A: Judaism is a religious system, and as such can be accepted or rejected. One can become a Jew either by being born to a Jewish parents (or at least a Jewish mother) or by accepting the Jewish faith. A person born Jewish is still "Jewish" in the national sense, even if he does not accept Judaism. On the other hand, a Gentile would not be regarded by the community as a "Jew by Choice" other than by embracing Judaism.
Judaism is the traditional religion of the Jewish people, based on the ancient covenant God made with the nation of Israel, but not all the members of the Jewish nation necessarily follow the Jewish religion.
Jewish descent is sufficient to make one a Jew, at least
(according to current Jewish law) if one's mother is a Jew. Conversion to
Judaism also makes one a Jew, according to Judaism. Full conversion is the
same as becoming a part of the Jewish people. In fact, if one converts
he is given a new name ending in "ben Avraham" which means "son
of Abraham," because he is considered to be adopted into that lineage.
Of course being born a Jew does not automatically make one an adherent of Judaism, but he is still called a Jew. Perhaps the reason people get so confused about this is that the only word we have for a person who accepts the Jewish religion is the word "Jew" which already means a descendant of Israel.
Jesus and Paul were both Jews by natural descent, Jesus
from the tribe of Judah and Paul of the tribe of Benjamin. The Jewish lineage
of Jesus is presented in the Gospel of Matthew, and Paul mentions his descent
in 2 Corinthians 11:22 and Romans 11:1. Both accepted the Jewish Scriptures,
which in Christianity became the Old Testament. The religion commonly known
as Judaism today, however, is based on the interpretations of rabbis, who
do not necessarily interpret the Jewish Scriptures the way Jesus did.
A Nazarene is a person from the town of Nazareth in the Galilee, which is a region of Northern Israel. Although born in Bethlehem of Judea, Jesus grew up in Nazareth and that is why he is associated with that town and called a "Nazarene.¨ It has nothing to do with his religious views.
The terms Jew and Israelite as currently used are synonymous. "Israelite" literally means descendant of Israel, which is another name for Jacob, who was the father of the twelve tribes which make of the nation of Israel.
Unlike Judaism, Christianity is not also a nationality
(although it is a spiritual "family"). It is only through personal
faith in Christ (the Messiah) that one is "born again" (John 3:3)
into the family of God.
David Brown
AMF International
http://www.amfi.org
