The Apostle Paul has been kicked out of the Roman Catholic Church

The Excommunication of St. Paul the Apostle by the Inmates of the Asylum known as the Post-Conciliar Roman Catholic Church

By Michael Hoffman • www.revisionisthistory.org

Catholics "cannot hold" to  St. Paul's declaration in 1 Thessalonians 2: 14-16 "without falling out of communion with the Catholic Church"

— United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), May 24, 2011

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USCCB News Release

Media-Relations@usccb.org

11-109

May 24, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jewish-Catholic Dialogue Examine Sources of Authority, Beatification of John Paul II, Middle East Uprisings

http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2011/11-109.shtml 

WASHINGTON (May 24, 2011)—The National Council of Synagogues and the Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) discussed “Sources of Authority in Catholicism and Judaism” at their semi-annual consultation in New York City on May 17. Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, Chairman of the Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, and Rabbi Alvin Berkun of Pittsburgh, Chairman of the National Council of Synagogues, presided.

Father James Massa, executive director of the USCCB Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, spoke on the “sources of authority” in the Catholic theological tradition. He noted both similarities and differences between Catholic and Jewish ways to interpret sacred texts and pass on religious beliefs and practices.

“One of the obvious differences between our two faith communities is that while no one rabbi or religious body can speak for all Jews, the Church has a ‘Magisterium’ made of bishops in communion with the pope, whose interpretation and application of the word of God can be binding on all Catholic believers,” Father Massa said.

His presentation highlighted the levels of authoritative teaching in the Church, to which are owed corresponding degrees of assent. Father Massa noted that some teachings on Jews and Judaism found in Nostra aetate, the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Non-Christian Religions, reaches the level of dogma or defined doctrine. “One cannot hold to the charge that the Jewish people, either in the first century or at any other time, are responsible for the death of Jesus (the so-called charge of deicide) without falling out of communion with the Catholic Church. It contradicts both Vatican II (1962-1965) and the Council of Trent (1548-1563), not to mention a proper reading of the New Testament,” Father Massa stated. 

Father Massa suggested that when Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI affirmed that for Catholics the Jewish covenant remains a living and positive reality today, they were not speaking on the same level as an ecumenical council like Vatican II. “However, their teaching reflects the deeper impulses of the council, which were directed at laying to rest the teaching of contempt (that God had rejected the Jewish people) and at putting Jewish-Catholic relations on a new course of friendship and shared commitment to healing the world. Such authentic teaching could achieve—God willing—an even more authoritative and solemn expression by some future pope or council,” he noted.

Rabbi Avram Reisner, professor of ethics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, presented on sources of religious authority in Judaism. “Everything begins with the Torah, viewed as the revealed word of God,” Reisner said. When it comes to normative religious practice, the interpretations of prophets, sages, and rabbis whose judgments gave rise to the Mishnah (2nd century C.E.), and later the Talmud (completed in the 7th century C.E.), would be decisive in mediating the word to subsequent generations, he said.

At only one point in Jewish history did Judaism ever have a body of authoritative teachers that approximates what Catholics mean by a Magisterium. Reisner pointed out that this was the period of the Sanhedrin (200 B.C.E.—70 C.E), the Pharisaical council that ruled on matters of the Torah from Jerusalem. “Is it any coincidence that the Christian community emerges from Judaism precisely at the time when such a body of authoritative teachers is in place for the parent religion?” Reisner asked.

Throughout the medieval period and into the modern age, authority in Judaism resides in majority practice and in the judiciary. Reisner spoke about the importance of the responsa in forming schools of interpretation. Local rabbis would make a ruling on a particular religious ritual or obligation, and then solicit a confirmation of the ruling or a better opinion from other legal scholars. Over time the “responses” to these inquires were collected and formed the great legal codes of Maimonides (d. 1204) and Joseph ben Ephraim Caro (d. 1575), which remain classic sources of religious rulings till this day.

Reisner also examined different contemporary approaches to religious law and ethics within the various denominations of Jewry. The Orthodox view the first five books of Moses as “God’s literal word” having divine authority, he noted; whereas the Conservatives place the Torah within a tradition of unfolding interpretation that includes modern historical perspectives. For the Reform and Reconstructionists, Jewish history and law inform religious practice but in a manner that allows for a wide degree of interpretation based on contemporary needs.

The group also discussed recent uprisings in the Middle East. Members expressed concern for the large Christian minorities in Egypt and Syria, where the situation is volatile. Regime change in many of these countries poses particular challenges for Israeli security and peace efforts with Palestinians, they noted.

The beatification of the late Pope John Paul II on May 1 was acknowledged as a cause for celebration for both Catholics and Jews. The late pope made extraordinary gestures of friendship, culminating in the historic visit to the Wall in Jerusalem where he asked pardon of God for past sins committed by Catholics against Jews. 

Catholic participants at the consultation also included  Bishop Basil H. Losten, former bishop of Stamford for Ukrainians; Auxiliary Bishop Denis Madden of Baltimore; Christian Brother David Carroll, former associate director at Catholic Near East Welfare Association; Atonement Father James Loughran, Graymoor Ecumenical Institute; Msgr. Guy Massie, Ecumenical Office of the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York; Father Dennis McManus, special assistant to Archbishop Dolan; Father Robert Robbins, Ecumenical Office of the Archdiocese of New York; and Jesuit Father Drew Christiansen,America Magazine.

Jewish participants included Rabbi Jerome Davidson, Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Beth El, Great Neck, New York; Rabbi Lewis Eron, Cherry Hill, New Jersey; Judith  Hertz, NCS Advisor; Rabbi Richard Marker, chairman of the International Committee for Jewish-Christian Consultation; Rabbi Joel Meyers, executive vice-president emeritus of the (Conservative) Rabbinical Assembly; Mark Pelavin of the Reform Action Center, Washington; Rabbi Jonathan Waxman, Temple Beth Sholom, Smithtown, New York; Rabbi Jeffrey Wohlberg, past president of the (Conservative) Rabbinical Assembly; Rabbi David Straus, Central Conference of American Rabbis; Rabbi Gilbert Rosenthal, National Council of Synagogues; Jack Fein, United Synagogue ofConservative Judaism; Rabbi Richard Hirsh, Reconstrucionist Rabbinical Association; Rabbi Moshe Birnbaum, Rabbinical Assembly.
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Keywords: National Council of Synagogues, Commission on Relations with the Jewish People, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, “Sources of Authority in Catholicism and Judaismm,” dialogue, Archbishop Wilton Gregory, Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, Rabbi Alvin Berkun, Father James Massa, Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, Rabbi Avram Reisner

(End quote from the USCCB. Emphasis supplied)

The following New Testament Scripture has been nullified by the the Second Vatican Council, two popes (one "Blessed" and the other still reigning), and the current bishops of the United States, in a manner similar to the way in which the rabbis have nullified the Old Testament:  "...the interpretations of prophets, sages, and rabbis whose judgments gave rise to the Mishnah (2nd century C.E.), and later the Talmud (completed in the 7th century C.E.), would be decisive in mediating the word to subsequent generations."

"For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved — so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But God's wrath has come upon them to the utmost.” 1 Thessalonians 2: 14-16

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http://revisionistreview.blogspot.com/2011/05/apostle-paul-has-been-kicked-out-of.html
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Rabbis: demons built Solomon’s temple and Solomon’s successor was a demon

Here is a typical example of Talmudic nonsense about Biblical patriarchs and the sacred Temple. Who could believe such detritus about King Solomon and God’s Temple except the self-deluding captives of the Talmud? In this article we learn that “hobgoblins” (mischievous devils) helped to build the Temple, and that King Solomon was succeeded as King of Israel not by Rehoboam as the Bible says, but by Ashmodeus, the king of the demons, as the Talmud says.

Excerpt:

Behind the plain reading of the text the sages inform us that "everyone helped in the construction of this Temple - even the spirits, the hobgoblins, the angels" (Shir Hashirim Rabba 1:5).

 ...Thereafter, although he (Solomon) is successful politically and militarily, his inner world begins to crumble till finally he is "replaced" by Ashmodeus, King of the underworld spirits (Talmud, Gittin 68b).

The day that King Solomon overslept 


The building of the Temple - recalled in the haftarah -  was the apex of Solomon's reign but it heralded a spiritual decline,  according to rabbinic folklore

By Mordechai Beck, Jewish Chronicle (UK) September 28, 2010

Solomon offered 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep at the Temple dedication

The haftarah for Shemini Atzeret in the diaspora recalls the ceremony mounted by King Solomon for the inauguration of the First Temple. In this it provides a fitting climax to the careers not only of Solomon but also of his father, King David, who, in the parallel text in the Book of Chronicles, planned and devised almost every detail of its complex architecture. The amount of words lavished on the building's design in both sources only emphasises its supreme importance in the annals of ancient Israel's history.

The subject matter is nevertheless surprising given that the festival of Succot which precedes this Eighth Day of Solemn Assembly (or, more literally, of Holy Happening) is centred on the frail booths representing our ancestors' dwellings when crossing the Sinai desert on leaving Egypt. Why, then, should the inauguration of this splendid and solid edifice be featured here? How can it serve as a coda to the season of autumnal festivities?

The ostensible reason for including this particular text in the day's celebrations is the verse that appears towards the end of the reading: "On the eighth day, he (Solomon) sent the people (away) and they blessed the King, and they went to their tents rejoicing and full of good cheer for all the goodness that God had bestowed on David his servant and on Israel His people" (I Kings 8:66). This eighth day is - according to the Book of Chronicles (II Chronicles 7:9) - none other than the day after the Feast of Succot, which in that particular year also marked the dedication of Solomon's Temple.

This grand ceremony may have been in lieu of any other mitzvah attached to the day. Though mentioned twice in the Torah (Leviticus 23:36 and Numbers 29: 35-37), no special reason is given for it, or any mitzvah other than ceasing from work and offering up appropriate sacrifices.

As a formal explanation this may be adequate - other haftarot are chosen for no greater coincidences. However, here there seems to be some other motive behind the ancient sages' choice, if for no other reason than that the number eight is often loaded with hints at going beyond the normal cycle of things, or even of eternity. Moreover, the sages ascribe to this day the sobriquet regel bifnei atzmo literally an independent festival juxtaposed to, but different from Succot, a fourth "foot" to be added to the shalosh regalim - literally the three "foot festivals" of Passover, Shavuot and Succot. Yet the reason for this fourth "foot" remains hidden, unexplained.

It might be assumed that the sages would praise Solomon for this major construction. Yet they, too, raise many questions as to it efficacy, as though they are troubled by the very need of such a structure, splendid as it is. For 400 years, since leaving Egypt, the Children of Israel seemingly had no need of such a building. Why now? Was it only because no one until David and Solomon had the knowhow to design and build such a temple? Was it because only with such a building could David's insistence on the centrality of Jerusalem be justified?

Behind the plain reading of the text the sages inform us that "everyone helped in the construction of this Temple - even the spirits, the hobgoblins, the angels" (Shir Hashirim Rabba 1:5). No less surprising is the midrash that tells of Solomon's marriage to the anonymous "daughter of Pharaoh". Their wedding took place on the night before the inauguration of the Temple and "the joy of the occasion was greater than that of the Temple inauguration" (Bemidbar Rabba 10:4).

The lady invited an orchestra to their wedding party, explaining to her new husband how each tune was dedicated to a different god. She then covered their bed chamber with a sheet studded with precious stones that shone as though they were the planets and stars. Each time the newly wed awoke, he thought it was still night and thus slept "till the fourth hour". His subjects, who were waiting impatiently for the Temple inauguration, were fearful of awaking him (he was sleeping on the Temple key). Finally, they sent in his mother Bathsheba to wake him up and give him a bit of her mind .

This extraordinary juxtaposition of nuptials with a foreign wife and the Temple's induction points up to another dimension of this haftarah, namely that the inauguration ceremony will be the spiritual apex of Solomon's reign. Thereafter, although he is successful politically and militarily, his inner world begins to crumble till finally he is "replaced" by Ashmodeus, King of the underworld spirits (Talmud, Gittin 68b).

Is this haftarah thus meant to be a subtle reminder of the dangers inherent in the spiritual life? Even if you are as wise as Solomon, or have spent a month or more in praying, fasting and feasting, you can never be sure that nefarious forces will not overtake you, and fling you into exile and oblivion, from where only God himself will be able to extricate you.

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