are. One of the 13 articles of Jewish faith drafted by the thirteenth century Jewish philosopher, Maimonides, states:

“I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah; and, though he tarry, I will wait daily for his coming.”

However, there are a couple of factors that make Christianity different from other messianic sects of Judaism that have risen throughout the years. First of all, the size of Christianity is much more than that of other sects. Secondly, it grew and changed into something quite different from what it started out as, and did so very early in its development. It became a different religion. This causes us to ask the critical questions: Why and how did this happen?

This new religion believes in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and yet has adopted many pagan beliefs and customs. Its new writings used the Tanakh (Old Testament) as its authoritative text by which it “proved” its positions. Then its leaders said that the authoritative text was not authoritative after all and they, in fact, were “doing away” with many of the principles found in the Tanakh: a contradiction that many Christians have no problem accepting. How did a group of just over one hundred followers grow into the most influential religion in all of history? Obviously, Christianity is part of God’s plan, but how exactly does it fit in?

A Matter of Perspective

Sometimes the key to understanding requires no more than viewing our beliefs from a vantage point we may never have considered.

The reason for this is that our doctrinal outlook is derived through a particular perspective that is based upon certain assumptions. These assumptions are held as undeniable

 

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