(1615) Evening all as the final scenes are played out.

 

21. If I don’t post these as they come up

… I’ll lose track of them with everything else going on. Pretty obvious why all this is coming out now. This is from Homer Pavlos, endorsed by Kassandra, therefore probably Orthodox:

Did Christ speak Greek? The mother tongue of Christ and the first Apostles was Aramaic. In Jerusalem at that time, which was 10 km from Bethlehem, there were at least five synagogues of Hellenistic Jews who used both Aramaic and Greek equally well. He was a Jewish preacher and later became a religious leader (the Apostles were Jews too but they also knew Greek).

Many people do not know that Hellenism in Judea was very strong back then and was embraced by many Jews. Especially in Jerusalem and Galilee. His preaching was mainly in Aramaic, and his teaching followed the Hellenistic philosophical tradition of his time. His teaching began to move away from the principles of Judaism and tended toward a new way of thinking. For that and many other reasons, he came into conflict with the dominant Jewish religion at the time.

Keep in mind that back then Judea was a province of the Roman Empire. A century earlier, the Maccabean Revolt had happened, a revolt by the Jews against the Greeks in order to keep their religion alive, because many Jews were embracing Hellenism. Although Maccabees later added elements from Greek culture in their lives.

Anyway, when the first missionaries began to go beyond Judea, the spread of Christ’s word necessarily had to be done in Greek. Greek at that time was what English is for us today: the global language of communication for people of every nationality. Christianity was first expanded explicitly and exclusively through the Greek language and culture.

The Hellenistic missionaries, therefore, and especially those who had Antioch as their center, were the pioneers in this direction. The translation of the Old Testament into Greek by the Seventy (72 Jewish scholars) constituted an important legacy for them. The 27 books of the New Testament were written from the beginning in Greek, because regardless of the original historical material or initial written sources, these texts all come from churches that used Greek as their means of communication.

Moreover, with the exception of a few passages, the books of the New Testament use the Greek Old Testament of the Septuagint everywhere. Consequently, the New Testament constitutes part of Greek literature.

Fun fact: 1. The term Hellenist (Ἑλληνιστής) is first used in Greek to describe a Greek Jew. According to the LSJ lexicon, it meant “one who uses the Greek language: a Greek Jew.” 2. “Christ” is a Greek word and derives from the Greek word “χριστός” (chrīstós), meaning “anointed one.” The word comes from the Greek verb “χρίω” (chrī́ō), meaning “to anoint.”

20. From an X commenter, re Seder

Christians should not go anywhere near it:

For Christians wishing Jews a “Happy Passover,” you’ve got no idea what you’re doing, what the holiday is actually about, or what those man-made post-temple Rabbinic traditions mean that are being observed. If you knew, you wouldn’t wish them a happy holiday.

First, keep in mind that all of the real rituals, given by God through Moses, for the real holiday, have been impossible to observe for roughly 1956 years. What they’re observing are new rites made up by rabbis, which are necessary when the thing the rituals were designed to foreshadow (Christ’s atonement) has already happened.

And what these new rituals are designed to show would blow your mind; chiefly, if you’re a Christian, it is designed as a hopeful longing for the day that God annihilates Christians and eternally damns their souls. The Seder’s fourth-cup ritual, the Shfoch Chamatkha (“Pour out Your wrath”) recitation, is explicitly directed at Christians.

Talmudic tractate sources, the Prague and Frankfurt Machzors, the Polish Siddurim, and Rabbi Abarbanel’s Sevach Pesach all confirm that the “nations” receiving four cups of divine vengeance are not some abstract theological category but Edom, which the rabbinic tradition consistently codes as Christianity. They drink it in anticipation of our destruction. But it doesn’t stop there.

The Shabbat HaGadol (the Saturday before Passover) prayer includes a petition comparing Christendom to “a ravening beast.” Day one prayers petition God to hew down the “bears, leopards, lions, and swine” (Persia, Greece, Babylon, and Rome/Christendom like pieces of slaughtered livestock.

Prayers offered on Day 2 and Day 7 aren’t any better. In fact, the entire Rabbinic Passover liturgy is built around a new typology: the Exodus from Egypt is the template, with Christians as the new Egyptians awaiting ten plagues and prayerful hope that God soon destroys us.

So while you think you’re being loving in wishing the Jews a happy and fun time at their anti-Jesus holiday, just know that they are cursing your existence and praying for your deaths and eternal destruction. “Happy Passover” is one of the dumber phrases that could ever be uttered by a Christian to a Jew. It’s not loving. It’s stupid and naive.

19. Moo corner

18. Further on what happened today

Chas3 no Easter address but Ramadamadingdong yes. Plus:

17. Zero Hedge

Trump Fires Pam Bondi As Attorney General

Update (1315ET): That didn’t take long – Bondi is out, according to Fox News and WSJ. 

Bondi met with Trump in the Oval Office Wednesday night ahead of his speech to the nation on the war in Iran, where she reportedly was informed of her ouster, according to two sources familiar with the meeting. 

16. Why Michelangelo did not paint The Last Supper

15. Women in charge of things publicly

14. Birthright no

13. Moo corner

12. The organised western fuel crisis