Name: Ken Thomas
Other (Self-Given) Names:
Japanese
– Ken Kouno (Kouno Ken, 洸野剣, こうのけん) [KOE-no ken]
Hebrew –
Reuel Shemaiah (רְעוּאֵל
שְׁמַעְיָה) [reh-ooh-EL
sheh-mah-YAH]
Age: 20
Made New (Baptized): 1st October, 2006; 9th Ethanim
(Tishri)
Nationality: Jamaican (West Indies)
Occupation: Student, University of the West Indies
Languages: English (primary), Japanese (learning), Spanish (some)
Why do you
call yourself a “Judaeo-Christian”? What does that mean?
It is my
way of expressing the fact that I do not believe my religion, my faith started
2000 years ago. The words of Jesus and the apostles say to me that Jesus did
not come to start a new religion, but call to reform. His words, his teachings
were rooting in the Hebrew religion; including his claim to be Christ, which is
also an Israelite (Jewish) hope. I do not
believe the acts of Jesus were intended to start a new religion any more than
the revelation at Sinai did.
Hebrews 11,
what is often known as the “Faith Chapter” does not present a great
divide; it instead shows that it is one faith. One faith from Abel to
Noah to Abraham to Moses and beyond. Earlier in the epistle, in Hebrews 3:1-6,
Moses mentioned as part of “God’s house”; the same house that
Peter mentions in 1 Peter 2:5.
Paul shows in
Romans 2:26-29 that the identity of his faith was still very Jewish. A true Jew
to him was someone who was of converted (circumcised) heart. Gentiles, he said,
were not distinct from the identity of Israel; they are grafted into Israel,
counted as an Israelite (Romans 11:11-22). Israel, he said, was given the same
spiritual food that we are given, drank the same drink had had the same Rock
with them, which was Christ (1 Corinthians 10:3-4).
So, I
don’t see my “Christianity” as something separate from the
faith of Judaism. Jesus didn’t, neither did the apostles. The same
concepts and Scriptures that they had known from youth as Jews applied to their
faith in the Messiah. The faith of the Hebrew Scriptures is not just the root
of my faith, it is my faith.
So, in order
to put as much of this as I can into one phrase, I say Judaeo-Christian.
Why do you use
the terms “Hebrew Scriptures” and “Apostolic
Scriptures”?
The simple
answer is that I don’t agree with the terms “Old Testament”
and “New Testament”. When properly understood, we see the promises
of the New Covenant throughout the Bible. For example, the promises of
Deuteronomy 30 state that after a period of exile from the Promised Land, the
Israelites would return and then, they would obey (specifically vs. 8). Many
other prophecies speak of a time when the whole world will be engulfed in
peace, obedience and knowledge of God (e.g. Isaiah 11:9).
These promises
found in what is called the “Old Testament” (meaning Old Covenant)
are part and parcel of the New Covenant. The Law written on the heart (Jeremiah
31:33; Hebrews 8:11) is what is needed for the promised obedience of Israel;
and the New Covenant promise also says that all will know the Lord Yahweh
(Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 8:12).
So, I tend to
use the other terms.
Note: Boku
(僕) is a Japanese word that means “I” or
“me”.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Well,
that’s all I’ve thought to say about myself so far. Hope you are
blessed by my site. Feel free to e-mail me if there’s any comment or
question.