Rabbi Manis Friendman's views on God and religion

[Lamb]

Have you discussed with him about this issue?

I thought he added it? @Romanos

 

[Romanos]

Theist has been added as an option.

 

[prism]

'God needs us'...??
What was God doing in eternity minus the history of man?
Otherwise, thought-provoking.

 

[Lucian]

What was God doing in eternity minus the history of man?

Probably creating other worlds.
Why would anyone create something without having any need? Even art, which is considered the least useful of things, is created from needs - the need to express, to decorate, to improve the world...

 

[Stravinsk]

I invite you to watch the first 12 minutes of this video and share your thoughts below. I promise it is worth watching; it is the most interesting thing I've listened to in quite a while. I was taken aback by how antithetical his views on God and religion are to what we're taught in Christianity.

I got up to about the 18minute mark. I took some notes, direct quotes:


"God needs us"
"The concept of Hell is horrific"
'we're Jewish even if we don't believe in God"
"Judaism is what god needs from us'
"so jews never practice a religion, we are his people doing what He
needs done'

"Jews are bringing God to the world"

If one wants to call this "enlightened", that's their prerogative. In a nutshell, this rabbi seems to strongly insinuate that Jews are God, a view that isn't surprising because in their x-tra 'scriptural' writings (Talmud, Zohar, Kabbalah) they are the master race, they will get goyim slaves, the goyim are animals, Jesus is burning in hot excrement, sexual intercourse with children is fine as long as it's unnatural etc.

 

[prism]

Probably creating other worlds.

The 'problem word is 'probably'. God doesn't live in the realm of probabilities, but rather in the realm of certainty.
There is no revelation from God that He did so.
If He did, wouldn't Jesus have had to die for their sin as well, since all creation was set below Adam?

 

[Lucian]

In a nutshell, this rabbi seems to strongly insinuate that Jews are God

In another video, he literally said that the world does not needs Jews. He doesn't think that Jews are God.

 

[prism]

what's with these funky hats?
(they don't even fit right)

 

[Stravinsk]

In another video, he literally said that the world does not needs Jews. He doesn't think that Jews are God.

It sounds like this 'rabbi', based on all the statements he made, entertains entirely contradictory views, which necessarily cannot be true at the same time.

I think I put my statement in the previous response in context adequately enough. Any jew who says "a jew is a jew even if he doesn't believe in God" and "the Jews are bringing God to the world" - these 2 statements are in themselves contradictory unless that person believes the jews are God. Based on several things I read on Judaism (and seen Jews practice in reference to Zohar/Kaballah), this really isn't a stretch.

The average Christian thinks Jews follow/adhere to Torah. What they adhere to, in their Yeshivas is an *interpretation* of the Torah through their other writings, ie: Talmud, Zohar, Kaballah. So the Jew holds Torah up high for the world to see, but doesn't tell them that's not exactly what he/she follows, especially if they are rabbinic.