Semantics
Christian Argument: Allow me to preface each rebuttal by stating that The Lord Jesus Christ never mentioned the word “Christian” or “Christianity” or even religion. To that, the word religion is not found in the Tanakh.
Response: Playing semantics is really not going to help your case. No, these terms are not used in the Tanakh but we are using terms everyone knows and accepts. This does not change the fact that Jesus is NOT Israel’s messiah nor is he part of a triune godhead.
Jesus’ Teaching
Christian Argument: Jesus obviously taught exclusively from the Tanakh in synagogues and in the second temple. Why was a carpenter from Nazareth who never attended rabbinical school even permitted to teach the SanHedrin? And why were they astounded by His teaching?
Response: If Jesus taught in the synagogues then he would have taught from Hebrew texts but he would not have taught from the Tanakh. The Tanakh – the codified Hebrew Bible – did not exist in the first century.
I reject the idea that Jesus ever taught in the Sanhedrin and the learned elders would most definitely not have been astonished by a 12-year-old boy’s “knowledge.” Nowhere in the texts does it say that Jesus taught in the Sanhedrin. In addition, the Sanhedrin met as a court of law and would not waste time sitting around talking to a child. If they met, it was because they needed to make decisions about a legal case or ritual pronouncements.
Christian Bible
Christian Argument: There is no such thing as a Christian bible. The New Testament was written by 1st century Jews excluding Luke and Acts of the Apostles. All 12 of His disciples were 1st century Jews. All early church members were Jews.
Response: Yes, the Christian Bible exists. Again, playing semantics will not help your cause. The Christian Bible is not recognized by the Jews in any way, shape, or form as being legitimate scripture. It is not considered to be the word of God. In addition, not all first-century Christians were Jews.
Even if the Christian Bible was written by first-century Jews, that doesn’t make it a set of “Jewish” documents. If these writers believed Jesus was God incarnate then they had put themselves outside of Torah and outside of Judaism.
Nobody knows who actually wrote the texts of the Christian Bible. The names associated with the texts are religious traditions from the Catholic church – as are the biographies of those supposed authors. Remember that Matthew and Luke copied from Mark and added a bit more myth. John is very different and is more “gnostic” in its approach.
Even if the authors were first-century Jews it is obvious from the texts that the authors were not religious and not deeply familiar with the Jewish idea of the Messiah or even the basic concepts of the Torah, Prophets, and Writings. In addition, these authors were not eyewitnesses to the events and wrote their stories years after Jesus supposedly died.
Christian Bible Authors
Christian Argument: Why would 1st century second temple attending Jews do this? What did they get? Money? No. Political power or office? No. Front seats at the temple? No! Also, Peter is the only apostle to even mention the word Christian as it relates to a group of people who trust in the Messiahship of Jesus in 1 Peter 4:16. He selected 12 men because in His coming eternal kingdom, those 12 men will judge the twelve tribes of Israel – Matthew 19:28.
Response: I would have no way of knowing the reason why the authors wrote these texts. I am sure it was in part because of the desire to codify the oral traditions that were swirling around in the first-century about Jesus. I really don’t care why they wrote these traditions since it has no bearing on them being from God or not. The Christian texts are NOT from God and have nothing to do with Judaism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUySL3IrNes