Ask a Jew...

[Torey]

So with no Heaven and no Hell like how it is taught in Christianity, what was the structure of the spiritual world to the ancient Jew? Was there an adversary? Were there demons in the sense that Christians mean them today?

This would depend on the definition of "the ancient Jew" - or rather, to which point in the history of the Jewish people are you referring? I only refer to this query due to the fact that the Jewish people, like nearly every other cultural or religious group, have had a rich and tragic history which has changed and evolved Jewish mythology as the people experienced various other cultures and religions.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that to speculate about what the spiritual world was like for the ancient Jew is rather difficult without directing the question to a specific point in the history of the Jewish people.

I think there were quite a lot of demons!

Even more so than in the Christian faith.

I wouldn't say that there were more, but evil spirits certainly made their appearances.

[Azvanna]

I heard today that Judaism was reconstructing itself at the same time Christianity was establishing itself. The speaker gave a date around 400CE, so I mean before then. As you might guess, I'm using this information to get a clearer picture of beliefs in place during the time that St Paul was writing his epistles and the gospel writers were writing their accounts of Jesus' life.

[mathieu]

Well the thread is pretty old, but I will still ask by curiosity.


Do you feel the jewish community as a kind of despite or hate for non jews? Like they are not human being?

[Dunkeld]

Well the thread is pretty old, but I will still ask by curiosity.

The thread may be old.
But antisemitism is still with us, I am sorry to say.

[Azvanna]

Well the thread is pretty old, but I will still ask by curiosity.


Do you feel the jewish community as a kind of despite or hate for non jews? Like they are not human being?

Is there a typo here? Do you mean:

Do you feel the Jewish community has a kind of spite or hate for non-jews? Like they (ie non-jews) are not human beings?