Your version of the philosophy of history lost.
He is correct that there is insufficient evidence to consider the resurrection a proven thing.
I want to take a minute to summarize a few things, and then I'm going to back out of further conversations where things like proof texting are used. As I've said, I'm simply not on that part of the journey any longer.
1. The passages that Christians see as trump cards, such as Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, Psalm 100, etc., really aren't. They aren't because we do not view them as Messianic prophecies. They are about the People of Israel as a whole or other individuals such as David or Hezekiah, and we believe that Christians are yanking them out of context in order to find Jesus in places where he really isn't.
If you ever get the inclination to wrestle with this, your best source to go to is Rabbi Tovia Singer, a wonderful stage two person such as yourself, which means he will speak in a way that you will be able to relate to, although you will very likely disagree with him. I'm not referring you to him because I think he will change your mind, but so that you can become aware that there are alternative views of your "trump cards." I also need to mention that Tovia Singer's videos (you can find them all on YouTube or at Outreach Judaism) are not meant to convert Christians such as yourself, but to reach out to JEWS who are involved with Christianity.
2. As I've said before, Jews have an entirely different paradigm. You are used to thinking within the framework that people are fallen, and that sin requires blood for atonement, and that Jesus is the savior that we all need. None of those ideas exist within Judaism. Where Christianity says, "You are broken, Jesus will save you," Judaism says, "The world is broken, it's your responsibility to fix it."
A. We do not see human beings as fallen. Rather we see human beings as having a dual nature: a yetzer hatov (inclination to good, IOW our conscience) and a yetzer hara (inclination to evil, aka our animals instincts). Even our yetzer hara is not truly evil--without our animal instincts people would stop having babies, for example. These instincts only become a problem when they conflict with our conscience.
B. The idea that only blood atones is contained only in the New Testament (book of Hebrews), not in the Torah.
The Torah is quite clear that grain offerings atone. It is also a significant point to mention that
atonement is only for unintentional sins. Intentional sins may not be atoned for--they must be repented of. The Tanakh ALSO makes it quite clear that it's NOT all about sacrifice at all!!!! It's about repentance. Psalm 51
18For You do not wish a sacrifice, or I should give it; You do not desire a burnt offering.
19The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; O God, You will not despise a broken and crushed heart.
C. We do not see any need for a spiritual savior. If we stumble, we repent. Ta Dah. That's its. You go to the person you harmed and do the best you can to make it right. Then you examine yourself to uncover why you sinned in the first place, and make whatever changes you need to make so that it doesn't happen again. There is no need for any middleman to mediate--we can go directly to God. Repentance restores you to righteousness. "The righteous man stumbles seven times, and rises up again." Proverbs 24:16
If you need help understanding that Jewish worldview, I'm more than happy to clarify as needed. However, I won't be joining in for any further debates about "This verse say this and that verse says that." For that I leave you in the wonderful hands of Tovia Singer. Oh, and in addition to his videos, he has also published a great
double volume set called "Let's Get Biblical." It is really ideal for all stage two individuals such as yourself.
outreachjudaism.org
