"In Jesus’ day, rabbis concocted a system that defeated the purpose of oaths. They taught that oaths might or might not be binding, depending on how one swore: If one swore by Jerusalem it was not binding, but if one swore toward Jerusalem, it was. If one swore by the temple, it was not binding, but if one swore by the temple’s gold, it was. If one swore by the altar of sacrifice, it was not binding, if one swore by the gift on the altar, it was.
This illustrates the way in which certain teachers manipulated God’s Word in Jesus’ day. When they read a challenging law, they reduced it to something manageable. When they heard, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” they redefined “neighbor” so that not everyone counted as one (Luke 10:29). They refrained from adultery but claimed a right to divorce freely, then take another woman. When they did something similar with oaths, Jesus cut off oaths entirely: “Do not take an oath at all” (Matt. 5:34a)."
I'm familiar with these teachings, but if you wanna judge between two religions, you can't just look at one side. At this point, most Christians inherit the Biblical view of what Judaism was at the time, but then I watch a rabbi on YouTube and the picture that Jesus has painted doesn't hold. And they convincingly claim that the New Testament is misquoting the old one. So now I feel doubly mislead: 1) about the characterization of Jews and 2) about why they reject Jesus.
"In Jesus’ day, rabbis concocted a system that defeated the purpose of oaths. They taught that oaths might or might not be binding, depending on how one swore: If one swore by Jerusalem it was not binding, but if one swore toward Jerusalem, it was. If one swore by the temple, it was not binding, but if one swore by the temple’s gold, it was. If one swore by the altar of sacrifice, it was not binding, if one swore by the gift on the altar, it was.
This illustrates the way in which certain teachers manipulated God’s Word in Jesus’ day. When they read a challenging law, they reduced it to something manageable. When they heard, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” they redefined “neighbor” so that not everyone counted as one (Luke 10:29). They refrained from adultery but claimed a right to divorce freely, then take another woman. When they did something similar with oaths, Jesus cut off oaths entirely: “Do not take an oath at all” (Matt. 5:34a)."
I'm familiar with these teachings, but if you wanna judge between two religions, you can't just look at one side. At this point, most Christians inherit the Biblical view of what Judaism was at the time, but then I watch a rabbi on YouTube and the picture that Jesus has painted doesn't hold. And they convincingly claim that the New Testament is misquoting the old one. So now I feel doubly mislead: 1) about the characterization of Jews and 2) about why they reject Jesus.
i.e. better no oath than one taken for the sake of it