Hi Tempest, I would be glad to. I'm not sure what thread you are referring to as I have posted about "The way" multiple times. No matter though.
The first Church in Jerusalem was lead by Peter, James and John and they were originally viewed as a new sect of the Hebrew faith. They followed closely the teachings of Jesus, but they were all Judeans who knew the Torah and the traditions of the Saducees and Pharisees. Jesus spoke often against the corrupt temple system, so although they followed the Torah, they had the revelation that Jesus was the lamb of God. They understood they no longer needed to pay the temple tax or buy animals form the temple market to present to the priests for an offering. They observed the Torah, absent of the traditions of men (teachings of the Pharisees, Saducees and Scribes) and the temple rituals that were fulfilled and perfected in the work of the Cross.
They still observed the 7 feasts of Israel, but with the revelation of how Jesus fulfilled the spring feasts in his earthly ministry and knowing that he would fulfill the fall feasts at his second coming. Through the Revelation that Peter received from God they soon learned that salvation was also for the Gentiles and they welcomed Gentiles into fellowship.
Because they rejected the corrupt temple system, they were persecuted by the elite religious leaders of Judea. Paul was a Pharisee that was trained in all the traditions of Jews. He was a Pharisee and he actively persecuted the followers of "The Way". When Paul experienced his "conversion" on the road to Damascus, he did not go to the leadership in Jerusalem to learn what the disciples, who walked with Jesus in the flesh, were teaching. I suspect like many of us his pendulum swung so far the other direction that he wanted nothing to do with following the Torah and that is why his writings contain such derogatory remarks regarding "the Law".
There is record in the Bible of much contention between Paul and the leadership in Jerusalem. The reality is that the tension between Paul and the disciples is never reconciled in the Bible. My best guess is that Peter, James and John remembered a few teachings of Jesus that discouraged them from outright rebuking or condemning Paul. First Paul was preaching Jesus crucified and risen as the Christ, so the disciples remembered what Jesus said in Luke 9:49-50
"Master," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us."
"Do not stop him," Jesus said, "for whoever is not against you is for you."
So though Paul was not one of them, they did not feel the need to stop or oppose him directly. They simply tried to combat some of the teachings of Paul they did not necessarily agree with. I believe the book of James is a direct refute of some of the confusing conclusions that can be made from some of the writings of Paul.
Also Jesus' model of leadership was contrary to the world system of hierarchical leadership models so I suspect the disciples were not willing to condemn or place judgement on Paul after they attempted to reason with him. They did their best to encourage the Gentiles to follow the minimum requirements of the Torah and left it at that.
Eventually the Gentile believers that came to faith through the works of Paul were the first to be called "Christians". The Judean believers in Jerusalem and the gentiles who joined them were never referred to as "Christians". They were know as "The Way".
Of course we know that Christianity became the dominant religion and "The Way" seemed to fade into history with the decimation of Jerusalem in 70AD.
So does that make Christianity a false religion? It's difficult to say. From a technical standpoint I would say there is much wrong with Orthodox Christianity that is based more on the writings of Paul then the actual words of Jesus or the teaching of Peter, James and John. Whether Paul was a false teacher or just misguided doesn't really matter to me. Either way his letters (and their is no indication in Paul's letters that he believed he was penning the words of God) have certainly done exactly what Peter warned about in 2 Peter 3:16. They have brought much confusion and destruction to many Christians.
I see some great wisdom in some of the writings attributed to Paul. I do not disregard his writings completely, but when any conclusion drawn form his writings contradicts Jesus, Peter, James or John, I have to dismiss that conclusion.
As far as following the Torah, I admit I am still working through what all that means. Fist of all I thinkk the translation of the Torah as "Law" is misleading. The better translation is God's perfect guidance and instruction for living a holy life. I don't think God is looking to judge and sentence us by his law. His guidance and instruction is given to us as the path to receive his blessings and favor in this lifetime. If we don't follow them he can't guarantee the results we will receive. That is the reason I believe few Christians actually live a victorious life.
So how do we realistically follow God's perfect guidance and instruction? As a gentile there is much of the Torah that does not apply to me. The Torah contains civil, moral and ceremonial instruction. Since the true physical kingdom of Israel does not exist it is impossible to follow the civil law. Since the temple no longer exists it is impossible to follow the ceremonial rituals. That leaves the moral instruction...basically anything that applies to how we relate to our neighbor and God himself. Of course the ten commandments apply. Jesus himself summed up "the law" as Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.
So basically I believe anyway we can observe and see how the Torah applies to us personally we ought to do. So what about the dietary laws? I think there is value in following them, but I don't think God is condemning anyone who doesn't follow them perfectly. Remember those dietary rules were given to a nation that was trying to survive in very hostile conditions. God was giving them every possible advantage for them to succeed. I guess my stance is if you are complaining about your health but not trying to follow the essence of God's dietary instruction, it's more on you than God.
I personally have stopped eating shelfish and drastically reduced the amount of pork I eat. (Yeah I still have a weak spot for bacon). The reality today is that processed foods and refined sugar probably have a more detrimental effect on our health than pork. But back in the OT times pork was probably the most unhealthy type of food to eat for the Hebrews.
Bottom line is I don't think God expects us to give up the common sense he gave us. Wisdom and the leading of the holy spirit will lead us to things that God wants the most for us. I believe Jesus summed it up best with Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind and love your neighbor as yourself. Sin is simply anything that is contrary to God's will or against his guidance and instruction for living.
To clarify we are not able to follow God's guidance and instruction in our own ability. It's only by the grace that comes in trusting in the ransom that Jesus paid to set us free from the power of sin. Contrary to what most Christians believe, Jesus did not die on the cross to save us from the eternal punishment for our sins. He dies to set us free from the power of sin (hence the ransom) in our lives in this present age. Avoiding chastisement in the ages to come is certainly a perk of our faith, but the true purpose of Christ's work on the cross is set us free form the power of sin in the here and now.
So obviously this is a "macro" view of all of this. I do not in anyway think I have arrived in a complete understanding of "the Way" and my faith is still evolving and growing. If you have certain topics you want to delve into specifics, please let me know. If you ask something I don't yet know how to answer we can explore and believe God to guide us together if you are interested.
God bless you!
Todd
