event horizon wrote:In any event, I'm happy to move onto the next Koranic inaccuracy. Here, the Koran says that the Jews believe that only Jews will enter 'Paradise'. I am not aware of any such belief in the Judaism, so this should, yet again, be regarded as a simple error.
2:111 - And they say, 'None shall enter Paradise except that they be Jews or Christians.' Such are their fancies. Say: 'Produce your proof, if you speak truly.'
We'll take it as read that on the first 'inaccuracy' eh won't be able to show where God says Ezra was worshipped by the Jews, and that all he has done is set up a strawman.
So, let us move on as he suggests.
Ok, I have to admit, I'm not a great scholar of the finer points of Judaism - so I will have to defer to what web sites on Judaism say.
A good place would be Judaism 101, I thought. So, let's see what they have to say about non-Jews going to heaven:
Do non-Jews have a place in Olam Ha-Ba? Although there are a few statements to the contrary in the Talmud, the predominant view of Judaism is that the righteous of all nations have a share in the Olam Ha-Ba. Statements to the contrary were not based on the notion that membership in Judaism was required to get into Olam Ha-Ba, but were grounded in the observation that non-Jews were not righteous people. If you consider the behavior of the surrounding peoples at the time that the Talmud was written, you can understand the rabbis' attitudes. By the time of Rambam, the belief was firmly entrenched that the righteous of all nations have a share in the Olam Ha-Ba.
http://www.jewfaq.org/olamhaba.htmNow, it appears to be saying that the Talmud does contain passages which say only Jews go to heaven, but that by the time of 'Rambam' (cool name, btw) this was changed and the previous belief was blamed on a notion that the earlier Jews believed they were the only righteous people.
[Edit - Rambam is no other than Maimonides who lived in Islamic Spain and later in Morocco- so perhaps his view of the Torah was influenced by the tolerance of his Muslim rulers? In any case, it appears that Rambam's interpretations were actually opposed by Rabbis at the time, so his tolerant views weren't the prevailing or previous views of Judaism - but, as I said, eh can correct this view if it is mistaken.]
The question therefore becomes, did the Jews of the 7th Century belong to those who thought they monopolised righteousness. The Jews of Arabia were surrounded by barbaric pagan Arabs who practiced female infanticide etc - so I would be surprised if they thought these guys were 'righteous'.
Anyway, over to you eh - you can tell us whether you agree with the above quote and perhaps dig out the quotes from the Talmud that say only Jews go to heaven. You can also tell us when the opinion changed and became more 'gentile-friendly'.
Cheers,
Shafique