Questions

Terry Sampson said:

Hardly. Mods have to ding you before you get that boy scout badge. And you don't get an eagle scout badge until you've been banned for some period of time.

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Terry Sampson said:

So, can you tell me, in light of my quotes from the Talmud, in my post #50, whether or not my initial questions regarding my second topic make sense, or shall we leave the matter where I proposed leaving it in my post #46?

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Terry Sampson said:

I'll leave the issue of whether or not your post is inappropriately posted here up to the Moderators to decide.
Whether or not you've accurately presented your argument may require a judgement from the Beth Din, because I read:

• In Judaism
• The doctrine of "inherited sin" is not found in most of mainstream Judaism. Although some in Orthodox Judaism place blame on Adam and Eve for overall corruption of the world, and though there were some Jewish teachers in Babylon[120] who believed that mortality was a punishment brought upon humanity on account of Adam's sin, that is not the dominant view in most of Judaism today. Modern Judaism generally teaches that humans are born sin-free and untainted, and choose to sin later and bring suffering to themselves.[121]
  
  Jewish theologians are divided in regard to the cause of what is called "original sin". Others teach that it was due to Adam's yielding to temptation in eating of the forbidden fruit and has been inherited by his descendants; the majority of chazalic opinions, however, do not hold Adam responsible for the sins of humanity,[122] teaching that, in Genesis 8:21 and 6:5-8, God recognized that Adam did not willfully sin. However, Adam is recognized by some[120] as having brought death into the world by his disobedience. Because of his sin, his descendants will live a mortal life, which will end in death of their bodies.[123] According to book Legends of the Jews, in Judgement Day, Adam will disavow any complaints of all men who accuse him as the cause of death of every human on earth. Instead, Adam will reproach their mortality because of their sins.[124]
• • B. Shabbat 145b-146a:
    • Rabbi Yoḥanan then explained to them: Why are gentiles ethically contaminated? It is because they did not stand on Mount Sinai. As when the snake came upon Eve, i.e., when it seduced her to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, it infected her with moral contamination, and this contamination remained in all human beings. When the Jewish people stood at Mount Sinai, their contamination ceased, whereas gentiles did not stand at Mount Sinai, and their contamination never ceased. Rav Aḥa, the son of Rava, said to Rav Ashi: What about converts? How do you explain the cessation of their moral contamination? Rav Ashi said to him: Even though they themselves were not at Mount Sinai, their guardian angels were present, as it is written: “It is not with you alone that I make this covenant and this oath, but with he that stands here with us today before the Lord our God, and with he that is not here with us today” (Deuteronomy 29:13–14), and this includes converts
  • B. Yevamot 103b:
    • The Gemara answers: He implants filth in her and contaminates her, as her body accepts his semen. As Rabbi Yoḥanan also said, based on his understanding that the serpent seduced Eve into having sexual relations with him: When the serpent came upon Eve, he infected her with moral contamination, and this contamination remained in all human beings. When the Jewish people stood at Mount Sinai their contamination ceased, whereas with regard to gentiles, who did not stand at Mount Sinai, their contamination never ceased.
  • B. Avodah Zarah 22b:
    • And if you wish, say instead: Even when he finds the wife, he also engages in bestiality with the animal, as the Master said: The animal of a Jew is more appealing to gentiles than their own wives, as Rabbi Yoḥanan says: At the time when the snake came upon Eve, at the time of the sin of her eating from the Tree of Knowledge, it infected her with moral contamination, and this contamination lingers in all human beings. The Gemara asks: If that is so, a Jew should also be suspected of engaging in bestiality. The Gemara answers: With regard to the Jewish people, who stood at Mount Sinai and received the Torah, their contamination ended, whereas in the case of gentiles, who did not stand at Mount Sinai and receive the Torah, their contamination has not ended.

(To be continued)

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Harel13 said:

Now here's the real kicker: Before the sin, Man saw the world in only two ways: True and false. After Man sinned, Man saw the world still in two ways, but vastly different: Good and Evil. What changed? When you look at the world as true or false, you know that there's really only one path. That other path? That's an illusion. It's not really there. When you look at the world as good and evil, there's that one path...but there's also another path...both are equally plausible paths one can take. That that one is the path of evil doesn't negate the fact this it's still a legit option. That's moral contamination.

Trust me when I tell you that Jews still need to choose between good and evil and not true and false.

My point is, that no piece of text, in particular in the Talmud, is as clear-cut as it seems on its face...

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Harel13 said:

Talmud is complicated...

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