- What is "Good"?
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- Moshe Ben-Chaim
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- Reader: Is a Gentile who believes G-d to be Jesus, or some
other "being", guilty of committing idolatry?
- Mesora: Yes.
Jesus and similar beliefs are idolatry.
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- Reader: Will he have a share in the world to come in light of
the fact that the teachings of these "gods" leads a person
to doing good things?
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- Mesora: No. One who has no
concept of who God is, is completely removed from reality. Good
intentions do not replace accurate knowledge, which is the only link
which we have to the Creator. Our entire relationship to God is solely
dependent on our accurate concept of reality, which has God's
existence and His manifested "traits" as the primary
principles.
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- Those who have conviction of God's Existence are the only ones who
can perform what is objectively good. Conversely, doing
"good" because one believes that Jesus wants us to do it is
in no way similar to one who does good out of a desire to follow the
Torah. A follower of Jesus does not act from an appreciation of God's
will, and therefore his actions are not in line with reality. In the
former we are doing that which reality - God - dictates. In the
latter, we are following the fantasies of a man which are completely
subjective. This is a very important point.
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- God created the universe and is therefore the Only Being worthy of
dictating how this reality must be followed; that is, what is
"good" and "bad", and what is "true" or
"false". God's unique act of creation preserved for Him
alone the right to direct man's affairs. One who is wise and studies
God's system of Torah will also understand that these directions are
the ultimate good for us, and those means by which we enjoy the most
pleasant life.
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