This effort represents my third and likely final effort at writing a Systematic Theology for the restoration of Nazarene Judaism. The first was titled Nazarene Jewish Manifesto and has been translated into various languages over the years (The Second Edition was published in 2002 and the First Edition sometime earlier). The next was a 434 page book published in 2007 titled Nazarene Theology: A Systematic Theology for Nazarene Judaism. This third effort will not present a different theology by and large, but hopefully the added years of my experience, will result in a presentation that is better organized, more thorough in some areas, while more concise in others.
There is always the danger in writing a definitive systematic theology for a movement, of creating the impression that any disagreements with this systematic theology, would make one a heretic from Nazarene Judaism. In fact, there are areas where disagreement would make one heretical, but in most cases there is room for some disagreement. And there are other areas where a disagreement might not be “heretical” but would still mark a departure from the demonstrable beliefs of the ancient Sect of the Nazarenes. Overall, it is my intent to leave the Nazarene Community a guide, based on my own decades of research, rather than some sort of canon.
That said, there are five “keys” I have used in my restoration of the Ancient Sect of Nazarene Judaism:
- The Key of History (What we know about the Nazarenes primarily in the writings of the “Church Fathers” but to a lesser extent the Rabbinic literature)
- The Hebrew and Aramaic origins of the Ketuvim Netzarim (The books commonly known as the “New Testament”) and what these book say in their original Hebrew and/or Aramaic.
- The Essenes and what we know of them from Josephus, Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls, as a sect of Second Temple Era Judaism as context to Nazarene Judaism.
- The Pharisees and the Rabbinic literature as insight into Second Temple Era Judaism as context to Nazarene Judaism.
- The clear parallels between the Nazarene views of the Godhead and the view of the Three Pillars of the Godhead of the Kabbalah and Zohar with parallels to Philo’s view of the Godhead as testimony to a common Second Temple Era source.
I have learned these five keys in my decades of study, and they have made it possible to restore the beliefs and practices of our ancient Nazarene forefathers.
Since this (final?) systematic theology is being published online, it can be revised, expanded, etc, as needed in the future. So I expect this to be the final and definitive work.
One last word: This material is being published and provided on the internet for free, in the interest of the most effective method of restoring the ancient sect of the Nazarenes. It is paid for by the tithes and freewill offerings of Nazarenes all over the world who are supporting this work by clicking HERE. Or by sending donations by Paypal to donations@wnae.org .