Showing results by author "Eitan Bar" in All Categories

For centuries, many have been taught to believe that the Bible presents a vivid picture of a fiery Hell, where God sadistically torments most of humanity by burning their skin for all eternity. But is this really the picture Scripture paints? Were you raised to view Hell through the lens of the Augustinian-Calvinist tradition, perhaps too intimidated ever to question it? If so, this book is for you. In it, we will challenge the fundamentalist perspective on Hellfire by exploring the original context in which the biblical teachings on Hell were written.

Have you ever wondered how the God of love and grace, introduced by Jesus—a Jewish rabbi in Israel two thousand years ago who proclaimed His mission not to judge the world but to save it—morphed into a Western fundamentalist god of fear, wrath, and violence? This transformation is rooted in a twisted theology marked by misinterpretations, flawed translations, and verses stripped from their original context. In this book, I aim to expose and refute the doctrine most central to the destructive ideology known as "Christian Fundamentalism."

There is no better way to comprehend our Abba's love for us than through The Parable of the Prodigal Son. However, one might miss significant insights if interpreted from a Western Christian perspective. Studying it from the ancient Jewish biblical context—considering Jesus was a Jewish rabbi in 1st-century Israel—can reveal layers of the parable in unprecedented ways and demonstrate God's unconditional love in ways you've never seen before!

Between 2012 and 2018, I collected all the Jewish rabbinic arguments against Christianity I could find in rabbinic publications (magazines, books, and videos.) Since 2015 I have released about 150 short videos in Hebrew (viewed over 50 million times in Israel alone!) where I introduce and refute the top rabbinic objections to Jesus, the New Testament, and Christianity. This book is a compilation of transcripts of the videos translated into English. It is written in a simple non-academic style.

There is a perplexing question Christians don't usually know how to answer: Why do the Jewish people reject Christ so strongly? In this book, Dr. Eitan Bar goes beyond his personal experiences and uses extensive research to investigate the historical, theological, cultural, and psychological factors that inhibit Jews from accepting Jesus Christ as their Messiah. He examines how Judaism, initially boring Christianity, evolved into a faith that contradicts and is hostile to Christianity.

The translation of the Hebrew Scriptures is both immensely important and challenging. It's vital because it allows billions of people who do not read or understand Hebrew to engage with the Hebrew Scriptures. However, capturing the full meaning of the original language is a complex and sometimes impossible task.

Dr. Eitan Bar (born 1984, Tel Aviv) is a Bible scholar, author, and Israeli-Jewish follower of Jesus with multiple advanced degrees in Bible and theology. His unique background—living in Israel, being a native Hebrew speaker, and possessing advanced Christian education—provides a fresh and timely perspective on Christian beliefs and doctrines.

This is a free excerpt from my new book, ”HELL: A Jewish Perspective on a Christian Doctrine,” available in Kindle, paperback, and audio format: https://www.amazon.com/HELL/dp/B0CDC4CJTC

We are living in an era where the Bible is not just read regularly by Christians, but with the advent of social media, it seems almost everyone nowadays is sharing their own interpretation of it. However, despite the considerable time many individuals spend reading the scriptures, a significant number overlook or are unaware of the fundamental rules or principles of interpreting ancient texts correctly. This oversight can lead to misinterpretations of the biblical text with far-reaching consequences.