AI Review of Jesus's Torah Compliance Reveals Surprising Insights
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Law School researcher Jonathan Brackens has conducted a groundbreaking study using artificial intelligence (AI) to evaluate Jesus's adherence to Jewish law, including the Torah, Mishnah, Talmud, and Mishneh Torah. The findings challenge traditional Christian beliefs about Jesus's relationship to Jewish law and could significantly impact Jewish-Christian relations.
What The Study Did
Published in the journal Laws, the study employed a form of AI called Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to analyze a vast collection of religious texts. The AI identified 162 unique legal issues within the Gospels and assessed the extent to which Jesus's actions and teachings aligned with Jewish law.
Key Findings
- Compliance with Jewish Law: The study revealed that Jesus was only 48.8% compliant with Jewish law overall and only 40.6% compliant with the Written Torah. This finding contradicts the usual Christian view that Jesus perfectly upheld the law.
- Gospel Variations: There are significant differences between the Gospels in their portrayal of Jesus's relationship to Jewish law. The Gospel of Matthew depicts Jesus as largely compliant (70.8%) with the Written Torah, while Mark, Luke, and John suggest he is more often noncompliant (14.80%, 43.80%, and 0.00%, respectively).
Expert Insights
"This study offers a fresh perspective on a longstanding debate within Christian and Jewish theology," said Brackens. "By leveraging AI, we've been able to conduct a more comprehensive and unbiased analysis than previously possible."
Implications and Future Prospects
The research could have significant implications for Christian doctrines, particularly those concerning the nature of sin and Jesus's sinlessness. It also demonstrates the potential of AI as a valuable tool in the field of religious studies, providing new methods to analyze and interpret religious texts.
Why It Matters
This innovative use of AI in religious scholarship can pave the way for more objective and data-driven analyses of historical and religious texts. Understanding Jesus’s relationship with Jewish law through a technological lens opens up new avenues for academic and theological debates.
By shedding light on such complex issues, this study not only enriches our understanding but also enhances dialogue between the Christian and Jewish communities.
Key Terms:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Jewish Law
- Torah
- Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA)
- Gospels
- Christian Beliefs
- Jewish-Christian Relations
This new approach via AI highlights the evolving nature of religious studies and promises new insights into ancient texts.
