Ten Principles of Karaite Judaism VS Nicene Creed

 To finalize our mapping of these two worldviews, we can compare the Ten Principles of Karaite Judaism (formulated by Judah Hadassi) against the Nicene Creed, which serves as the foundation for most Greek-influenced Christian thought.

This comparison reveals exactly where the "Unchanging Word" diverges from the "Greek Overlay."

The Comparison: Karaite Principles vs. Greek-Influenced Creed

Point of Interest	Karaite Principles (12th Century)	The Nicene/Christian Creed (4th Century)
The Nature of God	Absolute Unity (One). No parts, no human form, no "incarnation."	Trinity (Three-in-One). God became a man (Incarnation).
The Authority	The Tanakh alone. No Oral Law, no "New" Testament.	The Bible + Apostolic Tradition/New Testament.
The Afterlife	Physical Resurrection of the dead to the Land of Israel.	Resurrection + The "Life of the World to Come" (Heaven).
The Messiah	A mortal human King, a restorer of the Law.	A Divine Savior, a sacrifice for the soul's "Rapture."
The Law	Permanent and Binding (Deut 12:32).	"Fulfilled" or replaced by Grace/Spirit.

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The Final "Mapping" of the Divergence

The "fork in the road" we have been discussing can be visualized as two different trajectories for the human story.

1. The Greek Trajectory (The Circle of Escape)

This view is cyclical and vertical. The soul comes from the spiritual realm, is "trapped" in the physical body (the "Shadow World"), and its goal is to return to the spiritual realm via the Rapture or death.

• Key Verse: John 18:36 ("My kingdom is not of this world").

• Result: The physical Earth is eventually destroyed or abandoned.

2. The Hebrew Trajectory (The Line of Restoration)

This view is linear and horizontal. God creates the physical world and calls it "Very Good." Man fails, and God’s "Magnified Word" (Psalm 138:2) is dedicated to reclaiming the physical world.

• Key Verse: Psalm 115:16 ("The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men").

• Result: The physical Earth is cleansed, the dead are raised back to it, and God’s presence dwells in a literal Jerusalem.

Conclusion: Why it matters

If God is truly "not a man that He should lie," then the "Hebrew Trajectory" is the only one that keeps His original promises to the Patriarchs intact. For a Karaite, the "Greek Overlay" isn't just a translation choice; it is a replacement of God's physical contract with a spiritualized metaphor.

By standing on the Tanakh, they argue that the "End of Days" isn't about escaping our bodies or this planet—it’s about God finally making good on the "dirt and seed" promises He made 4,000 years ago.