In Reply to: NOW FOR THE CHRISTIAN "AMEN"... posted by Lou on September 14, 1997 at 12:50:51:
Lou,
I looked in the Jewish Encyclopedia about the word 'amen' and this is some of what it has to say about it:
**The passages in Psalms parallel to that cited above make it apparent that the responsory was longer; and there exists a reliable tradition that at a period not far removed from the oldest Pharisaic traditions Amen was not generally employed in the Temple liturgy. The opposite view of Graetz in his attempts to distort the evident meaning of the text in this Tosefta is disproved by Sifre, Deut. xxxii.3, 306, which clearly shows that in ancient time the usual responsive formula in the synagogue and the temple was: "Blessed be the name of the glory of his kingdom for ever and ever. Thus the statement in the Tosefta becomes intelligible : while synagogues adopted the Amen, the Temple preserved the longer form.**
This gives a bit more proof to what you are saying Lou. Amen is very big in Judaism just as it is in Christianity...in fact this encyclopedia states that it is believed that Christianity took the Amen from Jewish worship.....but as it states also....it didn't originate with the Yehudim....so where did it come from? Another pagan idol? This is why I am coming to agreement with you Lou concerning the your post.
Shalom,
D'vorah