Biblical Knowing Toward Death

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Diamond
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Philosophical Theology ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Impending Death ◽  
Ethics Law

This chapter examines the meaning of death for Jewish philosophical theology. How is the biblical view of life, ethics, law, and the pursuit of knowledge informed by the prospect of death or impending death? The Hebrew Bible is bracketed by the question of death, from the death at history’s inception that Adam and all subsequent human beings anticipate, to Moses’ unique death that awaits no other human at the Torah’s conclusion. Close readings of these narratives yield the notion that death allows for the potential of the absolutely supreme act of dying for others that informs all other acts of self-sacrifice. All the biblical cases focusing on a yearning for death or suicide, relating to Moses, Saul, Elijah, Jonah, Samson, and Job, involve this notion of a death on behalf of others.

Jewish Theology Unbound

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Diamond
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Philosophical Theology ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Philosophical Inquiry ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Jewish Intellectual ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Holocaust ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
State Of Israel

This book challenges the widespread caricature of Judaism as a religion of law as opposed to theology. Broad swaths of rabbinic literature involve not just law but what could be best described as philosophical theology as well. Judaism has never been a dogmatic religion, insisting on a monolithic theology rooted in a uniform metaphysics that would exclude all others. The book engages in close readings of the Bible, classical rabbinic texts, Jewish philosophers, and mystics from the ancient, to the medieval, to the modern period, which communicate a profound Jewish philosophical theology on human nature, God, and the relationship between the two. It begins with an examination of questioning in the Hebrew Bible, demonstrating that what the Bible encourages is independent philosophical inquiry into how to situate oneself in the world ethically, spiritually, and teleologically. It then explores such themes as the nature of God through the various names by which God is known in the Jewish intellectual tradition, love of others and of God, death, martyrdom, freedom, angels, the philosophical quest, the Holocaust, and the State of Israel, all in light of the Hebrew Bible and the way it is filtered through the rabbinic, philosophical, and mystical traditions. For all intents and purposes the Torah no longer originates in heaven, but flows upstream, so to speak, from the earth, propelled by the interpretive genius of human beings.

scholarly journals MUST THEISTS BELIEVE IN A PERSONAL GOD?

Think ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (23) ◽  
pp. 77-86
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Burns
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Garden Of Eden ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Genesis 3

The claim that God is a person or personal is, perhaps, one of the most fundamental claims which religious believers make about God. In Hinduism, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are represented in person-like form. In the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament God walks in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:8), experiences emotions (e.g. Isaiah 61:8), and converses with human beings (e.g. Job 38–41). In the New Testament, God communicates with his people, usually by means of angels or visions (e.g. Matthew 1:20–21), and retains the ability to speak audibly, as he does to Paul on the Damascus road (Acts 9:4–6). And, in the Qur'an, Allah is said to have a face and two hands (e.g. Qur'an 38:75), to see, and to sit on a throne (e.g. Qur'an 57:4). Many believers today would still claim that, among other things which God can do, he loves those who believe in him (e.g. Ephesians 5:29; I Peter 5:7; Qur'an 1:3) and responds to their prayers (e.g. Matthew 7:7–8; Mark 11:24; Qur'an 11:61).

Prophetic Calling: At the Burning Bush

2019 ◽  
pp. 71-100
Author(s):  
George Pattison
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Paradigm Case ◽  
Salient Features ◽  
Psychological Experiences ◽  
Divine Name ◽  
God's Call ◽  
The Image Of God

The chapter looks to the Hebrew Bible for resources to respond to the modern crisis of vocation. Prophecy appears as a special focus of discussion, since the prophet is who he is by virtue of being called. This is not a matter of psychological experiences of auditions but of understanding the essence of the prophet’s God-relationship. A paradigm case of prophecy is the calling of Moses at the burning bush. Salient features of this event include God’s call to Moses by name and the revelation of the divine name itself. Rejecting the traditional Christian interpretation of this in terms of being (‘I am that I am’), the chapter follows Buber’s and Rosenzweig’s interpretation, which brings the God-relationship into the domain of vocativity, exemplifying also ‘Jewish nominalism’, that is, attention to the centrality of the name in the human God-relationship.This is connected to the image of God in human beings.

The Blurry Line Between Humans and Gods

Numen ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Segal
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The West ◽  
Conventional View ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
The Status

Abstract The conventional view is that at least in the West there is a clear-cut and insurmountable divide between human beings and God. This article argues that the divide is neither clear-cut nor insurmountable. Three disparate cases are considered: the conception of God in the Hebrew Bible, traditional and contemporary conceptions of heroism, and the status of celebrities.

Heschel, Abraham Joshua (1907–72)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Novak
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Philosophical Theology ◽  
Contemporary Philosophy ◽  
World War ◽  
The Usa ◽  
American Jewish ◽  
Second World

Born in Warsaw and educated there and in Berlin, Abraham Joshua Heschel moved to the USA in 1940, where he lived and taught for the rest of his life. His elegantly written books and essays and his striking personality made him a key figure in American Jewish philosophical theology after the Second World War. Written in German, English, Hebrew and Yiddish, his books reflect widely on the Hebrew Bible, Talmud and midrash, and on Jewish mystical writings, continuously engaging with contemporary philosophy and theology.

Methodology, Problems, and Desiderata

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleonore Stump
Keyword(s):  
Christian Theology ◽  
Philosophical Theology ◽  
Christian Tradition ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Short Presentation

The doctrine that Christ has saved human beings from their sins, with all that that salvation entails, is the distinctive doctrine of Christianity. This book is an examination of that doctrine. The first chapter begins with a consideration of the nature of the project of this book. It is an exercise in philosophical theology, whose nature is briefly summarized. The data of Christian theology that this exercise in philosophical theology presupposes are then set out and discussed. Next, the chapter outlines the elements of the problem that the atonement is meant to solve, namely, the problems of guilt and shame and of the human liability to moral wrongdoing. Then the chapter sketches the main kinds of interpretation of the doctrine of the atonement that can be found in the Christian tradition and briefly summarizes their strengths and weaknesses. The chapter finishes with a short presentation of the desiderata for any acceptable interpretation of the doctrine of the atonement.

Divine Omniscience, Immutability, Aseity and Human Free Will

1991 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert F. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Free Will ◽  
Philosophical Theology ◽  
Strict Sense ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Internal Factors ◽  
Classical Theism ◽  
Divine Omniscience ◽  
External Influences

If classical Western theism is correct that God's timeless omniscience is compatible with human free will, then it is incoherent to hold that this God can in any strict sense be immutable and a se as well as omniscient. That is my thesis. ‘Classical theism’ shall refer here to the tradition of philosophical theology centring on such mainstream authors as Augustine, Anselm, and Aquinas. ‘Divine omniscience’ shall mean that the eternal God knows all events as a timeless observer of them. ‘Human free will’ shall mean that human beings are, at least sometimes, self-determining agents who make choices not decisively caused to be what they are by external or internal factors other than the free willing itself – choices that these agents have the capacity and the freedom to make differently than they do. Except where stipulated otherwise, ‘divine immutability’ shall ‘mean that God is neither subject to, nor capable of, change in being, knowing, or willing, since God is immune to external influences, and without internal needs, of the sorts that might give rise to such change. Finally, ‘aseity’ shall be used to underline the divine immunity to external influences, since a being that is wholly a se or self-caused (is ‘pure act’ in the Thomistic sense), cannot be open to such influences, cannot be made to be what or how it is by anything other than itself.

scholarly journals MANUSIA DALAM PANDANGAN YAHUDI

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Agus Darmaji
Keyword(s):  
Human Behavior ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Ten Commandments ◽  
The Creation ◽  
God's Image ◽  
Holy Book

This paper is divided into three sections. First, it gives a brief  introductory of the Jews. Second, it explains the process of  the creation of  human. Third, it elaborates the basis of  human behavior in the Jewish, like morality, suffering , and the ‘chosen people.’ In terms of  the creation of  human beings, Judaism states that human is made of the dust which is then fulfilled by the spirit through his nose. Human is created in God’s image. It is not only his soul, but also his body, represents the symbol of  God. The Hebrew Bible (Holy Book), in general, vastly embraces the doctrines of morality that should be used as the basis of  the behavior of  the Jews. This is particularly apparent from the teachings contained in the Ten Commandments. In addition, it also considers the chosen people as a liability, rather than an opportunity to obtain particular privileges; thus, they were elected to serve God and to undergo several sufferings in implementing the service.

scholarly journals Àgbájọ Ọwọ́ : An African Moral Theory of Survival in the Age of Covid-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 12-21
Author(s):  
Abosede Priscilla Ipadeola
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Moral Theory ◽  
Ethical Theory ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The World ◽  
Impending Death ◽  
The Face ◽  
Capitalist World ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

This paper examines some of the moral questions surrounding the novel coronavirus, the cause of a new pandemic that just hit the world between late 2019 and early 2020. Coronaviruses are highly contagious and deadly infectious diseases, and victims are urged to do all within their power to ensure that the infection is not spread to healthy people. The central questions involved include the following: why should a person suffer and possibly die alone due to an infection that they must have contracted from someone else? Why should they choose to act ethically in the face of impending death? Why should people who have contracted the disease through no known fault of their own choice to protect others from contracting it? In summary, why should a person who has contracted coronavirus act selflessly? When the cure is eventually discovered, why should knowledge of it be democratized in a capitalist world? These are some of the questions that this paper addresses by juxtaposing Hobbes’ argument that human beings are fundamentally selfish with the African ethical theory of Àgbájọ ọwọ́. The paper argues that the moral theory, which enhances survival is best in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Drink and drinking in early Jewish texts: Describing a meal in the World to Come

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 117-132
Author(s):  
Claudia D. Bergmann
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Human Body ◽  
Natural Water ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The World ◽  
Food And Drink ◽  
To Come

Both the Hebrew Bible and extrabiblical literature consider food and drink to be gifts from the deity to be enjoyed by human beings, especially when they live according to the divine laws and in moderation. When it comes to extrabiblical early Jewish texts about the meal in the World to Come, one notices a curious detail: while the World to Come is portrayed as being one of utter abundance and joy, none of the texts actually describe the righteous as drinking. References to drinking natural water, fruit being turned into drink, or any other possibility for the human consumption of liquids are simply absent from these texts. How is this to be explained? This article investigates the possible reasons for the conscious or subconscious omission of a function of the human body that is most common to all human beings.

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