Reconceiving the Paradigms of Old Testament Theology in the Post-Shoah Period1

1998 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-160
Author(s):  
Marvin A. Sweeney
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Jewish People ◽  
Theological Interpretation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Northern Kingdom ◽  
Protestant Christianity ◽  
Human Responsibility ◽  
Anti Jewish ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThis paper examines the changed situation in the field of Christian Old Testament theology in the aftermath of the Shoah or Holocaust. It begins by pointing to the paradigm shift now taking place in the field as it moves from Enlightenment epistemological paradigms of historical objectivity and universality to postmodern paradigms that emphasize the subjectivity of the interpreter and the validity of particularistic truth claims in a pluralistic world. It points to the dominance of Protestant theology and theologians in the field during the Enlightenment and the impact that Protestant Christianity had in presenting its own subjective theological views of the Old Testament as objective and universal, often with anti-Jewish overtones. With the emergence of Jews and other previously marginalized groups in the field of biblical studies since the end of World War II, the time has come to recognize that Jews are legitimate theological interpreters of the Bible and that the specific concerns of Judaism and the Jewish people are valid topics for theological reflection in the field of Christian Old Testament theology. This new situation has tremendous implications for the theological interpretation of biblical writings in that issues and writings that were previously overlooked, ignored, or rejected must come to the forefront. Two examples, the book of Amos and the book of Esther, demonstrate the potential for such change. Recognition of Amos' particular national identity as a Judean points to his partisan nature as an advocate of a vassal state of Judah that is subject to the control of the northern kingdom of Israel. The absence of G-d in the book of Esther points to the human responsibility to take action when confronted with evil. Altogether, this points to the possibility of more comprehensive theological reading of the Hebrew Bible.

THE PEDIATRICIAN AND THE PUBLIC

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1955 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 479-487
Author(s):  
John A. Askin ◽  
Kurt Glaser
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
World War I ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Jewish People ◽  
Jewish State ◽  
World War ◽  
The Public ◽  
Short Period ◽  
State Of Israel ◽  
Made In

IN SPITE of a short period of sovereignty— less than 7 years—the State of Israel is playing an important role in matters pertaining not only to the Middle East but, in some respects, in matters of importance to the whole world. In medicine the advances in Israel have been no less striking than the progress made in other fields. It is felt that the pediatricians of our country might be interested to learn about Israel's medical status, particularly pertaining to pediatrics. Palestine, of which the present Israel is a part, was in Old Testament times known as Canaan or Philistia because of the tribes which lived there. Palestine was the home of the Jewish people from the time Joshua conquered the land, about 1400 B.C., until the Romans destroyed the Jewish State in the year 70 A.D. Around 630 A.D. the country came under Moslem power. From 1516 to the end of World War I Palestine was a part of the Turkish Empire. In 1917, the British Government issued the famous Balfour Declaration which promised the Jews of the world that they could build a national homeland in Palestine. The League of Nations made the land a British mandate in 1920. From then until World War II Palestine was at several occasions plunged into violent civil war between the Jews and the Arabs. After World War II in 1947 Great Britain announced a decision to give up the Mandate.

The Message of Jesus and our Customary Theological Language: An Indian Approach to a New Language in Theology and Inculturation

Exchange ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 208-226
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Jewish People ◽  
Good News ◽  
Son Of God ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Paschal Mystery ◽  
Loving Parent ◽  
Asian Context ◽  
Theological Language ◽  
Gospel Message

AbstractThe Asian Context demands a new language in theology, as both the Bible and the past theological formulations are conditioned by their time, place and problems. The Paschal Mystery needs to be understood in the light of the picture of God given by Jesus as an unconditionally loving Parent. Jesus was killed because of the way he lived and spoke of God. Hence we need to look afresh at the sacrificial interpretation of Jesus' death. The title Christ is conditioned by the expectations of the Jewish people, and Jesus, the Son of God we honour, is more and other than what they expected. Past theological developments did not come from this picture of God, and from Jesus' outlook, his options and priorities; they were responses to the problems of their times, conditioned more by Platonic and Aristotelian philosophy, than by the good news that Jesus proclaimed. In the context of the 'Old Testament' of the peoples of these places, with Jesus' option for the poor, we need to announce the simple message of Jesus to let new theologies and liturgies emerge. Certain conditions are necessary for any true inculturation of the gospel message.

Knowing God and Knowing About God: Martin Buber's Two Types of Faith Revisited

2012 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 402-420
Author(s):  
R. W. L. Moberly
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Religious Faith ◽  
Cognitive Content ◽  
Theological Interpretation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
Knowing That ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Canonical Approach ◽  
Constructive Engagement

AbstractInitially I briefly expound Martin Buber's Two Types of Faith so as to clarify Buber's sharp contrast between Jewish faith (Hebrew Emunah) and Christian belief (Greek Pistis). I suggest that Buber's polarisation of Emunah, a trust and existential engagement with God, over against Pistis, an intellectual acknowledgement which lacks immediacy with God, has certain resonances with Wilfred Cantwell Smith's distinguishing between ‘faith’ and ‘belief’ in his attempt to overcome the Enlightenment tendency to reduce religious faith to propositional belief. I also acknowledge that Buber's conceptually alert and religiously constructive engagement with the Bible in its own way embodies many of the concerns in the current attempts to bring Bible and theology together via ‘theological interpretation’ or ‘a canonical approach’. However, Buber's account of the Old Testament overlooks the presence of the idiom ‘to know that’ (Hebrew yada( ki), which points to the importance of cognitive content in relation to knowing Israel's God. I consider a number of narratives which feature the deuteronomic idiom ‘to know that Yhwh is God’ (or closely comparable formulations) – Elijah on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18), Rahab (Joshua 2), Naaman (2 Kings 5) and David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17) – and consider the function of ‘knowing that Yhwh is God’ in each passage. By way of conclusion I reflect on the complementarity of ‘knowing God’ and ‘knowing about God’ and the problematic nature of tendencies, represented by Buber, to set these over against each other. I also suggest that there is fruitful work to be done through a comparative and synthetic biblical and theological study of the relationship between the Old Testament concern that people should ‘know that Yhwh is God’ and the New Testament concern that people should ‘believe that Jesus Christ is Lord’.

Toradidaktik

2015 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-134
Author(s):  
Bernd Schröder
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
Theological Interpretation ◽  
Helpful Tool ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Status ◽  
Canonical Approach

Abstract “Tora” is to be seen as an originally Jewish key concept interpreting the first section of the Hebrew Bible. Adopting this concept within Christian Theology offers a range of fresh learning opportunities to Christian learners - it would help them to appreciate Jewish reading of the Bible, it would stress a canonical approach as well as a theological interpretation of the Hebrew Bible. The author of this contribution underlines such an adoption to be a helpful tool for raising the status of Old Testament texts in RE.

Brevard Childs and the treasures of darkness

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Collin Cornell
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Biblical Studies ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
Theological Interpretation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
1 Kings

AbstractContemporary biblical studies is populated by ‘comparativists’ and ‘theological interpreters’: scholars who read the Bible in the context of ancient artefacts, and scholars who read it in the context of Christian theology, respectively. These camps relate to one another mostly by feuding – or by mutual avoidance. The Old Testament theologian Brevard Childs is usually taken as a champion in the cause of theological interpretation, and so also as reinforcing one side of the disciplinary division. But under certain conditions, Childs also authorised the use of ancient artefacts (‘the treasures of darkness’) for reading scripture theologically. This article reactivates the latter possibility within Childs’ interpretive programme, especially through two cases studies: the first by Childs himself, when he uses the Sargon Legend to interpret Exodus 2; and the second a reprise of Childs’ procedure, using the Mesha Inscription to interpret 1 Kings 22.

scholarly journals Menafsir Ulang Makna בּ֣וֹרְאֶ֔יךָ dalam Pengkotbah 12:1

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Yane Octavia Rismawati Wainarisi
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Jewish People ◽  
Biblical Hebrew ◽  
Time Span ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Sitz Im Leben ◽  
The Gift ◽  
Consonant Letter ◽  
Original Message ◽  
Form Criticism

Biblical Hebrew actually composed with the consonant letter only. To get the original sound of Hebrew Bible, the Bible Editor use Nikud. This is cause one word with the same consonant in Hebrew can have many letters, sounds, and different meaning. This causes new problems in the translation and interpretation of the Bible, especially in finding the original meaning of the author of the Bible. Even so, the process of translating and interpreting the Bible can be approached in another way, namely by looking at the original context (sitz im leben) of the first reader or recipient of the original message (milieu). This phenomenon also occurs in Qohelet's writing which is the study of this paper. The word בּ֣וֹרְאֶ֔יךָ in the text of Ecclesiastes 12: 1 has the root בר which can have a variety of meanings when it is added to Nikud. While the time span from 3-2 BC century BC to the writing of Qohelet is quite far and errors in the gift of Nikud may lead to different interpretations. For this reason, a form criticism and cultural semiotics approach needs to be done to bridge this. This article is about Qohelet with the paradigm of human development that he aimed at young Jewish people at that time. Created with the approach of Cultural Semiotics and Form Criticism in the Old Testament with various book references as research aids. Bahasa Ibrani Alkitab umumnya terdiri dari huruf-huruf konsonan saja. Untuk memperoleh bunyi yang sesuai dengan aslinya, tulisan Bahasa Ibrani dibantu dengan Nikud. Hal ini menyebabkan satu kata dengan konsonan yang sama dalam Bahasa Ibrani dapat memiliki berbagai tulisan, bunyi dan menghasilkan berbagai arti yang berbeda. Hal ini menyebabkan persoalan baru dalam proses penterjemahan dan penafsiran Alkitab terutama untuk dapat menemukan makna asli dari si pengarang Alkitab. Pun demikian, proses penterjemahan dan penafsiran Alkitab ini dapat didekati dengan cara lain yaitu dengan melihat konteks asli (sitz im leben) dari pembaca pertama atau penerima pesan aslinya (milieu). Fenomena ini juga yang terjadi dalam tulisan Qohelet yang menjadi kajian dari tulisan ini. Kata בּ֣וֹרְאֶ֔יךָ dalam teks Pengkhotbah 12:1 memiliki kata dasar בר dapat menimbulkan beragam arti jika sudah ditambahi dengan Nikud. Sementara rentang waktu dari abad ke 3-2 SM masa penulisan Qohelet cukup jauh dan kesalahan dalam pemberian Nikud bisa saja menimbulkan penafsiran yang berbeda. Untuk itu, pendekatan Kritik Bentuk dan Semiotik budaya perlu dilakukan untuk menjembatani hal ini. Artikel ini adalah tentang Qohelet dengan paradigma pembangunan manusia yang ia tujukan kepada anak-anak muda Yahudi masa itu. Dibuat dengan pendekatan Semiotik Budaya dan Kritik Bentuk dalam Perjanjian Lama dengan berbagai referensi buku sebagai alat bantu penelitian.

scholarly journals From Escapism to Propaganda: Hungarian Cinema in the Age of Growing Anti-Semitism, Nationalism, and World War II. Review Article of Frey, David. 2018. Jews, Nazis and the Cinema of Hungary: The Tragedy of Success, 1929-44 London, New York: I.B. Tauris. 462 pp. illus. and Gergely, Gábor. 2018. Hungarian Film 1929-1947: National Identity, Anti-Semitism, and Popular Cinema. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. 329 pp. illus.

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 150-161
Author(s):  
Lilla Tőke
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Film Industry ◽  
World War ◽  
Popular Cinema ◽  
Sound Film ◽  
Anti Semitism ◽  
Anti Jewish ◽  
Film Making ◽  
The Impact

The article reviews recent scholarship on Hungarian cinema in the age of rising nationalism, anti-Semitism and World War II. It looks at two books specifically as they examine issues such as the film industry’s transition from silent to sound film, the nationalization of the film industry system, the impact of anti-Jewish legislation on film making, and political censorship. The article also considers how the books address genre and the birth of star system in Hungarian film.

Statehood and Jerusalem in Ancient Israel: Myths And Realities

2004 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-253
Author(s):  
H. Eberhard von Waldow
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Jewish History ◽  
Jewish People ◽  
Religious Community ◽  
Spiritual Community ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Political Reality ◽  
The People ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
Holy City

The Old Testament people of Israel entered the political reality of ancient Palestine as a spiritual community held together by worshipping Yahweh in ‘the God-given land’. When it became a state with a king this spiritual character was threatened or lost. The capital was always the holy city of Jerusalem, as the spiritual—not political—centre o f Yahweh's people, and it survived all political catastrophes, even after the homeland was lost. The people of Israel survived not as a nation but rather as a religious community (Judaism). Only as such can today's Jews legitimately reclaim Eretz Yisrael. Certain claims made by the modern secular Jewish nation-state—for example, that Jerusalem always was and always will be the capital of the Jewish people—are not only problematic, but have no foundation, either in the Bible or in Jewish history: they are fabricated modern myths.

The Vulnerability of the Word

2019 ◽  
pp. 236-290
Author(s):  
Jens Zimmermann
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Biblical Text ◽  
Middle Portion ◽  
Theological Interpretation ◽  
Christian Humanism ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Church ◽  
Biblical Concepts

Chapter 7 demonstrates the importance of biblical interpretation to Bonhoeffer’s Christian humanism. Beginning with the Barthian inspiration for a theological reading of scripture as the book of the church, Bonhoeffer develops a biblical hermeneutic for transformative, humanist reading of the Bible that incorporates historical critical tools in seeking out God’s address in concrete life situations. After describing Bonhoeffer’s incarnational approach to the biblical text, and his criticism of verbal inspiration, the middle portion of this chapter describes Bonhoeffer’s theological interpretation of the Old Testament, pointing out striking parallels to patristic interpretation, including the Bible’s sacramental role for Christformation. The same sacramental ontology that governs his general hermeneutics and ethics also help explain Bonhoeffer’s often misunderstood notions of non-religious interpretation of biblical concepts, non-religious Christianity, and a world come of age. The remainder of the chapter clarifies the meaning and humanist implications of these ideas, showing their congruence with Bonhoeffer’s increasing appreciation of the Old Testament’s importance for a this-worldly Christianity that celebrates God’s presence in the midst of life.

scholarly journals Pomiędzy fascynacją a potępieniem. Żydzi i judaizm w pismach oraz biografii ks. prof. Józefa Kruszyńskiego (1877–1953) – przedwojennego rektora Katolickiego Uniwersytetu Lubelskiego [Between Fascination and Reproach: Jews and Judaism in the Writings of Rev. Prof. Józef Kruszyński (1877–1953), Pre-war Rector of the Catholic University of Lublin]

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Jolanta Majdanik
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Literary Work ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Catholic University ◽  
Anti Jewish

Between Fascination and Reproach: Jews and Judaism in the Writings of Rev. Prof. Józef Kruszyński (1877–1953), Pre-War Rector of the Catholic University of LublinIn the first part of the essay, the author presents a sketch of the life and works of Rev. Józef Kruszyński, the Rector of the Catholic University of Lublin. In the second part, she analyzes Kruszyński’s anti-Jewish writings, collected in the series “From the Field of Judeology”, against the backdrop of his broad literary work, most of which was made up by his original translations (including his translation of books of the Old Testament from Hebrew into Polish) and publications focused on the study of the Bible. Finally, the author retraces and examines the emergence of Kruszyński’s anti-Jewish views. Pomiędzy fascynacją a potępieniem. Żydzi i judaizm w pismach oraz biografii ks. prof. Józefa Kruszyńskiego (1877–1953) – przedwojennego rektora Katolickiego Uniwersytetu LubelskiegoW pierwszej części artykułu autorka przedstawia życie i działalność księdza Józefa Kruszyńskiego, rektora Katolickiego Uniwersytetu Lubelskiego. Druga część zawiera analizę publicystyki antyżydowskiej wydawanej w serii „Z Dziedziny Żydoznawstwa” na tle ogólnej, bogatej twórczości Kruszyńskiego, której większość stanowią prace biblistyczne oraz translatorskie (tłumaczenie z języka hebrajskiego na polski ksiąg Starego Testamentu). W końcowej części autorka śledzi początki i źródła antyżydowskich poglądów Kruszyńskiego.

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