REL 102 Monotheistic Faiths

Gospel of Matthew, Jesus on the Law "Sermon on the Mount"

'Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. 18For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Judaism - Key Covenants

-Abraham- land, people (Land of Israel, Tribes of Israel) -Moses- Torah (Written and Oral) -David- throne, Jerusalem- that the Throne of David would endure forever -Solomon- temple, Jerusalem, that God would dwell in the Temple forever and that the throne would endure

Emergence of Apocalyptic, Eschatological, Messianic Thought

-After the Babylonian Exile, the Persians defeated the Babylonians and allowed the exiled of Judah to return and rebuild their Temple to God -Cyrus, king of Persia, is called a "Messiah", on anointed by God to do God's work of redeeming the people of Israel -The dominant religion of Persia at that time was Zoroastrianism

Destruction and Exile

-After the death of Solomon, Israel divides into Israel (the northern Kingdom, 10 tribes), and Judah (the southern, home of Jerusalem and the Temple, 2 tribes). -Assyria destroys the northern kingdom of Israel. The 10 tribes of the north are lost (the Lost Tribes of Israel) -Babylon destroys Judah and the Temple. The Temple is believed to have been destroyed in 586 BCE.

On Torah Study

-Also in Jewish tradition, one of the places in which lying is legally permitted is that a teacher of Torah/Talmud, recognized as an expert on the passage being debated, may hide his identity if it is not known by the student, and be gracious in responding to the interpretation posed by the student (to not discourage the student's enthusiasm for study of Torah) -In Jewish tradition, even God studies the Torah.

Temple Throne States

-Ancient Israel emerged surrounded by Temple Throne states -David united the twelve tribes of Israel under one throne (1000 BCE?) -The people of Israel established their own Temple Throne state in the reign of Solomon, the son of David (970-931 BCE) -In the Temple of God, you also found priests and scribes (as in other Temple Throne states) -I will argue that it was the loss of that Temple Throne state that led to a true ethical monotheism for the people of Israel (and not persistent polytheism, or henotheism)

Judaism on Suffering as Punishment for Sin

-Another explanation for suffering is that suffering is punishment for sin. Because of the sins of David and Solomon, Israel eventually divides and falls. -There are two main strands of prophetic announcements on the sins of Israel- 1) ongoing idolatry, worship of other gods and 2) failures of social justice- abuse of the poor, the weak, the widow, the orphan, the stranger -Jewish tradition looks across the Torah for commandments (tradition holds there are 613 commandments in the Torah), a number of them are drawn from Leviticus and Deuteronomy (versions of the Ten Commandments can be found in both)

Some Categories

-Apocalyptic- from the Greek- to reveal, revelation. -Eschatological- the nature of the eschaton (end times). This tends to include questions about life after death and questions of the end of the world -Messiah- In Jewish tradition, an agent of God anointed to redeem God's people. In Christian tradition, Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one -Messianic Age- the fullness of the Kingdom of God -In Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions, there are traditions of Apocalyptic expectation and interpretation (a revealing of the true nature of an event in the world or some revelation of an event to come), eschatological expectation of an End of Days, and Messianic expectation

Moses, Exodus and Torah

-As the story of the people of Israel unfolds, they will leave the land of Israel for Egypt, fleeing a drought and famine in the land. -In Egypt, the people of Israel are in "bondage". -Through Moses, a prophet, God liberates the people from bondage and enacts a new covenant with them, the covenant of the Torah. -This liberating God, the God of the Torah, is YHWH, and YHWH is identified as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. -The justice of God is connected to God's power to liberate Israel from bondage. God as liberator of the oppressed is a theme that will resonate across history.

Exile, and Marduk, the god of the Babylonians

-By the religious logic of the world at the time, this loss could have meant that Marduk, the god of the Babylonians was more powerful than YHWH, the god of the tribes of Israel. -This is not how the prophets of the tribes of Israel interpreted this event. -That they did not interpret it in this way, in my read of the history, is pivotal for the shift to a true ethical monotheism. -Rather than saying that Marduk had defeated YHWH, the prophets argued that YWHW had used the Babylonians. YHWH could do this even if the Babylonians did not recognize YHWH. Thus YHWH was not only the God of the land of Israel, or of the Israelites, but also the God of the Babylonians, even if they did not recognize YHWH as their God.

Faith

-Christianity, especially modern Western Protestant Christianity, has leaned toward understanding faith as a kind of belief, an intellectual assent to certain propositions (that God exists, that Jesus is God, etc) -The faith of Job is not a belief in God in the cognitive sense, it is a trust in, a loyalty to. This implies a kind of belief, but it is more than this belief, and this trust and loyalty could endure even if one could no longer state what exactly one believes about God.

Solomon and Temple

-During the reign of Solomon, the son of David, a great Temple to YHWH (the God of the people of Israel) is constructed in Jerusalem. -The Temple is seen as the House of God -With this, a new kind of understanding of what it means to be Jewish is established. To be Jewish is to be Temple observant (to support the Temple through payment of the Temple tax, to seek forgiveness of sins through the ritual sacrifices performed at the Temple, to accept the authority of the priests of the Temple)

On Jewish Rejection of Jesus as the Messiah

-From a Jewish perspective, it is clear that Jesus (at least the Jesus of Nazareth) was not the Messiah, as it is clear that we are not in the Messianic Age (hunger, disease, war, injustice, and unrighteousness persist) -In a debate I heard between an Orthodox Rabbi and a Christian minister, the Rabbi said something like, if your Jesus returns, and ushers in the Messianic age, then at that time we can say that Jesus is the Messiah

Solution to the Problem

-God _________ humanity -if sin is separation from God, a failure to live as God would have us live, what is the solution to the problem? -both J and I agree that the solution is righteousness, a life of obedience to God -the Law connects humans back to God

Interpretation

-Hebrew is often multivalent, meaning the same word has multiple meanings. Israel, for example, can mean 1) to wrestle with God 2) a reference to Jacob, whose name changes to Israel 3) a reference to the tribes of Israel 4) a reference to the Land of Israel 5) a reference to those who serve God (my servant Israel) -In Jewish tradition, the text is read out loud and then debated. Students will propose an interpretation. Other will challenge the interpretation based on the text or other texts. Interestingly, in Jewish tradition, the various interpretations are preserved.

Early Debate

-How Jewish do you have to be to be Christian? -There was an early "Jewish Christian" community, Torah observant, Temple observant. Their answer was you should be Torah Observant to be Christian. -Paul's answer is you do not have to be Torah observant. Salvation comes not from the law but through rebirth in Jesus. -Paul meets with this Jerusalem Council led by Peter. They decide that the requirements of the law can be relaxed for the Gentiles. Converts will not, for example, be required to be circumcised. This is a decisive decision.

Apocalyptic/Revelation

-How does apocalyptic thought deal with the problem of evil? -Though it may appear that God does not exist, or is powerless, in reality all that has transpired is a part of God's plan, redemptive work -Apocalyptic thought could be understood as arguing something like, fear not, all is not lost, God is still God, and God will prevail and remember God's faithful servants

Jewish Identity

-If we consider two main parts of Jewish identity- to be of the tribes of Israel (Abraham as patriarch) and Torah observant (Moses as prophet)- what are Gentile Christians who are not Torah observant? -They are not of the ethnic people of Israel -They are not Torah observant (nor do they want to be) -Thus, they are not Jews -I would argue that from the perspective of Judaism, it is the break from Torah observance that is root of the Jewish Christian schism and not the Messianic claim made by Christians that Jesus was the Messiah -For those Gentiles who wish to be Jewish observant, Judaism still offers a path to become Torah observant (though it discourages this to weed out those who are not truly sincere)

Genesis

-In Genesis human beings are described as being made in the "image and likeness" of God -Jewish tradition argues that this "image and likeness" is seen in human freedom, moral awareness and agency, intelligence, and creative power, attributes we share with God, but in a limited way

David, Jerusalem, and the Throne

-In Jewish tradition, David was the first king to unite the twelve tribes of Israel under one throne. -David established Jerusalem as the City of God (Literally the city of God's peace) in the land of God (Israel). -With the establishment of this monarchy, we have the creation of the state of Israel as as a political identity- -This is preserved as belief in the importance of a Jewish state (today, Zionism). This can be argued for on secular grounds (and is by some secular Jews).

Abraham, Israel as Land and People

-In Jewish tradition, God instructs Abraham to leave the land of his fathers to go to the land God will show him. -The world of Abraham is tribal. In leaving the land of his fathers, Abraham is leaving the protection of his tribe. -God promises Abraham that Abraham will have descendants more numerous than the stars (a people) and that they will have the Land of Canaan (which will become Israel, the "Promised Land") -Side-note: God does not promise Abraham "eternal life". In world of that time, that your people would survive and that you would be remembered was a kind of "immortality", in that your legacy endured through your people

Christian Non-Conformity

-In Jewish tradition, Israel is set apart by Torah observance, to be a light to the nations, showing God's holiness and righteousness -Christian tradition also argues for a Christian non-conformity to sin and a sinful world -To simplify, in Christian tradition we can distinguish two broad Christian paths to salvation- salvation as faith and works (Roman Catholic, Orthodox and some Protestant schools) and salvation by faith alone (some Protestant schools) -Christianity, unlike Judaism and Islam, develops an ascetic and monastic spirituality (Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions) -In these ascetic and monastic traditions, one of the themes is that of kenosis, or self-emptying, through humility, poverty, chastity, obedience, and moral and spiritual disciplines

Zoroastrianism - Religion of Persia

-In Zoroastrianism, the world is caught in a cosmic conflict between a good deity (Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord, the truth) and a lesser deity (Angra Manyu, a tempter, the lie) -Angra Manyu lied to the first human couple, telling them that they had been deceived by Ahura Mazda, and should follow him -Because they listened to the lies, humans were expelled from paradise -Humans must choose between the good/ truth, and evil/the lie, and will be judged after death on the basis of whether they chose good or evil. Good humans will focus on good thoughts, good words, and good deeds -This cosmic conflict will end in a final battle between good and evil in which good will prevail. -There will be a human agent of Ahura Mazda, a savior of humanity will appear before the final battle, and good will prevail over evil, led by a human agent of Angra Mainyu -Zoroastrianism also expected the resurrection of the dead at the end of days.

Christianity on Salvation

-In an early Christian theory of atonement, known as the Ransom Theory, through the suffering and death of Jesus, who was without sin, we have been ransomed from the devil. -This theory is rooted in the need for a satisfaction, of some kind, of the demands of God's justice. Jesus "pays the price" so to speak, for the sins of the world, satisfying the demands of justice for human sin. -In another theory of atonement, the moral theory, that Jesus came as a moral exemplar, and in his suffering for us, shows us the extent to which God loves us, that God would send God's only son, to suffer, and take on the sins of the world. Thus, we should be disciples of Jesus, following his teaching and example.

YHWH and Exodus

-In the Exodus event, YHWH, through Moses and Aaron, had demanded the deliverance of God's people, the Israelites, and then punished Pharaoh and Egypt when Pharaoh did not free them -This showed the power of God, but was not in and of itself seen as evidence that the God of Israel was the only God -Archeological evidence and textual evidence within the TaNaKh substantiate persistence polytheism/henotheism after the Exodus

Gospel of John

-In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. -Jesus is the Word of God. -And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. -From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.

War

-In the worldview of the world around ancient Israel and Judah, as god/s were connected to peoples/territories, a war on the ground could mean -1) that there was a war in the heavens (between the gods, or between the gods and those who contested with them, such as demons) -2) the god/s had withdrawn their protection, allowing their people to be defeated/subjugated

The "Apocalypse", The End of the World

-In this text, the four beasts of the apocalypse (conquest, war, famine, and plague) are unleashed upon the earth -Jesus leads the faithful in the dramatic final conflict in which God ultimately prevails -Across Christian history, there have been Christians who have anticipated the return of Jesus and the end of the world, and announced that the time we were near the end

Shariah - Islamic Law

-Islamic law provides regulation for all of life -the Qur'an is a major source, but not the only source of Shariah (from the root shr, or road) -Hadith, or accounts of the life of the prophet, are also important sources for Shariah -situations which are not covered by the Qur'an or the Hadith are evaluated by qiyas, or analogy. Consensus, ijma, was also important in the establishment of Shariah -the major sources of Shariah are then 1) the Qur'an, 2) the Hadith, 3) analogy, and 4) consensus of the community

Side-Note: Judaism and the Law

-It is important to separate Jewish from Christian tradition here (for those formed in the Christian tradition) -In Jewish tradition, the Torah is not a burden we are incapable of honoring -The Torah is a gift, a path to life, and to peace

Yetzer Tov and Yetzer Ra

-Jewish tradition distinguishes the Yetzer Tov (the inclination to follow God's commandments) from the Yetzer Ra -The Yetzer Ra is sometimes translated as the "evil" inclination, but the sages of the Talmud acknowledged that without it "no man would build a house, take a wife and beget children" -There is even a Jewish tale of the capturing of the Yetzer Ra, but once captured the sages saw that without the Yetzer Ra the world would end.

Judaism on Suffering as Redemptive Suffering

-Judaism develops yet another explanation for the suffering of the Righteous. In the suffering of the righteous, God is at work redeeming the world. -Why Exile? Not just as a punishment, but that the light of Israel might be dispersed among the nations, that all of the nations of the world might share in the redemption of the world -In Jewish tradition, it is Israel, the faithful servant of God, who takes on the suffering of the world to redeem the world -This theme would be taken up by Christianity. Jesus takes on the sins of the world to redeem the world.

The Revealed Faiths

-Judaism, Christianity, Islam are all revealed faiths, w/ beliefs in key prophets (those who received the revelation/s) and key texts (records of revelation/s) -three major prophets- Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad

Jesus - Core Teachings

-Kingdom of God: not limited to children of Abraham; God earnestly and longingly seeking the penitent- ask for God's forgiveness and return home; not as the kingdoms of the earth based on corrupted human power- but true justice and righteousness; in Gospel of John "not of this earth" -Radical Monotheism (we should love God with all we are, Jewish Shema) -Radical Love (not just love of neighbor, but love of enemies) -Radical Forgiveness (forgive as many times as the penitent seek forgiveness) -Radical Servanthood/Obedience (even to death on the cross, Jesus instructed those would be his disciples to "take up your cross" and "follow him") -Care for the least of these (the poor, the sick, etc) -Disciples called to make disciples of all nations

Modes of Interpretation

-Literal- This is an attempt to understand the literal meaning of the word. In some cases, it was impossible as the meaning of the ancient Hebrew was lost to the interpreters. -Moral- This is an effort to understand the instruction for living present in the text. -Allegorical- an attempt to understand the "spirit" of the text, rather than the "letter" of the text. The interpreters were aware that there were places in the text which either made no literal sense or contradicted other parts of the text.

Judaism on Suffering as Natural Consequence

-Natural Consequence (Actions have consequences. Bad actions have bad consequences. - if you are Hindu or Buddhist you might call this karma). -One potential explanation of why bad actions lead to bad consequences is Natural Law Theory- In this theory, God is the creator of the order of the world. God has ordered it in such a way as to reward the good and punish the bad. If one fails to plant, for example, then one cannot harvest. -In Jewish tradition, various natural explanations for the loss of Israel are discussed (bad government, misplaced trust, etc.)

Christianity on Original Sin

-One of the debates across Christian history is the extent to which we have been compromised, so to speak, by sin -In Christian tradition, baptism, the ritual associated with conversion to Christianity, is seen as "washing away" this original sin, a sign of our "rebirth" in Christ

Messianic Age and the Covenants

-One way of understanding the Messianic Age is to see in it a restoration of the covenants -Abraham- Land, People- The diaspora will end. The people of Israel will be returned to the land of Israel -Moses- People will finally have the Torah on their hearts, and not just on their lips. God's righteousness will prevail. -David- A restoration of Jerusalem as the City of God -Solomon- A restoration of the Temple

Paul's Letter to the Romans

-Paul is an early Christian evangelist, a proclaimer of the Gospel, the good news of Jesus -earliest reference to the "gospel of Jesus Christ" are from letters of Paul -Paul's Gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news of the salvation from sin and death offered through Jesus -Paul's Letters believed to be the oldest material in the Christian New Testament

Tales of the Hidden Righteous

-References to the 36 Hidden Righteous can be found in the Talmud. -In Hasidic Jewish tradition, the hidden righteous will reveal themselves in times of great peril in the world. Some tales say that the Messiah is one of them. -The Hidden Righteous preserve life on earth. Without this number, some say God would destroy the world.

Satan in Christian Tradition

-Satan is given more power than Satan has in either Jewish or Islamic tradition -in some Christian understandings, Satan is the current "prince of this world", and will remain so, until his defeat -humans are born in sin (captive to Satan), until they are reborn in Jesus -some Christians also expect the emergence of the an "anti-Christ" at the End of Days

Assumption of Interpreters

-Scripture is cryptic. In some Christian traditions, the truth of the Bible is available to a "plain reading". This was not assumed in Jewish tradition, which held that the meaning may be "cryptic", hidden, and we will have to wrestle with the text to discern its meaning. -Scripture is a book of instruction for living, relevant to the present day. Jewish interpreters did not see the texts as histories only. They believed that study of them was a mitzvoh (good deed consistent with God's commandments) and if they studied them they could find in them that would help them live in their present context. -Scripture is perfect and harmonious. As this was so, you could use any part of it to help you make sense of any other part of it. -Scripture is divine revelation. Of these assumptions, historically this was the last to develop.

Judges 11

-Should you not possess what your god Chemosh gives you to possess? And should we not be the ones to possess everything that the Lord our God has conquered for our benefit? -You can see the legacy of this view of the world in Judges (also in the TaNaKh). Chemosh was the chief deity of the Moabites (an ancient land bordering the ancient land of Israel). In Judges, the God of the Israelites had helped them conquer the land of Canaan, making in the land of the Israelites, and the land of God

The Book of Revelation

-The Book of Revelation is a Christian NT text often understood to be about the End of Days final judgment of the world. In this text, Jesus will return in this End of Days conflict to lead the faithful. -In the debates around which of the Christian texts in circulation to include in the NT, there was most debate about the Book of Revelation -Early Christians considered this book so terrifying that it was rarely read out loud

Jesus and the NT

-The Gospels of the NT are our major source of information on the life and teachings of Jesus -Jesus did not write down any of his teachings (if Jesus did, we do not possess them) -There is general agreement among scholars that it is difficult to separate the Jesus of history from the Jesus of faith. -The Gospels are written by those who were proclaiming Jesus to be the Messiah

Jesus as the "Word"

-The documents of the Christian NT were written in the common Greek, the common language of the Roman Empire (which facilitated spreading the message of Christianity) -The Greek used by John is Logos (Word), recognizable to at least some Greek speakers as a reference to the intelligible order/ordering of the world

Theodicy in Islamic Tradition

-The emphasis in Islam on submission to the authority of God, and acceptance of the will of God, leads Islam to a position very similar to that of Job. -Who are we to judge our creator? It is not we who judge, but we who are judged.

Judaism on Suffering as a Test of Faith

-The suffering of the righteous (those who have not sinned) is a problem for collective punishment models and for the notion of suffering as a punishment for sin. -The story of Job is often described as the story of the testing (the suffering) of Job, a righteous servant of God -The story of Job both wrestles with an understanding of suffering as punishment and testing, and ultimately, in my view, rejects these explanations. -It is one thing to say that suffering might test faith -It is another to say that suffering is an intentional testing of faith. If God is good, why would God inflict suffering on the righteous (or allow the suffering to be inflicted)?

Theodicy

-The suffering of the righteous poses a special problem for reconciling the existence of a good and powerful God with the ongoing persistent of evil and suffering. -Having clearly rejecting that all suffering is a punishment for sin (this leaves open the possibility that some suffering is punishment for sin), and having also rejected suffering as a test (in my view) the main argument of the story of Job, in my view, is that humans, as creatures, lack the capacity and perspective required to judge our creator. -Thus as humans we must have faith, trust, even if we see little evidence of reward for this faith and trust (and even suffering) -It is important to note that the friends of Job, who told him to confess his sin to God, that his suffering might be ended, were chastised by God.

Temple, Purity, Atonement

-There was an inner sanctuary in this Temple that was only to be entered into on one day, the day of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement -On this day, the high priest prayed for forgiveness for all of the sins of Israel -On this day alone, and in this inner sanctuary alone, was the true name of God to be uttered -When the (second) Temple was destroyed, the proper pronunciation of the name was lost.

God, Satan, and Evil

-This grand cosmic vision, of a world captive to Satan, is a kind of resolution of the problem of evil, but you could argue that it does so by compromising (at least until Satan's defeat) God's power over the world -In this vision it is true, that ultimately the dualism is overcome, God's enemies are defeated (including Satan), but in this time until the End of Days defeat, Satan remains a power -This world is then seen as a world which the faithful must endure, rather a world in which the faithful will see their reward (they will see it in a world to come)

Repair of the World - Tikkun Olam

-Tikkun- to fix, improve, repair, do something w/ -Olam- time -in Jewish tradition, fulfillment of a mitvot (a divine command) is an act of Tikkun Olam, of repair of the world. Every act, however, small, reverberates throughout all of creation, moves it closer to redemption

Jesus and Distinctive Christian Doctrines

-Trinity- God as three in one- 1) God, the Father, the creator, 2) Jesus, the Son, the redeemer, and the 3) Holy Spirit, the sustainer -Incarnation- Jesus is God incarnate -Substitutionary Atonement- we are saved through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus who "took on the sins of the world" -Original Sin (western Christian understanding)- all children of Adam and Eve (all of humanity) are born sinners (and thus in need of spiritual rebirth)

Distinctive Doctrines, seen from Judaism, Islam

-Trinity- seen as inconsistent w/ monotheism -Incarnation- In Judaism, Jesus is outside of Jewish scripture. Judaism has no official, revealed position on Jesus. Most of moral teachings of Jesus and Kingdom of God teachings seen as consistent with that taught by other Jewish teachers at time of Jesus. Islam recognizes Jesus as a prophet, but not as the son of God, or as an incarnation of God. The Qur'an references both Jesus and Mary. In fact, the Qur'an has more on Mary than the Christian NT. -Substitutionary Atonement- In Judaism and Islam, there is no need for anyone to suffer for us to be forgiven. God is God. If God wants to forgive us, then we are forgiven

Judaism as Ethnicity

-Understood in this way, Judaism is an ethnicity. To be Jewish is to be of the 12 tribes of Israel. -In Jewish tradition, Abraham had a son, Isaac. Isaac had a son Jacob. Jacob became Israel, and had 12 sons. The 12 sons of Jacob/Israel are the patriarchs of the 12 tribes of Israel. -The Hebrew Israel could be translated as "wrestles with God", a remembrance of the event that led Jacob's name to be changed to Israel -Converts to Judaism are given Abraham as Sarah as their Jewish parents. -As a mark of this covenant, God instructs Abraham to circumcise himself and all the male members of his household -In Orthodox Jewish tradition to this day, male babies are circumcised (the Brit Milah, ritual circumcision)

The Five Categories of Shariah

-Wajib- mandatory -Mandub- recommended -Mubah- indifferent -Makruh- reprehensible, abominable -Haram- forbidden

God and Covenant

-We could define a covenant as a binding agreement (a promise, and covenant is sometimes translated as promise, does not quite carry the same weight) -In the world in which ancient Judaism emerged, examples of covenantal can be found, for example, in marriage contracts, political and economic alliances, and in treaties. Covenantal language could reference more than one god. Israel was not unique in having a covenant with a deity or in having moral/legal commandments understood as coming from a deity. -In the Torah, we find covenantal language between God and various figures across the Torah and the TaNaKh -This covenantal understanding will influence Christian and Islamic understandings of God

Radical Monotheism

-What does it mean to love God? -Across the Gospels, Jesus teaches in different ways- sometimes through direct instruction, sometimes through teaching stories (known as parables in Christian tradition), and sometimes through symbolic action -Across these different styles of teaching, there is a clear theme, that we should let nothing interfere with our love of God, not wealth, not family, not our pursuit of status, nor should we let these pursuits interfere with our love of neighbor (and we cannot truly love God and not love our neighbor) -Our love of our neighbor should also not be based in attaining some worldly goal, such as wealth, or status. -We should not "parade" our "faith", as a sign of our status, but serve God and serve others

Side Note - on the Temple of God

-When the people of Israel built a Temple for the God of Israel in Jerusalem, though this Temple is understood to be a dwelling place for the God of Israel, this Temple has no image of God in it -In this, the Jewish Temple differed significantly from the Temples to other deities in the world at the time -The Temple to Athena, in the ancient city of Athens, for example, had a massive statue of Athena in it

On Judaism as Torah Observance

-With an understanding of Jewish identity as Torah observance, Judaism becomes a faith potentially distinguishable from ethnicity. -One could be born of the tribes but not be Torah observant. One could be of another tribe, but be Torah observant. -But- traditionally, Judaism has seen this covenant as applying only to the tribe of Israel, not to all of humanity (in Jewish tradition "the nations"). In Jewish tradition, all of the nations were offered the Torah, but only Israel accepted. -In Jewish tradition, you do not have to be Torah observant or of the Tribes of Israel to be among the righteous. -Though it is possible to convert to Judaism, Judaism does not emphasize conversion.

The Problem of Evil

-as Christianity is also a monotheistic faith, it also wrestles w/ the challenges posed by the problem of evil for a faith also based in an ethical monotheism -Christianity has been more strongly influenced by a kind of dualistic thinking than either Judaism or Islam -If we look at the writings of Paul, we can see his influence not only on the Christian understandings of original sin (that all are born sinners because of the sin of Adam and Eve, the first humans, expelled from Paradise) but on another strand of Christian thought, that this "Fall" impacted not just humanity, but all of creation.

TaNaKh

-as Jewish tradition developed, texts in addition to the Torah texts were seen as having authority -TaNaKh is an acronym referencing the collections of these texts -T- Torah -N- Prophets -K- Writings -side-note: the TaNaKh will be incorporated into the Christian Bible as the "Old Testament" -the Qur'an references figures from both Jewish and Christian scripture (Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Mary, Jesus)

The Friends of Job

-as Job is suffering, three friends of his come to visit him -they urge him to confess his sin that God might end his suffering -Job maintains that he has not sinned

Expectations of Messianic Age

-before the End of Days judgment, there will be a resurrection of the dead -in the Messianic Age, Israel will be vindicated before the nations and recognized as God's faithful servant -all of the nations will recognize and serve God -Jerusalem, and the Temple, will be recognized -there will be peace and righteousness -there will be no more want (no hunger, no death, nor more tears) -there will be no more war

Islam - Muhammad

-born in Arabia- receives the revelation of the Qur'an, the final and complete revelation of Allah, the one God, the God of Abraham, Moses, and Jesus -central to Islam- Mosque, a house of prayer, study, the Qur'an, observance of Shariah (Islamic Law), and Imam, or Mullah (a religious teacher)

Judaism - Moses

-born in Egypt, God works through Moses to liberate the tribes of Israel from bondage in Egypt -in Jewish tradition, Moses receives bot a written and an oral Torah (teaching, instruction) -central to Judaism- synagogue, a house of study, prayer, Torah, the revelation given to Moses, and Torah observance, a Rabbi, a teacher of Torah

Paul on the Law

-by his own words, Paul was well educated in the law and "zealous" for the law -after his conversion, Paul argues that the law doesn't bring salvation, but only awareness of sin and judgment -spiritual rebirth into the body of Christ/faith in Jesus frees us from the law, and the wages of sin (guilt under the law, and death) -salvation comes from faith, not works -the righteousness of the saved should be seen in their life

Messiah, Messianic Age

-by the time of Jesus, expectation of a coming Messiah was widespread, as was expectation of a world ending judgment by God -there were a number of different expectations of this coming Messiah -some a Prophet, maybe Moses returned, or Elijah -some a King, from the line of David -some a priest, who would restore the sanctity of the Temple in Jerusalem -all of these positions were anointed positions in Judaism (Messiah is from the Hebrew for anointed. In Greek this was Christos)

Jesus

-called "Rabbi" by his followers -seen as a teacher of Torah, and one who taught w/ authority -preached in the synagogues

The Problem of Life

-for J, C, and I, the problem of life is sin, but this is understood in different ways -J and I understand sin as an act of disobedience, an act inconsistent w/ the will of God for your life -C will develop a unique position, that of original sin (that humans are born into sin, sin as a state of being, not just an act of disobedience)

Bible

-from Greek- Biblia- meaning books -no one shared Bible across Christian denominations -the Bible is available in many languages -the Christian Bible is organized into two collections of material: Old and New Testament -the New Testament can be seen modeled after the TaNaKh

Emergence of Ancient Judaism

-historians believe ancient Judaism emerged among nomadic tribes that roamed the northern Arabian desert -some historians date these tribes to 2000 BCE -according to the Torah, one of the founding patriarchs of Judaism was Abraham -side-note: Islamic tradition traces the tribes of Arabia to Ishmael, son of Abraham. Muhammad could then argue for a return to the worship of the God of Abraham (and rejection of the corruptions of polytheism)

Synagogue

-how could Jews worship God outside of Israel and without a Temple? -the genius of Judaism is that it develops a "portable" religion- one need no longer have access to ancestral worship sites, or Temples -in Exile, a distinctive religious form developed- the synagogue -in the Synagogues, Jews would gather to pray, study Torah, and receive instruction on how to live by Torah -Jews could maintain a relationship w/ God anywhere in the world through Torah observance -this synagogue model would influence Christian and Islamic tradition of worship of God

Reconciling God's Justice w/ an Unjust World

-if we look at the world, it's obvious that virtue is rewarded and wickedness punished -obviously the present world is not consistent w/ the kingdom of God -an example of the injustice of the world is the martyrdom of those who die for their faith

Judaism on Forgiveness

-if you sin, you should: -Fully admit your sin- to those wronged and to God -Repent of your sin- turn from the sin and from the tendencies in the self that led you to the sin -Make amends for your sin- attempt to repair what can be repaired -Seek forgiveness from those you wronged. In Jewish tradition, this does not need to be given if the one wronged doubts the sincerity or the adequacy of the repentance. Generally the Rabbis counsel that if forgiveness is sought a third time, then the penitent one should be seen as sincere and one wronged should forgive. -Seek the forgiveness of God.

Torah

-in Jewish tradition, Moses received an oral and a written Torah -it's important to keep in mind that here Jewish tradition differs from some schools of Christianity that emphasize the Bible as the inerrant word of God -in Jewish tradition, the Torah (teaching/instruction) from God was given to Moses in both a written form and in an oral tradition. Both the written and the oral were preserved through the ages -the oral tradition was eventually compiled in a massive work known as the Talmud -in Jewish tradition then, the Torah and Talmud are both important for understanding the revelation of God

Jesus and Moses

-in Jewish tradition, Moses received the Torah -in Christian tradition, Jesus is the revelation of God -a Christology is an account of Jesus as God -Christian theologians distinguish between a "low" Christology- that emphasizes the humanity of Jesus and a "high" Christology- that emphasizes the divinity of Jesus

Side Note - on the Jewish Priesthood

-in Jewish tradition, Moses, and his brother Aaron, were from the tribe of Levi -the tribe of Levi was set apart, to serve God -males from the tribe of Levi could serve as priests -high priests traced their lineage to Aaron -hereditary priesthoods were not uncommon. This can also be seen in Hindu tradition (the caste of Brahmins as a set apart caste, to guard the Vedas, preside over the sacrifices, instruct the castes in their dharma/duty)

Judaism on Sin

-in Jewish tradition, sin is an act of omission or commission (of failing to fulfill a commandment or breaking one) -of the 613 commandments, some are positive, instructing us to some act, and some are negative -the negative ones are in some way easier to fulfill. If the commandment says- don't murder- then don't murder and you have fulfilled the commandment -positive commandments, such as "Honor your father and mother", are potentially more difficult. What does it mean to fulfill this?

Influence on Judaism

-it's difficult to determine the extent to which Judaism was influenced by Zoroastrianism -it does appear that after this, Satan took on a greater role in Jewish thought, apocalyptic and messianic expectation also appears in Jewish tradition, as does a judgment after death, and a resurrection of the dead

On Evil

-it's possible to distinguish different levels and kinds of evil -moral evil (individual inclination, action) -social evil (structural evil, such as slavery) -natural evil (the suffering that results from disease, natural disasters, genetic defects, etc.) -ecological evil (ecosystem collapse which would make it impossible to sustain life, human life)

Approaches to Understanding of God

-natural theology- study of the creation provides insight into the nature of the creator -revealed theology- God has revealed to us who God is and what God wants. Revelation, in oral or written tradition, should be studied to discern the nature of god/s -mystical theology- true knowledge of the god/s requires experiential knowledge- encounter w/, oneness w/, god/s

Negative Theology

-negative theology- human language inadequate to describe god/s. We can say what God is not, but not what God is (God is not finite, mortal, etc.) -common to mystical and negative theology is a claim to ineffable knowledge, or knowledge that can't be put into words

Monotheism

-over 2 billion Christians -over 1.5 billion Muslims -14-16 million Jews -Projections are that Muslims will outnumber Christians, likely within our lifetime

Henotheism to Monotheism

-prior to the Exile, Judaism is best described as henotheistic -the Exile contributes to: 1. The development of a true monotheism- the God of Israel used Babylon to punish Israel (Israel punished by God, not Marduk)- God is a God of all the world, not just Israel. 2. A rejection of collective punishment for individual judgment and individual reward and punishment 3. A development of belief in a life after death and blessings and rewards in a world to come 4. Belief in a world to come, heaven, and the Messianic age (the age in which God's kingdom will be fully established on a redeemed earth)

Religion in the World of Ancient Judaism

-religion in the ancient world tended to be tribal, local (connected to sites, altars, Temples), and polytheistic -ancient Jewish religion doesn't appear to deviate significantly from this -the tribes of Israel remembered their great ancestral patriarch, Abraham

Judaism on Redemption

-repentance (teshuvah, literally, to turn around) -following commandments (mitvot) -following Halakhah, Jewish Law, literally the "way" -righteousness, tzedakah- justice, compassion, charity -shalom, peace

Impact of Exile - Torah, TaNaKh

-the Torah likely reached its final form after the Exile -the Exile also likely led to a broader write it down campaign, leading to the books that will be finalized in the TaNaKh -the Roman destruction of the 2nd Temple, in 70, would lead to another write it down campaign that would lead to the finalizing of the TaNaKh and the compiling of the Talmud

Side-Note: Zoroastrian Priesthood

-the priesthood in Zoroastrian tradition was hereditary -In Hindu tradition, to be a Vedic priest, one must be born of the Brahmin caste (thus another hereditary priesthood). -In Judaism, as in these traditions, additional purity regulations applied to priests, especially when they were serving as priests presiding over rituals and sacrifices. -In RC and Orthodox traditions, additional purity regulations also apply to priests (and in the RC tradition, celibacy)

Law of Moses, and Blessings, Rewards, and Punishments

-there doesn't appear to be a true monotheism or a belief in some reward in a life after death in the law of Moses -blessings, rewards, and punishments are in this life -punishments are not just individual, but collective (punishing the second, third, and fourth generations for the sins of this one)

Covenants

-typically involve obligations of both parties to the covenant and consequences of breaking the covenant -in the covenant of Torah outlined in Deuteronomy, if the people keep the covenant, they will be blessed. If not, they will be punished

Role of Temple Priests - Sacrifices/Offerings

-typically offerings of food or domestic livestock (proper sacrifice required that the individual give that which was to be sacrificed) -substitutionary sacrifice -used to draw closer to God (ex. sin offerings, guilt offerings)

Jesus

-unlike Moses and Muhammad, Jesus is seen not just as a messenger, a prophet, but God, and the Word of God -this reframes the problem of life and the solution -God ________ humanity -Jesus is the bridge connecting God and humanity. Jesus is both God and human -the goal is salvation, rebirth, into the body of Christ

COVID-19 and the End of the World

About 44 percent of likely voters in the United States see the coronavirus pandemic and economic meltdown as either a wake-up call to faith, a sign of God's coming judgment or both, according to a poll commissioned by the Joshua Fund, an evangelical group run by Joel C. Rosenberg, who writes about the end of the world, and conducted last week by McLaughlin & Associates, pollsters for President Trump and other Republicans.

Babylonian Exile, Destruction

After the Babylonian Exile and destruction of the Temple, both archaeological evidence and the language of the TaNaKh itself show a transition from seeing God as the God of Israel (but not necessarily the only deity) to a position that the God of Israel is the one true God of all of the world

Irenaeus View of Salvation History

Human beings are the crown of creation. Adam and Eve were like children in the Garden. God wanted human beings to grow in relationship to God. We are instructed in this by the Word and the Holy Spirit. When God's purposes are fulfilled, human beings will be higher, in greater communion with God, than the angels. Satan, one of the angels, out of jealousy, tempts humans into sin. The history of Israel is part of the unfolding of God's revelation and communion with humanity. At the proper time in history, God became incarnate in Jesus, the second Adam, in that in his life, death, and resurrection, there is a new creation and the defeat of Satan.

Judaism, Holiness, Purity, and Justice

In Jewish tradition, a distinction could be made between a holiness purity (your sins atoned for by proper sacrifices by the priests) and a righteousness purity (the Torah on your heart)

Expectation of the End of the World

In the United States, where Christianity is by far the dominant religion, about 40 percent of American adults believe that Jesus is definitely or probably going to return to earth by 2050, including one in five religiously unaffiliated people, according to the Pew Research Center.

Christians and Easter

the major holy day for early Christians (and still today) is Easter, the remembrance of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus

1 Thessalonians 2

this letter believed to be one of the earliest of Paul's letters