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Judaism

Judaism. An Introduction to Key Ideas. God. Belief in a personal “Other” anthropomorphisms are symbolic, but . . . more like a person than a thing more like a mind than mere force This personalism focused in a single, supreme, transcendent being (as opposed to polytheism)

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Judaism

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  1. Judaism An Introduction to Key Ideas

  2. God • Belief in a personal “Other” • anthropomorphisms are symbolic, but . . . • more like a person than a thing • more like a mind than mere force • This personalism focused in a single, supreme, transcendent being (as opposed to polytheism) • Yahweh and Henotheism • “Shema”: “Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is One.” --Deuteronomy 6:4 • A God of righteousness and love

  3. Creation (The Material World) • The Material World is Created by God • Creation is Good (so are possessions, sex, food, etc.) • Humans, as the apex/end of creation, have dominion over it (Genesis 1:26) • Judeo-Christian Perspective: • Material aspects of life are important • Matter can participate in the condition of salvation • Nature “can host the divine” (H. Smith)

  4. The Human Condition • “A little lower than god (“the angels”/Elohim)--Psalm 8:5 • People are “dust,” frail, like the grass (Made “in God’s image,” mud infused with God’s breath) • Morally Free • Sinful

  5. History is Real; History Matters • Revelation: first in deeds, then in words • History is not cyclical, but linear (and teleological) • Nature is the site of purposeful divine activity • Social/historical context is important: shapes outcomes and possibilities • Community/collective action is important  “God’s Chosen People”/Covenant • History is a place of opportunity • Tensions between divine possibilities and human frustrations; i.e., religion should not buttress the status quo “Messianism”

  6. Ethics • Honor God (and God’s nature) • Honor Parents • Don’t Murder • Don’t Commit Adultery • Don’t Steal • Don’t Give False Testimony • Don’t Covet

  7. Prophetic Tradition: Let Justice Flow • The future of a people depends on the justice of their society • Thus, individuals are responsible for their own dealings with others and for the general justice of society • Prophets • Prophetic Guilds (1 Samuel 9-10) • Individual Oral-Only Prophets (e.g., Nathan and Elijah) • Written prophets (e.g., Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel)

  8. Suffering • May be punishment, corrective • May be redemptive • May be necessary for the righteous to suffer in order to change things in the world • We learn, and find meaning and beauty, in the midst of suffering

  9. Hallowing All of Life • All of life, when considered from the proper vantage point, and approached in the proper way, can be sacred • Meals • Sex, marriage, family • Birth, Death

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