JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY: NO HOLDS BARRED – SESSION 7

JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY:NO HOLDS BARRED – SESSION 7
Redemption, Salvation and Life After Death: Are These Just Christian Myths?

“Administrative Matters” Dialogue from 9:00 to 9:50 Break from 9:50 to 10:00 Dialogue from 10:00 to 10:30 Questions and Answers from 10:30 to 10:45

How to Find the Slides for Each Week Go to fau.edu. On the bar on the left side, click on “Lifelong Learning.” Click on “LLS Jupiter Home” Put your cursor over “Classes” and then click on “Winter Schedule” Click on the tab for “Courses” and scroll down to Thursdays for “O’Brien and Shapiro” Click on “O’Brien and Shapiro” and scroll down to the link for the Slides in either PowerPoint or PDF Click on the link for the Slides and download them

Vietnam Revisited: War’s Challenges After 47 Years SILVERSEA CRUISES ABOARD THE SILVER WINDSAILING FROM HONG KONG TO SINGAPOREMARCH 10 to 19, 2015 CAMBODIA LAND PACKAGEMARCH 19 to 23, 2015CALL FIVE STAR TRAVEL 800-243-3066

Theologically “Loaded” Terms Redemption Salvation Afterlife Eternal Life Resurrection Immortal Soul Judgment and Last Judgment

Hell: The Message https://www.faithcenteredresources.com/salvation.asp?gclid=CPSH0s6807wCFeRi7AodfVMA4g

Traditional Jewish Summary of Redemption Through adherence to God’s commandments as revealed in the Torah, we work to bring the coming of the Messiah, who, as God’s servant, will redeem the Jewish people by bringing us back from the four corners of the world to the land of Israel, where national sovereignty will be established and God’s presence will shine forth from Jerusalem to all the world.

Unpacking “Redemption” for Jews In TaNaKh, buy back a kinsman from slavery or repurchase family plot of land (Lev. 25:25) God’s action: national liberation from Egypt (“I will redeem you with an outstretched arm.” Ex. 6:6) Prophets: Ingathering of exiles and restoration to former sovereignty and national glory (Jer. 32:36) Daily Jewish Prayer Book: “You are a mighty Redeemer….Bring our exiles together and assemble us from the four corners of the earth.”

Traditional Christian Summary of Redemption Redemption and salvation are grounded in God, who saved us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Raised up to new life by God, Jesus the Christ still lives and works with us to redeem the world in this age and will come again for the final redemption in the age to come.

“Redemption” for Some Christians Differing understandings among Christians For some, Redemption moves us from a negative situation and “saves us from our sins” so we can (or will) go to heaven (“Salvation”). This is based on these suppositions: Humans are inherently sinful (“Original Sin”) Is the work of God, and not the work of humans Humans are powerless without God’s grace

Another View of Redemption Redemption (through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth) enables us to embrace and live into our fullness as humans and into the reality that we are made in the image of God (“Salvation”) -- Humans are not inherently sinful; we are able to choose good or evil and have urges towards both -- God’s grace/love urges us to love and do good and is present for all persons at all times -- Need to “relax into” and accept God’s grace (stop thrashing and start floating in the ocean of God’s love)

“Salvation” Wholeness as a human being; Health; Integrity Being empowered to work in accord with God’s ultimate purpose for all of creation Being all you can be in all your relationships With oneself With one’s neighbor With God

Christian Salvation: Now, Then, Both? For some Christians, Salvation is otherworldly and means “Eternal Life with God” after death Beatific Vision or some other description of “Heaven” For other Christians, Salvation is both in this world and the next as the continuation of the wholeness we have in this part of our eternal lives into the next part of our eternal lives

The Human Condition for Jews “Original Sin” is foreign to Judaism We are born with “clean slates” We have impulses to do good and drives to do evil Impulse to do evil can be controlled by adherence to God’s commands in Torah Talmud Torah (study), teshuva (repentance) and ma’asim tovim (deeds of goodness) bring us back to God’s path

Messianic Age/Messiah for Jews State of the world shows Messiah has not come Disappointment in those who have made messianic claims makes Jews wary of these claims Best way to prepare for (and bring about) Messianic Age is to live in accordance with the misvot (commandments) Need for tikkun olam (“repair the world”) Time when Israel’s independence will be combined with God’s justice and peace Salvation depends on God; Messiah is merely God’s human agent

The Four Stories We Tell Ourselves About Death Stephen Cave, Philosopher, on TED Talks http://www.ted.com/talks/stephen_cave_the_4_stories_we_tell_ourselves_about_death.html?utm_source=email&source=email&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ios-share About 15 minutes – here are the key points

Stephen Cave – 2 Asks: When we you first aware you would die? Told as a child, that his grandfather was “up there” The “Existential Elevator” Rejected that notion as he got older Facing difficult issues, we develop “BIASES” – systematic ways of getting things wrong All cultures have “Terror Management Systems” to overcome fear of death There are four principal forms

Four False Ways to “Overcome Death” 1. Past: Magic Elixir, Fountain of Youth, Alchemy Present: Science – DNA, Stem Cells Past: Resurrection of body by an omnipotent God Present: Cryogenics, and then back to life Past: Belief in immortal soul Present: Upload mental activity on a computer Legacy or “Echo” through children, nation or tribe Rejects all. Our lives are like a book. Covers are our birth and death. Important to live a “Good Book”

Another View on Afterlife NY Times Opinionator – 9/21/13: “The Importance of the Afterlife. Seriously.” by Samuel Scheffler http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/21/the-importance-of-the-afterlife-seriously/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

“The Importance of the Afterlife” Doubts he will live as a conscious being after death Believes others will live on after his death and that the human race will survive, at least for a time This belief gives people confidence in the value of their own activities and meaning in our lives Asks: Suppose you knew you would live a long life and die a peaceful death, but the world will end in 30 days after your death in a collision with a giant asteroid. Would that change the way you live? Wouldn’t that knowledge make most long-term actions irrelevant?

Importance of Afterlife – 2 Suppose no children had been born in the world for 25 years and none would be born in the future. Would your life still have as much meaning? “The knowledge that we and everyone we know and love will someday die does not cause most of us to lose confidence in the value of our daily activities. But the knowledge that no new people would come into existence would make many of those things seem pointless.”

The “Lessons” from Scheffler “There is a lesson here for those who think that unless there is a personal afterlife, their lives lack any meaning or purpose. What is necessary to underwrite the perceived significance of what we do is not belief in the afterlife but a belief that humanity will survive, at least for a good long time.” “ Our descendants depend on us to make possible their existence and well-being. But we also depend on them and their existence if we are to lead flourishing lives....To an extent that we rarely acknowledge, they already matter so much to us.”

Another View: The “Soft” Afterlife Does NOT include a conscious continued existence Relationships continue even after one’s death Relationships change/evolve even after one’s death Relationships with those with whom you were close You don’t change after death, but you influence others Effects/Impacts of one’s lifetime actions continue in the lives of those one has affected in this life Impossible to know how you have changed others and how they will change even more people

Christian Resurrection We share humanity with Jesus of Nazareth Resurrection of Jesus (“New Adam”) means that we will also overcome death in some way at some time Some Christians: Not insist on Jesus’ bodily Resurrection Many Christians accept the Greek body/soul division and assert the “soul” is immortal Resurrection (for them) is only of the body Other Christians see humans as integrated “persons” (i.e. beings in relationships) Resurrection is of the person (not the body) and of the relationships that the person had during this life

“Immortality” vs. “Resurrection” Immortality Philosophical idea The soul has a separate existence Immortality happens w/o action by anyone Body on a lower plane Resurrection Religious idea Humans are unified beings (“persons”) An action by God to the person (or body*) Body is not lower *if soul is immortal

Immortality vs. Resurrection (2) No references in TaNaKh Reference in Wisdom of Solomon (1st C BCE) Achieved through posterity and remaining in Israel Clearest reference is Dan.12:2 (175 BCE): “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Others references in 2 Macc. 7, 12 and 14:46

Preparing for One’s Own Death

“Ashes to Ashes, but First a Nice Pine Box” – NY Times 2.2.14 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/02/opinion/sunday/ashes-to-ashes-but-first-a-nice-pine-box.html?_r=0 Man 54 with Stage 4 Cancer made his own coffin Saw it as a reminder of what awaits us all. Building it gave him a sense of comfort. “I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.”

Jewish and Christian Traditions Preparing for Death JEWISH Yom Kippur Kittel (Robe) Prayers for the deceased at Shabbat Services CHRISTIAN Ash Wednesday (“remember you are dust….”) Prayers for departed at Sunday Services

Difficult End of Life Ethical Issues NY Times 1.29.14 “A Decision Deferred: Turning Off the Pacemaker” http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/29/a-decision-deferred-turning-off-the-pacemaker/ Patients are requesting that devices (80% ICDs) be deactivated; sometimes pacemakers Some requests come from health surrogates Is turning off the device “euthanasia” ? How do we define “euthanasia” ?

How Do We Prepare For Our Own Deaths and End-of-Life Situations? Wills Living Wills Instructions and Information for Children Organ Donations Health Care Surrogates Funeral Arrangements

Withdrawing/Withholding Treatments If someone is in great pain with no hope of improvement – 62% approve If someone has an incurable disease – 56% approve If “living has become a burden” – 38% approve If living on is an “extremely heavy burden on his or her family” – 32% approve BUT: 14 of 16 religious denominations teach that suicide (assisted or not) and euthanasia are against the teachings of their faith

The Grey Areas Is it ok to withdraw or withhold treatments that “prolong dying” rather than “extend life”? How do you distinguish between the two ? Doctor Assisted Suicide 47% approve laws allowing it 49% oppose such laws

Rabbis’ Understanding of The World to Come Rabbinic Judaism: olam haba (world to come) World to come takes place on earth Brings an end to linear, human history Involves the bodily resurrection of the dead

“Judgment” for Some Jews Comes after the Resurrection of the dead at the end of times Wicked sent to Gehenna, place of punishment Some think forever Others say up to one year (Kaddish for 11 months) Place of cleansing through punishment Gehenna was a real place in 1st Century Garbage dump just outside Jerusalem Place of child sacrifice to Molech (2 Kings 23:10, Jer. 7: 31) Jesus refers to Gehenna in Matt. 10:28 (Greek)

Afterlife for the Righteous Righteous will be rewarded Rabbis: Sit in bliss of God’s Presence (bodily urges and desires disappear) Modern Jews: united with God after death in some fashion

“Righteousness” Not generally understood by Christians Often confused with “self-righteousness” Sometimes thought of as “never sinned” Not a status Orientation towards goodness and justice “Righteous” person often described as “just” Willingness to repent and try again Contextual: tied to the world in which you live

Christian “Last Judgment” Is Last Judgment to be understood literally? Does it happen “at the end of time” ? Is God the “Scorekeeper in Heaven”? Will God separate the “sheep and the goats” ? Is it a metaphor for accepting our own lives ? Is it a metaphor for putting all things right? (Shalom)

Christians: Who’s In and Who’s Out Origin of Alexandria (185-254): Hell is a drastic but temporary remedy for sinners. God’s mercy and love will prevail and at the end of time, God will restore all creation (including all humans) to full communion with God. (“Recapitulation”) Augustine of Hippo (354-430): Union with God is possible only through Jesus Christ and therefore most people are going to hell Calvin: God’s has predestined who will go to hell and who will go to heaven

Another Christian Approach Rejects Augustine’s and Calvin’s views All persons are created in God’s image God’s love for all persons cannot be limited Salvation/wholeness comes in varying degrees for all persons whose lives embody compassionate love We can’t fully know the inner workings of others Each person’s wholeness/salvation is unique Christian supersessionism (“Only Christians are saved”) is not reconcilable with God made known to us in our lives and made known to us in the Bible

For Jews: Who’s In and Who’s Out Not as important a question as for some Christians Although God’s covenant with the people of Israel is unique – it doesn’t preclude God’s having relationships with others However, Tanakh has negative references to the “pagans” (sometimes translated as “nations” or “peoples” or “gentiles”) Words in Hebrew, Greek and Latin are: goyim, ethnos, gentes (from which we get “Gentile”)

Bishop John Shelby Spong http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF6I5VSZVqc&list=PL4451CC2B5DF19F6F

Walker, there is no road; the road is made by walking.

JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY: NO HOLDS BARRED – SESSION 7