REL2300 July 11th 1 They are in general monotheistic whereas Eastern religions are in general polytheistic or henotheistic 2 They have prophets whereas in Eastern Religions we have simply wise men and do not claim to be given revelation from God 3 They have scriptures given to the prophets by God In Eastern religions it is the thoughts of wise men 4 They have concept of life after death heaven and hell The Eastern religions have either concept of incarnation or they are silent on the subject Judaism Western Religious Traditions Judaism Who is a Jew Where is his identity located Jude one who comes from Judea and identity in terms of land and religion Israel name given to Jacob means one who strives with God It is religious identity Hebrew the people and the language they speak o Most probably the word Hebrew comes from the word Apiru from Phoenician language meaning the one who rides caravans nomadic people Background in the development of Judaic Thought Preceding Judaism we have the Near Eastern Religions which compromise Sumarian Assyrian Babylonian and Egyptian religions They seem to have influenced the development of Judaic thought historically 1 The Near Eastern Religions Polytheistic but try to conceive of one highest God i e Marduk in the Babylonian religion o Apsu sweet waters o Ti amat salty waters o Mumy mist 2 They try to conceive of heaven and hell and idea of reward and punishment 3 We find a parallel Myth of Flood to the Hebrew Bible story of Noah But it is Judaism which becomes monotheistic religion in history of mankind Judaism becomes the foundation of prophetic religious tradition in West thereby we have religions such as Christianity Zoroastrianism Islam The Hebrew Bible Judaism is often associated with the land of Israel but Judaism is better understood when one studies the Hebrew Bible o History of Jewish people o Their thought o How they lived through the history Written down as early as 800 B C E but final form achieved 400 B C E Consists of o Torah teachings o Nevi m prophets o Kethuwim writings These three writings are as a short form called T N K or Tanakh or Tanaka ABRAHAM born 1800 BC or 1400 BC Izanami and Izanagi gave birth to other people The Torah is the first book of the Hebrew Bible It is called Pentateuch five scrolls or books The second part of the T N K is Prophets who spoke in the name of Jewish o Early prophets who concentrate on the Israelite kingdom o Later prophets who are visionary and they emphasize on morals and ethics The Torah Pentateuch Five Scrolls or Books They are as follows Genesis o Genesis o Exodus o Leviticus o Numbers o Deuteronomy o Creator o Intelligent being o Active power o Omniscient o Omnipotent Story of creation of the world presents God as o Has purpose in creating this universe The account of Garden of Eden temptress Eve brings punishment on Adam and Eve Story of Noah and the Flood Story of Tower of Babel Abraham is portrayed as the first patriarch From Ur Abraham migrates to Haran and settles in the land of Canaan Covenant between God and Abraham Abram s name changed to Abraham namely the one who will multiply Exodus Hebrew midwives were to kill all male children born Moses was spared Moses brought up in the House of Pharaoh But when Moses sees an Israeli slave being mistreated he flees from Egypt The Burning Bush Moses hears the voice of God saying to return to Egypt to help free the salves Moses wants to know the divine spirit o God s response is o I will be who I will be It is God who is Life Existence and everything else is contingent upon Him YAHWEH the word comes from the verb hayah to exist or to be alive Was religion monotheistic or not Ten Commandments Leviticus Describes laws Numbers Deuteronomy o Regarding animal sacrifices o Which animals may or may not be eaten o Prohibition of eating blood in it o Cutting one s bear etc The account of wanderings of Jewish tribes at various places Describes Ten Commandments again Death of Moses before entering Canaan The Judges and Kings After death of Moses Israelites led by judges The judges were persons who had o Military power o Legal authority Not in the modern sense as we understand the word judge Joshua o A judge o Leads the Hebrews across Jordan River o Takes town of Jericho and land of Canaan o Canaan divided among eleven of the tribes functions among tribes The first king is Saul B C E o Tragic figure who commits suicide Thereafter comes David 1013 o Considered a prototype king of Jews o Had great aspiration to build the temple of Jerusalem Solomon Levy the 12th tribe is given the charge of worship and religious o Son of David o Succeeds in building 1st home for Yahweh o Raised revenue for temple construction by raising taxes o Tax increases caused a revolt against the kingdom of Solomon Northern tribes broke away from control of Jerusalem Southern kingdom carried on its own until Babylonians took control over it During exile and captivity of Jews by Babylonia Sabbath service of worship developed since it became difficult for the Jews to visit the Temple and perform sacrifices In 540 B C E Cyrus King of Persia took over Babylonia and allowed Jews to return to their homeland and the Second Temple was built Considered the interpretation of Hebrew Scriptures by Rabbis to apply their principles rules and regulations to problems arising in everyday life The Talmud Two Kinds of Talmud 1 Palestinian Talmud 2 Babylonian Talmud The Palestinian Talmud Divided into two parts 1 The Mishnah Tepetition o Came to exist by 200 B C E Discusses specific biblical laws and their application It is in six parts 2 The Gamera Supplement o The further and additional commentary to keep up with the changing times and living conditions The Babylonian Talmud A large collection of material compiled by Babylonian scholars and specialists the modern edition of which is complied by Rabbi Adin Steinsalz Essentials of Jewish Belief As formulated by Maimonides 12th century Jewish Philosopher 1 Belief in one God and only one God o He is the creator of the universe o The judge of human beings o He is just o According to Judaism justice must prevail among human beings and we as humans must strive to establish it 2 Belief in the message of prophets 3 Belief that God gave law to Moses 4 Belief that Messiah has yet to come Messiah means one whose hair is anointed by olive oil 5 There would be a resurrection in the world to come Main Themes of Judaism 1 God is One absolute monotheistic o Omnipotent