Shafique N. Virani
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195311730
- eISBN:
- 9780199785490
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195311730.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
The celebrated Iranian poet, philosopher, and traveler Nasir-i Khusraw was moved by a dream to abandon his carefree ways and search for truth. His quest led him to swear his allegiance to ...
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The celebrated Iranian poet, philosopher, and traveler Nasir-i Khusraw was moved by a dream to abandon his carefree ways and search for truth. His quest led him to swear his allegiance to al-Mustansir bi'llah, the Ismaili Imam and sovereign of a mighty empire. Centuries later, a Muslim scholar by the name of Bu Ishaq Quhistani had a similar crisis of faith, which led him to pledge his fealty to the Ismaili Imam of his time, coincidentally also named Mustansir bi'llah, who, however, was in concealment. This chapter follows the spiritual pilgrimage of Bu Ishaq, explores the conduct of the da'wa in this period, and explores the concept and context of taqiyya in greater depth. It also reassesses the relationship between Sufism and Ismailism in the wake of the Mongol invasions.Less
The celebrated Iranian poet, philosopher, and traveler Nasir-i Khusraw was moved by a dream to abandon his carefree ways and search for truth. His quest led him to swear his allegiance to al-Mustansir bi'llah, the Ismaili Imam and sovereign of a mighty empire. Centuries later, a Muslim scholar by the name of Bu Ishaq Quhistani had a similar crisis of faith, which led him to pledge his fealty to the Ismaili Imam of his time, coincidentally also named Mustansir bi'llah, who, however, was in concealment. This chapter follows the spiritual pilgrimage of Bu Ishaq, explores the conduct of the da'wa in this period, and explores the concept and context of taqiyya in greater depth. It also reassesses the relationship between Sufism and Ismailism in the wake of the Mongol invasions.
Steven Kepnes
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195313819
- eISBN:
- 9780199785650
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195313819.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
Cohen's Religion of Reason is based on careful textual reasonings of Torah and creative interpretations of Jewish liturgies such as the Sabbath and High Holidays. Cohen places liturgy at the crucial ...
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Cohen's Religion of Reason is based on careful textual reasonings of Torah and creative interpretations of Jewish liturgies such as the Sabbath and High Holidays. Cohen places liturgy at the crucial bridge points between the self and the other, the self and the community, and the self and God. Cohen uses liturgy to map out a path for the growth of the self into moral autonomy. I refer to this moral self as a “liturgical self.” What Cohen's liturgical self explains, and Kantian ethics does not, is how the individual becomes at once autonomous and moral, at once for others, for itself, and for its community. Cohen's textual and liturgical thinking makes him an important resource to critique both modern foundational and postmodern views of the self‐other relation.Less
Cohen's Religion of Reason is based on careful textual reasonings of Torah and creative interpretations of Jewish liturgies such as the Sabbath and High Holidays. Cohen places liturgy at the crucial bridge points between the self and the other, the self and the community, and the self and God. Cohen uses liturgy to map out a path for the growth of the self into moral autonomy. I refer to this moral self as a “liturgical self.” What Cohen's liturgical self explains, and Kantian ethics does not, is how the individual becomes at once autonomous and moral, at once for others, for itself, and for its community. Cohen's textual and liturgical thinking makes him an important resource to critique both modern foundational and postmodern views of the self‐other relation.
William P. Brown
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199730797
- eISBN:
- 9780199777075
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199730797.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Theology
This chapter examines Genesis 1:1-2:4a, known as the Priestly account of creation. This “report” describes creation as a divinely guided process that begins with benign chaos and concludes with a ...
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This chapter examines Genesis 1:1-2:4a, known as the Priestly account of creation. This “report” describes creation as a divinely guided process that begins with benign chaos and concludes with a fully differentiated cosmos. God enlists the elements of creation (water and earth) to bring forth a life-sustaining order. The structure of the Priestly account renders a picture of sacred space that mirrors the architecture of the temple. Connections are explored between the Genesis narrative and the modern cosmological perspective, which posits a “Big Bang” and accounts for the evolution of cosmic structure. The “image of God” language in Genesis, moreover, finds resonance with the unique neurological and cultural facilities of Homo sapiens. Disparities between the scientific account and the seven-day account of creation underscore the theological significance of Sabbath. In light of these findings, the problematic language of “dominion” in Genesis is understood in new ways.Less
This chapter examines Genesis 1:1-2:4a, known as the Priestly account of creation. This “report” describes creation as a divinely guided process that begins with benign chaos and concludes with a fully differentiated cosmos. God enlists the elements of creation (water and earth) to bring forth a life-sustaining order. The structure of the Priestly account renders a picture of sacred space that mirrors the architecture of the temple. Connections are explored between the Genesis narrative and the modern cosmological perspective, which posits a “Big Bang” and accounts for the evolution of cosmic structure. The “image of God” language in Genesis, moreover, finds resonance with the unique neurological and cultural facilities of Homo sapiens. Disparities between the scientific account and the seven-day account of creation underscore the theological significance of Sabbath. In light of these findings, the problematic language of “dominion” in Genesis is understood in new ways.
Steven K. Green
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195399677
- eISBN:
- 9780199777150
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195399677.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity, Religion and Society
This chapter discusses the reactions among conservative clergy to disestablishment that were generated by the French Revolution and Jefferson’s election as president in 1800. It examines the impact ...
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This chapter discusses the reactions among conservative clergy to disestablishment that were generated by the French Revolution and Jefferson’s election as president in 1800. It examines the impact of the rise of evangelicalism through the Second Great Awakening, the subsequent creation of moral reform societies, and the leadership of Lyman Beecher. It documents the rise of evangelical revisionist histories which sought to establish the religious nature of the founding period by creating a myth about America’s Christian nationhood. Finally, it discusses ongoing resistance among Jeffersonians, including the controversy over Sunday mail delivery in the late 1820s.Less
This chapter discusses the reactions among conservative clergy to disestablishment that were generated by the French Revolution and Jefferson’s election as president in 1800. It examines the impact of the rise of evangelicalism through the Second Great Awakening, the subsequent creation of moral reform societies, and the leadership of Lyman Beecher. It documents the rise of evangelical revisionist histories which sought to establish the religious nature of the founding period by creating a myth about America’s Christian nationhood. Finally, it discusses ongoing resistance among Jeffersonians, including the controversy over Sunday mail delivery in the late 1820s.
Gerald McKenny
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199582679
- eISBN:
- 9780191722981
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199582679.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
If Jesus Christ has accomplished the good in our place and summons us to confirm it in our own conduct, it is clear that there is a place for human action in Barth's moral theology. But if the good ...
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If Jesus Christ has accomplished the good in our place and summons us to confirm it in our own conduct, it is clear that there is a place for human action in Barth's moral theology. But if the good is already accomplished, what significance can human action possibly have? This chapter examines the meaning, reality, and limitations of human action in Barth's moral theology in light of the central notion of Christ's accomplishment of the good in our place. His fundamental claim is that God's grace does not nullify human action or deprive it of significance but rather establishes it by empowering it to be, in its very creaturely nature, an analogy of grace.Less
If Jesus Christ has accomplished the good in our place and summons us to confirm it in our own conduct, it is clear that there is a place for human action in Barth's moral theology. But if the good is already accomplished, what significance can human action possibly have? This chapter examines the meaning, reality, and limitations of human action in Barth's moral theology in light of the central notion of Christ's accomplishment of the good in our place. His fundamental claim is that God's grace does not nullify human action or deprive it of significance but rather establishes it by empowering it to be, in its very creaturely nature, an analogy of grace.
J. Warren Smith
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195369939
- eISBN:
- 9780199893362
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195369939.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
In addition to being the sacrament of justification, baptism for Ambrose is also the sacrament of regeneration. That is, baptism is a proleptic participation in the resurrection and the accompanying ...
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In addition to being the sacrament of justification, baptism for Ambrose is also the sacrament of regeneration. That is, baptism is a proleptic participation in the resurrection and the accompanying transformation of mortal humanity. This chapter examines Ambrose’s view of the resurrection that is paradigmatic for our understanding of life in the new creation. Resurrection is the final deliverance of the Christian from the body of death, not by the separation of the soul from the body but by the healing of the body so that its impulses are no longer at war with the dominion of the mind.Less
In addition to being the sacrament of justification, baptism for Ambrose is also the sacrament of regeneration. That is, baptism is a proleptic participation in the resurrection and the accompanying transformation of mortal humanity. This chapter examines Ambrose’s view of the resurrection that is paradigmatic for our understanding of life in the new creation. Resurrection is the final deliverance of the Christian from the body of death, not by the separation of the soul from the body but by the healing of the body so that its impulses are no longer at war with the dominion of the mind.
Steven M. Lowenstein
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195171648
- eISBN:
- 9780199871346
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195171648.003.0012
- Subject:
- History, European Early Modern History
This chapter shows how by 1870 Jewish religious practice and attitudes changed from being uniformly religiously traditional to running the gamut from preservation of the essence of the tradition at ...
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This chapter shows how by 1870 Jewish religious practice and attitudes changed from being uniformly religiously traditional to running the gamut from preservation of the essence of the tradition at one end to the almost total abandonment of Jewish religious traditions on the other. Although most German Jews had already traveled a road away from tradition by 1870, almost all of them had grandparents who had been traditional Jews. It is difficult to guess what percentage of German Jews in 1870 still observed the rules of kashrut and the Sabbath.Less
This chapter shows how by 1870 Jewish religious practice and attitudes changed from being uniformly religiously traditional to running the gamut from preservation of the essence of the tradition at one end to the almost total abandonment of Jewish religious traditions on the other. Although most German Jews had already traveled a road away from tradition by 1870, almost all of them had grandparents who had been traditional Jews. It is difficult to guess what percentage of German Jews in 1870 still observed the rules of kashrut and the Sabbath.
Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195153859
- eISBN:
- 9780199834051
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195153855.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
Focuses on the mythological figure of Miriai, who in some Mandaean traditions is Jesus’ mother, while in others she is portrayed as a positive figure, but with no associations with Jesus. The ...
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Focuses on the mythological figure of Miriai, who in some Mandaean traditions is Jesus’ mother, while in others she is portrayed as a positive figure, but with no associations with Jesus. The presence of Miriai in Mandaeism raises the possibility that there was a brief Christian stage in early stage in the religion. An examination is made of how the Mandaeans present Miriai in their mythologies. This first discusses the traditions about her in the Book of John, next her conversion from Judaism to Mandaeism, and then her appearance in the Friday and Saturday prayers preceding and following the Jewish Sabbath – as a repeater of the statement cutting the ties of Mandaeism with Judaism. The last section of the chapter is a general discussion of Miriai's elevated position in Mandaeism, as one whose traditions portray Mandaeism's critical attitude to its former home of Judaism.Less
Focuses on the mythological figure of Miriai, who in some Mandaean traditions is Jesus’ mother, while in others she is portrayed as a positive figure, but with no associations with Jesus. The presence of Miriai in Mandaeism raises the possibility that there was a brief Christian stage in early stage in the religion. An examination is made of how the Mandaeans present Miriai in their mythologies. This first discusses the traditions about her in the Book of John, next her conversion from Judaism to Mandaeism, and then her appearance in the Friday and Saturday prayers preceding and following the Jewish Sabbath – as a repeater of the statement cutting the ties of Mandaeism with Judaism. The last section of the chapter is a general discussion of Miriai's elevated position in Mandaeism, as one whose traditions portray Mandaeism's critical attitude to its former home of Judaism.
John Gatta
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195165050
- eISBN:
- 9780199835140
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195165055.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Literature
Unlike most environmental prose, present-day “ecopoetry” centers its imaginative attention on praise rather than protest, love of earth rather than rage. It reflects newfound awareness of nature’s ...
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Unlike most environmental prose, present-day “ecopoetry” centers its imaginative attention on praise rather than protest, love of earth rather than rage. It reflects newfound awareness of nature’s violence, as seen in Mary Oliver’s poems; or of what science discloses about nature’s unseen and unfathomable intricacy, as seen in Pattiann Rogers’s poetry. Surprisingly, though, the meditative temper of contemporary ecopoetry often sustains a religious impulse of wonder concerning humanity’s relation to the nonhuman world. Varied forms of this earth-centered religious disposition can be witnessed in Wendell Berry’s Sabbath Poems, Gary Snyder’s Mountains and Rivers Without End, and Denise Levertov’s late series of meditations on the near-presence of Mount Rainier in Seattle.Less
Unlike most environmental prose, present-day “ecopoetry” centers its imaginative attention on praise rather than protest, love of earth rather than rage. It reflects newfound awareness of nature’s violence, as seen in Mary Oliver’s poems; or of what science discloses about nature’s unseen and unfathomable intricacy, as seen in Pattiann Rogers’s poetry. Surprisingly, though, the meditative temper of contemporary ecopoetry often sustains a religious impulse of wonder concerning humanity’s relation to the nonhuman world. Varied forms of this earth-centered religious disposition can be witnessed in Wendell Berry’s Sabbath Poems, Gary Snyder’s Mountains and Rivers Without End, and Denise Levertov’s late series of meditations on the near-presence of Mount Rainier in Seattle.
Tessa Rajak
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199558674
- eISBN:
- 9780191720895
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199558674.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter portrays the Jewish diaspora communities of the Graeco-Roman age. They were the milieu which the Greek Bible served and where it was developed, revised, and completed. Once again, ...
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This chapter portrays the Jewish diaspora communities of the Graeco-Roman age. They were the milieu which the Greek Bible served and where it was developed, revised, and completed. Once again, emphasis falls on the relationship with the dominant power and with the prevailing cultural norms. The primary evidence for the historical evolution of these communities is surveyed and landmarks in its eventful history are picked out. The continuities in its social, cultural, and religious structures, above all, the synagogue, emerge clearly. At the same time, the articulation of the Jewish community with the broader environment is expressed by a high level of individual and group integration into city life. We have evidence of interest shown by highly placed non-Jewish benefactors and sympathizers in their local synagogue. Yet there were repeated, sometimes widespread manifestations of tension and even violence. That dual experience is both the background and the shaping influence for the Greek Bible, which reflects the conflicts of life under an imperial power in a polytheistic world — uncertainty and dependence on the one hand, confidence and self-sufficiency on the other.Less
This chapter portrays the Jewish diaspora communities of the Graeco-Roman age. They were the milieu which the Greek Bible served and where it was developed, revised, and completed. Once again, emphasis falls on the relationship with the dominant power and with the prevailing cultural norms. The primary evidence for the historical evolution of these communities is surveyed and landmarks in its eventful history are picked out. The continuities in its social, cultural, and religious structures, above all, the synagogue, emerge clearly. At the same time, the articulation of the Jewish community with the broader environment is expressed by a high level of individual and group integration into city life. We have evidence of interest shown by highly placed non-Jewish benefactors and sympathizers in their local synagogue. Yet there were repeated, sometimes widespread manifestations of tension and even violence. That dual experience is both the background and the shaping influence for the Greek Bible, which reflects the conflicts of life under an imperial power in a polytheistic world — uncertainty and dependence on the one hand, confidence and self-sufficiency on the other.
Bernard Capp
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199641789
- eISBN:
- 9780191744228
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199641789.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
Since Elizabethan times puritan reformers had criticized the established church and many of the nation’s social and cultural traditions. This book explores the ‘culture wars’ between reformers and ...
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Since Elizabethan times puritan reformers had criticized the established church and many of the nation’s social and cultural traditions. This book explores the ‘culture wars’ between reformers and traditionalists once the overthrow of monarchy had swept the reformers into power. Part One surveys the reform agenda under the Rump and Cromwell, and how the regime sought to mould local magistrates and ministers into its instruments and partners. It examines too the fierce propaganda wars waged in press and pulpit. Part Two explores the implementation of reform, especially in urban communities where its prospects were best. It assesses campaigns to suppress blasphemy and swearing, enforce the Sabbath, and purify and energize the church. It explores the reformation of manners, through curbs on disorderly alehouses and the harsh punishment of sexual offenders. Further chapters examine music, theatre, dress, and recreations from hunting to football, assessing what the reformers could accept and what they condemned. Part Three focuses on local contexts, with case-studies that range from communities where reformation was barely attempted to those where it achieved substantial successes. A final chapter examines Exeter, where local magistrates, initially hostile, pursued reformation with unparalleled determination. Puritan reformers found allies among others inspired by the vision of a well-ordered civic commonwealth. Overall, the book challenges recent claims that interregnum reformation comprehensively failed, and offers a more positive and nuanced assessment.Less
Since Elizabethan times puritan reformers had criticized the established church and many of the nation’s social and cultural traditions. This book explores the ‘culture wars’ between reformers and traditionalists once the overthrow of monarchy had swept the reformers into power. Part One surveys the reform agenda under the Rump and Cromwell, and how the regime sought to mould local magistrates and ministers into its instruments and partners. It examines too the fierce propaganda wars waged in press and pulpit. Part Two explores the implementation of reform, especially in urban communities where its prospects were best. It assesses campaigns to suppress blasphemy and swearing, enforce the Sabbath, and purify and energize the church. It explores the reformation of manners, through curbs on disorderly alehouses and the harsh punishment of sexual offenders. Further chapters examine music, theatre, dress, and recreations from hunting to football, assessing what the reformers could accept and what they condemned. Part Three focuses on local contexts, with case-studies that range from communities where reformation was barely attempted to those where it achieved substantial successes. A final chapter examines Exeter, where local magistrates, initially hostile, pursued reformation with unparalleled determination. Puritan reformers found allies among others inspired by the vision of a well-ordered civic commonwealth. Overall, the book challenges recent claims that interregnum reformation comprehensively failed, and offers a more positive and nuanced assessment.
Adrian Hastings
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198263999
- eISBN:
- 9780191600623
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198263996.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
An account is given of the origins of Christian Ethiopian Church up to the Age of Emperor Zara Ya’iqob (who came to the throne in 1434) and his son Baida Maryam (who came to the throne in the 1470s). ...
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An account is given of the origins of Christian Ethiopian Church up to the Age of Emperor Zara Ya’iqob (who came to the throne in 1434) and his son Baida Maryam (who came to the throne in the 1470s). The chapter starts with an introduction covering the Council of Dabra Mitmaq called by Zara Ya’iqob in 1449, at which he settled the question of observance/non‐observance of the Sabbath by decreeing that both the Jewish and Christian Sabbaths (Saturday and Sunday, respectively) be recognized. It then traces the origin of Ethiopian Christianity back to the conversion of King Ezana in the fourth century in the Semitic kingdom of Aksum on the Red Sea coast, before going on to discuss the Coptic and Aksumite origins of the Church, Ethiopia's Hebraic character, monasticism, and monarchy in the fourteenth century, and the ‘House of Ewostatewos’ (an Ethiopian Christian movement that observed the Jewish Sabbath rather than the Christian Sabbath). The last part of the chapter discusses the policies of Zara Ya’iqob, a convinced sabbaterian, kingdom unifier, scholar, and expounder of an extremely rigid and detailed religion, who was canonized after his death. The Age of his son Baida Maryam that followed was much more relaxed, but still religious.Less
An account is given of the origins of Christian Ethiopian Church up to the Age of Emperor Zara Ya’iqob (who came to the throne in 1434) and his son Baida Maryam (who came to the throne in the 1470s). The chapter starts with an introduction covering the Council of Dabra Mitmaq called by Zara Ya’iqob in 1449, at which he settled the question of observance/non‐observance of the Sabbath by decreeing that both the Jewish and Christian Sabbaths (Saturday and Sunday, respectively) be recognized. It then traces the origin of Ethiopian Christianity back to the conversion of King Ezana in the fourth century in the Semitic kingdom of Aksum on the Red Sea coast, before going on to discuss the Coptic and Aksumite origins of the Church, Ethiopia's Hebraic character, monasticism, and monarchy in the fourteenth century, and the ‘House of Ewostatewos’ (an Ethiopian Christian movement that observed the Jewish Sabbath rather than the Christian Sabbath). The last part of the chapter discusses the policies of Zara Ya’iqob, a convinced sabbaterian, kingdom unifier, scholar, and expounder of an extremely rigid and detailed religion, who was canonized after his death. The Age of his son Baida Maryam that followed was much more relaxed, but still religious.
Norman Wirzba
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195157161
- eISBN:
- 9780199835270
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195157168.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
The moral and spiritual character of creation is developed through a reading of five different biblical motifs: (1) the Yahwist account of creation in Genesis, (2) the Sabbath code, (3) Job’s ...
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The moral and spiritual character of creation is developed through a reading of five different biblical motifs: (1) the Yahwist account of creation in Genesis, (2) the Sabbath code, (3) Job’s experience of suffering in a sublime universe, (4) new creation in Christ, and (5) the New Heaven and the New Earth in John’s Apocalypse. This chapter shows scripture to be of considerable ecological significance while not addressing specific contemporary environmental problems.Less
The moral and spiritual character of creation is developed through a reading of five different biblical motifs: (1) the Yahwist account of creation in Genesis, (2) the Sabbath code, (3) Job’s experience of suffering in a sublime universe, (4) new creation in Christ, and (5) the New Heaven and the New Earth in John’s Apocalypse. This chapter shows scripture to be of considerable ecological significance while not addressing specific contemporary environmental problems.
John Van Seters
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195153156
- eISBN:
- 9780199834785
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195153154.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
Within the second half of the code are social and humanitarian commandments concerned with the poor, the widow and orphan, and the stranger who are not to be exploited, but must be supported by ...
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Within the second half of the code are social and humanitarian commandments concerned with the poor, the widow and orphan, and the stranger who are not to be exploited, but must be supported by social welfare. These concerns are expressed in regulations regarding the practice of usury, fair treatment in a court of law, fair labor practices, and animal welfare. There are various apodictic prohibitions and injunctions on religious matters, including one that has been linked to the practice of child sacrifice, to which special attention is given. The last group of religious injunctions deals with the Sabbath and festival laws. Many of the laws within this half of the Covenant Code have their counterparts within the other biblical codes, as well as the larger biblical tradition, which call for careful comparative analysis.Less
Within the second half of the code are social and humanitarian commandments concerned with the poor, the widow and orphan, and the stranger who are not to be exploited, but must be supported by social welfare. These concerns are expressed in regulations regarding the practice of usury, fair treatment in a court of law, fair labor practices, and animal welfare. There are various apodictic prohibitions and injunctions on religious matters, including one that has been linked to the practice of child sacrifice, to which special attention is given. The last group of religious injunctions deals with the Sabbath and festival laws. Many of the laws within this half of the Covenant Code have their counterparts within the other biblical codes, as well as the larger biblical tradition, which call for careful comparative analysis.
Bernard Capp
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199641789
- eISBN:
- 9780191744228
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199641789.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
This chapter uses court records and other evidence to examine campaigns to curb blasphemy, casual oaths, and profanation of the Sabbath, offences puritans regarded as even more sinful than sexual ...
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This chapter uses court records and other evidence to examine campaigns to curb blasphemy, casual oaths, and profanation of the Sabbath, offences puritans regarded as even more sinful than sexual immorality or drunkenness. It explores the prosecution of Socinians, Quakers, and numerous little-known alleged blasphemers, some deluded, others deliberately provocative. It surveys too the role of the courts and individual magistrates in suppressing profane swearing and the casual oaths common in everyday speech. The chapter then examines campaigns to enforce tight Sabbath restrictions. It explores efforts to suppress all forms of commercial activity, travel, drinking, and sports, and offers an assessment of how much was achieved on each of these fronts.Less
This chapter uses court records and other evidence to examine campaigns to curb blasphemy, casual oaths, and profanation of the Sabbath, offences puritans regarded as even more sinful than sexual immorality or drunkenness. It explores the prosecution of Socinians, Quakers, and numerous little-known alleged blasphemers, some deluded, others deliberately provocative. It surveys too the role of the courts and individual magistrates in suppressing profane swearing and the casual oaths common in everyday speech. The chapter then examines campaigns to enforce tight Sabbath restrictions. It explores efforts to suppress all forms of commercial activity, travel, drinking, and sports, and offers an assessment of how much was achieved on each of these fronts.
Elliot R. Wolfson
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520246195
- eISBN:
- 9780520932319
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520246195.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter explores the nexus of time, truth, and death as it emerges hermeneutically from the symbolic world of medieval kabbalah. It focuses on the letters alef, mem, and tau, the consonants of ...
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This chapter explores the nexus of time, truth, and death as it emerges hermeneutically from the symbolic world of medieval kabbalah. It focuses on the letters alef, mem, and tau, the consonants of the word emet, “truth,” which stand respectively for beginning, middle, and end, the three points of the curvature of the timeline. The correlation of truth and divinity underscores that truth, which embodies in its semiotic constellation the triadic structure of temporality, is the mark of the divine eternally becoming in time. The letters of emet are examined to discern something of the truth of time manifestly concealed in the time of truth, the beginning that cannot begin if it is to be the beginning, the middle that remarks the place of origin and destiny, and the end that is the figuration of the impossible disclosing the impossibility of figuration. Linear time is eternalized in the circular rhythms of the sacred time of liturgy and ritual, a process exemplified especially in the celebration of Sabbath.Less
This chapter explores the nexus of time, truth, and death as it emerges hermeneutically from the symbolic world of medieval kabbalah. It focuses on the letters alef, mem, and tau, the consonants of the word emet, “truth,” which stand respectively for beginning, middle, and end, the three points of the curvature of the timeline. The correlation of truth and divinity underscores that truth, which embodies in its semiotic constellation the triadic structure of temporality, is the mark of the divine eternally becoming in time. The letters of emet are examined to discern something of the truth of time manifestly concealed in the time of truth, the beginning that cannot begin if it is to be the beginning, the middle that remarks the place of origin and destiny, and the end that is the figuration of the impossible disclosing the impossibility of figuration. Linear time is eternalized in the circular rhythms of the sacred time of liturgy and ritual, a process exemplified especially in the celebration of Sabbath.
Jonathan Burnside
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199759217
- eISBN:
- 9780199827084
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199759217.003.0006
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
This chapter shows how a biblical ideology of divine ownership affects the practice of land tenure and land use. The close connections in biblical Israel between people, land, and narrative means ...
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This chapter shows how a biblical ideology of divine ownership affects the practice of land tenure and land use. The close connections in biblical Israel between people, land, and narrative means that the biblical law of property is dynamic, not least in the area of inheritance. This raises questions about the different sources of law in the Bible, including customary law, divine revelation, and the relationship between them. There is a complex interaction between the narrative of Genesis and Exodus (including creation, the Joseph story and the Exodus) and the various sabbatical laws. These include the weekly Sabbath, sabbatical year, and jubilee years which together form a “spectrum of Sabbaths” of increasing intensity. Israel's use of the “Promised Land” repeatedly presents her with the choice of whether she will serve the ancestral god of the ancestral lands. The laws, too, present a basic choice between Pharaonic economics(amassing land) and family economics (restoring land).Less
This chapter shows how a biblical ideology of divine ownership affects the practice of land tenure and land use. The close connections in biblical Israel between people, land, and narrative means that the biblical law of property is dynamic, not least in the area of inheritance. This raises questions about the different sources of law in the Bible, including customary law, divine revelation, and the relationship between them. There is a complex interaction between the narrative of Genesis and Exodus (including creation, the Joseph story and the Exodus) and the various sabbatical laws. These include the weekly Sabbath, sabbatical year, and jubilee years which together form a “spectrum of Sabbaths” of increasing intensity. Israel's use of the “Promised Land” repeatedly presents her with the choice of whether she will serve the ancestral god of the ancestral lands. The laws, too, present a basic choice between Pharaonic economics(amassing land) and family economics (restoring land).
Jonathan Burnside
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199759217
- eISBN:
- 9780199827084
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199759217.003.0007
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
This chapter explores the wide variety of biblical laws of social welfare, including the ban on interest, tithe and gleaning laws, and a range of sabbath institutions. There is a contrast between ...
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This chapter explores the wide variety of biblical laws of social welfare, including the ban on interest, tithe and gleaning laws, and a range of sabbath institutions. There is a contrast between Pharaonic economics, which is associated with harsh working conditions, slavery, holding onto debts, lending at interest, hoarding, state rations, and exploiting people for food; and family economics, which is associated with time off for workers, Sabbath rest, releasing debts (including debt-slaves), a ban on interest, abundance, and leaving food behind for the needy. The extension of “super-sabbath” institutions (sabbath-plus, sabbath-squared, and perpetual sabbath) shows the way that the biblical welfare laws can be creatively adapted and applied to very different situations, in both the prophetic literature and the New Testament. The chapter argues that, in modern terms, biblical law presents a “third way” that goes beyond the dichotomy between equality and liberty, promoting access to the means of production, releasing creativity and preserving incentives.Less
This chapter explores the wide variety of biblical laws of social welfare, including the ban on interest, tithe and gleaning laws, and a range of sabbath institutions. There is a contrast between Pharaonic economics, which is associated with harsh working conditions, slavery, holding onto debts, lending at interest, hoarding, state rations, and exploiting people for food; and family economics, which is associated with time off for workers, Sabbath rest, releasing debts (including debt-slaves), a ban on interest, abundance, and leaving food behind for the needy. The extension of “super-sabbath” institutions (sabbath-plus, sabbath-squared, and perpetual sabbath) shows the way that the biblical welfare laws can be creatively adapted and applied to very different situations, in both the prophetic literature and the New Testament. The chapter argues that, in modern terms, biblical law presents a “third way” that goes beyond the dichotomy between equality and liberty, promoting access to the means of production, releasing creativity and preserving incentives.
Jonathan Garb
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226295800
- eISBN:
- 9780226295947
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226295947.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This concluding chapter reflects on the wider cultural implications of ideas of the soul developed in modern Kabbalah and their place within Jewish religiosity as a whole. The nomian and legal ...
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This concluding chapter reflects on the wider cultural implications of ideas of the soul developed in modern Kabbalah and their place within Jewish religiosity as a whole. The nomian and legal aspects of these ideas are outlined, with a special emphasis on the psychology of textual study, examined in comparative context. Ideas of the Sabbath as soul time and the ritual of Tefilin as granting a new soul are explored. Here the central model of soul making through human activity is both supported and elaborated. Nineteenth century Kabbalah is given special attention, including North African texts and the better known teachings and tales of Nahman of Bratzlav. In the latter context, the influence of Kabbalah on Modern Hebrew literature is considered. Chapter 7 concludes with a poetic reflection on the archetypal psychology of social justice.Less
This concluding chapter reflects on the wider cultural implications of ideas of the soul developed in modern Kabbalah and their place within Jewish religiosity as a whole. The nomian and legal aspects of these ideas are outlined, with a special emphasis on the psychology of textual study, examined in comparative context. Ideas of the Sabbath as soul time and the ritual of Tefilin as granting a new soul are explored. Here the central model of soul making through human activity is both supported and elaborated. Nineteenth century Kabbalah is given special attention, including North African texts and the better known teachings and tales of Nahman of Bratzlav. In the latter context, the influence of Kabbalah on Modern Hebrew literature is considered. Chapter 7 concludes with a poetic reflection on the archetypal psychology of social justice.
Laura M. Hartman
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199746422
- eISBN:
- 9780199918751
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199746422.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
When Christians consider consumption, they often do so by reference to an eschatological vision of a fulfilled world. Though there is considerable diversity within Christianity regarding the fate of ...
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When Christians consider consumption, they often do so by reference to an eschatological vision of a fulfilled world. Though there is considerable diversity within Christianity regarding the fate of this world, Christian insights into God's will for the future may still inform sound consumption decisions. This chapter examines two practices, Sabbath keeping and the Eucharist, for their insights into both eschatology and Christian consumption. The work of Ched Myers, Norman Wirzba, Marva Dawn, Wendell Berry, Seventh-day Adventist scholars, and Eastern Orthodox theologian Sergei Bulgakov are featured in this chapter.Less
When Christians consider consumption, they often do so by reference to an eschatological vision of a fulfilled world. Though there is considerable diversity within Christianity regarding the fate of this world, Christian insights into God's will for the future may still inform sound consumption decisions. This chapter examines two practices, Sabbath keeping and the Eucharist, for their insights into both eschatology and Christian consumption. The work of Ched Myers, Norman Wirzba, Marva Dawn, Wendell Berry, Seventh-day Adventist scholars, and Eastern Orthodox theologian Sergei Bulgakov are featured in this chapter.
