Frank Graziano
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195124323
- eISBN:
- 9780199784561
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195124324.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter analyzes how symbolic inversion operates in millennial communities to alter the meanings and interrelations of above and below, center and periphery, good and evil, pure and impure, and ...
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This chapter analyzes how symbolic inversion operates in millennial communities to alter the meanings and interrelations of above and below, center and periphery, good and evil, pure and impure, and other opposites. Also treated are the reduction of complexities into simplified dualities that are polarized in diametrical opposition; the emergence of a New Humanity in religious and political thought; the belief that God is fighting for one’s cause; and the ways millennial movements provide new moral and religious options.Less
This chapter analyzes how symbolic inversion operates in millennial communities to alter the meanings and interrelations of above and below, center and periphery, good and evil, pure and impure, and other opposites. Also treated are the reduction of complexities into simplified dualities that are polarized in diametrical opposition; the emergence of a New Humanity in religious and political thought; the belief that God is fighting for one’s cause; and the ways millennial movements provide new moral and religious options.
Lewis V. Baldwin
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195380316
- eISBN:
- 9780199869299
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195380316.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The content of this chapter unfolds along several lines of discussion. First, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s sense of the entire history of the black church and how that institution had functioned in ...
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The content of this chapter unfolds along several lines of discussion. First, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s sense of the entire history of the black church and how that institution had functioned in African American life and culture up to his time is discussed. Early images of the church as refuge, as comprehensive community, as exodus and exilic community, as chosen people, as unbroken tradition, as suffering servant, as messianic instrument, as counterculture, and as critic and transformer of culture are seriously considered. Second, King’s portrait of the civil rights movement as church-based and church-centered is stressed, with special attention to his view of the black church as “movement headquarters.” The chapter closes with reflections on King’s conflicts with other black leaders, especially conservatives and nationalists, over the meaning and proper role of the church in the personal and social lives of African Americans.Less
The content of this chapter unfolds along several lines of discussion. First, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s sense of the entire history of the black church and how that institution had functioned in African American life and culture up to his time is discussed. Early images of the church as refuge, as comprehensive community, as exodus and exilic community, as chosen people, as unbroken tradition, as suffering servant, as messianic instrument, as counterculture, and as critic and transformer of culture are seriously considered. Second, King’s portrait of the civil rights movement as church-based and church-centered is stressed, with special attention to his view of the black church as “movement headquarters.” The chapter closes with reflections on King’s conflicts with other black leaders, especially conservatives and nationalists, over the meaning and proper role of the church in the personal and social lives of African Americans.
Bryan Shelley
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198122845
- eISBN:
- 9780191671562
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198122845.003.0009
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century Literature and Romanticism
Development in Hebrew prophetic literature is found to have similar aspects with how Shelley experienced a gradual loss of faith during his efforts at establishing an ideal society or a new Eden. The ...
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Development in Hebrew prophetic literature is found to have similar aspects with how Shelley experienced a gradual loss of faith during his efforts at establishing an ideal society or a new Eden. The cessation of prophecy in the Old Testament comes with the rise of an apocalyptic biblical genre. This new conception cannot be separated from the political developments observed across the Jewish nation particularly in the intertestamental period since certain prophets have expressed judgement on the chosen people's enemies and have said that God would be able to restore the eminence of Israel among other nations. However, the chosen people became occupied since the Seleucid dynasty gave way for the rise of the Hellenistic culture. This chapter explores apocalyptic vision in works such as Adonais.Less
Development in Hebrew prophetic literature is found to have similar aspects with how Shelley experienced a gradual loss of faith during his efforts at establishing an ideal society or a new Eden. The cessation of prophecy in the Old Testament comes with the rise of an apocalyptic biblical genre. This new conception cannot be separated from the political developments observed across the Jewish nation particularly in the intertestamental period since certain prophets have expressed judgement on the chosen people's enemies and have said that God would be able to restore the eminence of Israel among other nations. However, the chosen people became occupied since the Seleucid dynasty gave way for the rise of the Hellenistic culture. This chapter explores apocalyptic vision in works such as Adonais.
Sarah Crabtree
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226255767
- eISBN:
- 9780226255934
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226255934.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Chapter One, “Zion in Crisis,” traces the imbricated relationship between the Quakers' evolving theological identity and the political movements of the late eighteenth century. The universalist ...
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Chapter One, “Zion in Crisis,” traces the imbricated relationship between the Quakers' evolving theological identity and the political movements of the late eighteenth century. The universalist propensity of religion coexisted uneasily with the particularizing tendency of nationalism and the state-strengthening expressions of patriotism, and the Society seized on the Jewish faith tradition in order to resist these twin pressures. In particular, ministers on both sides of the Atlantic drew on four key concepts from the Jewish faith tradition and relied on these tenets when confronting the pressures wrought by warfare and nationalism: (1) A communal belief in their identity as a “chosen people” subject first and foremost to divine law. (2) A shared history of persecution that defined their relationship with the governments under which they lived. (3) A reciprocal experience of diaspora that bound together their scattered community. (4) A collective responsibility to prophesy in order to stir others to repentance and reform. Taken together, these four tenets represent the Quakers' interpretation of the Zion tradition during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.Less
Chapter One, “Zion in Crisis,” traces the imbricated relationship between the Quakers' evolving theological identity and the political movements of the late eighteenth century. The universalist propensity of religion coexisted uneasily with the particularizing tendency of nationalism and the state-strengthening expressions of patriotism, and the Society seized on the Jewish faith tradition in order to resist these twin pressures. In particular, ministers on both sides of the Atlantic drew on four key concepts from the Jewish faith tradition and relied on these tenets when confronting the pressures wrought by warfare and nationalism: (1) A communal belief in their identity as a “chosen people” subject first and foremost to divine law. (2) A shared history of persecution that defined their relationship with the governments under which they lived. (3) A reciprocal experience of diaspora that bound together their scattered community. (4) A collective responsibility to prophesy in order to stir others to repentance and reform. Taken together, these four tenets represent the Quakers' interpretation of the Zion tradition during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
Adam Sutcliffe
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- January 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780691188805
- eISBN:
- 9780691201931
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691188805.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
What is the purpose of Jews in the world? The Bible singles out the Jews as God's “chosen people,” but the significance of this special status has been understood in many different ways over the ...
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What is the purpose of Jews in the world? The Bible singles out the Jews as God's “chosen people,” but the significance of this special status has been understood in many different ways over the centuries. This book traces the history of the idea of Jewish purpose from its ancient and medieval foundations to the modern era, showing how it has been central to Western thinking on the meanings of peoplehood for everybody. The book delves into the links between Jewish and Christian messianism and the association of Jews with universalist and transformative ideals in modern philosophy, politics, literature, and social thought. The Jews have been accorded a crucial role in both Jewish and Christian conceptions of the end of history, when they will usher the world into a new epoch of unity and harmony. Since the seventeenth century, this messianic underlay to the idea of Jewish purpose has been repeatedly reconfigured in new forms. From the political theology of the early modern era to almost all domains of modern thought—religious, social, economic, nationalist, radical, assimilationist, satirical, and psychoanalytical—Jews have retained a close association with positive transformation for all. The book reveals the persistent importance of the “Jewish Purpose Question” in the attempts of Jews and non-Jews alike to connect the collective purpose of particular communities to the broader betterment of humanity. Shedding light on questions of exceptionalism, pluralism, and universalism, the book explores an intricate question that remains widely resonant in contemporary culture and political debate.Less
What is the purpose of Jews in the world? The Bible singles out the Jews as God's “chosen people,” but the significance of this special status has been understood in many different ways over the centuries. This book traces the history of the idea of Jewish purpose from its ancient and medieval foundations to the modern era, showing how it has been central to Western thinking on the meanings of peoplehood for everybody. The book delves into the links between Jewish and Christian messianism and the association of Jews with universalist and transformative ideals in modern philosophy, politics, literature, and social thought. The Jews have been accorded a crucial role in both Jewish and Christian conceptions of the end of history, when they will usher the world into a new epoch of unity and harmony. Since the seventeenth century, this messianic underlay to the idea of Jewish purpose has been repeatedly reconfigured in new forms. From the political theology of the early modern era to almost all domains of modern thought—religious, social, economic, nationalist, radical, assimilationist, satirical, and psychoanalytical—Jews have retained a close association with positive transformation for all. The book reveals the persistent importance of the “Jewish Purpose Question” in the attempts of Jews and non-Jews alike to connect the collective purpose of particular communities to the broader betterment of humanity. Shedding light on questions of exceptionalism, pluralism, and universalism, the book explores an intricate question that remains widely resonant in contemporary culture and political debate.
Karl Kraus
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780300236002
- eISBN:
- 9780300252804
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300236002.003.0018
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
This chapter investigates the extent to which the struggle against the anti-German Spirit is German in origin. Kraus's “Prayer to the Sun of Gibeon,” misinterpreted when it appeared in 1916, ...
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This chapter investigates the extent to which the struggle against the anti-German Spirit is German in origin. Kraus's “Prayer to the Sun of Gibeon,” misinterpreted when it appeared in 1916, highlights the absurdity of a world of power politics in which the pan-German present uncannily converged with an Old Testament narrative fraught with atrocities. The reflection “On the Sinai Front” of 1917 pointed to the concurrence of two ethnicities. This was expressed by Schopenhauer's definition of a nation that “worships a God who promises it the lands of its neighbours.” During the World War, the Old Testament and modern German ideologies of being “chosen peoples” had already reached a point of convergence—of alignment before the event.Less
This chapter investigates the extent to which the struggle against the anti-German Spirit is German in origin. Kraus's “Prayer to the Sun of Gibeon,” misinterpreted when it appeared in 1916, highlights the absurdity of a world of power politics in which the pan-German present uncannily converged with an Old Testament narrative fraught with atrocities. The reflection “On the Sinai Front” of 1917 pointed to the concurrence of two ethnicities. This was expressed by Schopenhauer's definition of a nation that “worships a God who promises it the lands of its neighbours.” During the World War, the Old Testament and modern German ideologies of being “chosen peoples” had already reached a point of convergence—of alignment before the event.
Justin B. Litke
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780813142203
- eISBN:
- 9780813142234
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813142203.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Faced with the unprecedented disunion of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln mustered equally unprecedented means to move the country back toward reconciliation. The manner in which he accomplished this ...
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Faced with the unprecedented disunion of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln mustered equally unprecedented means to move the country back toward reconciliation. The manner in which he accomplished this is no longer seen as novel because of its basically absolute success. True legal or political reconciliation would have required a long process with little hope of positive results, but if the reunion were to be performed merely by common adherence to an idea, then the feat could be done more easily. This is what Lincoln accomplished, and the ramifications of the change would not be felt for more than a generation. In close readings of Lincolns most famous speeches and phrases, a more uneven, and more human, picture of the man as a politician emerges.Less
Faced with the unprecedented disunion of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln mustered equally unprecedented means to move the country back toward reconciliation. The manner in which he accomplished this is no longer seen as novel because of its basically absolute success. True legal or political reconciliation would have required a long process with little hope of positive results, but if the reunion were to be performed merely by common adherence to an idea, then the feat could be done more easily. This is what Lincoln accomplished, and the ramifications of the change would not be felt for more than a generation. In close readings of Lincolns most famous speeches and phrases, a more uneven, and more human, picture of the man as a politician emerges.
Hokulani K. Aikau
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780816674619
- eISBN:
- 9781452946986
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Minnesota Press
- DOI:
- 10.5749/minnesota/9780816674619.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
This chapter provides a historical background on how in the nineteenth-century Hawaiians came to be incorporated into the larger cosmology of the Mormon Church through notions of lineage. In the ...
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This chapter provides a historical background on how in the nineteenth-century Hawaiians came to be incorporated into the larger cosmology of the Mormon Church through notions of lineage. In the 1850s the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, drawing upon dominant notions of race and worthiness, began to redraw the boundaries between those souls they deemed chosen and those who were not. Hawaiians were positioned as chosen peoples connected to Israelite lineage and thus were desirable religious subjects. The chapter examines the development of a chosen people against a backdrop of the racialized logic of the 1850s. It considers three mechanisms for the making of a chosen people: racial discourses, ideologies of lineage, and invention of religious customs and practices.Less
This chapter provides a historical background on how in the nineteenth-century Hawaiians came to be incorporated into the larger cosmology of the Mormon Church through notions of lineage. In the 1850s the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, drawing upon dominant notions of race and worthiness, began to redraw the boundaries between those souls they deemed chosen and those who were not. Hawaiians were positioned as chosen peoples connected to Israelite lineage and thus were desirable religious subjects. The chapter examines the development of a chosen people against a backdrop of the racialized logic of the 1850s. It considers three mechanisms for the making of a chosen people: racial discourses, ideologies of lineage, and invention of religious customs and practices.
Owen Stanwood
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- December 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190264741
- eISBN:
- 9780190264772
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190264741.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion, European Modern History
The introduction begins with the story of Élie Neau, to show how Huguenots promoted themselves as religious heroes but were also political actors who used their myriad connections in a world of ...
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The introduction begins with the story of Élie Neau, to show how Huguenots promoted themselves as religious heroes but were also political actors who used their myriad connections in a world of states and empires to forge a place for themselves over a century of tribulation. Surveying the material of the book, the introduction defines Huguenots as “chosen people” in two senses. They viewed themselves as God’s elect, destined to do great things in the world, but they also promoted themselves as economic chosen people, whose talents could help develop the far reaches of the world in the service of other people’s empires.Less
The introduction begins with the story of Élie Neau, to show how Huguenots promoted themselves as religious heroes but were also political actors who used their myriad connections in a world of states and empires to forge a place for themselves over a century of tribulation. Surveying the material of the book, the introduction defines Huguenots as “chosen people” in two senses. They viewed themselves as God’s elect, destined to do great things in the world, but they also promoted themselves as economic chosen people, whose talents could help develop the far reaches of the world in the service of other people’s empires.
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804781930
- eISBN:
- 9780804782821
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804781930.003.0015
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Jewish Studies
Christian scholars' preoccupation with the Jewish language in early modern Germany was founded on the close affinity between Yiddish and Hebrew. First, Christian interest in Yiddish was aroused ...
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Christian scholars' preoccupation with the Jewish language in early modern Germany was founded on the close affinity between Yiddish and Hebrew. First, Christian interest in Yiddish was aroused mainly by its linguistic relation to Hebrew—even more than its close relation to German. Second, Yiddish's relation to the Hebrew language played an important role in shaping the attitudes of Christians toward the Jewish-German language. Given that many of the writings of Christian Hebraists showed deep appreciation and even admiration for the Hebrew language, the link between Yiddish and the holy tongue might be expected to also create a more positive image of the latter. However, what happened was the exact opposite. This chapter first examines the claim that Hebrew, after being replaced by Yiddish, ceased to be the language of the German Jews, and then turns to the distinction between biblical Jews and modern Jews, as highlighted by Protestant writings on Jews and Judaism. It concludes by considering the Protestant Church's claim that it was the “New Israel,” and its rejection of the Jews as the “Chosen People.”.Less
Christian scholars' preoccupation with the Jewish language in early modern Germany was founded on the close affinity between Yiddish and Hebrew. First, Christian interest in Yiddish was aroused mainly by its linguistic relation to Hebrew—even more than its close relation to German. Second, Yiddish's relation to the Hebrew language played an important role in shaping the attitudes of Christians toward the Jewish-German language. Given that many of the writings of Christian Hebraists showed deep appreciation and even admiration for the Hebrew language, the link between Yiddish and the holy tongue might be expected to also create a more positive image of the latter. However, what happened was the exact opposite. This chapter first examines the claim that Hebrew, after being replaced by Yiddish, ceased to be the language of the German Jews, and then turns to the distinction between biblical Jews and modern Jews, as highlighted by Protestant writings on Jews and Judaism. It concludes by considering the Protestant Church's claim that it was the “New Israel,” and its rejection of the Jews as the “Chosen People.”.
John Barton
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- December 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199660438
- eISBN:
- 9780191787270
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199660438.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Judaism
Who was regarded as morally responsible in ancient Israel (a ‘moral agent’) and for whom (a ‘moral patient’)? This chapter looks at the status of various moral agents and patients—Israel as God’s ...
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Who was regarded as morally responsible in ancient Israel (a ‘moral agent’) and for whom (a ‘moral patient’)? This chapter looks at the status of various moral agents and patients—Israel as God’s chosen people, humanity as a whole, certain special people—and also asks about human moral competence: was ethical behaviour seen as easy or hard? There is an examination of the ‘image of God’ referred to in Genesis as a possible basis for understanding how and why human beings had obligations to God, and what their status as moral agents and patients was thought to be, contrasting in some ways with common ancient Near Eastern ideas outside Israel.Less
Who was regarded as morally responsible in ancient Israel (a ‘moral agent’) and for whom (a ‘moral patient’)? This chapter looks at the status of various moral agents and patients—Israel as God’s chosen people, humanity as a whole, certain special people—and also asks about human moral competence: was ethical behaviour seen as easy or hard? There is an examination of the ‘image of God’ referred to in Genesis as a possible basis for understanding how and why human beings had obligations to God, and what their status as moral agents and patients was thought to be, contrasting in some ways with common ancient Near Eastern ideas outside Israel.
