Posted on December 18, 2008 by Mark
I am stuck between two generations. Many people of my father’s generation cannot comprehend why anyone would approve of homosexual relationships–and many of my kids’ generation cannot fathom why anyone could possible be opposed to two people loving each other just because they happen to be of the same sex.
The Film “Trembling Before G-D” is [...]
Filed under: Historical Interpretation, Torah, critical thinking, justice, tradition | Tagged: compassion, gay rights, orthodox judaism, Trembling before G-d | Leave a Comment »
Posted on August 21, 2007 by Mark
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
A friend who taught a survey course on the Bible at a community college mentioned that the students were surprised at “how bloody” the Old Testament is. In addition to Israel’s frequent wars, the death penalty was apparently required for several crimes. Hostile critics of faith see this as incredibly barbaric, while [...]
Filed under: Capital Punishment, Historical Interpretation, Torah, critical thinking, questions | 7 Comments »
Posted on August 13, 2007 by Mark
Slavery was never God’s will. God created humans, male and female, in his image and gave them authority and dignity to take care of the rest of God’s creation but not to rule over each other. When the descendants of Jacob became slaves in Egypt, God heard their cry and liberated them from [...]
Filed under: Historical Interpretation, Torah, critical thinking, slavery | 2 Comments »
Posted on August 8, 2007 by Mark
This will be the first of two or three posts on understanding the Bible historically.
Eternal Torah and Historical Torah
Christians inherited their first Bible from the Jews. In Judaism the Torah is the original and most authoritative part of the Bible. The Torah contains the 613 commandments (mitzvot) that every Jew must learn and [...]
Filed under: Historical Interpretation, Torah, critical thinking, tradition | 7 Comments »
