A Jewish Public Theology

A Jewish Public Theology
Author: Abraham Unger
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 127
Release: 2018-10-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1498535887

A Jewish Public Theology draws from Halakhah, Jewish law, to address some of the most searing current policy issues. Abraham Unger examines how Jewish tradition speaks to globalization and its attendant political and economic cleavages. Classical Jewish thought sits on a perch outside of the defining parameters of the global political conversation and as such cannot be pigeon holed as populist, leftist, or rightist. Judaism was born in antiquity and therefore predates by millennia these current ideological biases. That intellectual distance, both due to the long arc of Jewish history, and outsider minority status as a tradition, allows for a critical distance. Unger explores how the Jewish tradition compels the living out of a public policy framework through the forging of equitable communities using arguments that go beyond political orthodoxies. In this socially fragile era, the possibility of that message offers a hopeful discourse of significant possibility for all humankind.

The Jewish Social Contract

The Jewish Social Contract
Author: David Novak
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2009-01-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1400824397

The Jewish Social Contract begins by asking how a traditional Jew can participate politically and socially and in good faith in a modern democratic society, and ends by proposing a broad, inclusive notion of secularity. David Novak takes issue with the view--held by the late philosopher John Rawls and his followers--that citizens of a liberal state must, in effect, check their religion at the door when discussing politics in a public forum. Novak argues that in a "liberal democratic state, members of faith-based communities--such as tradition-minded Jews and Christians--ought to be able to adhere to the broad political framework wholly in terms of their own religious tradition and convictions, and without setting their religion aside in the public sphere. Novak shows how social contracts emerged, rooted in biblical notions of covenant, and how they developed in the rabbinic, medieval, and "modern periods. He offers suggestions as to how Jews today can best negotiate the modern social contract while calling upon non-Jewish allies to aid them in the process. The Jewish Social Contract will prove an enlightening and innovative contribution to the ongoing debate about the role of religion in liberal democracies.

A Companion to Public Theology

A Companion to Public Theology
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 515
Release: 2017-01-23
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004336060

Winner of the 2017 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Award Public theology has emerged in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries as theologians have increasingly entered the public square to engage complex issues. This Companion to Public Theology brings a much-needed resource to this relatively new field. The essays contained here bring a robust and relevant faith perspective to a wide range of issues as well as foundational biblical and theological perspectives which equip theologians to enter into public dialogue. Public theology has never been more needed in public discourse, whether local or global. In conversation across disciplines its contribution to the construction of just policies is apparent in this volume, as scholars examine the areas of political, social and economic spheres as well as issues of ethics and civil societies, and draw on contexts from six continents. Contributors are: Chris Baker, Andrew Bradstock, Luke Bretherton, Lisa Sowle Cahill, Letitia M. Campbell, Cláudio Carvalhaes, Katie Day, Frits de Lange, Jolyon Mitchell, Elaine Graham, Paul Hanson, Nico Koopman, Sebastian Kim, Esther McIntosh, Clive Pearson, Scott Paeth, Larry L. Rasmussen, Hilary Russell, Nicholas Sagovsky, Dirk J. Smit, William Storrar, David Tombs, Rudolf von Sinner, Jenny Anne Wright, and Yvonne Zimmerman.

Jewish Law in Gentile Churches

Jewish Law in Gentile Churches
Author: Markus Bockmuehl
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 348
Release: 2000-11-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780567087348

Why did the Gentile church keep Old Testament commandments about sex and idolatry, but disregard many others, like those about food or ritual purity? If there were any binding norms, what made them so, and on what basis were they articulated?In this important study, Markus Bockmuehl approaches such questions by examining the halakhic (Jewish legal) rationale behind the ethics of Jesus, Paul and the early Christians. He offers fresh and often unexpected answers based on careful biblical and historical study. His arguments have far-reaching implications not only for the study of the New Testament, but more broadly for the relationship between Christianity and Judaism.

Toward a Jewish Theology of Liberation

Toward a Jewish Theology of Liberation
Author: Marc H. Ellis
Publisher: SCM Press
Total Pages: 170
Release: 2003-01-02
Genre: Holocaust (Jewish theology)
ISBN: 9780334028994

Marc Ellis fine book about the future of the Jewish community was first published in 1987. But twenty years on, in the light of recent events in the Middle East and post-September 11, its powerful message of hope, directed towards a people 'poised between Holocaust and empowerment', remains as powerful, apposite, and pressingly relevant as it was before. Ellis begins with two poles: the holocaust and the pain and vision that issue from it. This leads him into ethics, and he highlights the contrast between the depth of Jewish ethical commitment and the paucity of renewal movements within Judaism. The author then addresses all suffering peoples, and the Christian liberation movements active among them, so that the holocaust may be set in a wider context. Against this background, Ellis sees it as essential that the journeys and visions of dissenting Jews - such as Etty Hillesum and Martin Buber - should be re-appraised. An alternative perspective of what it means to be Jewish begins to emerge, and in the final chapter a Jewish theology of liberation is essayed, which is a theology prepared 'to enter the danger zones of contemporary Jewish life', often at some cost.

Jewish Theology in Our Time

Jewish Theology in Our Time
Author: David J. Wolpe
Publisher: Jewish Lights Publishing
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2012-12
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1580236308

A powerful and challenging examination of what Jews believe today¿ by a new generation¿s dynamic and innovative thinkers. New in Paperback! At every critical juncture in Jewish history, Jews have understood a dynamic theology to be essential for a vital Jewish community. This important collection sets the next stage of Jewish theological thought, bringing together a cross section of interesting new voices from all movements in Judaism to inspire and stimulate discussion now and in the years to come. Provocative and wide-ranging, these invigorating and creative insights from a new generation¿s thought leaders provide a coherent and inspiring picture of Jewish belief in our time. The passionate voices of a new generation of Jewish thinkers continue the dialogue with God, examining the dynamics of what Jews can believe today. They explore: ¿ A dynamic God in process ¿ The canon of Jewish literature and its potential to be both contemporary and authentic to tradition ¿ Critical terms and categories for discussing Jewish theology ¿ The ongoing nature of the Jewish search for God ¿ Ruptures within the modern Jewish condition ¿ And much more

Doing Jewish Theology

Doing Jewish Theology
Author: Neil Gillman
Publisher: Jewish Lights Publishing
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2008
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1580233228

God -- Torah -- Israel

Thinking about God

Thinking about God
Author: Kari H. Tuling
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Total Pages: 424
Release: 2020-08
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0827618468

A Top Ten Book for Parish Ministry from the Academy of Parish Clergy Who--or what--is God? Is God like a person? Does God have a gender? Does God have a special relationship with the Jewish people? Does God intervene in our lives? Is God good--and, if yes, why does evil persist in the world? In investigating how Jewish thinkers have approached these and other questions, Rabbi Kari H. Tuling elucidates many compelling--and contrasting--ways of thinking about God in Jewish tradition. Thinking about God addresses the genuinely intertextual nature of evolving Jewish God concepts. Just as in Jewish thought the Bible and other historical texts are living documents, still present and relevant to the conversation unfolding now, and just as a Jewish theologian examining a core concept responds to the full tapestry of Jewish thought on the subject all at once, this book is organized topically, covers Jewish sources (including liturgy) from the biblical to the postmodern era, and highlights the interplay between texts over time, up through our own era. A highly accessible resource for introductory students, Thinking about God also makes important yet challenging theological texts understandable. By breaking down each selected text into its core components, Tuling helps the reader absorb it both on its own terms and in the context of essential theological questions of the ages. Readers of all backgrounds will discover new ways to contemplate God. Access a study guide.

Seek My Face, Speak My Name

Seek My Face, Speak My Name
Author: Arthur Green
Publisher: Jason Aronson
Total Pages: 304
Release: 1992
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

Contemporary Jews. The book is at once a beginner's invitation to the profundity of Jewish spirituality and a rich rethinking of texts and positions for those who have already walked some distance along the Jewish path.

Public Theology, Religious Diversity, and Interreligious Learning

Public Theology, Religious Diversity, and Interreligious Learning
Author: Manfred L. Pirner
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2018-06-14
Genre: Education
ISBN: 042901418X

This book describes the relationship of Christian Public Theology to other religions and their ways of contributing to the common good. It also promotes mutual learning processes in public education to strengthen the public role and responsibility of religions in pluralistic societies. This volume brings together not only public education and public theology, but also scholars from a variety of disciplines such as philosophy, cultural studies, and sociology, and from different parts of the world. By doing so, the book intends to widen the horizon and provide fresh impulses for public theology as well as the discourse on public religious education.