Our Immoral Soul

Our Immoral Soul
Author: Rabbi Nilton Bonder
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 129
Release: 2014-02-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 083482972X

Rabbi Bonder turns a few conventional ideas on their heads as he identifies the forces at play in individual, social, and spiritual transformation. Many people believe that obedience to the established moral order leads to the well-being of society as well as the salvation of their souls. On the contrary, says Bonder, the human spirit is nourished by the impulse to betray and transgress the ways of the past. Even the Bible legitimizes our God-given urge to disobey in order to evolve, grow, and transcend. It is this "immoral" soul of ours that impels us to do battle with God—and out of this clash, Bonder predicts, a new humanity will emerge. In the course of discussion, he examines a variety of intriguing issues touching on religion, science, and culture, including the findings of evolutionary psychology; the relation of body and soul; infidelity in marriage; the stereotype of Jew as traitor; sacrifice and redemption in Judaism and Christianity; and the Messiah as archetypal transgressor.

Heaven's Criminal Code

Heaven's Criminal Code
Author: Nilton Bonder
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
Total Pages: 154
Release: 2010-11-10
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1426941307

One of the most disturbing ideas known to our human imaginations is that of the Final Judgment, the accounting we are called to give at the end of our lives. Born in the depths of our consciousness, this notion of a final judgment is a consequence of our perception that we have priorities and goals in our lives. It is a measurement of just how successful or unsuccessful we have been in the venture of life. This book suggests a possible set of ethics for the individual vis--vis his or her own selfethics that reflect the obligations life imposes on the living. Written in the form of a Criminal Code, this book both in structure and terminology mimic legal documents. The prime goal is to call attention to the deep psychic fusion between what we believe to be divine expectationsthat is, those of the Creatorand the expectations of our consciousness. The key postulate of the Biblical text is really this: that Creator and creature communicate with each other through consciousness. More than that perhaps: that Creator and creature blend and merge within consciousness. This Constitution and Criminal Code will thus have to account for projections of both God's desires and the desires of our consciousness. They are structured in the principles laid out in the Ten Commandments and in the punishments of the Ten Plagues, both found in the book of Exodus. The Creator's expectations and punishments correspond to similar expectations and punishments within our consciousness. Employing collective and personal symbolism and the reading of Carl Jung of the Commandments, the book steer away from the morality usually applied when judging, instead allowing the souls yearnings and aspirations to guide this evaluation of the quality and propriety of life.

Taking Off Your Shoes

Taking Off Your Shoes
Author: Bonder Nilton Bonder
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
Total Pages: 163
Release: 2010-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 142692898X

The Abraham Path is the route of cultural and spiritual tourism that retraces the journey made by Abraham (Ibrahim) through the heart of the Middle East some four thousand years ago. This book recounts the inner and spiritual foortprints of the first study tour along the entire Abraham Path conducted in November 2006 by a group of pacifists and theologians under the guidance of the Program on Conflict Negotiation at Harvard Law School.