21 Apr 2019

Bones of Israel
Just a quick update. Having completed the research on and analysis of each of the ten "bones" found as markers in the Hebrew text of the bible I've been drawn more and more to the question of its provenance. How did the markers get into the text? When did they become a part of the text? Who might have been responsible for their insertion? How does the provenance affect their int...
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19 Apr 2019

Bones of Israel, Judaic Topics
One of the conflicts presented in the Book of Daniel involves the power to ‘change the times and the seasons’.[1] In Dan 2:21 we find Daniel recounting his revelation regarding the king’s dream. He says that it is God who ‘…changes times and seasons…’ In Chapter 7, though, we read of one who will ‘…speak words against the Most High, and will harass the holy ones of the Most High, he w...
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08 Jan 2019

Others
In June of last year I decided to change course for a bit. I put aside the ethics book to concentrate on the "Bones of Israel" idea with the expectation that I could complete and publish something on that in a few months. The process has taken longer than I thought and I now expect a full draft of a book-length exploration of that idea by the end of the first quarter of 2019. The adde...
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25 Sep 2018

Judaic Topics
Remarks at Temple Emanu El of Westfield -- Sukkot Day 1 In the Amidah this morning we recognized that today is a zman simchateinu, a time of our rejoicing, but some call Sukkot The Festival of Insecurity. On one hand we’re told to be joyful and festive. And on the other, we’re to dwell in temporary and insecure huts, as a reminder that God made the Israelites dwell in booths after ...
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06 Jun 2018

Bones of Israel, Judaic Topics
After teaching a class on The Seven Bones of Israel (see my post in February 2017) on the Shavuot just passed I decided to take a break from the ethics project. The Seven Bones idea is an intriguing one and, having taught it twice now, it seemed to me that there is interest in it from both clergy and interested lay students. Its subject is expansive enough to support a (short) book-le...
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01 May 2018

Ethics Project
In searching the literature on the understanding of virtue in Islam I found “The Duties of Brotherhood in Islam” by Ih.yā’ of Imām al-Ghazālī. Translated by Muhtar Holland and published by the Islamic Foundation in 1975. Material used here is from the Kindle Edition published by Kube Publishing, Ltd. In an earlier post I commented on the chapter titled “The Golden Rule in Islam” by...
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29 Apr 2018

Ethics Project
In a prior post I wrote that: The Didache is dated by one source between 65 and 80 AD. By another 60 to 90 AD and others believe that additions and modifications to it were made as late as the 3rd century. That the Fellows of the Jesus seminar found that the text of Matthew 7:12 was probably not actually spoken by Jesus but represented an idea that the author of Matthew saw as cons...
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27 Apr 2018

Ethics Project
I have made a significant point of the distinction between the “Do unto others…” language of the common translation of Matthew 7:12 and the “Do not do…” language we find in the majority of world religions and cultures. The Golden Rule label, as we’ve seen, was attached to the “Do unto others…” statement by Anglican churchmen in the 17th century. And both the language and the label hav...
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26 Apr 2018

Ethics Project
Material quoted here is drawn from the paper by Dan P. McAdams, Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northwestern University, which was published in “Cultivating Virtue: Perspectives from Philosophy, Theology and Psychology” edited by Nancy E. Snow, Oxford University Press, 2015. McAdams proposes that the development of virtue can be understood via a three-part model that traces t...
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25 Apr 2018

Ethics Project
Material quoted here is drawn from the paper by Ross A. Thompson, Professor of Psychology at The University of California at Davis, which was published in “Cultivating Virtue: Perspectives from Philosophy, Theology and Psychology” edited by Nancy E. Snow, Oxford University Press, 2015. Thompson reviews “the results of recent studies relevant to the development of virtuous character in...
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