Archive for 'biblical theology'

Homebiblical theology

Augustine and the “Mark of Cain”

What is the significance of the “mark of Cain” (Gen. 4:15)?

The text does not identify exactly what the sign was. Historically, this passage has often served as a scriptural support for Christian persecution of the Jews. For Cain, this was a mark of God’s special loving care and protection. For Jerome’s contemporary, Augustine, this idea proved to be a fertile concept for his comparison of Cain to the Jews. Curiously, Augustine, said nothing about this mark serving as a protective ...

Learn More

Categories: American Jewish Issues, Anti-Semitism, Bible, biblical history, biblical theology, Conversion, ethics, Jewish History, Jewish symbolism, Talmud, Zohar, and Midrash, The Future of Judaism, Theology and Philosophy

Tags: , ,

Creation as Novelty

In honor of the new Torah reading cycle, I thought I would explain some thoughts about the parsha as it pertains to the miracle of Creation.

However, Ibn Ezra is less convinced and contends that the linguistic evidence does not support such an interpretation.[7] The verb בָּרָא’ may also mean to fashion something out of already existing materials (e.g., the creation of man, whose body came from the dust of the earth, and whose soul issued forth from God’s breath).[8] Ibn ...

Learn More

Categories: Bible, biblical history, biblical theology, Contrarian wisdom, good and evil, Hassidic Theology, Judaism and Feminism, science and religion, The Future of Judaism, Theology and Philosophy

Appreciating the Ecological Principles of Leviticus

Leviticus always gets a bad rap when it comes to the students of the Bible. Granted, it’s not as interesting as the opening chapters of Genesis, but Leviticus possesses a rich tapestry of symbolism that ...

Learn More

Categories: biblical history, biblical theology, Contrarian wisdom, ethics, Judaism and Ecology, science and religion, The Future of Judaism, Theology and Philosophy

Pop Kabbalah and the other forms of McMysticism

Q. I recently started reading about other religions to find one that suits me and came upon Kabbalah. I started reading about it (through the most accessible books to find by Yehuda Berg) and started digging the whole thing he was selling. I liked the theories presented in his books and I agreed with the fact that the Bible was never meant to be something lived by so literally. Not to mention many of the other things talked about in ...

Learn More

Categories: biblical theology, Contrarian wisdom, Conversion, Hassidic Theology, Heart-Centered Judaism, Jewish and Jungian ideas, Jewish symbolism, Judaism and Feminism, Talmud, Zohar, and Midrash, The Future of Judaism, Theology and Philosophy

Tags: , , ,

Questions with regard to the afterlife.

Q My cousin said to me that when we pass away, we automatically go to heaven. I have searched the Talmud and cannot seem to find anything like that at all. Would you please tell me where I can find this or any reference to us going to heaven?

A It seems to me your grandfather was referring to a famous Mishnah found in the beginning of the 10th chapter of Sanhedrin, which states:

All Israel have a portion in the ...

Learn More

Categories: Bible, biblical history, biblical theology, Contrarian wisdom, ethics, good and evil, Jewish symbolism, science and religion, Talmud, Zohar, and Midrash, The Future of Judaism, Theology and Philosophy

Page 34 of 35 «...1020303132333435