Huston Smith Assignment 3

7. What is the role of revelation?

In Judaism, revelation is the reason that people of Jewish faith have been able to find so much meaning in certain areas of their life, such as history, morality, justice, and suffering. They did not seek meaning in these areas, instead God showed it to them by revealing it to them. The first time the God revealed something to them was in Exodus where he showed them his power, goodness and concern for history. The meaning in other areas of their life followed after the first revelation in Exodus. Part of the idea of revelation is that God revealed these things to them on purpose, because He wanted them to know these things and be able to search for a deeper meaning in life.

8. What is the concept of the “chosen people”?

The concept of the “chosen people is that the Jewish people were chosen by God to suffer for the rest of the world and teach everyone a lesson or redeem the rest of the world through their actions. The idea of being chosen by God does not mean that they are egotistical and think they are special, by accepting the idea of being the “chosen people” they are denying that their continued existence in the world was because of themselves, but that the only reason they survived was because of God.

Huston Smith Assignment 2

4. What is the meaning in suffering?

In Judaism, suffering is important because similar to history, it teaches people a lesson and there is always a reason for suffering. In most cases, suffering is God’s way of punishing the Jewish people but also teaching them a lesson so they do not do it again. The most important examples of this are when they were put into exile by the surrounding empires and instead of giving up they still believed that God was on their side, he was just trying to show them what they were doing wrong and give them an appreciation for everything they had before they were exiled. Suffering also teaches people that if they stay true to God through hard times he will reward them. Also, suffering is seen as a lesson to the rest of the world, not just people of Jewish faith. When suffering occurs, God is punishing everyone even if they do not believe in him and the lessons that the Jewish people learn affect the entire world.

5. What is the Meaning in Messianism?

In Judaism, Messianism is important because it gives people a sense of hope because they were usually the underdogs in every situation and Messianism gave them hope that one day the conditions of life would improve. The idea of a Messianic age consists of three important elements; hope, restoration of a Jewish Nation, and an ethical change that would affect the entire world so people would live in peace. Some people believe that a messiah will come to bring in this era, or that God will intervene himself, or that there will be an apocalyptic event that restores the world so this era will be possible. The idea of improving a person’s life or the lives of a large population is important in Judaism because they were usually mistreated or the underdogs throughout most of their history so hope that life would improve was essential to their faith.

6. What is meant by the “hallowing of life”?

In Judaism, the “hallowing of life” is a way of making everything in life sacred by sharing the good and bad parts of life with God. A person has to understand the concept that everything belongs to God; therefore people should share all of life’s events with Him even if it is just a family dinner. In Judaism, this is done through rituals and traditions that have been passed down through generations. These rituals not only allow people to slow down and consider the current conditions of their lives, but also to be aware of God and be grateful towards God for everything that He provides.

Huston Smith Assignment 1

1. In Judaism what is the meaning in history?

In Judaism history is important because it allows change in religion and lifestyle that people lived. They believe that the context of a person’s life significantly affects how they live and that they should work together to bring about change. Also, in Judaism, history is viewed as a series of lessons that people should learn from such as the Babylonian exile. Also, history is important because it makes life’s events different and unique and a person should not pass up an opportunity because he or she will never have the opportunity again because God does intervene at crucial moments in history and offers opportunities to those who are faithful to him. Judaism was surrounded by many nature based polytheistic religions, and these religions focused on keeping things the same because people were afraid that a god could get upset and throw everything into chaos, they did not think about making things better, just preventing them from getting worse. In Judaism, history is more of a relationship between what actually is happening and what could be happening, which is the reason that history creates a way to change a person’s lifestyle if they do not agree with it.

2. In Judaism what is the meaning in Morality?

In Judaism, morality is important because society would not function without basic moral standards that everyone lives by. These rules only exist for humans because they are controlled in animals from instinct, but humans need guidelines so they can all function peacefully together. In Judaism the basic moral rules are the Ten Commandments, and they create the structure of a society. The Ten Commandments cover different rules in the four main areas that need to be controlled in order for humans to coexist; force, wealth, sex, and speech. There are various rules for each of these areas, which create a structured society that does not fall into chaos if these rules are followed. Also, one of the most important qualities of the Ten Commandments is that they are universal and are not specific to just one situation and are more of a foundation for morality in Judaism.

3. In Judaism what is the meaning in Justice?

In Judaism, justice is important because it is the root of political stability for a society. The most important historical figures of the pursuit of justice in Jewish history are the prophets, who speak the word of God. There were three stages of the development of the prophets; the first stage was the prophetic guilds, which focused more on losing self consciousness, the second stage was of the pre-writing prophets who began to focus on ethics, and the third stage was the writing prophets, who focused on the ethics of society as a whole. The pre-writing prophets would focus on one person, while the writing prophets would focus on creating ethical change for the entire society. They created political stability by demanding the same rights for everyone because they believed that if everyone was a child of God, then they all should have the same rights. The prophets came from different backgrounds, but all lived in a society that was in danger because of its injustice and they used the word of God to create change and therefore political and social stability.

YOLB Month 7

1. Based on what Yossi said, religion is about serving God as well as helping yourself. Throughout the year, Jacobs has been hoping that this project will help him figure out what he believes and he keeps using the Bible as a "self help book," to improve himself but he has never really thought about what he should be doing for God. It is okay for him to look at religion to improve himself and live a better life, but he should have some amount of selflessness in his journey.

2. Jacobs says that he has always thought the parts of the Bible that talk about "praising the lord" are strange and he can't really connect with them or understand them. When he is sitting in Jerusalem, he has a realization about this problem that he has had when he realizes that praising God takes people outside of themselves for a minute to appreciate how amazing God is. It's hard for humans to not be prideful, but praising God takes you outside of being prideful of yourself because He created everything which is beyond what any human is capable of doing. This helps him reconcile the problem that he previously had because now he understands why those parts of the Bible are important, and it also relates to what Yossi was telling him, that religion should be mainly about God and putting him above yourself.

Psalms Assignment

Psalm 8:

Summary: This psalm is basically praising God for giving man the earth and all the things that make it possible to survive. It also discusses man's place in the world and creation, such as when it says, "For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels and crowned him with glory and honor." (verse 5) It is saying that humans are not as divine as angels, but God gave them glory and honor and control over the things that He made.

1. In what ways does this psalm draw upon the first chapter of Genesis?

This psalm relates to the first chapter of Genesis because it discusses when the earth was made and man's role in the creation of the earth.

2. a) In what verse is the theme of the role of humankind in creation first sounded?

The theme of the role of humankind in creation is first portrayed in verse four when mankind is first introduced and it’s role is questioned.

b) What place do humans occupy in relation to heaven and the rest of creation?

Humans are lower than God and other divine beings such as angels, but they are higher than the rest of creation on the earth and were given “Dominion over the works of thy hands.” (verse 6)

c) What does this unique place suggest about the relationship between humans and God?

It suggests that God has a personal relationship with humans, but they will never be able to be on the same level as Him especially because they can’t understand him.

Psalm 19:

Summary: This psalm talks about how God rules over everything on Earth, and how great of a feat this is. It also discusses God’s laws and why they are important and uses sinning as an example in verse 13.

1. How do the two distinct poems in this psalm differ in what they praise?

The first part praises how God rules over everything and his power extends throughout the entire earth. The second part of the psalm praises how strong God is and the way that he governs people and the earth and how people should follow his rules because they will make you a better person.

2. a) Identify the two prayers that are in the end of the psalm.

The first prayer is in verse 13 and says, “Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.” The second prayer is in verse 14 and says, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight.

b) What is the author requesting of God in each case?

In the first prayer, the author is asking God to help him be free of sin and give him the strength to not sin. The second prayer is asking God to hear the first prayer and accept it and know that the person who is asking to have the strength to be free of sin really means it.

Psalm 23:

Summary: This psalm explains the relationship between God and humans and how God gives humans strength, leads them through life, and provides what they need to survive.

1. Which verse best summarizes the theme of the Psalm?

I think that verse 3 summarizes the theme of this Psalm because the first two are like and introduction, and verse 3 it summarizes what the psalm is about, and the rest of the verses go into more detail about the main point of the verse.

2. What may gave caused this psalm to be adopted as a prayer of last resort?

I think this psalm is used as a prayer of last resorts and in moments of crisis because it is a prayer of strength from God, so people recite in when they need strength from God.

Psalm 137:

Summary: This psalm is about the Babylonian exile and how the Israelites do not want to forget about Jerusalem. It is also a prayer asking God to punish the people who exiled them.

1. To Which qualities of God does this psalm appeal to and why?

Instead of appealing to God’s goodness and mercy, it appeals to his ruthlessness. This psalm appeals to this quality of God because it is asking Him to punish the people who exiled the Israelites out of Jerusalem.

2. a) In what way are verses 5-9 an answer to the command in verse 3?

In verse 3 the Babylonians command the Israelites to sing them a song about Zion and verses 5-9 are the song that they sing in response to the Babylonians.

b) What is ironic about this “answer”?

The thing that is ironic about their response is that it is not really a song about Zion, it is more about the Babylonians and what will happen to them because the forced the Israelites 0ut of Zion.

c) How are verses 5-9 also an answer to the question in verse four?

Verse four is asking how they can live life with God or let Him guide them in a land that they did not grow up in and doesn’t belong to them. Verses 5-9 answer this question by saying that they should live in a different land by never forgetting about Jerusalem and Israel and where they came from.

Year of Living Biblically Month 6

1. Jacobs says that the red heifer idea is potentially dangerous because some people would view it as a sign to build a third temple, which would have to be built over one of the most important Mosques in Islam which could cause a war between Muslims, Jews, and possibly Christians because it is an important site in Christianity as well.

2. Now that he is halfway through his spiritual journey, he can look back on what has happened and the progress that he has made and I think he feels like he hasn't made as much progress as he wants to because he has had so many high and low points. I think he also feels distanced from God partly because he still isn't sure about what he believes and also partly because he has lived his life in a completely rational mindset. His dilemma is that he doesn't know how to get out of that mindset and accept his experiences so far with God so he eventually starts doubting all of the meaningful experiences he has had so far.

3. Jacobs says that the Bible is like wikipedia because there is a theories that many people wrote it, instead of just a few. This makes it like wikipedia because people don't know who all the authors are, and it was compiled over a long period of time. I agree with his argument, because if that theory is true, then it has a lot of similarities with wikipedia, but I don't think that it is exactly like wikipedia because a person still had to be extremely important and powerful to write part of the Bible compared to wikipedia, which anyone can write in.

World Religions Month 5

Quote 1:
"And you shall not strip you vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes...you shall leave them for the poor."
-Leviticus 19:10
The meaning behind this quote is that everyone should help people who are less fortunate than them. It also means that people should not be greedy and take everything for themselves, they should leave some of their food and possessions to the poor. Jacobs does this by trying to drop money on the ground, which does not really work, because most people are not used to someone dropping money and leaving it there. In the modern world this is the same thing as the idea of donating extra money to charities or volunteering to help the poor. Jacobs also says that the idea of "gleanings," or giving to the poor, has been called the "first welfare system." Today, we have government systems and non-profit organizations that are all based off of the idea that a person should give what they have left over to the poor.

Quote 2:

"You shall rise up before the grayheaded and honor the aged."

-Leviticus 19:32

This quote means that a person should honor people who are older than them and respect and take car of them. Although Jacobs takes the part of the quote that says "you shall rise up before the grayheaded" literally, I don't think that applies to modern society, because most people do not stand up every time that an elderly person entires the room. I think that this quote does not really apply to modern society because most people forget to follow this rule. When someone is a child, they are usually taught to respect people who are older than them, but usually people do not actually take care of the people in their family. Although some families take care of them, usually older people are sent to homes for elderly people and sometimes barely ever see their families. Although a lot of people do not follow this rule to the fullest extent that they can, most respect those who are older than them and honor them to some extent.