Problems and Parables of Law

Problems and Parables of Law PDF Author: Josef Stern
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 143842115X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
A central topic in medieval Jewish philosophy and thought was the explanation of the Mosaic commandments. From Philo and Saadiah on, thinkers sought to uncover "reasons for the commandments" (ta'amei ha-mitzvot) both to demonstrate the rationality of divine legislation and to motivate performance of the commandments. Like many received topics, this enterprise was radically transformed in the hands of Maimonides. In this first book-length treatment of a subject that has been relatively overlooked by scholars since Isaac Heinemann's classic work in the 1950s, Josef Stern offers an original analysis of two major themes in Maimonides' explanation of the Law and its impact on Nahmanides. The first theme is Maimonides' reconceptualization of the huqqim, those commandments that were traditionally asserted either to have no reason or a reason that is unknown or unknowable. The second theme is Maimonides' application of his method of multi-leveled interpretation that treats texts as parables with "external" and "internal" meaning to the explanation of commandments with multiple reasons. Both of these innovative modes of explanation are adopted by Nahmanides, who refined and adapted Maimonides' structures of interpretation to express diametrically opposed contents. From this perspective there emerges a picture of the relation between these two seminal figures of medieval Judaism that is much more subtle than the received opinion that bluntly opposes them, the radical arch rationalist against the mystical traditionalist. Inquiry into ta'amei ha-mitzvot served as a locus for discussion of a broad range of philosophical topics: the attributes of God, the grounds of law and legal obligation, the structure of explanation and interpretation, idolatry, friendship and love, the status of astrology and magic, and attitudes toward the body. Stern demonstrates both the philosophical importance of these topics in Maimonides' and Nahmanides' thought and the relevance of their writings to contemporary philosophical discussions.

Problems and Parables of Law

Problems and Parables of Law PDF Author: Josef Stern
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 143842115X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 220

Get Book Here

Book Description
A central topic in medieval Jewish philosophy and thought was the explanation of the Mosaic commandments. From Philo and Saadiah on, thinkers sought to uncover "reasons for the commandments" (ta'amei ha-mitzvot) both to demonstrate the rationality of divine legislation and to motivate performance of the commandments. Like many received topics, this enterprise was radically transformed in the hands of Maimonides. In this first book-length treatment of a subject that has been relatively overlooked by scholars since Isaac Heinemann's classic work in the 1950s, Josef Stern offers an original analysis of two major themes in Maimonides' explanation of the Law and its impact on Nahmanides. The first theme is Maimonides' reconceptualization of the huqqim, those commandments that were traditionally asserted either to have no reason or a reason that is unknown or unknowable. The second theme is Maimonides' application of his method of multi-leveled interpretation that treats texts as parables with "external" and "internal" meaning to the explanation of commandments with multiple reasons. Both of these innovative modes of explanation are adopted by Nahmanides, who refined and adapted Maimonides' structures of interpretation to express diametrically opposed contents. From this perspective there emerges a picture of the relation between these two seminal figures of medieval Judaism that is much more subtle than the received opinion that bluntly opposes them, the radical arch rationalist against the mystical traditionalist. Inquiry into ta'amei ha-mitzvot served as a locus for discussion of a broad range of philosophical topics: the attributes of God, the grounds of law and legal obligation, the structure of explanation and interpretation, idolatry, friendship and love, the status of astrology and magic, and attitudes toward the body. Stern demonstrates both the philosophical importance of these topics in Maimonides' and Nahmanides' thought and the relevance of their writings to contemporary philosophical discussions.

Problems and Parables of Law

Problems and Parables of Law PDF Author: Josef Stern
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791438237
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
A rigorous analysis of Maimonides' and Nahmanides' explanations of the Mosaic commandments that challenges received notions of the relation between these two seminal thinkers.

The Parables of Jesus and the Problems of the World

The Parables of Jesus and the Problems of the World PDF Author: Richard Q. Ford
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1498232981
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 172

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Book Description
Remarkable is how extensively in each parable Jesus provides a subtle but rich array of unexpected possibilities hidden within the hierarchies of power so commonplace in his world. By doing so he profoundly addresses the perils inherent in the prerogatives of many of us living in today's world. In these ancient interpersonal tragedies, readers can discover modern global analogues--where the powerful still control the powerless and where others of us, immersed as we are in privilege, are still willing to side with control.

Parables of Coercion

Parables of Coercion PDF Author: Seth Kimmel
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022627828X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description
Focuses on how questions surrounding the conversion of Muslims and Jews to Christianity in 16th and 17th century Spain drove religious reform and scholarly innovation.

The Parables

The Parables PDF Author: Brad H. Young
Publisher: Baker Academic
ISBN: 0801048206
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
Young focuses on the historical development and theological significance of parables in the Jewish and Christian traditions, examining parallels between the rabbinic and Gospel parables.

Parables Mean

Parables Mean PDF Author: Wayne C. Fredrick
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
ISBN: 1412233887
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 229

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Book Description
The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue Isaiah 50:4 Be warned! Though it is fiction, Parables Mean deals with matters of faith. Your religious beliefs will be affected. Jesus and his band were no goody two-sandals. What does this book, Parables Mean, offer you? 1. It presents solutions to all the parables, showing the true mission of Jesus, and scrapes away the cover stories inserted by the writers and by the redacting of later churchmen. 2. It provides stories, motivations, logic, and allusions that Jesus would have noted to build his theology and mission. 3. It explains how Jesus tested and recruited people for his covert mission work, developed a curriculum for training them, and set the stage for discovery of his true goal. 4. It shows the planning and scheming done by Jesus to reverse a centuries-old view of God as a fearsome and demanding tyrant. 5. It identifies the middle-Bible period writers who were covertly trying to undo what the Pentateuch had envisioned as Gods words and acts. 6. It plots out the twists and turns that propelled the Jesus Academy into its final crisis, making Parables Mean a Whodunit and Why? Parts of the Old and New Testaments lead to different conclusions about Jesus and Moses than what the churches provide to members. The secret undercurrent in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke tells a coherent story about the strategies and goals of the mission of Jesus. That undercurrent revises the understanding of the temptation, the beatitudes, prayer, and parables. It changes beliefs regarding sin, repentance, salvation, apocalypse, prophecy, Moses, Mary, John the Baptist and much else. You may mourn the loss of treasured assurances, of magical stories and miracles. You may feel giddy in your new freedom. You may start working toward social change. You will have empathy for those who do not know what you know.

Right Parables, Wrong Perspectives

Right Parables, Wrong Perspectives PDF Author: Sam Tsang
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1498233589
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Book Description
Jesus' parables in Luke weren't only addressing his audience. Rather, Luke used them to address his audience. In so doing, the worlds of both Jesus and Luke had many ways to understand these parables. This book explores some of those ways based on the way Jesus and Luke told these stories, as well as the first century backgrounds. The ultimate goal is to help both people who lead Bible studies and preach in the church to grasp firmly Luke's message for us today.

Law in the New Testament

Law in the New Testament PDF Author: J. Duncan M. Derrett
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1597522317
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 553

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Book Description
This is a valuable book.....It is a work of wide learning. It deals with a topic which, as the author states in his preface, has been much neglected in spite of the fact that biblical scholars and theologians have always paid lip service to the importance of law in Jewish life. It is a book which should be on the library shelf of every serious student of the New Testament. - Fr. Pius, O.F.M.C. Franciscan Friary, Crawley. J. Duncan M. Derrett was, until his retirement, Professor of Oriental Laws at the University of London. He has author works on legal history as well as 'Jesus's Audience', 'Studies in the New Testament' (6 vols.), 'The Sermon on the Mount', 'The Anastasis', and 'The Bible and the Buddhists'.

American Theological Inquiry, Volume Two, Issue One

American Theological Inquiry, Volume Two, Issue One PDF Author: Gannon Murphy
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1725244799
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 190

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Book Description
American Theological Inquiry (ATI) was formed in 2007 by Drs. S. Gannon Murphy (PhD, St. David's College, Univ. Wales, Theology; Presbyterian/Reformed) and Stephen Patrick (PhD, Univ. Illinois, Philosophy; Eastern Orthodox) to open up space for diverse Christian academicians, who affirm the Ecumenical Creeds, to share research throughout the broader Christian scholarly community in America. ATI reaches thousands of Christian scholars throughout the United States, particularly specialists in theology. Though ATI is a new journal, scholars who publish with ATI benefit from exposure to a vast, non-insular network of one of the broadest Christian academic communities possible.

Surprised by the Parables

Surprised by the Parables PDF Author: Michelle Lee Barnewall
Publisher: Lexham Press
ISBN: 1683593006
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 104

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Book Description
Jesus' parables can't simply be interpreted, they must be experienced. In the gospels, Jesus used parables to teach transformative lessons and convey deep spiritual truths about the kingdom of God. But he often used them to confront and challenge his audience as well, forcing them to open or close their hearts to the kingdom. Jesus understood the power of stories, but there are some things lost in translation when we try to interpret those same stories thousands of years removed from their original context. The unexpected twists and surprises in the parables might be missed by a modern audience because they're unfamiliar with the underlying points of reference. In Surprised by the Parables, Michelle Lee Barnewall explores the ancient context these parables drew from. These stories of grace reveal many of the mysteries central to God's character, and understanding the ancient world behind them will help us see the parables from a new perspective.