Faith and Freedom

Faith and Freedom PDF Author: Michah Gottlieb
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199838240
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
The recent renewal of the faith-reason debate has focused attention on earlier episodes in its history. One of its memorable highlights occurred during the Enlightenment, with the outbreak of the "Pantheism Controversy" between the eighteenth century Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn and the Christian Counter-Enlightenment thinker Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi. While Mendelssohn argued that reason confirmed belief in a providential God and in an immortal soul, Jacobi claimed that its consistent application led ineluctably to atheism and fatalism. At present, there are two leading interpretations of Moses Mendelssohn's thought. One casts him as a Jewish traditionalist who draws on German philosophy to support his premodern Jewish beliefs, while the other portrays him as a secret Deist who seeks to encourage his fellow Jews to integrate into German society and so disingenuously defends Judaism to avoid arousing their opposition. By exploring the Pantheism Controversy and Mendelssohn's relation to his two greatest Jewish philosophical predecessors, the medieval Rabbi Moses Maimonides and the seventeenth century heretic Baruch Spinoza, Michah Gottlieb presents a new reading of Mendelssohn arguing that he defends Jewish religious concepts sincerely, but gives them a humanistic interpretation appropriate to life in a free, diverse modern society. Gottlieb argues that the faith-reason debate is best understood not primarily as an argument about metaphysical questions, such as whether or not God exists, but rather as a contest between two competing conceptions of human dignity and freedom. Mendelssohn, Gottlieb contends, gives expression to a humanistic religious perspective worthy of renewed consideration today.

Faith and Freedom

Faith and Freedom PDF Author: Michah Gottlieb
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199838240
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 224

Get Book Here

Book Description
The recent renewal of the faith-reason debate has focused attention on earlier episodes in its history. One of its memorable highlights occurred during the Enlightenment, with the outbreak of the "Pantheism Controversy" between the eighteenth century Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn and the Christian Counter-Enlightenment thinker Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi. While Mendelssohn argued that reason confirmed belief in a providential God and in an immortal soul, Jacobi claimed that its consistent application led ineluctably to atheism and fatalism. At present, there are two leading interpretations of Moses Mendelssohn's thought. One casts him as a Jewish traditionalist who draws on German philosophy to support his premodern Jewish beliefs, while the other portrays him as a secret Deist who seeks to encourage his fellow Jews to integrate into German society and so disingenuously defends Judaism to avoid arousing their opposition. By exploring the Pantheism Controversy and Mendelssohn's relation to his two greatest Jewish philosophical predecessors, the medieval Rabbi Moses Maimonides and the seventeenth century heretic Baruch Spinoza, Michah Gottlieb presents a new reading of Mendelssohn arguing that he defends Jewish religious concepts sincerely, but gives them a humanistic interpretation appropriate to life in a free, diverse modern society. Gottlieb argues that the faith-reason debate is best understood not primarily as an argument about metaphysical questions, such as whether or not God exists, but rather as a contest between two competing conceptions of human dignity and freedom. Mendelssohn, Gottlieb contends, gives expression to a humanistic religious perspective worthy of renewed consideration today.

Faith, Leadership and Public Life

Faith, Leadership and Public Life PDF Author: Preston Manning
Publisher: Castle Quay Books
ISBN: 1927355923
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 445

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Book Description
The connection between faith, leadership and public life is a complex one as Preston Manning knows all too well from his years as a scout and trailblazer on Canada’s political frontiers. Now, in his new book Faith, Leadership and Public Life: Leadership Lessons from Moses to Jesus he fearlessly tackles this subject by drawing upon his own years in Canada’s parliament and political arena and upon relevant lessons to be learned from the public lives of the founding giants of Judaism and the Christian faith. Starting with the public life of Jesus himself, he also draws upon the experience of those leaders whom Jesus most frequently referenced such as Moses and David, as well as examining the lives of leaders such as Joseph and Daniel who were called upon to exercise their faith in societies and political systems hostile to their beliefs. He challenges people of faith today to learn from their examples about how to conduct ourselves responsibly at the faith-political interface, while bringing what Jesus called “salt and light” to bear on the political issues and structures of our times. If you are a person of faith, currently active in politics or leadership, or contemplating involvement in either, the following pages will help you in meeting those challenges.

Moses as Political Leader

Moses as Political Leader PDF Author: Aaron B. Wildavsky
Publisher: Shalem Press
ISBN: 9789657052310
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
Aaron Wildavsky, a giant of American political science, brings his profound understanding of human affairs to bear on the founding of the world's most enduring political community, the nation of Israel. At a time in which we are rediscovering the indispensability of resolute and perspicacious leadership, Wildavsky's brilliant study of Moses as founding father illuminates not only the Jewish past but the enduring political questions of how to build and preserve a decent, righteous, and stable community, here and hereafter. A marvelous book! -- Leon Kass, University of Chicago

A Woman Called Moses

A Woman Called Moses PDF Author: Jean-Christophe Attias
Publisher: Verso Books
ISBN: 1788736427
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
What if there was another Moses, very different from the one we know? According to tradition, Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible. He is depicted there in a surprising way: with and against God; with and against his people; bringer of the Tablets of the Law, which he breaks; a stuttering prophet, guide to a Promised Land entry to which remains forbidden to him, and dead in an unknown tomb... Highly confusing for those who imagine a Moses carved out of a single block. By way a series of possible portraits - including one of a female Moses - Jean-Christophe Attias follows the metamorphoses of the Hebrew liberator through ages and cultures. Drawing on rabbinical sources as well as the Bible itself, he examines the words of the texts and especially their silences. He discovers here a fragile prophet, teacher of a Judaism of the spirit, of wandering, and of incompleteness. Receive and transmit. Listen, even when the message is confusing. Insistently question, especially when there is no answer. And always, remain free. This seems to be the Judaism of Moses. A Judaism that speaks to believers and others - to Jews, of course, but also far beyond them, inviting its hearers to have done with tribal pride, the violence of weapons, and the tyranny of a special place.

Faith and Politics in the Life of Moses

Faith and Politics in the Life of Moses PDF Author: Preston Manning
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781573834940
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 80

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Book Description
From a secular standpoint, Moses--one of the best-known religious and political leaders in history--encountered virtually every trial and circumstance that a modern political leader faces. At the same time, Moses was a political leader whose intimate relationship with Jehovah involved a sense of divine calling; numerous experiences with the miraculous; a constant effort to discern Jehovah's will with respect to governance; and the reception and interpretation of revelations of the character of God which profoundly affected his political and spiritual leadership. This book explores what contemporary Christians with political interests and ambitions might learn from his life.

Sacred Scripture, Sacred War

Sacred Scripture, Sacred War PDF Author: James P. Byrd
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190697563
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
The American colonists who took up arms against the British fought in defense of the ''sacred cause of liberty.'' But it was not merely their cause but warfare itself that they believed was sacred. In Sacred Scripture, Sacred War, James P. Byrd shows that the Bible was a key text of the American Revolution.

Just Politics

Just Politics PDF Author: Krish Kandiah
Publisher: Authentic
ISBN: 9781850788652
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
Unsure if Christianity can have an impact in a political world of spin, sleaze and scandal? This book interrogates three rival MPs with some of the most challenging questions and provides answers to how we can make Christianity and politics work together for the greater good of our community, our country and our world.

Atheists

Atheists PDF Author: Nick Spencer
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472902971
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
The clash between atheism and religion has become the defining battle of the 21st century. Books on and about atheism retain high profile and popularity, and atheist movements on both sides of the Atlantic capture headlines with high-profile campaigns and adverts. However, very little has been written on the history of atheism, and this book fills that conspicuous gap. Instead of treating atheism just as a philosophical or scientific idea about the non-existence of God, Atheists: The Origin of the Species places the movement in its proper social and political context. Because atheism in Europe developed in reaction to the Christianity that dominated the continent's intellectual, social and political life, it adopted, adapted and reacted against its institutions as well as its ideas. Accordingly, the history of atheism is as much about social and political movements as it is scientific or philosophical ideas. This is the story not only of Hobbes, Hume, and Darwin, but also of Thomas Aitkenhead hung for blasphemous atheism, Percy Shelley expelled for adolescent atheism, and the Marquis de Sade imprisoned for libertine atheism; of the French revolutionary Terror and the Soviet League of the Militant Godless; of the rise of the US Religious Right and of Islamic terrorism. Looking at atheism in its full sociopolitical context helps explain why it has looked so very different in different countries. It also explains why there has been a recent upsurge in atheism, particularly in Britain and the US, where religion has unexpectedly come to play such a significant role in political affairs. This leads us to a somewhat paradoxical conclusion: we should expect to hear more about atheism in the future for the simple reason that God is back.

Walking the Bible

Walking the Bible PDF Author: Bruce Feiler
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062390899
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 401

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Book Description
“An instant classic. . . . A pure joy to read.” —Washington Post Book World Both a heart-racing adventure and an uplifting quest, Walking the Bible presents one man’s epic journey- by foot, jeep, rowboat, and camel- through the greatest stories ever told. From crossing the Red Sea to climbing Mount Sinai to touching the burning bush, Bruce Feiler’s inspiring odyssey will forever change your view of history’s most legendary events. The stories in the first five books of the Bible, also known as the Torah, come alive as Feiler searches across three continents for the stories and heroes shared by Christians and Jews. You’ll visit the slopes of Mount Ararat, where Noah’s ark landed, trek to the desert outpost where Abraham first heard the words of God, and scale the summit where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Using the latest archeological research, Feiler explores how physical location affects the larger narrative of the Bible and ultimately realizes how much these places, as well as his experience, have affected his faith. A once-in-a-lifetime journey, Walking the Bible offers new insights into the roots of our common faith and uncovers fresh answers to the most profound questions of the human spirit. “Smart and savvy, insightful and illuminating.” —Los Angeles Times “An exciting, well-told story informed by Feiler’s boundless intellectual curiosity . . . [and] sense of adventure.” —Miami Herald

The Politics of Ancient Israel

The Politics of Ancient Israel PDF Author: Norman Karol Gottwald
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
ISBN: 9780664219772
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 396

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Book Description
This work offers a reconstruction of the politics of ancient Israel within the wider political environment of the ancient Near East. Gottwald begins by questioning the view of some biblical scholars that the primary factor influencing Israel's political evolution was its religion.