God, Torah, Israel
Traditionalism without fundamentalism
by Louis Jacobs
In these three lectures, the eminent British rabbi and theologian Louis Jacobs defines and defends his position as a liberal supernaturalist and halakhic nonfundamentalist in those areas where the religious Jew is confronted with the conflicting truth claims of modern knowledge and traditional belief. Jacobs begins by contrasting the theistic belief in a personal God with some of its alternatives; he argues that the liberal supernaturalist’s position is both the closest in approximation to the traditional Jewish view and still the most coherent way to deal with the fundamental mysteries of the universe, even after Freud, Darwin, Marx, and modern technology have replaced a God-centered universe with a universe the center of which is man. The second lecture explores the impact of modern science and scholarship on the doctrine of Torah min hashamayim, divine revelation of the Written and Oral Torah. Acknowledging the influence of geology, astronomy, anthropology, comparative religion, Wissenschaft des Judentums, and Textual Criticism on the development of the Torah, Jacobs argues that one can be objective without any sacrifice of piety if one accepts the premise that “the totality we call Torah is human imbued with the divine.” Finally, in the third lecture, Jacobs discusses traditional interpretations of the doctrine of the Chosen People and examines some of the tensions it generates today in terms of interreligious tolerance, the Jewish people and the Jewish state, and the demands of the group versus the needs of the individual. In addition, he contrasts fundamentalist and nonfundamentalist attitudes toward various eschatological idead, advocating a position of “reverent agnosticism” with regard to belief in the Messiah and resurrection of the dead but affirming acceptance of the immortality of the soul as a basic principle of modern Jewish faith.
- By (author) Louis Jacobs
Other Titles in this Series
Similar Books
The Therapeutae as the Best Paradigm for the Contemplative Life
A Contextual Reading of Philo of Alexandria's De Vita Contemplativa
Judische Musikerziehung im Preussen des 19. Jahrhunderts
Gesangunterricht an judischen Reformschulen als Facette burgerlicher Akkulturation
Volume 21
Co-production of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
Artefacts, Rituals, Communities, Narratives, Doctrines, Concepts
Volume 1
Destruction of Jerusalem and Anti-Jewish Commonplaces in Model Sermon Collections (1100-1350)
Volume 19
Paul and Sacrifice in Corinth
Rethinking Paul's Views on Gentile Cults in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10
Volume 623
The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and Scribal Scholarship in Antiquity
Studies in Honor of Arie van der Kooij on the Occasion of his Eightieth Birthday
Volume 306
Anklage Gottes im Midrasch zu den Klageliedern
Eine Studie zu den Transformationen der Gottesbilder im Midrasch Echa Rabbati
Volume 191
Erwahlung und Berufung bei Paulus
Bedeutung, Entwicklung und Funktion einer Vorstellung in ihrem fruhjudischen und griechisch-romischen Kontext
Volume 630
Himmlische und irdische Heiligkeit
Studien zu biblischen und außerbiblischen Konzeptionen (Festschrift für Wolfgang Kraus)
Volume 15
Identitat, Differenz und Abgrenzung
Studien zu christlich-judischen Beziehungen im Mittelalter
Volume 34
‘Who is Sitting on Which Beast?’
Interpretative Issues in the Book of Revelation: Proceedings of the International Conference held at Loyola University, Chicago, March 30-31, 2017
Volume 29
A Structural Commentary on the So-Called Antilegomena
Volume 3: The Second Letter of Peter: Proclaiming the Coming of the Lord. Part 1. Eschatological Scepticism (2 Pet 1–2)
Allusions to Scripture in the Psalms of Solomon
Textual Tradition, Interpretation, and Historical Implications
Volume 25
