The pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, an almost fanatical love of justice and the desire for personal independence — these are the features of the Jewish tradition which make me thank my stars that I belong to it. (Albert Einstein)
Thinking about the musings from Day 29: The Validity Of Daoism, Or Is It Daoism?
I would submit to you that perhaps the three most important takeaways from week four would be:
1) Information on Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism were discussed;
2) After reviewing these belief systems, crossing them off of your list when dealing with your soul and eternity seems logical and;
3) I would submit to you that after covering 5 of the major belief systems from the dawn of humanity, the facts, whether philosophy or religion, continue to speak for themselves…
Someone Upstairs Runs The Show.
The next, major belief system that we cover in class is Judaism.
Judaism began in the Middle East almost 4,000 years ago with a man named Abraham. Abraham was born in the city of Ur in Mesopotamia, around 1813 BCE. At this time, polytheism was the norm and was worshipped by his family and friends. (As a refresher, feel free to go back to Day 18: The Basics Of Polytheism/Animism. and Day 19: The Validity Of Polytheism/Animism.)
While in Ur, Abraham was curious about this simple question:
Should humans worship the sun, moon, wind, and all the other gods separately, or should humans worship a single god, who created a harmony and order between the sun, moon, wind, and all of the other gods?
Abraham chose to worship a single god, one that was in charge of everything. This was a revolutionary concept, as for the first time in history, humans through Abraham, begun the process of transitioning from the worshipping of many gods, (polytheism), to worshipping one god, or monotheism.
In the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, Abraham is commanded by God, or Yahweh, to leave his family and friends, and leave the Mesopotamian City-States altogether as shown in Genesis 12:1-2:
1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country, your family, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
After passing through the land of Canaan and a temporary stay in Egypt, (Genesis 12:6-9), going to Bethel, (Genesis 13:1-4), and being involved in a battle with 5 kings, Abraham, at age 75, engages Yahweh again, as described in Genesis 15:18-21:
18 On that same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great Euphrates River— 19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaites, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
Finally, a third monumental interaction between Abraham and God deals with Abraham’s second son, Isaac, as covered in Genesis 22:2:
2 Then He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”;
Through Genesis 22:9-12:
9 Then they came to the place that God had told him. So, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on the wood. 10 Then Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him out of heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 Then He said, “Do not lay your hands on the boy or do anything to him, because now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your only son from Me.”;
And finally, to Genesis 22:15-18:
15 Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham out of heaven a second time, 16 and said, “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will indeed bless you and I will indeed multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens and as the sand that is on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gate of their enemies. 18 Through your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
According to the Torah, Abraham dies at the ripe old age of 175…years.
How do you apply Aristotle’s syllogism in order to come to a logical conclusion that the Judaism belief system makes sense when trying to figure out the universe and your role in it? Well first, Moses needs to be discussed before we can move forward with the belief system of Judaism…and he will be covered next time.
Do not feel discouraged if you are having a difficult time understanding the belief system of Judaism. Do not feel discouraged if you are still undecided as whether or not the Judaism belief system is valid or not. Instead, embrace the idea that you, if reading these writings in order, now have 6 belief systems to work with, to compare and contrast. Embrace the idea that after the second installment of Judaism is covered, you will have much to think about between the polytheistic, philosophical, and now monotheistic, belief systems.
3 I will bless them who bless you
and curse him who curses you,
and in you all families of the earth
will be blessed. (Genesis 12:3 KJV)
Was today’s blog a little confusing at times? Was the content perhaps a little overwhelming? Did you feel lost not understanding some or most of the subject matter?
Those feelings are totally understandable and it is ok to have one or more of those feelings. Remember that you are reading Day 30: The Basics Of Judaism.
If you haven’t been in class since the first day of school…or when the project began…or when the contract was first signed, etc., these feelings make perfect and logistical sense.
Please feel free to go back to where all of this began: