Passion of Meaning: God and Justice In comparison to all of the religions in the world, Judaism has an history that make it so distinguishable. What make this so is the fact that the Jews live by their passion of meaning in whatever is apart of their world. In The World's Religions, Huston Smith breaks down their passions into several categories, including God and Justice. Both of these showcase how Judaism lasted this long and can relate the idea of Israel being the "chosen people". According to Smith, the Hebrews broke the mold of creators when they established only one God. To them, God created nature and life itself unlike the other deities that "Egyptians" and "Mesopotamians" believed in (Smith 242). Based off the Hebrew Bible, God or "Yahweh" is the head of all living things …show more content…
The other gods where found in nature, like (Shamash, the sun god) while everyone and things are subjects to Yahweh (242). With Jews being monotheistic, they only have to serve one God and can avoid being caught in the middle of feuding powers and dividing their loyalties" to several gods (243). This gives Jews more if an personal connection to God and nature which could not be found in other religions. What also increases their passion of meaning is how they view Yahweh. Unlike other gods who are either indulged in humanely affairs or just "indifferent" either way, the Hebrews' God gives love and watches over his people, to protect them (244). With this, Israel has the faith and a reason to keep fighting and living the life that Yahweh expects them to live. There is another theme that fuels Jews' passion of meaning which is justice. Judaism changes what is normally expected of justice from a god, which again sets them apart
Ancient Hebrews believed in Monotheism, its acceptance in Mesopotamia was a gradual transition in that era. The god of the ancient Hebrews was Yahweh. There were two belief systems in India, Hinduism and Buddhism. The people who followed Hinduism worship one main god, Indra who was a war god. Indra guided the people through wars, and was responsible for the weather. There were also a number of gods that were responsible for one’s personal behaviors and the morals they believed to be important. Those were the gods who determined if the person was to go to heaven or to hell. In Buddhism there wasn’t a god they worship, rather people tried to reach holiness following the practices of Buddha. Buddha was a man named Siddhartha Gautama, who developed Buddhism through meditation, fasting and praying. Acrobatiq.
Hasidic Judaism is a branch of Orthodox Judaism established in Eastern Europe during the 1800’s that put spirituality and a connection with God through mysticism at the forefront of its beliefs. In order to understand Hasidic Judaism, one must understand that Judaism is not only a religion; it is also a philosophy and a way of life for the Jewish people. One of the oldest monotheistic religions, Judaism has evolved over the years since the time of the founding fathers. Like any culture or religion, however, Jews have never been without conflict or disagreement amongst its people. Schisms amongst Jews over long periods of time have led to a branching out of sects and Jewish institutions. What led to the separation of denominations within was a fundamental disagreement on the interpretation and implementation of Halakah (Jewish religious law). Before the 18th century there was little differentiation between sects of Judaism; Jewry was based on Talmudic and Halakhic study and knowledge. Constructed as an overly legalistic religion before the 18th century, the Hasidic movement popularized by Rabbi Israel Ben Eliezer sought to spread Judaism through the common man’s love of and devotion to God.
The story of the state of Israel began with a man named Abraham, and a promise that God made to him. God told him to leave his homeland, promising Abraham and his descendants a new home in the land of Canaan, known as present day Israel(Rich, 1). Abraham was a firm believer in God, and decided to carry out his commands, since he knew God would be able to fulfill His promise to him. It was here, that God gave Abraham a unique homeland for his descendents to form a model nation. In the Torah, The Land of Israel was claimed to be the only place on the earth where the Jewish people could create the model nation(Spiro, 1). Jews desired to fulfill God’s plan to create the model nation, forming a strong connection between the land and the people for all eternity. Nonetheless, the Jews have not always been in political control of Israel; foreign nations had always been attacking the land...
Egyptian religion is polytheistic. The gods are present in the form of elements of life – natural forces and human condition. Greek religion is also polytheistic. Like Egypt, the Greek gods exist to represent different aspects of life, but they also play an active social role in the people’s lives. In Greek mythology, the gods have feelings and flaws as the normal people do. Greek Gods have even had children and committed adultery with people. The Egyptian gods interact more with each other than with the people. They interact with the people more on a supernatural level. Osiris, the Egyptian god of agriculture and afterlife, judges people when they die. Amon, the king of gods, is hidden inside the ruler (This “king of gods” title was not always so as the popularity of Aton, the sun-disk rose through the reformation of Pharaoh Akhenaton in 1369-1353 BC). Hebrew religion, being monotheistic, had only one all-powerful god. Instead of being believed by the people to be somewhere in the world, the Hebrew god was completely separated from the physical universe. Abraham in Canaan (about 1800 BC) is the first known practicer of monotheism. As for monotheistic resemblance in other cultures, the Greek god Zeus is seen as a leader of the other gods, but not independent of them. Akhenaton’s short-lived reform of Egyptian religion reveres Aton as the source of all life. This is the earliest religious expression of a belief in a sole god of the universe. Akhenaton’s challenge to the power of the priests did not last beyond his own lifetime.
Jews became more than shepherds. Unlike people before them that were polytheistic, the Jews were bearers of a concept of ethical monotheism that became the basis for a new kind of religion, Judaism. The religion that is marked by a new relationship between people and God. The relationship with God and people started almost four thousand years ago with Abraham. Abraham was born about 1800 B.C. in Mesopotamia, in what is now central Iraq.
But all share common themes, such as a form of chaos or nothingness before life is created. Joseph Campbell notes that “. the idea of an absolute ontological distinction between God and man – or between gods and men, divinity and nature - first became an important social and psychological force in the Near East, specifically Akkad, in the period of the first Semetic Kings, c. 2500 B.C.,” showing another similar trait – a god or set of gods exists to create in each story (626). Joseph Campbell makes a comparison of how both Genesis and the Book of the Dead of Egypt share the same idea of their bodies belonging to their god in some way, or being reabsorbed into them at death (630-631). Others, like the Japanese and Iroquois creation myths, claim the Earth was once covered entirely of water before land was formed.
People are in search of understanding life and the happenings that surround them. When things go wrong, people turn to God for hope and understanding. As we look at the Jewish and the Christian faiths, both of which trace their origins back past Abraham and Moses, to the original stories of the Garden of Eden, we notice basic similarities and major differences between the two religions. The three main differences between Jewish and Christianity is the concept of God, judgment, and salvation. The most eminent difference between both religions is the concept of God. Christianity believes that God is trinity which means three persons in one the father, the son and the holy spirit. However Judaism sees God as a single entity, and viewsTrinitarianism as a violation of the Bible's teaching that ...
People must believe that God is merciful and loves them as well. As a reflection of God’s love, people must also love other people (and the whole humanity in general) and forgive there enemies. Judaism traces back from the times of Abraham when God made a covenant with him and promised him to make his lineage a sacred people and give them a holy land. From Abraham, the children of Israel were born; the other patriarchs of Israel being Isaac and Jacob. They adopted the Jewish religion all through up to the time of Moses when the Torah was given to him and continued with the religion.
Judaism is one of the most ancient religions in the world. Abraham, his descendants, and Moses are believed to have been the founders. According to Jewish beliefs until Abraham man worshiped many Gods. The story begins with Abraham and his wife Sarah trying to conceive a child. When Abraham was 99 and Sarah 90 God came to Abraham and told him they would have a son. After the child was born God again came to Abraham and tested his beliefs by asking him to sacrifice his only son Isaac. Isaac willingly went with Abraham to be sacrificed. Before Abraham could sacrifice Isaac God sent an angel down to stop him. As a reward for his faith God made a covenant with Abraham that he and his descendants would be protected as long as they continued to show faith in him and live a life that was wholesome. Also from this it is said God blessed Abraham with many children. His son Isaac had two sons Jacob and Esau, Jacob who changes his name to Israel had twelve sons. Israel’s had twelve sons they are the “12 tribes of Israel” and their descendants are later known as the Israelites also called Hebrews.
...f the divine world but the kings were in charge of vocalizing god’s wishes on earth. The most famous of these law codes was Hammurabi’s law code. The Hebrews tried to establish order by using Yahweh’s Ten Commandments and the Torah. Mesopotamian deities were hard to please and easily angered. The Mesopotamians constantly felt they were letting their gods down and usually didn’t even know the reason behind it. Hebrews had a much more forgiving god. Through texts like “The Book of Job”, it is apparent that Yahweh was a tough god but always forgiving and fair in the end. He had few demands of his people and all of them were ethical and easy to adhere to. As long as his devotees followed Yahweh’s laws, they were all capable of receiving his blessings. Through it all, it seemed that God and religion was at the center of every aspect of life in the ancient civilization.
It wasn’t until the Hebrews came along did monotheism become a practice. Soler states that on of the chief ideas between the Hebrews was that, “Man has been made ‘in the image’ of God (Gen. 1:26-67), but he is not, nor can he be God”. This was a bit different than the Mesopotamian and Egyptian idea that the king was often divine. He was either chosen by the gods or was a god. And in Egypt around the Middle Kingdom, the common people could even hope to join the gods in the afterlife. So the Jews could never have the opportunity to be as divine as their God as the Mesopotamians and Egyptians did, but they did have a more reasonable and logical God. The Jewish God promised his people that as long as they followed his rules, they wouldn’t be punished. Unfortunately for the Mesopotamians and Egyptian, no such promises were
While the Hebrews and Egyptians creation theories bear resemblances and differences, the study and comparison of both the Egyptian myths and the biblical account allow us to comprehend the religious views of ancient civilizations in a better light. One may come to the conclusion that the Hebrews were influenced by the cultures of Egyptians by creating similarities in their own beliefs, or by drawing a line of defense of what is in their terms true, by separating from the mass ideals of the Egyptians and establishing distinct
Judaism and Islam are known to be two of the main religions that are found throughout the world. They each have similar traits and many more differences. They both are monotheistic, which means they only believe in one god. Muslims worship the God called Allah, which means in Arabic “the God”. And Jews worship the god called Yahweh, which means the God of Israel. Their differences include their core beliefs, rituals, symbols, and history.
The Hebrews contributed one of the greatest things any ancient society could give. Their religion, Judaism, and also the key idea of monotheism; that is to say the idea of having and worshiping one God, not may like the ancient Greeks and Romans. Their religion is also the basis for Christianity, as the monotheistic ideas and even some of the Jews religious books contributed as well. The Torah, or the first five books of the Hebrew's bible are great story telling and enlightening religious works. The main, and most important thing the Hebrews contributed was the idea of monotheism, the practice of virtually every religion today.
Religion can be defined as a system of beliefs and worships which includes a code of ethics and a philosophy of life. Well over 90% of the world 's population adheres to some form of religion. The problem is that there are so many different religions. What is the right religion? What is true religion? The two most common ingredients in religions are rules and rituals. Some religions are essentially nothing more than a list of rules, dos and don 'ts, which a person must observe in order to be considered a faithful adherent of that religion, and thereby, right with the God of that religion. Two examples of rules-based religions are Islam and Judaism. Islam has its five pillars that must be observed.