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About Me
- Mr. Dalton
- Mr. Dalton is an instructor in the Upper School at Beaufort Academy. He is inept at car repair and home or lawn maintanance of any sort, but is an accomplished philosopher. In his spare time he enjoys throwing darts while listening to old Duran Duran cassettes.
1. (pg. 59) Why do you think past peoples, such as Ezekiel, found pagan worship to be "filth?" Why was Yahweh the only REAL God to him? In your opinion, can there be more than one God, why or why not?
ReplyDelete2. (pg. 77) Why were simple pleasures, such as sex and wine, accepted and encouraged by the Jewish religion?
3. (pg. 78) If Yahweh was portrayed as "harsh" and "evil," then how did he teach lessons of compassion according to Jewish religion?
4. (pg. 69) What is the difference between God's essence and his powers or activites in the world?
5. (pg. 67) How can conventional wisdom refute the existence of God(s)? How can it support it?
Discussion Questions History of God:
ReplyDelete1. In the 8th century B.C.E., "holy" meant "otherness" or "radical separation". Nowadays "holy" means "moral excellence". What has caused the meaning to change?
2. Why were sex, wine, etc. view much more positively in the Rabbi Judaism than in Christianity or Islam?
3. How has the concept of Yahweh changed over the centuries?
4. Why did Yahweh try to wipe out the other deities?
5. Did the prophets, moses, Joseph, etc., really receive messages from Yahweh or did they simply use Yahweh as an excuse to impose their own ideas on society?
1. It states that we should not try to describe Isaih's vision too literally becasue it is meant to be indescribable. Why do you think that is and do you think there is a deeper meaning to it in broader terms?
ReplyDelete2. Karen Armsrong states "all the poepole of Israel were Gods's elect and had, therefore to be treated decently". Was this the case in Israel? America?
3. Why was Yahweh considered so powerful above the rest of Gods and what is your opinion on it?
4. Do you think the symbol of Yahweh; "glory" is the most accurate one? Why or why not?
5. Do you think it is the method of the "immanent God helping Jews to see humans as sacred" had any effect on the fact that "humans cannot make it easy to be fully human" whereas animals can live up to their nature? Or is it us making the trouble?
1. On page 48, it reads, "Isaiah, a member of the royal family, had seen Yahweh as a king. Amos had ascribed his own empathy with the suffering poor to Yahweh; Hosea saw Yahweh as a jilted husband...". What would your "God" be like?
ReplyDelete2. If monotheists insisted that God transcended gender, why does God remain essentially male, when females are a vital part to society?
3. Why does Yahweh see other gods as a threat? Why does King Josiah decide to tear down the altars and "create a holy war of extermination in Canaan" in Yahweh's honor?
4. Why would a God who behaves exactly like us (acts like a human being with flaws, jealousy, etc) be more attractive to us?
5. "Philo insisted that we will never reach God as he is in himself: the highest truth we can apprehend is the rapturous recognition that God utterly transcends the human mind." If we cannot comprehend God, why believe in Him?
Discussion Questions –A History of God
ReplyDelete1) Can any spiritual exercise prepare an individual to meet their omnipotent and mercurial God?
2) How is Psalm 82 (Yahweh’s address to various other gods) reconciled with Christianity’s monotheistic beliefs?
3) How did the Israelites justify the acceptance of other gods (ex. Ashera) with Yahweh’s command to worship no other gods?
4) If God made man in his image and, from all appearances, seems to act like men (is jealous, changes mind, etc.), how is anthropomorphism unseemly?
5) If the killing of any man is proscribed by the belief of the rabbis, how could these rabbis justify the defense of Israel?
1. The English language changes over time and translations become fuzzy. Why do you think the Hebrew word "kaddosh" is interpreted as "holy" instead of "otherness" as it was originally intended?
ReplyDelete2. If Yahweh was supposed to teach compassion and love, why do you believe he would do evil things?
3. How did the worshippers views of Yahweh change over time?
4. How did the Rabbis change the role of Yahweh in the lives of his followers?
5. How did the idea of Yahweh help mankind?
1. Considering the changes in the understanding of the term "holy" are modern fundamentalist groups who claim to be following the essence of God by using past standards, actually create new ones with little conection to what they believe is their foundation?
ReplyDelete2. If their is only one God, what is the importance of condemning those who do not follow him? Won't they end up serving him no matter how they worship?
3. Why is it a necessity for worship to be an ever dynamic force?
4. If Yahweh addressed other gods in Psalm 82, does that mean that monotheism is only the worship of a single god, not the belief in only one? How has this changed through history?
5. If man is made in God's image, but God was originally only able to be understood through "otherness" does the importance of human beings seem a simple construct of society without a foundation in reality?
1. Why was there an immense gulf between man and the divine world. Did Yahweh help to close the gap, or make it bigger?
ReplyDelete2. What is the significant difference between Judaism and Hinduism and their view/relationship with God.
3. "The story of Exodus had stressed that God was on the side of the weak and oppressed" (45), if this was the case, explain why the Israelites of Isaiah's day were on the brink of war and extinction. Explain Yahweh's role in their fate.
4. How did the Israelites misunderstand and abuse their title as God's Chosen People?
5.What role did the Israeli prophets play in developing the image of God?
1. What is your definition of a prophet?
ReplyDelete2. "..the Elohim of Isreal, the elilim, Nothing. The goyim who worshipped them were fools and Yahweh hated them" (49). Sounds really harsh. Why?
3. "God did not simply intervene in history to glorify Isreal but to secure social justice" (46). Do you think this true? Are there any evidence in the Bible to back this up?
4. Do you think having an idol in your life is wrong? Explain
5. "At his birth, Yahweh had annulled the covenant with Isreal: 'You are not my people and I am not your God'" (48). Why do you think that is?