Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
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) The Jews were able to find their suffering meaningful according to Smith. Are Christians this way? Why or why not.
ReplyDelete2) The Jews were regarded as the underdogs in the past. I think it is safe to say that Christianity has always been regarded as the "top religion." Do you believe Christianity deserves that honor? Explain.
3) The Jews had a positive outlook on life; they always believed things would look up for them. Why do you think the Jews were so positive about their future? Why did they have so much hope, even though they have been repressed for so long?
1. What does suffering mean to you?
ReplyDelete2. Is it really important to us to find the "meaning" of life or of our lives? Why would anybody go through much trouble and time for this?
3. What is the deffinition of hope? Why is that so important to mankind?
1.According to Smith, God surrounded Israel with powerful enemies in order to show the Jews, "who's boss". Yahweh was said to have punished the Israelites by having enemies conquer them.
ReplyDeleteIn can be inferred that since the development of Christianity, God is no longer as "willful." People no longer use God as justification for being attacked, but as justification for attacking.
Do you agree with this? If not, explain. If so, why?
2. In the old testament, God punished the Israelites for having a lack of righteousness despite warnings. The Jews were then spread and continue to spread around the world.
Is the Jews' perseverance an acceptance of God's punishment? Explain. If so, are the Jews trying to be righteous by not giving up?
3. There are different views on the appearance of a Messiah between Jewish groups. Some say God will send a deputy to establish a new order. Others believe that the Messiah is a return to the old ways and a "life lived with the ancestors." Then even some believe the Messiah is the tumultuous creation of a new, perfect world.
Which is more persuasive or plausible, why?
1) One central theme within the Jewish belief is hope for a Messiah, whether it is a person or a better time period. Can you find common themes within the Christain religion? What about the eastern religions?
ReplyDelete2) Jews believe that the meaning in suffering is that some people basically take it on in order to keep other people from suffering. You can see the identical idea within the Christian religion with Jesus Christ. Are there any ideas like this in other religion or is it unique to these two?
3) God, according to the Jews, teaches his followers through lessons which was not always kind. What caused the Jews to view their God as not always benevolent and loving?
1. It states that "God was burning into the hearts of Jews through their sufferings a passion for freedom and justice that would affect all humankind". Why would freedom and justice be more important than any other things?
ReplyDelete2. Do you think that the suffering that the Jews went through occured in any other religions? And if so which do you believe would be the strongest?
3. It states that the messianic theme is hope. Is this different from any others religion's theme? If not what religion's theme do you think is the best?
If the Jews knew that their God was stronger than the God of their victors, why did they not obey and repent to God when God told them they would be defeated?
ReplyDeleteWhy would the Jews openly want to suffer?
Why did the Jews want to wait for the Messiah? Why couldn't they save themselves?
1. In this plane of reality, which is more powerful, suffering or pleasure? Which is the most important? Can one exist without the other: are they interconnected or independent?
ReplyDelete2. If life is defined by the interactions between suffering and pleasure, why is the afterlife in Judaism/Christianity/etc divided into one realm of undiluted suffering and another of undiluted pleasure, especially since the religions often imply that the more you suffer in life the more pleasure you will have after life, and vice-versa?
3. If suffering is essential, why do people hope for a cessation of suffering? It often seems that suffering is a prerequisite for pleasure, but pleasure is not one for suffering, thus implying that an existence without suffering would be devoid of pleasure, but an existence built upon pleasure could not exist without suffering.
-remind me to bring up the "arch of reality" I discussed in my Hinduism take-home-test essays
1) "Therefore an adversary shall surround the land, and strip you of your defense; and your strongholds shall be plundered" (293)-- Explain God's methods of teaching his people. Why did God have to change his way of teaching the Jewish people?
ReplyDelete2)What factors led to the Israelites' spiritual agony and characterization as "displace people"? Was God responsible?
3) In Jewish belief, how did God use the Jewish people as an example for the rest of the world? To the Jews, does this justify how they have been treated throughout history?