KFC, Lula: If we seek to know, we do not begin with knowing something and looking for evidence of what we know. The Hebrew scriptures can be read in many ways. One way to examine it is as evidence of a developing monotheism. You are certainly welcome to use your Christian theology as a tool toward understanding these texts to prove your case, but it will only be a logical fallacy.
TA, I just reread your message and see that "Creator" is, indeed, one of the terms. Interesting that it is not possible to understand creator as a progenitor. I also did a liitle reading on sufism (I have a few Sufi friends) and understand their practices to be of a similar aim to that of other mystical traditions, including Buddhism. I wish we had a few Sufi practitioners on JU; it would be very interesting to get theitr POV on things. &nbs
TA, just curious, then, do Muslims understand Allah to be their creator? If so, it's not a stretch to understand Allah as a parental figure in the sense of being a progenitor. I do not believe the torah uses a term that can be translated as "Father" either, but our prayerbook is has a few such references as I described earlier. We are taught though to be very careful in not understanding such words to be literal as we have a prohibition, as do you, against making an im
[quote]Could you explain? Calling God the Father comes from Christianity as part of the Blessed Trinity...I thought Jews and Muslims didn't believe in God as the Father.[/quote] Actually, God, the father comes from Judaism to Christianity. God is our creator, so, the Jews have always thought of God as Father and King. Malachi 2:10 says, "Have we not one Father?" Moreover, we recite the Avinu Malkenu (our Father, our King) as part of the daily Amidah pray
Frankly, I think the companies should file for reorganization, the unions need to reassess themselves and take a partnership role in company growth and success, and management should be fired. These companies have been non-competitive for decades, in my opinion, completely misreading the actual automobile market. short of closure, I am not at all for cash infusions to the Big Three.
[quote]A Christian knows that GOd is his Father and he serves Him as a child of God from a motive of love, a love which cast out servile fear without diminishing filial respect.[/quote] So does a Jew and a Muslim. OK, in agreement on at least one thing, wonderful! Now comes the question, how to serve God? Service to God means to me to be in-service to His creation, man included, not just men's souls. In Judaism we do this through Torah study, Avodah (pr
[quote]"Hope is the active conviction that every soul is worth trying to save at any cost in suffering. What's more, by now, we should have come to the understanding that fear can be a good thing....fear of Almighty God is a most wonderful thing.[/quote] We seem to disagree, go figure :) I believe we should take "fear" in this context to mean something quite different than the "be afraid of" variety. Fear in the context of God means having a sense of deep awe, dread,
Dear Lula, Unless it is possible for you to separate "favors a woman's right to choose" from "favoring abortion", I would ask you to take your case to your own blog. These are two distinct issues. This article is not about abortion, pro or con. Its about our fears and that we should perhaps find ways of living hopeful lives. I know this is a challenge for many, including myself. There are many things I sincerely dislike, such as warfare, poverty, government intrusion i
[quote]To many, too late will figure out one day they were walking thru doors that led to nowhere but sorrow. [/quote] One must wonder why it is that in an article attempting to move us away from fear to hope, you and Lula move us in the other direction. Did not your Lord command you to love your enemies? We do not show our love through killing, but rather through nourishing them. You might consider leaving the world to come to God and instead consider h
[quote]The deliberate killing of an innocent baby is intrinsically evil.....while killing in war is not. [/quote] Yes, both are evil. That people are in a state of war means they have moved away from the rational into the irrational, in my opinion, or at the very least, moved from love to hate.
Perhaps, but if you use your lightning fast mind, perhaps not. Think aikido. Be well.
With palms together, Good Morning Everyone, This morning I woke dreaming of all things about putting together a film about the early Beatles. It was a grotesque dream with distorted figures and terrible music. My struggle in the dream seemed to be to understand how these grotesque figures became Beatles. My apparent answer was to wake up and get moving. Isn't this what life is really all about? <div
I've mentioned to her one too many times, I suspect, that she reminds me of my Ex. Goodness, the woman had a way with words! Be well, Sabrina.
With palms together, Good Morning everyone, As we live our lives, do we live them in Big Mind or Small Mind? If you choose you are incorrect. The Infinite, being Infinite, is everywhere. Yet our brain, wired as it is, creates an "I" and discerns subject from object: always. My post on fear drew some replies. Not so much regarding fear, but as regards hope. Many of you on the Zen Living list rightly
I have a bumper sticker, it simply reads, "War is Not Pro-Life." While I really do not want this thread to degenerate into an abortion argument, I do believe it is important to use a degree of discernment. Lula says she cannot respect a man who supports infanticide. Hyperbole, of course. But she can support a war. Both end in killing of living tissue. I wonder about this. Killing should only be one side of an arguement: the right to defend oneself,
Hmmm. You are correct! Goodness. It must be my Mad Cow. Be well.
[quote]there is nothing to fear, but fear itself. After reading St.Thomas, this is dumb.[/quote] Actually, I think it was Winston Churchill in the facew of a Nazi invasion that said this. Dumb? Perhaps.
MM, while we seem to disagree much of the time, I want you to know that I kept you in my prayers, JewBu that I am. May you be well and a blessing in the universe.
Very thoughtful piece, thank you. I do think many people either walk on eggshells around race issues, ignore them, minimize them, or blame others for them. What is so often missing is self examination. Why are we so loath to take a good hard look at ourselves? I am, frankly, very hopeful that the Obama presidency will make a tremendous difference as we see a skilled, competent, and very smart Black man take the helm of our country and ask us to wor
Dear Life, healthy disagreement is useful, but only to a point. If it takes us into a corner it becomes a problem. In disagreement, sometimes it is a very good idea to seek the common ground, as well. Common ground offers us a path to dialogue and eventual solutions, disagreement does not. fs, thank you.
With palms together, Good Morning Everyone, Last night after zazen, our small group had a discussion. We talked about all of the bad things that are happening economically. We talked about our interminable involvement in warfare. We talked about our fears. I watch the news, read blogs, and sense a great deal of outright fear. I say a little of this goes a long way. <div
:)
With palms together, Good Morning Everyone, I've been reading a book on Mussar, a sort of Jewish ethical/spiritual practice. It is interesting in that it outlines the dynamic tension between what Jews call yetzer ha'tov and yetzer ha'ra, the inclination to elevate and purify ourselves and the inclination not to. We commonly call these the impulse to do good and the impulse to do evil. As I am understanding this so
With palms together, Good Morning Everyone, As we sit down to practice complete presence, it is sometimes useful to notice the distractions that arise to take us away from what is right there before us. Clearly, thoughts arise, actually flooding our awareness with all sorts of things. We notice how cool the room is, the dust in the air, the discomfort in our knees or our backs. Each perception couples with a thought and feeling: b
BTW, that party line is pure PC. Here is the complete responsa on the subject: (I apologize for the legnth) CCAR RESPONSA (Central Conference of American Rabbis) Contemporary American Reform Responsa
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