A History of God, Jewish debate

A history of God, Karen Armstrong

 

I love how Jews love to debate their religion, yet there is a faithfulness throughout. This paragraph by Armstrong says it all.

There is a story that one day in Auschwitz, a group of Jews put God on trial. They charged him with cruelty and betrayal. Like Job, they found no consolation in the usual answers to the problem of evil and suffering in the midst of this current obscenity. They could find no excuse for God, no extenuating circumstances, so they found him guilty and, presumably guilty of death. The Rabbi pronounced the verdict. Then he looked up and said that the trial was over: it was time for the evening prayer.

Beautiful!

Mystics, A history of God, Karen Armstrong

I'm still plodding my way through 'A history of God', I'm reading the chapter on mystics. It's interesting that all three monotheistic religions have 'mystics' who are content with the mystery or unknown element of God, whilst also having a very experiential element to their faith.

One part that caught my eye was how Jewish mystics would prefer not to have a spoken dialog with God rather just to dwell and experience his overwhelming holiness.

It was reminiscent for me, of "ministry". Especially in the Vineyard denomination, at the end of a service, when people were prayed for. I'd heard a number of times pastors saying just to sit in Gods Holiness or his Presence.

It's made me wonder is Pentecostalism at times just a contemporary form of mysticism? It would seem to me that instead of trying to explain away evidence of the Spirit using Evangelical theology maybe it would be worthwhile looking at the Eastern Church and its mystics to explain the Unknown...

 

A History of God, Karen Armstrong Islam

I've just read the chapters on Islam and its beginnings. There are quite a few areas which I have been challenged on. Like Christianity it would appear that political forces have twisted much of the teachings and used them as a political tool to control. Which I think has been magnified in the west.

Some areas which I didn't realise::

Mohammad advocated strongly for the poor and needy

Women were treated very well at times even as equals, and not as they are viewed in the west.

Other religions namely Christianity and Judaism were well respected by the prophet Mohammed.

Islam has faced the same questions as other monotheistic regions: the ideas of justice, how can a good God let bad things happen etc. It's interesting how the answers can at time be the same!

 

 

 

A history of God, Karen Armstrong

A few thoughts...

 

I'm reminded more and more when ever I read about the construction of the doctrine of the Trinity, especially about poor Arius (pg 127-128): how fickle language is, that much of the trinity is built around metaphors. Reading "A History of God", brought home to me that Christianity had no real doctrine if anything up to 300AD it was rather laissez fair. Yes scripture was important but the way it fitted together, the systemisation was not there.

The teaching of Allan Hirsch during my time at Forge. Hirschy stated that Christianity's greatest growth was during the that time of persecution. I wonder if also the un-systemisation of scripture also had an influence? I suspect so.