Fall 2009 New Brunswick Theological Seminary

Tuesday, 6:20 - 10:00 PM

The Religious Act: Asking the Question

The lesson of truth is not held in one consciousness. It explodes toward the other. To study well, to read well, to listen well, is already to speak: whether by asking questions and, in so doing, touching the master who teaches you, or by teaching a third party.”

--Emmanuel Levinas “Beyond the Verse: Talmudic Readings and Lectures” (1994)

Friday, September 11, 2009

CHARACTER OF YHWH

The stories of the Hebrew Bible shows YHWH as a mysterious God and the author warns of the propensity of characters to shift in and out of focus(p76). At times in the bible YHWH has a single trait and is considered predictable(flat character) and at times He displays a multiple of traits, even contradictory behaviors(p75). This lends to that mysterious persona because the authors of the Biblical Stories did n't truly understand, why God reacted in certain circumstances, why God does things the way He does. At times he was a God of mercy, of retribution, a God that gives, a God that takes away, a God that is present, and a God missing in action. All of these characterizations are clues, that helps the reader to draw a picture of God, even though it maybe an imperfect picture. It underlines the complexity of our relationship with God, and I believe the authors infers that we have made it more complex than it should be.
Posted by at

1 comment:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 12, 2009 at 10:38 AM

    The Old Testament is formed by tradition and memory. There is no one way to determine who is telling the story and whose story it belongs to. It is almost simplistic in a way that faith is based on an extremely complex idea of who God is based on the historical context of the Old Testament.
    When we learn as children who God is, it is on a level for us to understand. It is simple, kind and filled with love and a parental figure that has rules for them to follow. As children we don’t have the capacity to understand that God can have attributes that are less than God like and more people like. Ultimately, it is this mind set that can possibly make it harder for us as adults to faithfully accept that God’s character has many, many dimensions, including negative ones.
    The historical traditions and stories of the Old Testament can give direction to faith, presenting a type of form for us to try to understand who God is. At times, from what I gathered in the reading, we can make it too complex even for us to understand why God isn’t a one dimensional (loving and kind) image. What if he isn’t- what if he is just like it says in Genesis, God created man and woman in his own image. Is it just a shallow mirror image, or the depth of the human personality?

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)