Chapter 3: God of Moses
The God Who Reveals
Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all believe that God has revealed himself (albeit in different ways).
The God of the Torah. At Sinai God revealed himself to the the people. But, they wanted an intermediary, Moses.
The Problem of Revelation. Living out rules and commandments is difficult. For example, what does it mean to not work on the Sabbath. What defines work?
The Nature of Torah. When Jews say they study Torah, they mean more than the first 5 books. It includes much more. but, the lynchpin of the Torah is the first five books. "Babylonian. It is no exaggeration to say that without the effort to study, reflect, argue about, and teach the traditions reflected in the Mishnah and the Talmud, Judaism would not have survived the various tragedies and assaults it has endured to the present day.”
Moses
Moses is key to Jewish thought and life. Moses remained fully human in the story. His greatness stemmed from his willingness to pay attention to God.
God’s Intimacy with Moses. The revelation of God’s name is a clear indication that Moses was granted unprecedented intimacy with God.
The Enduring Importance of God. The rabbis who rebuilt Judaism viewed Moses as the ultimate teacher.
Torah as Revelation Today
How are Jews (and Christians) to understand revelation in today’s world?
The Rise of Historical Criticism. The idea that the Torah was given intact to Moses was challenged in the 19th century and later. How is one to understand revelation and what the text is saying. For many, both Jews and Christians, the biblical text poses issues.
Confronting Religion’s Autoimmune Disease. Two kinds:
- God intoxication. The God-intoxicated person is so absorbed in his or her vision of the transcendent that human obligations become secondary and human justice uninteresting. Intoxication with God can ironically lead to a person ignoring God’s will rather than following it.
- God manipulation. the notion of holy war presents a classic example of God manipulation. Faced with an enemy other standing in the way of prosperity and safety, “God manipulation” uses God to justify the destruction of the other. Since these are God’s enemies as well as yours, the thinking goes, they may be destroyed without compunction or pity.
Ongoing Revelation, For Jews, communal reading and struggling with the text and its interpreters is an essential of Jewish life.
The Revelation of God
In addition to revealing thew word of God, Torah reveals God’s self.
Quotes fromPhelan, John E.. Separated Siblings: An Evangelical Understanding of Jews and Judaism (p. 61). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.