It doesn't bother me. I think it's interesting. I recently ordered Kugel's book The God of Old. I'm looking forward to reading it
Do hints of polytheism in Tanach bother you, or are you simply only concerned with what we have today?
It is the polytheistic background of the authors, that influences the bible in such a way. The omniscient and omnipresent ideas, evolved out of Monotheism. It would have taken time to appreciate that fully.
Does it bother me? No. once I know the bible is not from god and is therefore NOT true, then the views of the authors do not interest me in the least.
Interesting point, chasid Kofer. I'm curious how an MO Jew would deal with the issue, on the one hand acknowledging the "God of old" and on the other hand believing that the Torah is God's word.
To the MO Jew: Which view is right? God's in the Torah or ours today?
>Do hints of polytheism in Tanach bother you
no.
currently, I don't believe in the divine origin of Tanach. I'm interested in it from a historic/literary/cultural point of view.
Chazal's interpretations are also interesting to me, but not because I necessarily believe they had the one true interpretation, but because they are the founders of rabbinic Judaism and if you want to understand rabbinic Judaism you need to begin with them
> To the MO Jew: Which view is right? God's in the Torah or ours today?
Its a bit of a apologist answer but I would say both and neither. Both views are wrong in the end as we all are trying to interpret the infinite in our own limited way and whenever we project we project our biases.
In a few hundred years they will have another view on God which will be totally different... and I am ok with that.
I also add that the view that they had probably was good for them and the view that we hvae is good for us.
>Which view is right? God's in the Torah or ours today?
I think you are assuming what Kugel is saying is absolute truth. That is his view, which I had the honor of attending his shiur in LA, but that is still how he interprets the text.
Even if he is right, I don't see the problem with the divinity of the torah. There is nothing explicit in the whole bible about God's nature. Sometimes its revealed to a prophet as a figure, other times its more ambiguous.
hh,
I do agree with Kugel, although by no means do I argue that he is absolutely correct, but I'm not arguing about the divinity of the Torah. Rather, my problem is that our conception of God is different than the conception in God's book.
why is this a problem?
Simply because it implies that our conception of God is incorrect. We're thinking of a non-YHWH thing when we pray, learn, etc.
>Simply because it implies that our conception of God is incorrect. We're thinking of a non-YHWH thing when we pray, learn, etc.
Well, if the torah is man made, then who cares? There is no question.
To the MO Jew: Which view is right? God's in the Torah or ours today?
Skeptodox | Homepage | 11.26.07 - 3:03 pm | #
To the MO Jew there is no difference. Its not a question of right, its a question of developed way of looking at God. I think if you read Tanach, its not exactly SO different then what we think of today.
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