Jewish Philosophy Unintentionally Including Christian Beliefs I spoke about Hasdai Crescas in the past, but a nice young man asked me in the synagogue about Crescas and how he differed with Maimonides, and [...]
The Origin of Sin There is no concept of “sin” in the Hebrew Bible as a distorting stain upon the soul that requires a kind of supernatural atonement or cleansing process, as the concept is understood today. To the contrary, wrong behavior is seen in scripture in a rational, natural way. [...]
The Origin of Sin Professor Paula Fredriksen of Boston University wrote “Sin: The Early History of an Idea.”[1] Her book is scholarly and informative. There is no concept of “sin” in the Hebrew Bible as a distorting stain upon the soul that requires a kind of supernatural atonement process, as the [...]
The Cherubim was copied from the Egyptians One of the most perplexing ancient Jewish articles is the Ark of the Covenant that tradition states contained both the shattered and whole Decalogue (Ten Commandments). The Ark had two poles that were never removed from the box. No reason is given for this practice. [...]
More on how Judaism changed when meeting other cultures Jewish practices and theology continued to evolve as Jews met people of other cultures such as the Canaanites, Greeks, and Christians. Canaanites Many of the biblical books describe the various practices that the early Israelites adopted as a result of [...]
