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Category Archives: Religion
Kabbalah-the real deal
A New Age, pop-culture version of the venerable Jewish mystical tradition known as Kabbalah has been fashionable of late, attracting the likes of Madonna and other celebrities. But if you’re curious to find out what authentic Kabbalah is all about, … Continue reading
Limmud: Jewish studies for the UK and the world
Limmud started out as a yearly Jewish studies conference for educators in Britain. Now, 30 years after its founding, Limmud, which means learning in Hebrew, is a worldwide movement with local organizations that organize Jewish study weekends and conferences in … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, Jewish studies, Lectures, Religion
Tagged Clive Lawton, Judy Klitsner, Limmud
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The Jewish Spirit of Secularism
In 1918 Max Weber famously wrote that the modern world “is characterized by rationalization and intellectualization and, above all, by the disenchantment of the world.” In other words, the rise of science and rationality has taken the magic and mystery … Continue reading
Posted in Academic podcasts, Courses, Five-star professors, History, Jewish studies, Philosophy, Religion
Tagged David N. Myers, disenchantment, Max Weber, UCLA
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Does God have a physical body?
Brace yourself for this one: the God of the Hebrew Bible has a real physical body. That’s what biblical scholar Benjamin Sommer argues in his lecture The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel: Part I (website, iTunes) … Continue reading
Posted in Archaeology, Bible, Five-star professors, History, Idea of the week, iTunesU, Jewish studies, Lectures, Religion
Tagged ancient Israel, Benjamin Sommer
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The Book of Job and the problem of evil
It’s a problem as old as monotheism: how can a just, beneficent God allow bad things to happen to good people? That’s the problem at the heart of the biblical Book of Job, the story of the righteous Job who … Continue reading
Posted in Academic podcasts, Bible, Five-star professors, Lectures, Literature, Religion
Tagged Book of Job, Ralph Williams, University of Michigan
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The Challenge of Translating the Bible
Most modern translations of the Hebrew Bible have two deficiencies says UC Berkeley literary scholar Robert Alter: “a deficient sense of English style and a deficient sense of Hebrew style.” In his 2009 lecture The Challenge of Translating the Bible … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, Five-star professors, Jewish studies, Lectures, Literature, Religion
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A History of Jerusalem
How did a provincial hill-town, with no significant natural resources and far from major trade routes, become a holy city for millions of people? That’s the question archaeologist and biblical scholar Robert Cargill seeks to answer in his fascinating new … Continue reading
Posted in Academic podcasts, Archaeology, Bible, Courses, Five-star professors, History, Jewish studies, Religion
Tagged Jerusalem, Robert Cargill
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Lincoln’s Greatest Speech
No, it’s not the Gettysburg address. According to Lincoln scholar Ronald C. White. Jr., Lincoln’s greatest speech was the Second Inaugural Address, his famous “with malice toward none, with charity for all” speech that promised healing and reconciliation to the … Continue reading
Posted in Academic podcasts, Books, History, Lectures, Religion
Tagged Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Ronald C. White, Second Inaugural Address
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The accidental chosen people
In the ancient Near East there wasn’t much of a difference between a tribal community and a religious community. Every ethnic community had its own ethnic god. Thus, argues Reuven Firestone in his lecture Who Are the Real Chosen People? … Continue reading
Doubt and the New Testament
Yale University religion professor Dale Martin has some words of warning for the students in his course Introduction to New Testament History and Literature (website, iTunes): “De omnibus dubitandum.” Say it loud, he tells his students. Say it with feeling. … Continue reading
Posted in Academic podcasts, Bible, Courses, Five-star professors, Religion
Tagged Dale Martin, New Testament, Yale
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