Messianic Movements and Failed Prophecies in Israel
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Investment Insights 27Th October 2020
Investment Insights 27th October 2020 When Prophecy Fails How to ignore doomsday forecasts Chief Investment Officer George Cooper, “Suppose an individual believes something with his whole heart; suppose further that he has commitment to this belief, that he has taken irrevocable actions because of it; finally, suppose that he is presented with evidence, unequivocal and undeniable evidence, that his belief is wrong: What will happen? The individual will frequently emerge, not only unshaken, but even more convinced of the truth of his beliefs than ever before. Indeed, he may even show a new fervour about convincing and converting other people to his view.” Leon Festinger, 1956 The stock market will crash on December 21st. In the few seconds it took you to read that first sentence your innate survival instincts will have kicked in. They are telling you: something bad is going to happen, you need to act. The rational part of your brain is pushing back, saying: nonsense, he has no idea what will happen to the stock market on December 21st. But you still have that nagging worry. Grabbing peoples’ attention and coercing them into action with scary stories and doomsday prophecies is an old trick. It exploits our risk aversion bias, which is part of our survival instincts telling us to look out for danger. The scary story trick is ubiquitous, journalists use it, religions use it, campaign groups use it and of course governments use it. Learning when to ignore scary stories and when to see through them is an important life skill, and for investors an essential skill. -
The Contexts of Religion and Violence
Journal of Religion & Society Supplement Series 2 The Kripke Center 2007 The Contexts of Religion and Violence Edited by Ronald A. Simkins Terror at the Holy of Holies Christians and Jewish Builders of the Temple at the Turn of the Twenty- First Century Yaakov Ariel, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Introduction [1] In August of 1969, a young Australian, Dennis Michael Rohan, set fire to the Al-Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount. Rohan was motivated by a desire to bring about the messianic age and thought that clearing the ground for the building of the Temple would set the apocalyptic clock going (see the explanations in his criminal file in the Jerusalem District Court, 69/173). Psychiatrists later diagnosed Rohan as insane, and many at the time chose to believe that the burning of the mosque was the act of an unstable fanatic. Since the 1970s, however, while only few have tried to damage the Temple Mount mosques, a number of Christian and Jewish groups have strived for the rebuilding of the Temple and some have even begun preparations for the reenactment of the Temple’s ancient rituals. Their cooperation has brought about a new chapter in Jewish-Christian relations, inspiring unprecedented alliances and new visions on the part of Jews and Christians for the Messianic times. Rohan’s setting of fire was the first act that highlighted the explosive potential of the Christian and Jewish messianic hopes. Of special concern for Israeli officials, as well as peace-hopefuls, in Israel and other countries, has been the possibility that people holding such beliefs might destroy the Muslim mosques on the Temple Mount and bring about a 63 The Contexts of Religion and Violence regional doomsday. -
Transcript Episode 2 the Millerites
Official Podcast Script: Charlie Group *Church bells1 chiming, thunder2 rolling* “I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake.The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.” Revelation 6:12-14 (King James Version) CHRIS: Wow, that’s dark. Was that a prophecy or a poem or something? and did people really believe that something like that was going to happen on earth? NICK: Yeah, people did believe this biblical prophecy. Christians across the United States in the 1800s believed in this apocalyptic vision of the end of humanity. JULIANA: But, the Millerites were the only Christian group at this time to give their followers an exact date for the end of the world. CHRIS: The who? NICK: The Millerites! They were a religious movement based in the Northeastern United States in the 1800s.3 They followed the teachings of William Miller, who led them to believe that in 1843, they would ascend to heaven to live a blissful existence in an eternal paradise alongside their lord and saviour Jesus Christ. CHRIS: Really? That sounds like… a lot. JULIANA: It does, but you have to understand that in the early 1800s, religion dominated people’s worlds. It dictated how they lived, what they did, even who they married. -
An Mora Constrts
Yitzchak Blau Rabbi Blau is a Ram at Yeshivat Hamivtar in Efrat, IsraeL. PLOUGHSHAS INTO SWORDS: CONTEMPORA RELIGIOUS ZIONISTS AN MORA CONSTRTS AUTHOR'S NOTE: When Jewish communities are threatened, we rightfully incline towards communal unity and are reluctant to engage in internal criti- cism. In the wake of recent events in Israel, some of which I have witnessed firsthand, one might question the appropriateness of publishing this article. Nevertheless, the article remains timely. It attempts to correct a perceived misrepresentation of yahadut, irrespective of political issues, and such a step is always relevant. Furthermore, the decision to delay our own moral ques- tioning during difficult times could lead in modern Israel to a de facto deci- sion never to raise such questions. Finally and most significantly, times of heightened anger, frustration and fear can cause cracks in the moral order to widen into chasms. I hope the reader will agree that the issues analyzed in the article remain very much worthy of discussion. The article does not advocate a particular political approach. While readers of a dovish inclination will no doubt find the article more congenial, it is the more right wing readers who truly stand to benefit from the discussion. It is precisely the militant excesses of the dati le)ummi world that enable and lead others to ignore their legitimate criticisms. The ability to combine a more right wing political view with a more moderate expression of Judaism would be both a kiddush hashem and more successful politically as well. "In ths situation of war for the land of our life and our eternal free- dom, the perfected form of our renewal appears: not just as the People of the Book-the galuti description given us by the genties- but rather as God's nation, the holy nation, possessors of the Divine Torah implanted therein, for whom the Book and the Sword descended intertwned from the heavens . -
Debate Apocalypse RSAS
III DEBATE 2012 The Environmental Prophecy That Could Not Fail Anna Fedele Th e year 2012 has been at the center of many millennial theories, commonly referred to under the umbrella term the “2012 phenomenon”. Th ese theories, which predicted important changes for humanity usually related to some kind of environmental apocalypse, are generally described as relating to the end of the Mayan calendar, to the common-era calendar date, 21 December 2012 (21.12.2012), and to “New Age interpretations”.1 Since 2001 I have conducted fi eldwork in Italy, Spain, and Portugal, focusing on Neopagan movements and, more generally, on contemporary spirituality, and I have come across very dif- ferent narratives about 2012—so diff erent that it seemed almost impossible to fi nd two persons who agreed on the same interpretation. When mentioning the Mayan prophecy and the win- ter solstice, my interlocutors oft en added that other prophecies also indicated that 2012 was a meaningful year but that 21.12.2012 should not be taken as indicating a precise event so much as marking a period of change that would unfold slowly, over time. Classical sociological theories have described religion as an antidote to the uncertainty of human existence, and prophecies have oft en been seen by social scientists as specifi c religious tools off ering adherents answers about a future that, to nonbelievers, looked uncertain. How- ever, I will show that, at least among my Southern European interlocutors, uncertainty was intrinsic to their expectations of what might unfold in 2012. We will also see that apocalyptic beliefs were not a central element of their worldview. -
Volume 3, 2020
JMJS Vol. 3, 2020 ISSN : ISSN 2379-836X Volume 3, 2020 The Journal of Messianic Jewish Studies Volume 3 Summer 2020 Journal of Messianic Jewish Studies ~ Journal of Messianic Jewish Studies Editorial Staff Executive Editor ~ Mitch Glaser General Editor ~ Alan Shore Managing Editor ~ Gregory Hagg Assistant Editor ~ Brian Crawford Assistant Editor ~ Robert Walter Assistant Editor ~ Richard Flashman Typesetting and Design ~ P. H. Brazier All material is copyright protected and may not be reproduced, stored or transmitted without written permission (except where a licence exists to do so). Typesetting Times New Roman, Minion Pro, & SBL (The Society of Biblical Literature) BibLit fonts 10.5pt on 14.5pt © Journal of Messianic Jewish Studies 2020 Charles L. Feinberg Center, New York ISSN : ISSN 2379-836X www.journalofmessianicjewishstudies.com The Journal of Messianic Jewish Studies ~ CoreValues Theology: We believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, the Triune nature of God and full deity and sinless humanity of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah, salvation through faith in Yeshua alone. We also believe that God is faithful to His covenants and promises to the Jewish people and in the importance of Jewish evangelism. Editorial: Our goal is to reflect the best of Evangelical and Jewish scholarship in our articles and to demonstrate how Christianity and Judaism intersect and inform one another on a variety of scholarly and practical areas of study. Therefore, submissions to JMJS are to be supported by a thoughtful, biblical, and theological analysis and relevant to Messianic Jewish thought, Jewish evangelism and the interplay between Judaism and Christianity. Contributions: The editors welcome contributions from all who respect the role of the Jewish people in the plan of God and who wish to explore the inter-relatedness between faith in Yeshua the Messiah and Judaism. -
Tz7-Sample-Corona II.Indd
the lax family special edition Halachic Perspectives on the Coronavirus II נקודת מבט על נגיף הקורונה ב׳ Tzurba M’Rabanan First English Edition, 2020 Volume 7 Excerpt – Coronavirus II Mizrachi Press 54 King George Street, PO Box 7720, Jerusalem 9107602, Israel www.mizrachi.org © 2020 All rights reserved Written and compiled by Rav Benzion Algazi Translation by Rav Eli Ozarowski, Rav Yonatan Kohn and Rav Doron Podlashuk (Director, Manhigut Toranit) Essays by the Selwyn and Ros Smith & Family – Manhigut Toranit participants and graduates: Rav Otniel Fendel, Rav Jonathan Gilbert, Rav Avichai Goodman, Rav Joel Kenigsberg, Rav Sam Millunchick, Rav Doron Podlashuk, Rav Bentzion Shor General Editor and Author of ‘Additions of the English Editors’: Rav Eli Ozarowski Board of Trustees, Tzurba M’Rabanan English Series: Jeff Kupferberg (Chairman), Rav Benzion Algazi, Rav Doron Perez, Rav Doron Podlashuk, Ilan Chasen, Adam Goodvach, Darren Platzky Creative Director: Jonny Lipczer Design and Typesetting: Daniel Safran With thanks to Sefaria for some of the English translations, including those from the William Davidson digital edition of the Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz www.tzurba.com www.tzurbaolami.com Halachic Perspectives on the Coronavirus II נקודת מבט על נגיף הקורונה ב׳ Introduction “Porch” and Outdoor Minyanim During Coronavirus Restrictions Responding to a Minyan Seen or Heard Online Making a Minyan Using Online Platforms Differences in the Tefilla When Davening Alone Other Halachot Related to Tefilla At Home dedicated in loving memory of our dear sons and brothers יונתן טוביה ז״ל Jonathan Theodore Lax z”l איתן אליעזר ז״ל Ethan James Lax z”l תנצב״ה marsha and michael lax amanda and akiva blumenthal rebecca and rami laifer 5 · נקודות מבט הלכתיות על נגיף הקורונה ב׳ צורבא מרבנן Introduction In the first shiur concerning the coronavirus, we discussed some of the halachic sources relating to the proper responses, both physical and spiritual, to an epidemic or pandemic. -
Israel׳S Classroom Wars
s Classroom׳Israel Wars The religious right’s attempt to overtake secular education in Israel June 2017 Israel’s Classroom Wars 2 In June 2017, Molad published an in-depth report on the infiltration of religious nonprofit organizations - ideologically affiliated with the religious right and politically aligned with the Jewish Home party – into Israel’s State school system. The report was covered extensively in the Israeli press and generated a heated public debate. While the report itself is currently available only in Hebrew, the following introduction provides relevant context and analysis. The introduction is followed by some key findings from the report. Introduction „They will take over the children, and far removed from current habits, which their parents possess, they will bring them up in their own ways and laws„ Plato, Republic1 This report is the outcome of an investigation by Molad into the means by which a small group of Israelis – who see themselves as the country’s spiritual and political avant-garde – have undertaken to reshape the national, cultural, moral and civic identity of the general Jewish public in Israel to suit their worldview. To that end, this group has chosen the State school system (i.e., the general public schools, attended by 60% of students) as the target of an organized takeover, which it justifies on the grounds that the children of the secular majority in Israel are suffering from an alarming depletion of values and identity2. Based on a simplistic, superficial understanding of global trends and processes within Israeli society, many on the religious right assume that Jewish identity and Israeli patriotism cannot be sustained without the ideological foundations of religious Zionism. -
LOCATING DOUBT WITHIN EVANGELICAL CERTAINTY By
I DOUBT THEREFORE I BELIEVE: LOCATING DOUBT WITHIN EVANGELICAL CERTAINTY By Ari Stillman Masters Thesis SubmitteD to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS In Religion August, 2012 Nashville, Tennessee ApproveD: Professor Shaul Kelner Professor Graham ResiDe Professor Lewis Baldwin TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PREFACE…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…3 THE ROADMAP FOR THE TERRITORY………………………………………………………………...11 Chapter I. AS THE GOOD BOOK SAYS……………………………………………………………………..…14 Problematizing scriptural infallibility II. WELCOME TO HEAVEN – POPULATION: WHOSOEVER IS CERTAIN…………..30 Problematizing the recipients of salvation III. BIBLICAL MAP IS NOT BIBLICAL TERRITORY………………………………………......49 Problematizing the lanDscapes of the afterlife CONCLUSION: KNOWING THE UNKNOWN………………………………………………………….74 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………………………………….84 2 PREFACE “Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty. When you are lost you are not alone.” – Father BrenDan Flynn, the priest in the 2008 motion picture Doubt “Enjoy your Doubts. Our souls feeD off mysteries.” – spiritual fiction author Paulo Coelho via Facebook status update on February 5, 2012 On the second Sunday morning that I walkeD into Cherry Oak Church,1 sequestered away in the back of a Southern comfort bistro and bar locateD down a siDe street in the poshest part of Nashville, scripture seemeD to come to life for a few people there. You would not know it from looking at the outsiDe of the builDing except for a casual chalkboard sign on the sidewalk that usually lists the specials of the night that reaD "Come Worship with Cherry Oak Church" on the first line anD the hours for worship on the second. -
The Encyclopedia of New Religions Bibliography
The Encyclopedia of New Religions Bibliography The following bibliography has been constructed to enable readers to explore selected topics in greater depth. Rather than present a long uncategorized list, which would have been unhelpful and potentially confusing, the classification of literature mirrors the format of the book. (Classifying new religions and spiritualities is a notoriously difficult problem, and it should not be thought that groups that have been bracketed together do not have important differences.) In a few instances a movement may be relevant to more than one section; hence readers are advised to look in other sections if they cannot instantly locate the sought material. Anyone who compiles a bibliography on new spiritualities has to make choices, since there is a vast array of literature available. While endeavouring to include a good range of material and viewpoints, we have omitted material that we consider to be badly inaccurate or misleading. However, some religious movements have been virtually neglected by writers and hence the material indicated below is the best available. For some groups there is virtually no literature apart from their own writings. While we have aimed to incorporate material on the grounds of accessibility, quality, up-to-dateness, popularity and prominence, inclusion here does not necessarily imply endorsement by the editor or individual authors. At the end of each section a selection of websites has been provided. However, it should be noted that, whilst these were all available at the time of writing, and whilst we believe them to be relatively reliable, unlike books, websites can literally disappear overnight. -
ABSTRACT the Great American Disappointment: an Introduction to the Great Disappointment Theory As a Way to Explain the Unique Ev
ABSTRACT The Great American Disappointment: An Introduction to the Great Disappointment Theory as a Way to Explain the Unique Evolutionary Processes of Socially-Guided Religion by Means of American Civil Religion Ethan Gjerset Quillen, M.A. Mentor: Douglas R. Ferdon, Ph.D. America is unique when compared to the rest of the world for many reasons, but especially so for its religion. To this, as human beings evolve socially, in the same way animal species evolve in order to seek out variable fitness toward survival, their religion follows suit. This has been particularly so in the United States where absolute religious freedom makes way for one of three processes of evolution within the American Church of Civil Religion. These three processes, Atheism, Fundamentalism and New Religious Movements, become the direction in which Americans evolve their religious beliefs in the wake of socially- guided religious disappointment. This Great Dis appointment Theory, based on the results of William Miller‟s Great Disappointment in the 19 th century, helps explain the means by which Americans, who act as individuals within an immigrant nation, are able to come together as a congregation within the American Church of Civil Religion. The Great American Disappointment: An Introduction to the Great Disappointment Theory as a Way to Explain the Unique Evolutionary Processes of Socially-Guided Religion by Means of American Civil Religion by Ethan Gjerset Quillen, B.A., M.A. A Thesis Approved by the Department of American Studies ___________________________________ Douglas R. Ferdon, Ph.D., Chairperson Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Baylor University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Approved by the Thesis Committee ___________________________________ Douglas R. -
Tzarich Iyun: Jews with Tattoos
Tzarich Iyun: Jews with Tattoos ou.org/torah/machshava/tzarich-iyun/tzarich_iyun_jews_with_tattoos/ Rabbi Dr. Ari Zivotofsky Misconception:[1] A Jew with a tattoo may not be buried in a Jewish cemetery. Fact: This belief has no basis in Jewish law. Just as a Jew who violated other Torah laws may be buried in a Jewish cemetery, so too may one who violated the prohibition against being tattooed. Background: This misconception is widespread amongst American Jews. References to it are often found in general American culture;[2] for example, it was mentioned on the TV show The Nanny[3] Tattoos are Biblically prohibited.[4] The Torah states (Vayikra 19:28): “You shall not make gashes in your flesh for a dead person; you shall not etch a tattoo on yourselves. I am God.” The Torah uses the term ketovet ka’aka when referring to a tattoo; ketovet is derived from the root letters kaf, tav, vet, which means to write, while the second word, ka’aka, is difficult to translate as this is the only time it appears in the Bible.[5], [6] Onkelos translates the term as “rushmin charitin, incisions.” The Septuagint translates it as “grammata stikta, tattooed writing/drawing.” Clarifying the Biblical prohibition, the Mishnah (Makkot 3:6) and Gemara (Makkot 21a; Yerushalmi, Makkot 3:6) state that it only applies if the individual performs a two-step process: perforating the skin and filling the resulting hole with ink. Injecting ink into the deep layers of the skin causes the mark to become permanent. Rashi (Leviticus 19:28; cf.