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Book of Isaiah
Isaiah’s Lips Anointed with Fire via Wikipedia
Book of Isaiah – Isaiah, son of Amoz, was a statesman, counselor to Kings and a prophet in the Old Testament around the 8th-century BCE. He apparently lived in Jerusalem, having a profound influence in the Kingdom of Judah.
Like many other books in the Bible, scholars question the authorship of the Book of Isaiah. While some fundamentalists still believe that all of the books of the Bible were written by the authors ascribed to them, contemporary biblical scholars generally agree that the prophetic book written in Isaiah’s name contains material from at least two other unnamed prophets, known as Deutero-Isaiah and Trito-Isaiah.
The Isaiah recorded in the Bible shows some hostility towards his political enemies, but this is tempered by his hope for a better future that he never sees… not in this world, anyhow. Wikipedia nicely sums up the bulk of Isaiah:
The first 39 chapters prophesy doom for a sinful Judah and for all the nations of the world that oppose God, while the last 27 prophesy the restoration of the nation of Israel and a new creation in God’s glorious future kingdom;[1] this section includes the Songs of the Suffering Servant, four separate passages referring to the nation of Israel, interpreted by Christians as prefiguring the coming of Jesus Christ.¹
In Trito-Isaiah God reveals his total sovereignty over human life and thought:
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are my ways your ways, says the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.²
After the Assyrian invasion of 701 BCE, it is generally believed that Isaiah was martyred.
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¹ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Isaiah
² Isaiah 55 : 8-9 . This is one of my favorite Biblical passages and it was instrumental in my conversion to Catholicism. During a transitional stage in my life a non-Catholic Christian, quite out of the blue, suggested I read Isaiah 55 : 6-9. When I did, the power of the words hit me hard and I eventually converted to Catholicism. Interestingly, the numbers 55 and 69 had already been personally significant for several years prior, in a sort of ongoing synchronistic way. So hearing the Christian suggest I read that particular passage, and the effect it had on me, contained special significance. It seems that God usually works that way (MC).
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- The Beginning (discoveringisaiah.wordpress.com)
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Bar Mitzvah
Paintings (oil on canvas) of a bar mitzvah in a synagogue by Oscar Rex (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Bar Mitzvah [Hebrew "son of the law"] is a Jewish rite of passage where a young male aged 13 or young female aged 12 comes of age and officially accepts full religious responsibilities. The term also refers to the person for whom the ceremony is observed. Strictly speaking, the Bar Mitzvah is for boys and the Bat Mitzvah is for girls. But often the term Bar Mitzvah is used for both genders.
The modern form of the Bar Mitzvah is not described in the Jewish Bible. But the books of Exodus and Numbers do mention the importance of attaining the age of majority, which back then was recognized as age 20. It’s not until the Talmud that we find the term “Bar Mitzvah.”
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Confirmation
A girl is blessed by the priest during her confirmation in the Norwegian state church. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Confirmation is the Christian rite in which the Holy Spirit is conferred or renewed to those already baptized. Confirmation began as a unique rite around the 4th century, involving the laying on of hands or anointing with oil.
Today’s Catholic Church usually confirms believers just after the age of seven. But adults who are converting to Catholicism and have successfully completed the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults are baptized and confirmed during the Easter Vigil by either a bishop or a priest.
If the converting adult has already been baptized through a recognized Christian denomination, they’re confirmed without having to be baptized again. For Catholics it’s not possible to be baptized twice because, as Deacon Ed puts it, baptism imparts and “indelible mark on the soul.”¹
Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant confirmations are similar, usually not allowing a person to receive Holy Communion until after their confirmation. Within all Churches the confirmed become full members of their Church.
There is also a Jewish understanding of Confirmation. Details for the peculiarities among Christian denominations and the Jewish faith can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation.
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¹ http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=196262
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Faith
Faith by hannahclark via Flickr
In secular usage “faith” [Latin fidere = trust] refers to believing in something or someone. “I have faith in the system” the man or woman on the street might say when asked about societal problems.
In a non-denominational, spiritual sense it refers to believing in a loving, supernatural power or God and that things will eventually work out. That is, it’s a view of optimism.
In the general religious sense, faith in part refers to believing in a fixed set of teachings.
The Hebrew term for faith (emunah) originally meant trust in God but in the Middle Ages it came to mean believing that God exists and that the Jewish dogmas were correct.
In Hinduism faith generally means a belief that things will eventually work out and that justice will be served – for the good and the bad – as a result of the law of karma.
In Christianity, faith generally refers to the belief and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior—a perfectly loving and good, omnipotent, omniscient eternal Being belonging to the Holy Trinity.
In Catholicism faith is understood as both an objective truth and a subjective virtue. The Catholic Encyclopedia says:
Objectively, it [faith] stands for the sum of truths revealed by God in Scripture and tradition and which the Church…presents to us in a brief form in her creeds, subjectively, faith stands for the habit or virtue by which we assent to those truths.¹
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¹ http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05752c.htm
Related Posts » Aquinas (St. Thomas), Duns Scotus, Faith and Action, Faith and Morals, Faith and Reason, Justification, Luther (Martin)
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Jewish Mysticism
Signature of Israel Baal Shem Tov via Wikipedia
Jewish mysticism, as a means towards getting closer to God, has both orthodox and unorthodox strands.
The Jewish Bible tells of a series of prophets who’ve seen or received messages from God. This is a kind of mysticism, to be sure. But it differs from the more Gonstic influenced forms in that the Biblical prophet doesn’t necessarily earn a visionary experience (or spiritual knowledge) through self-discipline and purification.
When it comes to choosing prophets, the God of the Jewish Bible seems to choose whomever he pleases.
S. G. F. Brandon, suggests that “all the great figures in the history of religion were, basically, mystics.”¹
Martin Buber has been described as a modern representative of a heterodox form of Jewish mysticism called Hasidism. This was
founded in 18th century Eastern Europe by Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov as a reaction against overly legalistic Judaism.²
The most popular form of Jewish mysticism, however, is arguably that of Kabbala, especially since being embraced by the pop icon Madonna.
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¹ A Dictionary of Comparative Religion, S. G. F. Brandon ed., New York: Scribner, 1970, p. 463
² See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasidic_Judaism
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Torah
Torah by David Porter
Torah [Hebrew torah: instruction]
The first five books of the Jewish Bible, known as the Pentateuch.
Although traditionally ascribed to Moses, contemporary scholars suggest they have been compiled from different sources.
The Torah outlines the beginnings of the Jewish people and their patriarchs, to the Exodus from Egypt and various events in Sinai before the entry into Canaan.
The Torah also contains detailed legal instruction.
Another meaning for Torah is the scroll on which the Hebrew characters are written, normally found in a synagogue.
Torah additionally refers to the entire corpus – oral and written – of Jewish literature and law within the Old Testament and the Talmud. » Hebrew, Judaism, Kabbala, Moses, Rabbi, Yahweh
On the Web:
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Talmud
IMG_1282 by TikkunGer
Talmud
This is the second most important body of writing in Judaism, containing teachings from Palestine and Babylon.
The Talmud is composed of the Mishnah (the codification of the oral Torah) and a large body of rabbinical commentary.
Later commentaries and the code of law and ritual called halakhah were compiled in the latter part of the Middle Ages. » Lilith
On the Web:
- The Babylonian Talmud translated by Michael L. Rodkinson » http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/talmud.htm
- The Babylonian Talmud edited by Rabbi Dr. Isidore Epstein » http://www.come-and-hear.com/talmud/
- Jewish Virtual Library – The Talmud » http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Talmud/talmudtoc.html
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Winnowing
Winnowing
In Old Testament farming this is the separation of the edible grain from the chaff–that is, the inedible stalks and husks (Ruth 3:2).
The grain was either raked with a “winnowing fork” or thrown into the air where the breeze would blow away the chaff but not the heavier grain.
Similar agricultural methods are still used in the 21st century in the Near East, Africa and Asia.
The image of winnowing is found several times in the Old Testament, symbolizing the dispersion of Israel during the exile. It is also used as a metaphor for the judgment of Yahweh.
In the New Testament, which for many Christians fulfills the Old Testament, the image of winnowing designates a final judgment and eternal separation of good souls that enter heaven and evil souls that descend to hell.
Along these lines, John the Baptist await the Messiah (Jesus) who holds a winnowing fork (or fan) to clean the threshing floor, gather the good wheat and throw the useless chaff into the eternal fires of hell.
His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Luke 3:17).
Catholic teaching has to some degree elaborated on this ancient view of ‘salvation vs. damnation’ with the idea of purgatory.
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Yuga
Yuga
In Hindu Vedic and Puranic cosmology, a yuga is an extremely long time period, especially when measured on the human scale.
The Hindu conception of the yuga suggests that time itself differs for gods and humans.
In the Mahabharata an entire human year translates into a single day for the devas.
Each of the four different Yugas represent four general ages of the devas.
As with the ancient Greek and Hebraic sense of time, these ages progress from an initial, ideal Golden Age (Krita yuga) to increasingly corrupted ages.
The four Yugas and their human equivalents
are:
| Yuga | Deva Years | Human Years |
| Krita | 4800 | 1,728,000 |
| Treta | 3600 | 1,296,000 |
| Dvapara | 2400 | 864,000 |
| Kali | 1200 | 432,000 |
| Mahayuga (Great Yuga)* | 12,000 | 4,320,000 |
A single day for the god Brahma is 1,000 Mahayugas (4,320,000,000 human years). One year for Brahma is 1,555,200,000,000 human years. Brahma’s life span is 155,520,000,000,000 human years.
All this indicates that Brahma exists in an entirely different time frame than human beings.
An arguably mythical, quasi-scientific scheme like this may seem irrelevant to contemporary thinkers but it points to the notion, worth considering, that the universe contains different yet interacting regions of space-time, each region containing its own unique properties and beings. » Mahabharata, Puranas, Ragnarok, Veda
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*A Mahayuga (Great Yuga) is one complete cycle of the four Yugas.
Table condensed from Keith R. Crim (ed.) The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. New York: Harper & Row, 1989, pp. 818-819.
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Yahweh
Yahweh One of the names given to God in the Hebrew Torah and Christian Old Testament (OT).
Due to its unsurpassed holiness, from postexilic times pious Hebrews declined to pronounce the name in reading and only the consonants YHWH were written.
The vowels we commonly see today were later added by religious scribes.
The precise meaning of the Hebrew name Yahwey is open to debate. Some say it builds on the Hebrew word haya meaning “be, become” or “cause to be.”
In a Masoretic Text a vowel is included, bringing the word closer to donay and suggesting the meaning “Lord.”
In the story of the Burning Bush (Exodus 3:14) God reveals himself to Moses, saying his name is “I Am who I Am.” And many other names and titles are used for God throughout the OT, such as “Ancient of Days” (Daniel 7:13), “Father” (Jerimiah 3:19) “Maker” (Isaiah 17:7) and “Lord of hosts” (Amos 4:13).
» Archetypal Image, Aton, Bible, Christianity, Jesus Christ, Manichaeism
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![Eigerøy lighthouse III [Explored #4]](http://static.flickr.com/2879/8805431526_732f27a085_m.jpg "Eigerøy lighthouse III [Explored #4]")
