I just added the new page, Academic Study of the Bible, to the Research & Resources section of my website.
Here one can begin to explore some of the methods used by scholars to analyze and interpret biblical writings and link to other websites that provide more in-depth historical overviews; classic and modern bibliographies for further study; and/or access to ancient manuscripts and/or their translations.
Enjoy and share!
How do human beings relate to the world?
Many people fail to acknowledge the role of agent in the service of God, as Genesis 1:26-28 should be understood.
Irish theologian Donal Dorr offers an important review of the teachings of recent Popes and agencies of the Holy See. On this dimension of Catholic social doctrine, see ‘The fragile world’: Church teaching on ecology before and by Pope Francis.
Piero di Cosimo – Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints
Some artists live in the shadows of their time.
The Florentine Piero di Cosimo (1461? – 1521?) took his surname from the Christian name of his teacher, Cosimo Rosselli (1439-1507). Failing to sign and date his works, he left a challenge for art historians.
He will receive considerable attention in an upcoming exhibit running from February 1 – May 3, 2015 at Washington’s National Gallery of Art: http://bit.ly/PierodiCosimo.
To learn more about Piero di Cosimo and his work, see also the story by Carol Vogel in the New York Times: http://bit.ly/Cosimo.
By Valley2city (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons
Below is a brief excerpt from this address, which you can read in its entirety here:
Scorning the biblical teaching that every human being comes from the same ancestry, denying the sublime statement that each of us is created in the image and likeness of the one God, Hitler divided the world between Nietzsche’s super-race and the lesser beings, some groups even less worthy of life than those designated to be slaves of the Teutonic race. To counter this abominable theory, still influencing certain groups, even in this country, we recall the teaching of the Talmud in Tractate Sanhedrin. Looking at a pile of beautiful coins, a teacher exclaimed: “How great is the emperor who can make a hundred coins in his image, each exactly like the other! How much greater is our God, who can make millions of human beings in his own image, and each of us is different!” (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5).
We gather today shortly after the ancient Israelite feast of Passover, celebrated to our time as a perpetual memorial of the liberation of the twelve tribes from slavery in Egypt. That departure in haste showed how the God of Abraham could triumph over the Pharaoh, who claimed divine authority over his kingdom and all its inhabitants. Modern dictators have exhibited a similar megalomania.
During the Passover Meal each spring, the Jewish people remember this past event in a distant place with the conviction that this generation is the beneficiary of the wisdom and power, the goodness and mercy of God. The event of Passover and Exodus was limited in time and space, but the divine attributes transcend the ages, so God’s hand may be experienced again and again.
In every generation every Jew must consider himself as one who came out of Egypt…“The Holy One, blessed be He, did redeem not only our ancestors but also us with them; as it is written; and he brought us out from there to bring us to the land He had promised to our ancestors.” (Passover Haggadah).
As in all the practices related to divine worship in the biblical heritage, the Passover Meal provides a context for education of the younger generation. The Father tells the children gathered around the table: “This is what the Lord did for me as he brought me out of the land of Egypt” (Exodus 13:8).
In the light of this spiritual message, which has been incorporated into the tradition of Christianity as well, some people ask: why was God silent during the years of the Shoah? Others ask: did God only seem to be silent? Were people, even many of good will, perhaps deaf to the divine voice echoing down the millennia in the Word being proclaimed in worship? Very cleverly, the Nazis allowed Christians to exercise piety by going to church, but attacked anyone who expressed a moral evaluation of their regime…
Read the full address.
People often note that only human beings and beavers make a great impact on their environment.
Since the Industrial Revolution and especially in the context of warfare, human depredation has wreaked havoc in many places. Now, the threat of climate change is of great concern to many spiritual leaders, including Popes Benedict and Francis.
Of course, those looking only for short-term profit have ignored the warning signs from the planet itself. Jeffrey Sachs, the Director of Earth Institute, recently made a call to “raise your voice to head off disastrous climate change” on the Huffington Post blog, which you can read here.
You can also visit Friends of the Earth at www.foe.org for additional information on climate change and how you can make a difference.
William H. Hunt
Light of the World
http://biltrix.com/
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, founded in 1848 by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882), recalls the spiritual beauty of medieval art.
Among them, William Holman Hunt is known especially for his painting, Light of the World, which illustrates his interpretation of the Apocalypse 3:20. Father Jason Smith recently wrote a wonderful analysis of Hunt’s painting on the Biltrix blog, which you can access here.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is currently presenting a range of Pre-Raphaelite artistry until October 26, 2014. To learn more, visit the Met online at The Pre-Raphaelite Legacy: British Art and Design.
Refugee tents at Arbat Transit Camp for Syrian Refugees in Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan, March 3, 2014. By Cmacauley (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
The broadcast, Welcoming Syrian Refugees – Asylum in Kurdistan, by the Deutsche Welle T.V. channel offers a sobering report on the work of Salah Ahmad and others in the Domiz Camp in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, where Dr. Ahmad has set up a treatment center for Syrian refugees who are victims of human rights violations. This report and Somini Sengupta’s article, U.N. Reports Sharp Increase in Refugees as Civil Wars Cripple Nations, prompt us to ask, “What concrete efforts can we make to help?”
Dr. Peter Schäfer
Congratulations to Dr. Peter Schäfer, former director of Princeton University’s Program in Judaic Studies, on his recent appointment as the new director general of the Jewish Museum Berlin.
Because Dr. Schäfer is a highly respected expert in rabbinic literature and history, early Jewish mysticism, and Judaism and Christianity in antiquity, I invited him to deliver the inaugural lecture of the 60th anniversary celebration of the Institute of Judaeo-Christian Studies last year. His thought-provoking presentation, Two Powers in Heaven? The Emergence of Binitarian Ideas in Pre-Christian Judaism, was a great success and well received by the audience.
The Institute and I wish Dr. Schäfer the best in his new role at one of the largest Jewish museums in Europe. You can learn more about the Jewish Museum Berlin at its website at http://www.jmberlin.de/main/EN/homepage-EN.php, including its complex historical development and details regarding its permanent exhibit, which highlights two millennia of German-Jewish history.
As people everywhere continue to pray for the 200 plus girls kidnapped on April 15th in northern Nigeria and now for the three teenage Israeli boys snatched from a street in Gush Etzion area in the West Bank, we acknowledge the vulnerability of young people caught in the polarized communities of Africa and the Middle East.
Another danger for the Jewish people in European countries has become more pronounced in recent months. The Wall Street Journal published a somber report this month by the Offices of the American Jewish Committee in Paris and Brussels: http://bit.ly/WSJFuture.
Prayer of ordinary folks must be complemented by the work of respected leaders and educators in every community.
Over the generations ethnic communities in New York City have shifted in location, so now the impressive K’hal Adath Jeshurun synagogue built in 1888, is in Manhattan’s Chinatown. It has been restored and began displaying its history yesterday in a permanent exhibition near the study hall and the sanctuary, which are still in use. See David W. Dunlap’s recent article, “In Chinatown, Remembering the Origins of a 126-Year-Old Synagogue,” in The New York Times for a wonderful, brief overview of the synagogue’s rich history.
By Alexisrael (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
