Christianity – Excerpted

“Original sin became one of the cornerstones of Christian orthodoxy — but not before decades of dispute”

28 June 201726 June 2017 Drew KaplanUncategorized

Augustine’s tortured recognition that involuntary arousal was an inescapable presence—not only in conjugal lovemaking but also in what he calls the “very movements which it causes, to our sorrow, even in sleep, and even in[…]

“What liberals find objectionable is a politicized vision of authentic faith that amounts to a simple set of core beliefs…”

26 January 201725 January 2017 Drew KaplanPolitics in America

What liberal “elites” — believers and nonbelievers — find objectionable is not religion, but rather a partisan twist on religious literacy that privileges one tradition, excludes historical-critical study, and maintains, against all evidence, that education[…]

“Universalist ideas were central to Jewish authors living in the Second Temple period…”

10 October 2016 Drew KaplanJudaism

Universalist ideas were central to Jewish authors living in the Second Temple period, and to the readers who read and circulated these authors’ texts. The circulation of Jewish universalist ideas at this time indicates that[…]

“… in the Second Temple period, Judaism was a petri dish of ideas that nurtured a pluralism which invited all people to worship the Jewish God”

10 October 2016 Drew KaplanJudaism

We tend to think of the consecutive developments of Greek philosophy, normative Judaism, and early Christianity as being exclusive to one another. But the opposite is in fact true: these schools shared many ideas, including[…]

“What makes the Second Temple period so unique is that much of its literature sees no need for hard distinctions between religious communities”

10 October 2016 Drew KaplanLate Antiquity

Many Jews in the Second Temple period believed that Israel shares a special relationship with God, and at the same time, that all people are capable of participating in a covenantal relationship with God. But[…]

“Scholars who have argued that early Christians were influenced by Stoic thought miss a key link…”

10 October 2016 Drew KaplanChristianity

Scholars who have argued that early Christians were influenced by Stoic thought miss a key link: early Christians were influenced by contemporary Jewish thought, which, a century or two centuries earlier, had already been profoundly[…]

“Universalism has nothing to do with welcoming converts into one’s faith community…”

10 October 2016 Drew KaplanReligion

Universalism has nothing to do with welcoming converts into one’s faith community, which actually runs counter to universalism. The concept of conversion depends on a particularist “in” or “out” framework in which all of humankind[…]

“This deinstitutionalization of the faith has occurred alongside its politicization”

2 August 20161 August 2016 Drew KaplanChristianity

This deinstitutionalization of the faith has occurred alongside its politicization. It’s hard to believe that in 1976, evangelicals helped deliver the White House to the liberal Democrat Jimmy Carter. But fueled by social issues like[…]

“The various literatures relevant to Judaism and Christianity are so bulky and so diverse and so complex that no one person can master them all and the secondary scholarship in full thoroughness”

24 May 201616 May 2016 Drew KaplanScholarship

The various literatures relevant to Judaism and Christianity are so bulky and so diverse and so complex that no one person can master them all and the secondary scholarship in full thoroughness. This has been[…]

“It seems that love of the political enemy prompted Christianity to identify with those who had condemned and killed Jesus”

20 May 201518 May 2015 Drew KaplanChristianity

It seems that love of the political enemy prompted Christianity to identify with those who had condemned and killed Jesus: it totally assimilated the system and perspective of the Romans. Eventually, it accepted their social,[…]

Excerpted

Excerpts of Interest

Tag: Christianity

“Original sin became one of the cornerstones of Christian orthodoxy — but not before decades of dispute”

“What liberals find objectionable is a politicized vision of authentic faith that amounts to a simple set of core beliefs…”

“Universalist ideas were central to Jewish authors living in the Second Temple period…”

“… in the Second Temple period, Judaism was a petri dish of ideas that nurtured a pluralism which invited all people to worship the Jewish God”

“What makes the Second Temple period so unique is that much of its literature sees no need for hard distinctions between religious communities”

“Scholars who have argued that early Christians were influenced by Stoic thought miss a key link…”

“Universalism has nothing to do with welcoming converts into one’s faith community…”

“This deinstitutionalization of the faith has occurred alongside its politicization”

“The various literatures relevant to Judaism and Christianity are so bulky and so diverse and so complex that no one person can master them all and the secondary scholarship in full thoroughness”

“It seems that love of the political enemy prompted Christianity to identify with those who had condemned and killed Jesus”