Not In Gods Name

***2015 National Jewish Book Award Winner*** In this powerful and timely book, one of the most admired and authoritative religious leaders of our time tackles the phenomenon of religious extremism and violence committed in the name of God. If religion is perceived as being part of the problem, Rabbi Sacks argues, then it must also form part of the solution. When religion becomes a zero-sum conceit—that is, my religion is the only right path to God, therefore your religion is by definition wrong—and individuals are motivated by what Rabbi Sacks calls “altruistic evil,” violence between peoples of different beliefs appears to be the only natural outcome. But through an exploration of the roots of violence and its relationship to religion, and employing groundbreaking biblical analysis and interpretation, Rabbi Sacks shows that religiously inspired violence has as its source misreadings of biblical texts at the heart of all three Abrahamic faiths. By looking anew at the book of Genesis, with its foundational stories of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Rabbi Sacks offers a radical rereading of many of the Bible’s seminal stories of sibling rivalry: Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers, Rachel and Leah. “Abraham himself,” writes Rabbi Sacks, “sought to be a blessing to others regardless of their faith. That idea, ignored for many of the intervening centuries, remains the simplest definition of Abrahamic faith. It is not our task to conquer or convert the world or enforce uniformity of belief. It is our task to be a blessing to the world. The use of religion for political ends is not righteousness but idolatry . . . To invoke God to justify violence against the innocent is not an act of sanctity but of sacrilege.” Here is an eloquent call for people of goodwill from all faiths and none to stand together, confront the religious extremism that threatens to destroy us, and declare: Not in God’s Name.

Despite predictions of continuing secularisation, the twenty-first century has witnessed a surge of religious extremism and violence in the name of God. In this powerful and timely book, Jonathan Sacks explores the roots of violence and its relationship to religion, focusing on the historic tensions between the three Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Drawing on arguments from evolutionary psychology, game theory, history, philosophy, ethics and theology, Sacks shows how a tendency to violence can subvert even the most compassionate of religions. Through a close reading of key biblical texts at the heart of the Abrahamic faiths, Sacks then challenges those who claim that religion is intrinsically a cause of violence, and argues that theology must become part of the solution if it is not to remain at the heart of the problem. This book is a rebuke to all those who kill in the name of the God of life, wage war in the name of the God of peace, hate in the name of the God of love, and practise cruelty in the name of the God of compassion. For the sake of humanity and the free world, the time has come for people of all faiths and none to stand together and declare: Not In God's Name.

I concede to the irony of writing a book with the words beyond words in its subtitle. If I were to truly go beyond words, the following pages would all be blank! I am hardly the first to deal with this conundrum, however. Jewish scholars tell us that in the aftermath of the Babylonian Exile of the sixth century BCE, the Jews ceased to use their name for GodYahwehbecause the divine name had come to be regarded as too sacred and holy to even be spoken. They had to come up with other ways to identify that which they regarded as ultimately sacred and holy. I can relate.

Lyn Brakeman was among the first women to enter the ordination process in the Episcopal Church just after the General Convention voted in 1976 that women could be priests. The bishop of her diocese had voted against ordaining women priests and hospitality towards female aspirants was guarded at best. So why would a forty-year-old institutional naif, suburban housewife, and mother of four enter such unfriendly territory to seek priestly ordination at a time when her personal life was in chaos? Things would have been easier had she been a man and had she not read Betty Friedan, not been headed for divorce, and not engaged in sins beginning with "a." How did she manage to stay this course? Brakeman offers no easy answers but tackles difficult issues--addiction, death and grief, divorce, the nature of priesthood, church politics, Christian feminism, and Jesus the Christ--with candor. Her story is held together by her spiritual connection to the voice of God from within and her growing conviction that the nature of divinity is gender-free; hence, theological language in sanctuary and classroom must reflect this truth in a balanced way.

Thraker.

Poetry, devotional essays, and fictional selections offer insight into the character of God.

Islam presents an astonishing situation as it rejects all except those totally committing their will and mind to Allah, Muhammad, And The Qur'an, along with several other authority figures and traditions. The Bible accepts any and all who will come as humble sinners and seek the One God through the sacrifice of the Messiah of the Jews. This book is in total agreement with the Qur'an when the Qur'an says that most Jews and most Christians are evil, corrupt, and liars-by the standards of right and wrong found in the Qur'an that is. The alternative is also true and again in agreement with the Qur'an. Muslims do not and may not adhere To The teachings of the Bible, which results in being lost by biblical teachings. The simple truth of the Qur'an is that Jews and Christians do not follow the Allah of the Qur'an, except a few who become Muslim. Also true is that the Muslims do not follow the God of the Bible, except a few who accept Jesus. God of the Bible is not Allah of the Qur'an, and Allah of the Qur'an is not God of the Bible, by name, by description, by personality, by judgment, or by love. The Qur'an has its greatest error when it says it is the completion and continuation of biblical revelation. This is fully accepted by Muslims because they have been taught that the Bible is corrupted, not the true one, and they do not read the Bible.

The God of ancient Israel—universally referred to in the masculine today—was understood by its earliest worshipers to be a dual-gendered, male-female deity. So argues Mark Sameth in The Name. Needless to say, this is no small claim. Half the people on the planet are followers of one of the three Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—each of which has roots in the ancient cult that worshiped this deity. The author’s evidence, however, is compelling and his case meticulously constructed. The Hebrew name of God—YHWH—has not been uttered in public for over two thousand years. Some thought the lost pronunciation was “Jehovah” or “Yahweh.” But Sameth traces the name to the late Bronze Age and argues that it was expressed Hu-Hi—Hebrew for “He-She.” Among Jewish mystics, we learn, this has long been an open secret. What are the implications for us today if “he” was not God?

THE DIVINE TRUTHLo! Those who believe in the One Alone GOD and those who are the children of Israel and the followers of Jesus and the nation of Noah--WHOEVER will believe in the oneness & the aloneness of GOD and the Day of Judgment and will perform good acts according to the commandments of GOD--surely their reward is with their Lord, and there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve.BECAUSE GOD NEITHER MAKES THE SECTS NOR THE SECTARIANS. GOD IS THE LORD OF MORAL STATE AND BELONGS TO EVERYONE. "GOD guides the righteous heart, inside usSatan tries to de-track, outside us & The affairs of the world are around us." It is a DIVINE TRUTH, unveiling the secrets which remained unknown to mankind. YOU will believe it if you will read it. Please read it once at least.

The McMaster Journal of Theology and Ministry is an electronic and print journal that seeks to provide pastors, educators, and interested lay persons with the fruits of theological, biblical, and professional studies in an accessible form. Published by McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario, it continues the heritage of scholarly inquiry and theological dialogue represented by the College’s previous print publications: the Theological Bulletin, Theodolite, and the McMaster Journal of Theology.

Join this journey through ancient biblical history about God's more than four hundred original names and titles. Learn the background, biblical context, and pronunciations in Hebrew. English translations are provided. Let "The Hebrew Names of God" be your guide on this historical path, and enrich your knowledge, understanding, and faith.

In this book the varied and important reception is traced which the story of the revelation of YHWH’s name to Moses received in Judaism, early Christianity, and the pagan Graeco-Roman world.