19AR24-35

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AR 24:35 - Einstein on science, religion, and meaning

In this issue:

JUDAISM - emphasizing the importance of Tobit to the Dead Sea Scrolls

SCIENCE - the 'cosmic religious feeling' that drove Einstein

SCRIPTURE, INTERPRETATION - no such thing as "biblical values"?

+ "perhaps the root cause of many of today's controversies"?

Apologia Report 24:35 (1,443)

August 29, 2019

JUDAISM

Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls: Revealing the Jewish Roots of Christianity, by John Sietze Bergsma, professor of theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville [1] -- Doubleday wants you to know that Bergsma "reveals new insights on the Essenes, a radical Jewish community predating Christianity, whose existence, beliefs, and practices are often overlooked in the annuls of history. Bergsma reveals how this Jewish sect directly influenced the beliefs, sacraments, and practices of early Christianity and offers new information on how Christians lived their lives, worshipped, and eventually went on to influence the Roman Empire and Western civilization."

Publishers Weekly (Jul 29 '19, n.p.) reports that Bergsma's "observations buttress the uncontroversial view that the scrolls shed light on 'the time period of Jesus and the early growth of the Church.' As he summarizes: 'In structure, liturgy, and theology, the Essenes and early Christians were remarkably similar, but they diverged sharply' on some major things, such as Christ's divinity. The work's biggest weakness is in speculating beyond what is provable according to current scholarship. Bergsma contends that it's significant that more copies of the Book of Tobit (which is not accepted as scripture by Jews or Protestants) were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls than the number of copies of canonical books. But his argument that the Essenes found that text inspiring ignores the fact that the Dead Sea Scrolls that have been recovered do not represent a complete record of the Essenes' texts."

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SCIENCE

A Theory of Everything (That Matters): A Brief Guide to Einstein, Relativity, and His Surprising Thoughts on God, by Alister McGrath, professor of science and religion at Oxford University [2] -- Tyndale summarizes: "McGrath <www.bit.ly/2TKOBFK> examines the life and work of Einstein, explaining his scientific significance and considering what Einstein did and did not believe about science, religion, and the meaning of life."

Publishers Weekly's glowing review (Jul 29 '19, n.p.) adds that with his 1905 article overthrowing Newtonian ideas, Einstein "proposed that light was composed of particles and that each particle's energy could be measured by the frequency of its electromagnetic radiation. McGrath then lays out Einstein's subsequent work, article-by-article, establishing his theory of special relativity. Though Einstein revolutionized physics, he failed in his quest to discover a 'grand theory of everything,' a problem he wrestled with until his death. While Einstein did not believe in a personal God, McGrath writes, he was driven by a 'cosmic religious feeling' that became his 'strongest and noblest motive for scientific research.' McGrath, a Christian, encourages other Christians to consider Einstein's teachings as a mechanism for thinking about their own ideas regarding the relationship between science, religion, and the 'meaning of everything.' This analysis of Einstein's ideas will appeal to any Christian reader looking to contemplate connections between God and the unresolved mysteries of scientific discovery."

POSTSCRIPT Dec 27 '19: I'm almost finished with my first pass and have decided it is well worth a detailed study and likely review. My (RP) initial impression is that it may be the most strategic introductory worldview comparison text available to date.

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SCRIPTURE, INTERPRETATION

What Are Biblical Values?: What the Bible Says on Key Ethical Issues, by John J. Collins, Holmes Professor of Old Testament Criticism and Interpretation, Yale Divinity School [3] -- the publisher describes this as an "exploration of the Bible and many of our most contentious contemporary issues Many people today claim that their positions on various issues are grounded in biblical values, and they use scriptural passages to support their claims. But the Bible was written over the course of several hundred years and contains contradictory positions on many issues. The Bible seldom provides simple answers; it more often shows the complexity of moral problems. Can we really speak of "biblical values"? In this eye-opening book, one of the world's leading biblical scholars argues that when we read the Bible with care, we are often surprised by what we find. Examining what the Bible actually says on a number of key themes, John Collins <www.bit.ly/2MFLsGF> covers a vast array of topics, including the right to life, gender, the role of women, the environment, slavery and liberation, violence and zeal, and social justice. [Collins] invites us to dramatically reimagine the basis for biblical ethics in the world today."

Library Journal (Aug 1 '19, n.p.) observes: "some Jewish or Christian believers might find [the title's] question easy to answer, others might wonder if the Bible actually has specific values, given that it was written over a span of 1,000 years, in different contexts and cultures, and with different theological perspectives. Collins acknowledges that the Bible is complex and presents ideas on topics that seem inconsistent and even contradictory, but he still believes that, when interpreted properly and through communities of interpretation, central biblical values can be found. His approach is to discover what the Bible says about contemporary issues related to significant subjects, such as marriage and family...."

The Lost Art of Scripture: Rescuing the Sacred Texts, by Karen Armstrong [4] -- says Random House: "Today the Quran is used by some to justify war and acts of terrorism, the Torah to deny Palestinians the right to live in the Land of Israel, and the Bible to condemn homosexuality and contraception. The significance of Scripture may not be immediately obvious in our secular world, but its misunderstanding is perhaps the root cause of many of today's controversies."

Library Journal Prepub Alert (May 13 '19): "Highly regarded and sometimes embattled <www.bit.ly/2MriZ7p> for her studies on religion, Armstrong examines the meaning of sacred texts.... She argues that the narrow reading of sacred texts to bolster certain beliefs is a recent phenomenon missing what the texts were meant for: a way to connect with the divine and approach the world more compassionately."

Armstrong "exhibits her well-known and admired characteristics as a writer: an ability to be both authoritative on all the major faiths, and studiedly neutral as to which offers the best solutions/worst failings; a reasoned insistence that religion today is misunderstood, as much by the religious as by their critics; and a passionate appeal to our fractious and fractured world to embrace religion's core message ... It makes for a compelling read, impressive in the range of its scholarship, but always cogently expressed for those prepared to commit to the search to understand." Sunday Times (UK), Jun 2 '19, <www.bit.ly/2P4qL9d>

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SOURCES: Monographs

1 - Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls: Revealing the Jewish Roots of Christianity, by John Sietze Bergsma (Image, 2019, hardcover, 272 pages) <www.amzn.to/2L8kAMr>

2 - A Theory of Everything (That Matters): A Brief Guide to Einstein, Relativity, and His Surprising Thoughts on God, by Alister McGrath (Tyndale, October 2019, hardcover, 240 pages) <www.amzn.to/2MxSWvt>

3 - What Are Biblical Values?: What the Bible Says on Key Ethical Issues, by John J. Collins (Yale Univ Prs, 2019, hardcover, 296 pages) <www.amzn.to/2OZfF5h>

4 - The Lost Art of Scripture: Rescuing the Sacred Texts, by Karen Armstrong (Bodley Head, 2019, hardcover, 560 pages) <www.amzn.to/2z8f6vn>

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