Peter Schäfer - "Jewish Responses to the Emergence of Christianity"

 

Wikipedia:

Peter Schäfer (born 29 June 1943, Mülheim an der Ruhr, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a prolific German scholar of ancient religious studies, who has made contributions to the field of ancient Judaism and early Christianity through monographs, co-edited volumes, numerous articles, and his trademark synoptic editions. He was a Professor of Religion and the Ronald O. Perelman Professor of Judaic Studies at Princeton University from 1998 to 2013.

. . .From 1983 to 2008 he was Professor for Jewish Studies at Freie Universität Berlin. Since 1993, he has been co-editor of Jewish Studies Quarterly. Schäfer's research interests include Jewish history in late antiquity, the religion and literature of Rabbinic Judaism, Jewish mysticism, 19th- and 20th-century Wissenschaft des Judentums and Jewish magic. He is a member of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. He won the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Distinguished Achievement Award in December 2006. In 2014 he was awarded the Dr. Leopold Lucas Prize by the Protestant Faculty of the University of Tübingen, and in 2021 the Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts.

. . .Schäfer became a target for anti-BDS activists when Berlin's Jewish Museum presented an exhibition "Welcome to Jerusalem", which included a Muslim narrative as part of its depiction of Jerusalem. The criticism reached a peak when the museum's spokesperson issued a tweet critical of a May 2019 Bundestag resolution that said the BDS movement had an anti-semitic character. Schäfer resigned as director of the museum in June 2019 to protect it from further attacks. Regarding the criticism, he said: "The accusation of antisemitism is a club that allows one to deal a very rapid death blow, and political elements who have an interest in this used and are using it, without a doubt".

"Two Gods in Heaven: Jewish Concepts of God in Antiquity" by Peter Schäfer (Princeton University Press, 2020):

Contrary to popular belief, Judaism was not always strictly monotheistic. Two Gods in Heaven reveals the long and little-known history of a second, junior god in Judaism, showing how this idea was embraced by rabbis and Jewish mystics in the early centuries of the common era and casting Judaism’s relationship with Christianity in an entirely different light.

Drawing on an in-depth analysis of ancient sources that have received little attention until now, Peter Schäfer demonstrates how the Jews of the pre-Christian Second Temple period had various names for a second heavenly power—such as Son of Man, Son of the Most High, and Firstborn before All Creation. He traces the development of the concept from the Son of Man vision in the biblical book of Daniel to the Qumran literature, the Ethiopic book of Enoch, and the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria. After the destruction of the Second Temple, the picture changes drastically. While the early Christians of the New Testament took up the idea and developed it further, their Jewish contemporaries were divided. Most rejected the second god, but some—particularly the Jews of Babylonia and the writers of early Jewish mysticism—revived the ancient Jewish notion of two gods in heaven.

Describing how early Christianity and certain strands of rabbinic Judaism competed for ownership of a second god to the creator, this boldly argued and elegantly written book radically transforms our understanding of Judeo-Christian monotheism.

Video Title: Peter Schäfer "Jewish Responses to the Emergence of Christianity. " Source: CISMOR2. Date Published: March 15, 2012.

What is Temple Mysticism? | Dr. Margaret Barker

Wikipedia:

Margaret Barker (born 1944) is a British Methodist preacher and biblical scholar. She studied theology at the University of Cambridge, after which she has devoted her life to research in ancient Christianity. She has developed an approach to biblical studies known as Temple Theology.

She was president of the Society for Old Testament Study in 1998, and in July 2008 she was awarded the Lambeth degree of Doctor of Divinity by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

. . .Temple Theology is an approach to biblical studies developed by Margaret Barker in her books starting from The Great High Priest (2003) and Temple Theology (2004). This approach identifies some elements of the theology and worship of Solomon's Temple that endured beyond Josiah's reform and survived in both early Christian theology and liturgy and in gnosticism. According to this view Temple Theology has been influential in moulding the roots of Christianity as well as, or even more than, Hellenistic or synagogue culture. 

. . . Margaret Barker's work has been received positively within the Latter-day Saint tradition. However, it has been regarded as fanciful and unpersuasive to some New Testament scholars. Specifically, some scholars believe Barker engages in parallelomania. Barker's later work has been critiqued for primarily citing her own work, and failing to substantially engage with the broader scholarly literature covering the topics on which she writes. However the same critic also points to original elements of her work which deserve further study and appreciation.Writes Peter Schäfer of Princeton: "For a Judaism scholar [Schäfer] focused on religious history, [Barker's] books are particularly hard to digest. They contain numerous surprising as well as brilliant insights, but all in all create a new syncretistic religion that avoids any and all chronological, geographic, and literary differentiations." Notable supporters of Barker's work include Robert M. Price.

Video Title: What is Temple Mysticism? | Dr. Margaret Barker. Source: History Valley. Date Published: September 26, 2023. Description:

According to Margaret Barker, temple mysticism underpins much of the Bible. Rooted in the cult of the first temple in ancient Judaism, it helps us to understand the origins of Christianity. Barker first examines biblical Isaiah, the prophet whom Jesus quoted more than any other in Scripture, and John, and then non-biblical texts.

A Tarot-Inspired Analysis of Trump

 

An excerpt from, "Trump and the Tower: Understanding Our Chaotic Times through the Lens of Tarot’s Major Arcana" by Frank Kwiatkowski, tarotawakenings.com:

Within the standard tarot deck is a set of 22 cards called the major arcana. These special cards symbolize the principle themes of the life experience. “Major arcana” translates to a great hidden reality. This hidden reality is everywhere all the time, but remains unseen because we are so busy and distracted by the daily grind of modern life. But once we gain familiarity with these cards, we gain access to the deeper truth that is so elusive most of the time.

In a bizarre coincidence, the major arcana are commonly referred to as “trump” cards. And the 45th president uniquely embodies many of these archetypes. Let’s begin to take a fresh look at Trump through the lens of symbol, specifically that of the “trump” cards.

Trump as The Emperor is an obvious fit. This symbol is the world builder, deal maker, alpha male, sitting on his throne, with the nation at his feet. The Emperor is major arcanum number 4, which numerically symbolizes structure, power, and authority. With golf courses, hotels, and other properties across the world bearing his name; “Trump” has always been synonymous with luxury and commerce. Who else but the Emperor would live in a house made of gold, as Trump did before entering the White House? The Emperor is the ultimate ruler, and we may remember that Trump assured us during his presidential campaign that he alone could fix the nation’s problems. Trump has also intimated that anything he does is legal exactly because he is president, an idea that does not apply to democracies with the Rule of Law. This idea is common to nations led by absolute rulers: Emperors.

The Fool is another archetype befitting Trump. The Fool is card 0, symbolic of emptiness or pure potential. And Trump may easily be seen as a clown, a child, someone devoid of direction or conviction. Many world leaders think of him as a joke, uneducated, and not serious. Contributing to this viewpoint, Trump is perhaps the least knowledgeable president America has had in recent history, in terms of policy and governance, another sign of his emptiness of substance. He loathes feeling reigned in, even verbally; he prefers to give unprepared speeches, where he can riff spontaneously in the moment. He flips his position on nearly every issue, sometimes in the very same speech. His reputation is of someone who needs constant reassurances from sycophants he surrounds himself with, filling the hole of insecurity within him.

We may also see Trump as the Magician. He pulled the biggest upset victory in recent electoral history out of a hat, as if by magic. He is a master communicator, shaping the daily news cycle to his will, through his Twitter rants and various obfuscations. The Magician – major arcanum number 1 – is a skilled doer, but also an illusionist, skilled at misdirection. Is his magic a true feat of skill or little more than sleight of hand? Donald Trump has a history of dubious business dealings, bankruptcies, a “university” that was little more than a scam. He is also the first president in modern history not to release his tax returns, leading many to wonder what he’s hiding. In his famous book, The Art of the Deal, he suggests the use of hyperbole and exaggeration as the way to success, which is perhaps an admission of lying as a means achievement. Are Trump’s massive accomplishments genuine or is he a total fraud? We may get a sense that in some cases, like that of the current leader of the free world, there is a conflation of the two, each feeding upon the other.

The Devil, major arcanum number 15, makes an obvious choice as a symbol for Trump. The Devil is synonymous with materialism, wealth, deceit, and the abuse of power. Throughout his electoral campaign and presidency, Trump has become notorious as a pathological liar. He insults women, the disabled, foreigners, “losers”, and anyone who does not agree with him. He appears to go out of his way in his cruelty, making draconian cuts to programs for the poor, elderly, schools, and the environment. His administration has ruthlessly separated children from their families at the border and locked them in cages. He’s openly threatened nuclear war, picks fights with America’s longest-held allies, and expresses admiration for the world’s worst tyrants. Adding to his devilish credibility, Trump is a hero of the alt-right, best known for its worldview of white supremacy and desire to tear down the institutions of democracy.

As tempting as it may be to see Trump as a “Devil”, a deeper look may reveal something important about what he represents.

With the Devil, our examination of Trump shifts. It’s inadequate – although more comforting, perhaps – to view Trump as the Devil without deeper scrutiny. But let’s now shift our focus from Trump the man to what Trump represents. Let’s pivot from looking at Trump to looking at us.

The Devil is most easily associated with evil, but a more helpful interpretation of this archetype is as the shadow side that resides within us all. Our shadow is not intrinsically malevolent, but merely hidden deep inside, insidiously bringing out the worst in us. A widely understood phenomenon in psychology is the universal tendency for people to project their worst qualities onto others to avoid having to deal with those qualities within themselves. Our shadow, then, creates unconscious behaviors and beliefs based on our most taboo and unacknowledged aspects of ourselves.

We cannot eliminate the shadow by ignoring it. If we try, it shows up in different and increasingly noticeable ways until we’re forced to deal with it. Eventually, the shadow becomes so obvious there’s no more mistaking it. Like an alcoholic who eventually hits rock-bottom, a day comes where we are forced to deal with the underlying bits of ourselves we try so hard to ignore. Every person has a shadow; it’s intrinsic to being human. Possessing a shadow doesn’t make us devils, but that shadow does represent the little devil inside each of us.

Like individuals, every collective entity – such as a nation – has a shadow as well. That shadow remains buried underneath the collective consciousness, until eventually a day of reckoning comes, and everyone within that collective comes face to face with it.

The election of Trump represents a flash point, where America has elected and manifested its own shadow.

The 22 cards of tarot’s major arcana are a sequence. Their order is not arbitrary; they can be understood as a natural progression that a person makes throughout their lives, or during specific chapters of their lives. Or seen in macrocosm, the majors may represent the evolution of a collective entity, like that of a nation.

The Devil is card number 15, and what follows is number 16, The Tower. After electing the projection of our collective shadow, America has wittingly or unwittingly brought forth the Tower.

Think for a moment of a symbol that best represented Trump before he ran for president. More than his television show, his playboy lifestyle, or any other aspect of his legacy, Trump was always best known for his real estate empire. And nothing symbolizes that better than Trump Tower.

In terms of the tarot archetype, a tower is a structure that has been building over an extended period of time. Because it’s been built so high, that tower structure is ripe for toppling by some greater force. Therefore, the Tower represents sudden and colossal change. It is the toppling of old power structures; a shock to the system; tearing down the old without regard for what’s to follow. It is destruction and mayhem, brought on by a tower having grown too high for its own good.

We can look at the physical structure of a tower and see how it applies to metaphorical structures, such as institutions, organizations, and long-held assumptions taken for granted. The longer a tower is built, the higher it gets and the further removed it is from where it began. By its nature a tower is a high structure, and therefore becomes increasingly unstable as it grows over time. No tower can keep growing forever; a point comes when any further attempts to grow it are met by catastrophe.

The Tower as a description of the Trump Era is eerily prescient. We are witnessing in real time the toppling of an American government that in some crucial ways had become corrupted and in need of radical changes. It’s undeniable that for at least a generation, powerful moneyed interests have increasingly written most of the laws in Washington through their lobbyists. We could easily see Trump’s promise to “drain the swamp” as to “topple the tower” that was a bloated government in desperate need of a redeemer and emancipator of the rot. He’s approached his mandate enthusiastically, shaking the foundations of norms, alliances, and long-held customs we’ve taken for granted our whole lives.

The current Tower era is being experienced collectively by all of us, while felt individually by each of us. In the process, our personally held mental structures are collapsing as our institutional ones do. Just as physical towers can grow too high, mental towers can as well. Our assumptions can be taken too much for granted, and only through their destruction can we look at things in a whole new way.

One More For Team Curse

 

Rest in pieces Bibi.

The Prince Who Became King In His Own Head + The Wounded Pride of A Make-Believe Emperor

 

Just a couple of good old goys drinking Limonana and seltzer.

War time speech-making is a lost art. I don't think any American President has ever given an impassioned or well-reasoned war time speech in this century or the last. Not Wilson, not FDR, not Johnson. I want to be respectful, but objectively, if you go through the historical record, U.S. Presidents just don't give good speeches during war. Patton gave a great motivational speech to his soldiers but it wasn't anything close to poetry.

And speeches matter because nations and soldiers need to know why they're going to war. Men are not dumb animals. We are rational creatures and we need rational reasons to fight. Has Trump delivered a coherent and rational speech since he started this war? Everything he says sounds like total lunacy. He speaks with wounded pride, not confidence.

As for the other characters in this drama, they too haven't given any worthwhile speech. Netanyahu and Pahlavi can't command a room. Netanyahu talks like a bully foaming at the mouth, bursting out Jewish talking points like Amalek and other biblical nonsense.

And Pahlavi is under the delusion that his word carries any weight in Iran. What few followers he has are inconsequential because they don't have arms. Pahlavi is not even a side character in this war. He's in the nosebleeds, not in the game or by the sidelines on the bench. He needs to sit down and be quiet. His father forfeited the right to rule for any Pahlavi. He was too afraid to execute Khomeini back in 1963 and too afraid to solve the Islamic insurgency with brute force when it developed in the late 70s. Iran doesn't need another weak Pahlavi on the throne.

So save your speeches. Save your breath.

All three of these characters - Trump, Netanyahu, and Pahlavi, - should stop talking and retire to private life. Each one of them is suffering from a Messiah complex. And the people around them aren't helping by feeding their craziness.