Searching for a Distant God: The Legacy of Maimonides

Couverture
Oxford University Press, 13 janv. 2000 - 264 pages
Monotheism is usually considered Judaism's greatest contribution to world culture, but it is far from clear what monotheism is. This work examines the notion that monotheism is not so much a claim about the number of God as a claim about the nature of God. Seeskin argues that the idea of a God who is separate from his creation and unique is not just an abstraction but a suitable basis for worship. He examines this conclusion in the contexts of prayer, creation, sabbath observance, repentance, religious freedom, and love of God. Maimonides plays a central role in the argument both because of his importance to Jewish self-understanding and because he deals with the question of how philosophic ideas are embodied in religious ritual.
 

Table des matières

One The Urge to Philosophize
3
Two The Challenge of Monotheism
23
Three Speaking of and to God
43
Four The Problem of Creation
66
Five Imitatio Dei
91
Six Monotheism and Freedom
124
Seven Popular Religion and a Personal God
142
Esotericism and the Limits of Knowledge A Critique of Strauss
177
Notes
189
Bibliography
229
General Index
243
Index of Principal Sources
249
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Page 3 - Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth : thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them...

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