Monday, March 17, 2014

Religion and Violence

Many religions seem to have their brand of fanatics who claim both to know “the truth” and to have the right to impose it on others.  True believers fight over such issues as: who owns the land, what the holy books really mean, whose prophets are reliable, the nature and role of the Messiah, and on and on. Why do the great monotheistic religions, including Judaism, sometimes give rise to hateful thoughts and violent actions? is there some problem with monotheism itself ? And how have these religions … how, in particular, has Judaism … acknowledged these tendencies and tried to moderate, deflect or eliminate them? in this series, we will explore the historical and ideological foundations of Judaism, take serious note of the Bible’s frequent authorization of violence, often in the name of god, and examine the ways in which our tradition has sought to soften these tendencies.

Lecture 1

Lecture 2

Lecture 3