Summary Of Religious Space By Thomas A. Tweed

Having the privilege to serve in the military has allowed this writer the opportunity to be exposed to the pluralistic society in a way which has exposed him to the beauty of the diversity enjoyed in American culture. One aspect of said diversity is the interaction which has taken place amongst the Christian and various world religions who also wear the same uniform in defense of America. It was the pleasure of the writer to attend a local synagogue in which his Jewish brothers and sisters welcomed him with open arms. The local congregation of Jewish believers went out of their way in order to ensure their newest visitor understood the flow of service and the significance of the ritual which took place on the first Shabbat or Sabbath of the month. The following essay will serve to detail the worship experience as well as how it and other beliefs of Judaism compare/contrast with the Christian faith.

Originally published in 1951, The Sabbath is a book driven by the passion and eloquence of its author – rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. The poetic style of Heschel’s writing depicts Jewish spirituality in a way like no other, as each word captivates the reader, projecting a powerful message that continues to resonate with the mind, even long after the book has been read. The book sets out its thesis in the prologue “Architecture of Time”, which projects the idea that Judaism is a religion of time, more specifically, “the sanctification of time” . The structure of The Sabbath compliments Heschel’s thesis as it is constructed in three parts, each comprised of two or more mini chapters. Each chapter has a unique epithet, usually in the form of an

Jerusalem should be solely their own in order to bring closeness to their God. But in fact the

For the Life of the World authored by Fr. Alexander Schmemann an Orthodox priest was originally intended as a “study guide” in the 1970’s for students preparing themselves for Missionary work, giving them a “world view”, helping to speak about Christian view points along with an approach to how they coalesce through the eyes of the Orthodox Church. A key theme Fr. Schmemann discussed is Secularism, which he believes developed from our progressive alienation of the Christian culture. Additionally, he presents his interpretation of the transforming biblical themes of creation, fall, and redemption through a sacramental understanding. Fr. Schmemann’s experiences within the Orthodox Church liturgy reveal unity in the meanings of these three themes. It is through these understandings he believes can effectively offset the disastrous effects of secularism while revitalizing the sacramental understanding of the world.

In the book When the Kings Come Marching In, theologian, Richard J. Mouw goes into depth about the “transformed City” that Isaiah envisions at the end of history (Isaiah 60). Our society believes that “Christ and Culture” are in conflict with one another, but Mouw disagrees with this statement and proposes that the problem is how humans have distorted culture. Mouw goes on and suggests that heaven is and will be a renewed creation that includes embodied existence on earth rather than a spiritual place where creation is apart from the soul. Mouw supports his argument throughout the book by explaining the creation of culture, Christ’s grace towards His creation, and offering a purpose to our existence.

Moses: the holy land is an important site for my faith because jerusalem has always been seen as the holiest city because that is where the main temple of the jewish faith. this is where jews would go celebrate the holiest festivals.

Tweed explains spaces are not merely objects, but processes that are constantly changing. Tweed reveals the Latin, Japanese, and English word for space, “refer to both extension and duration, a temporal and spatial ‘interval” (120). Tweed uses the Mexican chapel to explain that religious spaces have history. After a federal immigration law was passed, there was a notable change in the chapel. In fact, the chapel had, “much more resonance- and, shrine officials report, many more visitors- than it did during the late 1960’s” (120). Tweed implies that change does not have to be physical in appearance; there can be a change in history, tradition or

Every city around the world has had a tragic or violent event occur. From natural disasters, such as hurricanes or tornadoes, murders, or freak accidents. When events that cause destruction, physically or emotionally, a decision must be made about what to do with the location of the event. Said space is either memorialized as a remembrance of what occurred or it is destroyed to attempt to wipe it from existence. A sacred space is defined as an area worthy of reverence that promotes reminiscent respect. Although, hearing the phrase sacred space may seem to incorporate religious ties to a place, it does not necessarily only reference a religious history. For example: Mount Sanai in Egypt, the National D Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia, and the 9/11 Memorial in New York, New York. The previously mentioned examples range from religious, militant, and political spaces.

Before we can totally dive into how the Temple destruction changed Judaism, we must gain some knowledge of the Jewish faith itself, as well as Jewish terms. One of the first ideas many people may discover about the term “Jew” is its lack of use in the Old Testament scriptures.

Thomas Tweed in his article Space claims that there is a deeper connection between space and religion than meets the ordinary eye. The article examines how Christianity, Islam, and Judaism describe, imaginatively figure, and construct Jerusalem as a religious space. According to Tweed, space, in a religious context, is defined by three different and distinguishable characteristics: differentiated, kinetic, and interrelated. As revealed throughout many of the books in the Hebrew Bible, Jerusalem is one of these religious spaces that Tweed is talking about. Various Biblical texts, like Genesis 22, 2 Samuel 5-7, 1 Kings, and the Psalms reveal the city of Jerusalem, its geography, and its people’s history as being differentiated, kinetic, and interrelated.

Certain physical locations take on important meanings in the world’s religions. Religions consider various geographic elements such as different cities, regions, mountains, and rivers to be sacred. For example, Hindus travel to the Ganges River to cleanse themselves from their sins (Momen 157). One of the requirements of all Muslims is that they make a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca (Eastman 398). Judeo-Christian religions also have certain places that are held sacred to their followers. The concept of sacred space is important to Judeo-Christian religions, because it helps to explain the questions of existence. Sacred space provides something tangible to represent

The main focus of this essay is what makes KKBE a jewish space. Many people would think that it’s a jewish space because it’s a synagogue one of the most important parts of jewish live. Others would say it is jewish just because it is a place of worship just like how we know a church is christian since those are the people who worship there. I believe that it is much deeper than that. A theorist Abraham Joshua Heschel has a theory that spaces are not important because they are spaces, but because of the moments that are lived through and I agree with him.

Author John N. Oswalt begins The Bible Among the Myths: Unique Revelation or Just Ancient Literature? with a concise and well-written introduction that whets the reader’s appetite, compelling one to continue reading. He begins by informing the reader that his novel has been in the works dating all of the way back to the 1960s, when he attended the Asbury Theological Seminary. Oswalt quickly points out that one of the main points that the book will focus on is determining if “the religion of the Old Testament [is] essentially similar to, or essentially different from, the religions of its neighbors.”1 Oswalt is swift to acknowledge a major difference between the Old Testament and the religions of the Israelites Near

Judaism holds claim over Jerusalem because of the history of the Jewish people in Jerusalem. According to the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, the First Temple was built by King Solomon, at the site known as the Temple Mount today. The temple is believed to have been built by King Solomon, who was the king of Israel and Judea, as a place of worship. Jerusalem is also the location of Mount Moriah, which is where Abraham almost sacrificed his son and spoke with God. When the Babylonians captured the city, they destroyed the First Temple and sent the Jews out of

Levine’s book titled The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus proves to be a highly informative resource when trying to understand the intricate relationship between Christianity and Judaism. Levine’s primary objective seems to be a desire to address the idea that there is a vast, irreconcilable disparity between the beliefs and practices of Christians and Jews. Levine’s central argument focuses upon a common misperception of this dissimilarity: it is the result of Jesus being in direct opposition to Judaism. Furthermore, she contends that only a decided openness and interfaith dialogue between Christianity and Judaism can truly provide the most complete and compelling portrait of Jesus’s life and work. To me, the most edifying facet of Levine’s argument was her call to anchor Jesus within the historical and cultural context in which he was teaching in order to best understand his work and his message. Levine not only provides support for this idea throughout The Misunderstood Jew, but near the end of the novel also offers up ways in which both Christians and Jews can reconcile these two ostensibly conflicting perceptions of Jesus. Therefore, in this essay, I will analyze Levine’s arguments regarding the importance of historical/cultural context in Chapter One and Chapter Four while synthesizing it with her solutions presented in Chapter Seven.