Jeremy Rosen
Do You Have to Believe in God?
Summary
In this lecture, Jeremy Rosem embarks on a journey through the intricate realm of theology, focusing on the concept of God from a Jewish perspective while drawing parallels to broader religious discourse. Delving into the multifaceted nature of deity, various interpretations are dissected, from traditional anthropomorphic portrayals to philosophical ponderings and mystical insights. Through the ages, individuals have grappled with the challenge of defining and relating to the divine, navigating between formal religious practices and personal spiritual experiences.
Jeremy Rosen
Manchester-born Jeremy Rosen was educated at Cambridge University England and Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem. He has practiced as an orthodox rabbi, as principal of Carmel College in the UK, and as professor at the Faculty for Comparative Religion in Antwerp, Belgium. He has written and lectured extensively in the UK and the US, where he now resides and was the rabbi of the Persian-Jewish community in Manhattan.
I don’t think they’re happy societies. They have killed just as many people as religions have killed. So there are examples of people who can manage, and let there be choice. If there are people happy living in those societies, by all means. It just strikes me that most people, given a choice, would rather live somewhere where they have choices, which might include a religious choice.
That’s a nice idea. I just don’t like applying any term to God. It does not make sense, because if God is beyond time, then what is knowledge? Knowledge can go forward, backwards. Space can go forward and backwards. We are learning all kinds of things about the different dimensions.
No, you have to be a member of the United Synagogue to be buried as a member of the United Synagogue. There are plenty of other burial places that don’t require you to be a member of the United Synagogue. There’s the Federation, for example. There’s the Independent, the old Western synagogue burial grounds. So it’s a question of whether you take out some sort of commitment to a burial society, and then you get free burial.