Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.
Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!
If we, according to Torah, are to "be a light unto the nations", how could we not share?
If we, according to Torah, are to "be a light unto the nations", how could we not share?
The Torah is not meant to be a light unto the nation. The people are.
The Torah is an inheritance for Israel (Deut. 33:4). The people (should be) a light for the nations.
Lets take this to the level of common sense....if Torah contains fundamental lessons of ethics and morality, wouldn't we want to share ?
Since Torah is the basis for the statement and is mandated conduct for us, then I would suggest that all of the above may apply. In this case, I don't believe we can separate the two. If people want to know what's the basis of our morality, how could we not open up Torah and show them, and then also hope they may chose to follow its path as well, even if they're not bound by it?
Because we are not mandated to explain why we are such bright lights (ie. by opening up the Torah and showing why), we are mandated to be a light. On the other hand, we are also required to treat the Torah as our personal inheritance, not as a possession for anyone to take.
Being a light by contradicting what is written in the Torah, is not called being a light. It's called doing whatever we want.
Which I guess would be fine and dandy if I believed all of Torah (broad use of the term) was divinely inspired and inerrant.
To me, if you have a good thing going for you, maybe it's best to show it. If we want morality, it's probably best to state and display the source of morality so that others may want to also go in that direction. IOW, to me, morality trumps a dubious command.
Do I pick and choose which parts of Torah to follow? Yes. Why? Because I don't deify it, nor do I find it a substitute for reason. But, to me, it's still important, and there's no doubt that it has very much molded us in what I believe to be a mostly positive direction. Therefore, I don't deviate lightly from what is written.
I do believe Torah was divinely inspired, but my view of divine inspiration is by a non-anthropomorphic G-d. This G-d would never tell me not to share his book with the world or not to fight for my country because I should be reading the book.
Which I guess would be fine and dandy if I believed all of Torah (broad use of the term) was divinely inspired and inerrant.
To me, if you have a good thing going for you, maybe it's best to show it. If we want morality, it's probably best to state and display the source of morality so that others may want to also go in that direction. IOW, to me, morality trumps a dubious command.
Do I pick and choose which parts of Torah to follow? Yes. Why? Because I don't deify it, nor do I find it a substitute for reason. But, to me, it's still important, and there's no doubt that it has very much molded us in what I believe to be a mostly positive direction. Therefore, I don't deviate lightly from what is written.
Then technically, there is no need to be a light unto the nations either. In which case there is also no need to share the Torah!
I honestly don't see how you concluded that from what I wrote? Let me give you an example.
Right to my left is my trusty little Oxford Desk Dictionary, which I frequently have to use since I don't have spell-check. Now, do I believe it must be divinely inspired and inerrant for me to use it? Do I have to believe it's the "word of God", or whatever words one wants to use? Can't I just use it because it seems to work at least most of the time?
Therefore, why can't we use Torah in the same way and let others do as well?
...Right to my left is my trusty little Oxford Desk Dictionary, which I frequently have to use since I don't have spell-check. Now, do I believe it must be divinely inspired and inerrant for me to use it? Do I have to believe it's the "word of God", or whatever words one wants to use? Can't I just use it because it seems to work at least most of the time?...
What I was saying is (mostly in jest), is that since you don't believe that the Torah is divine, then neither is the imperative to be a light unto the nations. If I don't have to be a light unto the nations, then by extension, I don't have to - according to your original logic ("If we, according to Torah, are to "be a light unto the nations", how could we not share?") - need to share it either.
Yes, I understand that still according to your explanation you can if you like.
Now that you mention it, I think I saw a picture of Noah Webster standing next to Moses in Cecil B. DeMille's, Ten Commandments. He had a rock and chisel
FWIH, I agree.The Torah is not meant to be a light unto the nation. The people are.
The Torah is an inheritance for Israel (Deut. 33:4). The people (should be) a light for the nations.
Because we are not mandated to explain why we are such bright lights (ie. by opening up the Torah and showing why), we are mandated to be a light. On the other hand, we are also required to treat the Torah as our personal inheritance, not as a possession for anyone to take.
Being a light by contradicting what is written in the Torah, is not called being a light. It's called doing whatever we want.
What does it mean for the Jews to be a light unto the nations?
What does it mean for the Jews to be a light unto the nations?
What does it mean for the Jews to be a light unto the nations?
I think we already have been. After all, both Christianity and Islam emanated from Judaism, and even though we don't share some of their beliefs, nevertheless they have added a great deal of morality to much of the world.