Jews, Christians, Peter-Paul-and-Mary

One of the nice aspects of reading Prager’s “The Rational Bible: Genesis” (I’ve previously read his book on Exodus in this series) is that you learn how much you didn’t know.

I doubt most Christians have a basic understanding of the Old Testament. And I would bet there are a fair number of Jews who have less than a basic understanding of the Torah.

Regarding the story of Noah and the ark, Dennis takes the story as literally true. Setting that aside, the gist of the story is that man had become so evil that goodness required that God put an end to it.

I believe there was a large flood and it was likely the flooding of the region now comprised of the Black Sea from the breaking of the isthmus at where Constantinople is/was (now the Bosporus Straight). But as a means of eradicating humans in order to “reset,” drowning them slowly via a flood would be the method of a cruel god.

I think Prager is weak on evaluating some of these aspects and a little too gullible. But he’s often of the mind, “Whatever the case may be, it’s the message that God wanted to convey that is paramount….and his message had to be understandable.”

Okay. Maybe. I find the Flood account to be interesting but almost a sure sign that the Torah can’t always be relied on as an exact history. But I did find Prager’s exposition on the Tower of Babel to be interesting. It wasn’t that God was pissed off at the arrogance of trying to build a tower to reach God. (Why would He ever find that offensive?) It was that God was against urbanization and one-world government. That is, God was on the side of a diversity of nations and styles, so long they adhered to the Torah.

Prager notes that although cities have been a blessing in terms of the arts, museums, etc., they are usually the most morally corrupt places. God recognized that as well.

Prager goes out of his way to emphasize the Torah is not just a Jew thing:



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Prager notes the historical realities that have complicated keeping Jews alive and thus the task of spreading the Torah. He also note that countries, such as America, who have generally protected the Jew have flourished.

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Have Jews (religious or otherwise) become sort of an in-bred clique? Yes. But in some respects, it was meant to be this way (or, at least, that is part of the equation). Prager writes:

And it really hits you when reading this (especially as Prager dramatically presents it), after 2000 years they are home again. Quite remarkable.

I have to admit, where Dennis finds a difference with Christianity (as often practiced and believed by many), I find myself siding with Dennis, as in this:



Prager notes that this is far from worshipping nature which he says is amoral, at best. He writes in his current article the same thoughts that abound in his books:

Yes. Lots of good wisdom in both the Torah and Prager (who abides by the Torah).

Here’s good news (at least for me):



Let’s just say converting to Judaism would be a piece of cake (unleavened cake?) for me without getting into further details. Had the covenant between God and man required tattoos, you could have counted me out.

It was not until I heard explanations like this from Prager that I began to understand the role of ritual and thus the need for it. But then, as I’ve been saying, there are very few people out there educating anyone on these basics. We’re not (perhaps unfortunately) born with this knowledge and wisdom.

And given how secular/atheist pop culture belittles anything that might lead to a contemplative moment, it’s difficult even for thoughtful and sincere people to find their way amongst all the muck.