Category Archives: Philosophy

In Prayer We . . .

Posted on February 13, 2011 by Derek Leman

I found out about the Siddur Eit Ratzon (Season of Favor) from the Reform Shuckle blog just before High Holidays in 2010. I love this prayerbook. If it was affordable, I’d buy a hundred and make it the prayerbook of … Continue reading →

Posted in Judaism, Messianic Prayer, Philosophy | 14 Comments

Is Faith Imagined?

Posted on January 25, 2011 by Derek Leman

Many people suspect so. And I don’t just mean the critics. Many people who believe wonder, “Am I just imagining this?” I used to hear as an objection to faith, “It’s wish-fulfillment. You wish there were such a thing as … Continue reading →

Posted in Abraham Joshua Heschel, Atheism, Faith, J-BOM, Philosophy | 3 Comments

Sci-Fi, God, the Universe, and Us

Posted on January 13, 2011 by Derek Leman

Science fiction was my religion once. Asimov was my prophet and Clark too, and my teacher was Sagan. That was before I came to Jesus and Judaism. Some of the radical amazement I used to feel for the vastness of … Continue reading →

Posted in Abraham Joshua Heschel, Atheism, Faith, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

God in Search of Man, #4

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Derek Leman

Justin Bond sort of got the jump on me over at Messiah Connection. I had discussed possibly resurrecting J-BOM (the Jewish Book of the Month). And 3.5 people responded enthusiastically! I’d said let’s make Heschel’s God in Search of Man … Continue reading →

Posted in Abraham Joshua Heschel, Atheism, Bible, Judaism, Philosophy | 2 Comments

Miracles (C.S. Lewis), #3

Posted on December 30, 2010 by Derek Leman

I’m slowly eking out a parallel series on C.S. Lewis and Abraham Joshua Heschel. You can find the earlier installments by using Categories on the right sidebar and looking under their names. Here are two contemporaries who epitomize good Christian … Continue reading →

Posted in C.S. Lewis, Christian, Philosophy | 1 Comment

God in Search of Man, #3

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Derek Leman

This is all part of a parallel series on Heschel’s God in Search of Man and Lewis’s Miracles. If Messianic Judaism is a sort of Christian-Jewish hybrid, why not study two the greatest modern thinkers, one from each? And the … Continue reading →

Posted in Abraham Joshua Heschel, Bible, C.S. Lewis, Judaism, Philosophy | 3 Comments

Miracles (C.S. Lewis), #2

Posted on December 3, 2010 by Derek Leman

These posts on Lewis’s book about miracles are part of a parallel series I am doing on Lewis and Heschel. See “God in Search of Man, #1” and “Miracles (C.S. Lewis), #1” for more explanation on my rationale. The argument … Continue reading →

Posted in C.S. Lewis, Christian, Philosophy | 2 Comments

God in Search of Man, #2

Posted on December 1, 2010 by Derek Leman

Since Messianic Judaism is a hybrid of Judaism and Christianity, I had the bright idea of doing a blog series on a great, modern thinker from Judaism and another from Christianity. Obviously (many will agree) the choice for Judaism is … Continue reading →

Posted in Abraham Joshua Heschel, Bible, Judaism, Philosophy | 8 Comments

A Naturalist Proposes Marriage

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Derek Leman

My darling, I love you. I cannot help myself and I have no free will in this matter. What I mean by that is some evolutionary instinct in me recognizes clues to your abundant fertility and motivates me to offer … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Philosophy | 7 Comments

Miracles (C.S. Lewis), #1

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Derek Leman

See yesterdays “God in Search of Man, #1” for an explanation of this series exploring a Jewish and a Christian thinker who have much in common. I am much more familiar with Lewis than Heschel, having a fair collection of … Continue reading →

Posted in C.S. Lewis, Christian, Faith, Love, messianic, Messianic Jewish, Messianic Judaism, Philosophy | 2 Comments

The difference between religion and philosophy…

Posted on November 14, 2010 by Derek Leman

From Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man: Not only are the problems of philosophy not identical with the problems of religion; their status is not the same. Philosophy is, in a sense, a kind of thinking that has … Continue reading →

Posted in Abraham Joshua Heschel, Mysticism, Philosophy | Leave a comment

Faith, Reason, and SBL

Posted on July 5, 2010 by Derek Leman

There is an interesting op-ed piece in the July/August issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, a magazine that has been very worthwhile to follow in recent years. Some believers in the history and theology of the Bible will find BAR troubling. … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Bible, Faith, messianic, Messianic Jewish, Messianic Judaism, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

Faith Without a Reason? Pt 1

Posted on June 23, 2010 by Derek Leman

A popular Jewish blogger, whose blog I only recently started following, has a recurrent theme. In the midst of commentary on the news of the Jewish world and Israel mixed with some religious reflection and Torah commentary, this blogger enjoys … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, C.S. Lewis, Christian, Faith, Judaism, Philosophy | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

My Encounter with Spinoza

Posted on January 13, 2010 by Derek Leman

I attended a lecture at a local synagogue last night with half a dozen friends from our synagogue. The lecture was part of a series, “Five Centuries of Modern Jewish Thought,” and in five sessions will focus on one personality … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Judaism, messianic, Messianic Jewish, Messianic Judaism, Philosophy | Tagged | 1 Comment

Peter Rollins and Coffeehouse Philosophy

Posted on November 26, 2008 by Derek Leman

I went downtown last night and tonight to hear Christian philosopher Peter Rollins speak. He is the author of How (Not) to Speak About God and The Fidelity of Betrayal, a book which he originally wanted to call What Would … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian, Messianic Jewish, Philosophy, Theology | 2 Comments