Signposts to the Messianic Age

by Rayner, John D.

• ISBN13: 9780853037033
• ISBN10: 0853037035
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-01-01
• Publisher: Vallentine Mitchell

Summary

This collection, mainly of more recent sermons and lectures is a summation of the author's life as a preacher and teacher. It is now offered to a wider public than the relatively small audiences to which they were originally addressed. If there is a common thread that runs through this volume, it is its emphasis on the gentler and more outward-looking values of Judaism, which are not much in evidence today. By cultivating and exemplifying these values Jews can best contribute to humanity as it struggles to shake off its present troubles and yearns to find again the road map to justice and peace, not only in the Middle East but everywhere. This is a fitting tribute to a man whose pastoral care and love of Judaism stretch far beyond the confines of his community and reach out to followers of all religious traditions.

Table of Contents

Notes	vii
Foreword by Raphael Loewe	ix
Preface	xii
Part I Sermons
Aspects of Judaism
The Meaning of Mitzvah	3	(4)
The Golden Rule	7	(4)
Thou Shalt Not Kill	11	(4)
The Mystery of the Cherubim	15	(4)
Aspects of Progressive Judaism
Encounter with Modernity	19	(4)
A Response to Orthodoxy	23	(5)
The Role of Progressive Judaism	28	(5)
Doing and Hearing	33	(4)
The Jewish Religious Union a Hundred Years On	37	(5)
The Jewish People and the Human Family
The Open Door	42	(5)
Praying for Humanity	47	(4)
Our World and Welcome to It	51	(4)
We and They	55	(5)
Israel and Palestine
The Big Issue	60	(5)
Beyond Retribution	65	(5)
Passion and Peace	70	(12)
Ashamnu: We Have Sinned	82	(5)
The Future of Humanity
Values	87	(5)
Leadership	92	(5)
Survival	97	(6)
Road Map to the Messianic Age	103	(6)
Part II Lectures
Judaism and Christianity
Hebraism: Our Common Heritage and Hope	109	(18)
A Jewish View of Jesus	127	(17)
The Truth About the Pharisees: The Evidence of the New Testament	144	(12)
Jewish Thought and Practice
The Suffering Servant	156	(12)
Good and Evil in the Classical Sources of Judaism	168	(14)
Principles of Jewish Ethics	182	(13)
Judaism and Animal Welfare: Overview and Some Questions	195	(16)
Jewish Liturgy
Some Glimpses of the History of the Jewish Liturgy	211	(14)
The Four Children of the Passover Haggadah	225	(14)
Universalising Tendencies in Anglo-Jewish Liturgy	239	(8)
Zionism and the State of Israel
The Ethical Issues Surrounding the Middle East	247	(11)
Open Letter to David A. Harris, Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee	258