At a stage in the development of Jewish religion, it held as one of its principle doctrines that God is revealed in history. This point of view could be considered a simple and unsophisticated form of Deism that was practiced by the ancient Hebrew wisdom tradition and is found in the book of Proverbs in the Bible. Through observing historical events, one could come to know the plans and nature of God.
You can compare this doctrine to that of certain Eastern religions who have as a tenet of their faith the notion of Karma. To simplify matters letus say that actions have consequences. Bad actions accumulate bad Karma. When such a teaching hardens into the form of theological dogma,certain things become a given and cannot be questioned. In the easterntradition there was also a notion of divinity and afterlife, in this caseencapsulated in the doctrine of reincarnation. Combine the two in a dogmaticway and you have to notion of bad karma resulting in a bad reincarnation. Someone in this life is very poor and has a job scrubbing toilets. They are of'the toilet scrubbing caste.' They are obviously paying for their sins in apast life. They are of the untouchable caste. Society then becomes rigidly hierarchical. Perhaps in the next life, if they behave themselves, they might be able to moveup to the class of laborers, or something like that. The very rich and well offthen become the most righteous people in a hierarchical society, obviously thosewho led sterling lives in the past, and are just one step away from breaking outthe cycle of sin and rebirth, entering into Nirvana.
Similar sorts of over simplified dogma with serious socialconsequences is found in the Bible.
"I, YAHWEH, punish the children for thesins of the parents." (Exodus 20:5)
"I have never seen a righteous man begging for bread, orhis children lacking anything." (Psalms 37:25)
"God never lets the righteous go hungry." (Proverbs 10:3)
"Bad luck pursues sinners, but good fortune rewards the righteous." (Proverbs 13:21)
"Riches are the crown of the wise." ( Proverbs 14:24)
It then follows, as certain people were said tohave asked Joshua,
"for which sins is this man blind and lame, his own, or thoseof his parents (or perhaps his grandparents or his great or great-greatgrandparents)?" (John 9:2)
And we are told, David knew a sinner being punished by God when he saw one:
"As for the blind and the lame, David despised them in hissoul, hence the saying, the blind and the lame shall not enter into the temple." (2 Samuel 5:8)
Ideas have limitations. They do not encapsulate the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. A religious tradition that is not self critical descends into ruinous dogmatismwith serious human costs.
The Proverbs: Wisdom ideology in ancient Israel
The 'history' of King Joram: An example of wisdom school ideology
Using the Bible as a rule of faith
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