Good Faith Effort

Joshua Berman - How the Bible Revolutionized Politics Ep. 104

Aug 22, 2023

Joshua Berman, Professor of Bible at Bar Ilan University, discusses how the Bible revolutionized politics. They explore the concept of covenant, the Bible's unique approach to universalism and particularism, resonating stories across cultures, contradictory accounts in the Bible, and upcoming projects on Lamentations and forgiveness.

56:30

Creator website

Episode guests

Joshua Berman

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

The Bible provides a revolutionary perspective on societal organization and political order.

Covenant in the Hebrew Bible extends to collective responsibility in creating a virtuous society.

The Bible strategically incorporates elements from other cultures' stories to convey its own messages and themes.

Deep dives

The Importance of Understanding the Bible as a Work of Reaction

The podcast episode discusses the importance of understanding the Bible as a work of reaction rather than a blueprint. It explores how the Bible critiques established civilizations and offers a revolutionary perspective on topics such as societal organization and political order.

Introduction

4min

Understanding the Concept of Covenant in the Bible

16min

The Bible's Unique Approach to Universal and Particular Aspects of Human Experience

6min

Exploring the Resonance of Stories

14min

The Battle of Qaddish and the Contradictory Accounts

12min

Upcoming Projects on Lamentations and Forgiveness in the Hebrew Bible

5min

On today’s episode, Ari spoke with Joshua Berman, Professor of Bible at Bar Ilan University and author of “Created Equal: How the Bible Broke With Ancient Political Thought”, about the revolution that the Bible introduced into human affairs. In a world dominated by some of the most renowned civilizations in history — from Mesopotamia to Egypt — how did the Bible re-envision the idea of the good society?

Along the way they talked about the idea of “covenant” — both inside and outside the Bible; Plato vs. the Bible on universalism; monarchy in Biblical thought; why the Bible conceives of a particular land as holy; how the American Founders wrestled with Biblical political theory; the Biblical concept of atonement; and much more

Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop

Links

Follow Ari on Twitter

Check out Good Faith Effort on Youtube!