Comments on: Rethinking the Theology of Prayer (Part 1) http://rabbimichaelsamuel.com/2010/03/4655/ Unorthodox Jewish reflections on the issues of our day Sun, 29 Aug 2010 04:57:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: thomas http://rabbimichaelsamuel.com/2010/03/4655/comment-page-1/#comment-211 thomas Fri, 05 Mar 2010 04:29:09 +0000 http://rabbimichaelsamuel.com/?p=4655#comment-211 I believe prayer is like prophecy in that God fulfills the words. As God says, he fulfills the words of his prophets. Prophecy is God's word. I believe God speaks the word, God fulfills the word, and the word returns to God fulfilled. Similiarly, when we prayer, we speak the words and we hope God will fulfill our words, and we hope our prayers return to us fulfilled by God. It is then that we begin to see that God's will is perfect and his commandments are pure love. Then our prayer become a form of worship instead of a form of pleading. Thank you very much. God saves. I believe prayer is like prophecy in that God fulfills the words. As God says, he fulfills the words of his prophets.
Prophecy is God’s word. I believe God speaks the word, God fulfills the word, and the word returns to God fulfilled. Similiarly, when we prayer, we speak the words and we hope God will fulfill our words, and we hope our prayers return to us fulfilled by God. It is then that we begin to see that God’s will is perfect and his commandments are pure love. Then our prayer become a form of worship instead of a form of pleading.

Thank you very much.

God saves.

]]> By: admin http://rabbimichaelsamuel.com/2010/03/4655/comment-page-1/#comment-209 admin Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:41:10 +0000 http://rabbimichaelsamuel.com/?p=4655#comment-209 Leibovitz (the brother of Nechama, the bible scholar) was in my opinion a religious behaviorist, not much different from John B. Watson (1878-1958). Watson did not believe in consciousness or soul at all. Freud was like a flaming Haredi or Hasid compared to Watson, who happens to be my least favorite psychologist of the 20th century. Now, with respect to being "commanded" to pray, I will use Hasdai Crescas's famous argument about faith that he formulated in the 15th century: If you believe in God, you do not need a mitzvah to command faith; if you have no faith, then no commandment is going to force you to "believe." Leibovitz (the brother of Nechama, the bible scholar) was in my opinion a religious behaviorist, not much different from John B. Watson (1878-1958). Watson did not believe in consciousness or soul at all. Freud was like a flaming Haredi or Hasid compared to Watson, who happens to be my least favorite psychologist of the 20th century.

Now, with respect to being “commanded” to pray, I will use Hasdai Crescas’s famous argument about faith that he formulated in the 15th century: If you believe in God, you do not need a mitzvah to command faith; if you have no faith, then no commandment is going to force you to “believe.”

]]> By: Yochanan Lavie http://rabbimichaelsamuel.com/2010/03/4655/comment-page-1/#comment-207 Yochanan Lavie Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:41:45 +0000 http://rabbimichaelsamuel.com/?p=4655#comment-207 Yeshayahu Leibovitz said we should pray simply because we're commanded to. I find his position logical, but emotionally unappealing. There's got to be a better reason. Yeshayahu Leibovitz said we should pray simply because we’re commanded to. I find his position logical, but emotionally unappealing. There’s got to be a better reason.

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