Back to the Beginning: Biblical Creation as Covenantal Partnership
The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind
Release Date: 10/15/2024
Don Quixote II: Towards A New Model of Heroism
The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind
Miguel de Cervantes will propose a new type of hero for an age that has moved beyond the knight in shining armor. As we continue our survey of Don Quixote, Rabbi Rocklin will answer the following questions: How does Don Quixote’s title, “Knight of the Sorrowful Face,” reflect Cervantes’ critique of modernity? In what sense is there a small piece of Don Quixote in every man? In spite of all his antics and madness, how can Don Quixote be a model for behavior for the reader? Recommended Reading: Cervantes, Miguel. . Trans. Edith Grossman. New York: Ecco, 2015.
info_outline
Don Quixote I: The First Modern Novel
The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind
The first modern novel employs humor and satire to explore what it means to be an individual. To help us in our survey of Don Quixote, we’ll focus on the following questions: How does Don Quixote both mock the past and emphasize the value of tradition? Even if Don Quixote is objectively mad, how do his wild imaginings critique modernity? What are we to make of and learn from Don Quixote’s insistence that he knows exactly who he is? Recommended Reading: Cervantes, Miguel. . Trans. Edith Grossman. New York: Ecco, 2015.
info_outline
Italy and the Jews: A Vital Center for Isolation and Integration
The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind
The Jewish communities of Renaissance Italy were unusual in their interactions with their Christian neighbors. As we explore this topic, we’ll find answers to the following questions: Why did early Renaissance Italian humanists turn to Jews to inspire Christian thought? In what ways were the Jews involved in developing the Renaissance culture of Italy? How did the Jews of this period lay the groundwork for the development of the modern Hebrew language?
info_outline
Shakespeare the Bard: A Man for the Ages
The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind
For good reason, Shakespeare is one of the most famous and most influential writers of the English language. To help us unpack that topic, we’ll explore the following questions: In contrast with the greatness of man to be found in Hamlet, how does the relative bleakness of Macbeth resonate with a listener? Of all the bard’s plays, what makes As You Like It a good one to introduce students to Shakespeare? Can The Merchant of Venice be understood in a way that is sympathetic to Jews?
info_outline
Shakespeare's Hamlet: The First Modern Play
The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind
Arguably Shakespeare’s greatest play, Hamlet will catapult us into the modern era of literature. To unpack that notion, we’ll explore the following questions: In what sense does Hamlet have a foothold in both the classical and modern eras? How does Hamlet grapple with the Biblical, covenantal tension between man’s significance, on the one hand, and insignificance, on the other? Why is Hamlet’s conversation with his conscience an answer to Machiavelli? Recommended Reading: Shakespeare, William. . New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012. Folger Shakespeare Library.
info_outline
Montaigne and Shakespeare: The Rise of the Individual
The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind
Modernity continues to emerge with the writings of Montaigne and Shakespeare. On today’s episode, Rabbi Rocklin will help us address the following questions: Why did Montaigne love history as a tool to understand the human character? How does Montaigne’s approach to education diverge from his contemporaries’ such that we might recognize his approach in today’s world of education? What sets Shakespeare’s plays apart from his contemporaries’ and makes his works relevant throughout the centuries? Recommended Reading: Barzun, Jacques. . New York: Harper Perennial, 2001.
info_outline
Kabbalah: Mysticism and Science
The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind
The study of Kabbalah—Jewish mysticism—will play an outsized role in shaping not only Western thought but even modern science. To explore the topic, we’ll turn to the following questions: What is Kabbalah and why did it become important, as an area of study, for Christian thinkers and scholars? How does Kabbalah further develop the notion of human agency? What role did Kabbalah play in the development of modern science? Recommended Reading: Coudert, Allison P. . Oregon: Pickwick Publications, 2024.
info_outline
Swords, Spurs, and Gunpowder: A History of Religious Wars
The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind
The amount of bloodshed that took place following the Protestant Reformation is staggering. As we try to make sense of the religious wars, we’ll explore the following questions: What role did chivalric virtues play in bolstering Protestantism in France? Why did local Catholics in the Low Countries oppose an inquisition against Protestants? How did the Treaty of Westphalia, which recognized Protestantism as legitimate, differ from the Peace of Augsburg a century earlier?
info_outline
Rifts and Splits: Calvinism, Anglicanism, and Counter-Reformation
The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind
In the aftermath of the Protestant Reformation, religious Europe continued to splinter. On today’s episode, Rabbi Rocklin will answer the following questions: How did John Calvin’s views of free will and predestination lead to a culture in which hard work and monetary success was seen as valuable? How does Anglicanism occupy a middle ground between Lutheranism and Calvinism? Over the course of the Council of Trent, how did the Catholic Church clarify its doctrine in response to Luther’s criticisms?
info_outline
Erasmus: Humanist and Reformer
The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind
Erasmus was arguably the greatest scholar and foremost humanist of the Northern Renaissance. As we learn more about him, we’ll explore the following questions: How was Erasmus’ Greek language scholarship foundational to the Protestant Reformation? What were Erasmus’ basic criticisms of the Catholic Church? How did those critiques differ from Luther’s? Why is it still important to read Erasmus today, despite his fundamental character flaws? Recommended Reading: Shepherd, Victor. . Canada: Regent College Publishing, 2008. Reverend Dr. Victor Shepherd’s website:
info_outlineIn contrast to the pagan world, the Biblical creation story is ordered, purposeful, and covenantal. In today’s episode, Rabbi Rocklin will help us answer the following questions:
- How does the Biblical story of creation differ from Bronze Age stories of creation, particularly in its emphasis that man is the purpose of creation?
- Why did God choose Abraham as the person to carry on the covenant? Or did he?
- What would happen to the world if the covenant were to fail? Why?