For
the past two weeks I have been reviewing how belief models are made and used by
the brain. Belief models are complex meme structures that consist of Identity
Memes (names), Support Memes (other names), and Strategy Memes (actions to take
when Identity Memes are recognized). Human brains generate realities from
it belief models that people “experience as life.” Belief models are spread
to others by narratives (stories).
Narratives are to the
brain what food is to the stomach.
They are the glue that
holds members of collectives together.
In
ancient cultures, the most important narratives were “Sacred Narratives.”
Every culture has stories that define who they are and how they were created. Jesus
was a member of the Jewish culture in Judea/Galilee in the first century CE.
Below are comments about the role Jewish Sacred Narratives have
played – and are still playing – in the lives of Jewish people. The
first comments are from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.
“Jews have been scattered,
dispersed and exiled. We never lost our identity. Why?
Because at least once a year, on the festival of Passover, we
told our story and we taught it to our children and we ate the
unleavened bread of affliction and tasted the bitter herbs of
slavery. So we never lost our identity.”[i]
David
S. Ariel provides the following overview of their importance.
“Judaism
is not a religion of fixed doctrines or dogmas but a complex system of evolving
beliefs. Despite its diversity, there is an overarching rubric that
unites Jews of every persuasion, from the most orthodox, liberal or
secular. This rubric is what I call “sacred myths” . . . these
sacred myths form the framework for the Jew’s ongoing search for personal
meaning in his or her own life, the life of the Jewish community, and society
at large . . . Sacred myths are articulations of our most deeply
held beliefs that are not subject to verification for truth or falsehood.
While the truth of these myths is valid and sacred for those who hold them, it
does not necessarily follow that other people’s myths are false or wrong . . . To
call the most cherished beliefs of a culture “myths” does not mean that they
are fairy tales. Every culture presents its understanding of the world in
the language of its own sacred myths which might not make sense to
outsiders. Sacred myths of Judaism are the key to understanding the special
nature of Jewish spirituality.”[ii]
Now
let’s focus on Jewish beliefs about God.
●
The goal to be Jewish, for many, is to be a seeker of the unlimited ways
in which God can be realized within their lives.
●
There are many in every generation of Jews that sees the same goal, but in their
own way, and express it in the language of their own day.
●
What one generation calls “seeking God,” another might call “seeking
transcendence.”
●
What one generation calls “covenant,” another might call “responsibility.”
●
What one generation refers to as “the divine image,’ another might call
“human destiny.”
●
There is no one authoritative Jewish dogma of God.
●
There are some things about the conception of God all Jewish thinkers agree
on.[iii]
In
Jewish cultures beliefs about God are linked to the lives of people.
●
The great sacred narrative of the destiny of the Jewish people explains that
the search for higher meaning animates every aspect of Jewish life.
●
It means to strive to recognize that all people are created in the divine
image.
●
Spirituality is expressed by strengthening the divine image within ourself.[iv]
Our
next step is to identify the Sacred Narratives and rituals
Jesus and his Jewish audience held and practiced. I will continue this
discussion in the next email.
Shalom,
Jim
Myers
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