Religious Genius: Appreciating Inspiring Individuals Across Traditions PDF
Preview Religious Genius: Appreciating Inspiring Individuals Across Traditions
R E L I G I O U S G E N I U S Appreciating Inspiring Individuals Across Traditions ALON GOSHEN-GOTTSTEIN Religious Genius Alon Goshen-Gottstein Religious Genius Appreciating Inspiring Individuals Across Traditions Alon Goshen-Gottstein Elijah Interfaith Institute Jerusalem, Israel ISBN 978-3-319-55513-3 ISBN 978-3-319-55514-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-55514-0 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017936915 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Image Credit: Mekdet Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland For Therese Whose love has been a gateway for me to appreciate Saints and Religious Geniuses Beyond my native Judaism The world today needs saints, new saints, saints of genius —Simone Weil C ontents 1 Introduction 1 Part I Introducing Religious Genius 2 Religious Genius—An Overview 11 3 “Religious Genius”—Choosing a Category 19 4 The Model: Developing a Methodology for Studying (Religious Genius) 43 5 Religious Genius in the Real Life of Community 67 6 Religious Genius and Interreligious Reality 85 Part II Bibliographical and Textual Studies 7 Studying “Saints”—An Overview of Methods and Approaches to the Study of Saints 99 8 “Religious Genius”—History of a Category 115 ix x CONTENTS 9 Sample Teaching on Religious Genius 143 10 Saints and Religious Geniuses as Inspiration for Character Formation 147 Part III Responses to “Religious Genius” 11 Religious Geniuses: An Evolving Study by Robert Cummings Neville 153 12 Ultimism and Religious Genius: Response and Proposal by Jerome Yehuda Gellman 167 Appendix: Scholars who have contributed to the Religious Genius Project 189 Index 191 CHAPTER 1 Introduction It all started with “saints.” I was driving from Haifa to Jerusalem. I was on a call with Daliah, who had been taking a course with me at Hebrew University. She posed the following question: Where can I take a class on the lives of the Christian saints? Her request was clear. She wanted something inspiring, maybe even transformational, growing out of the experience of extraordinary individuals who spent their life follow- ing the Christian path, but who could nevertheless be inspiring to her as a Jewish person. There was something to be learned across religions, and she was seeking a place where such learning could take place. I responded: Nowhere. There was no place in Jerusalem where this kind of teaching could take place. Christian institutions were teaching archae- ology and Bible, not saints. Jewish institutions might offer a course on history or archaeology of early monasticism, but not the kind of engaged and inspiring teaching that Daliah was after. There was simply nowhere to go to obtain this teaching. At this moment, the Elijah School for the Study of Wisdom in World Religions (later renamed the Elijah Interfaith Institute) was born. The vision that came to me in the car was that of an institute that would allow engaged spiritual teaching, based on solid academic foundations, to take place in an exchange among people, students and teachers of different faiths. The vision addressed a real need. I received that conver- sation, and the inspiration that flowed from it, as a calling. Saints, then, have been at the heart of the enterprise of seeking wis- dom and sharing across traditions, an enterprise that has occupied most © The Author(s) 2017 1 A. Goshen-Gottstein, Religious Genius, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-55514-0_1 2 A. GOSHEN-GOTTSTEIN of my attention for the past 20 years. I have come back to the subject of saints time and again. One summer school, in 1999, was devoted to the study of saints in world religions. It is a theme I continue to engage in. It is a theme that goes to the heart of the spiritual life and therefore has the potential to advance some of the most significant spiritual exchanges between members of different faith traditions. As I observed the interfaith arena, I realized that very few individuals or institutions were engaging subjects that lie at the heart of faith con- cerns. So much of interfaith engagement takes place around issues of common concern in the world—peace, environment, coexistence, fresh water and so on. So little actually touches on the faith of participants in an attempt to share what is most precious in one’s faith, or at least to share what can be shared of it. Saints, or exemplary religious individu- als, allow us to do just that. They allow us to explore some of the most fundamental dimensions of the religious life, of our own selves. As the Elijah Institute’s mission is to engage in sharing between religions in the most profound way, the study of saints across religions should lie at the heart of its work. I have had this intuition for years. About 4 or 5 years ago I began a conversation with the leadership of the John Templeton Foundation. I proposed to them the idea of working on saints as a sub- ject of study and of developing this topic as something to be shared between scholars and the faithful of different religions. I was encouraged to explore whether this new area of study might be undertaken under the rubric of “Religious Genius.” I was told the idea was part of the Foundation’s charter and that the Foundation had not yet found a way of developing it. I will admit, the initial impetus for studying extraordinary religious personalities under the rubric of “Religious Genius” came from the out- side and was clearly motivated by my interest in obtaining a grant that would allow the work to be undertaken. Indeed, we did get that grant, and were it not for that grant, the present book would not be published. But as I delved into the category and as dozens of scholars were enlisted into the project, the idea not only grew on me. It was compelling. It made sense. It worked. Of course, “working” is relative to the goals one sets before one- self. If one’s goal is to make “Religious Genius” work, then that can be achieved, just as well as any other way of approaching the topic. So, when I say “it worked” what I mean is that here was a new way to approach a topic that opened up new possibilities, addressed problems
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