Religious Philosophy
A tannaitic tradition (Ḥag. 14b; Tosef., Ḥag. ii. 3) mentions that of the four who entered paradise, Akiva was the only one that returned unscathed. This serves at least to show how strong in later ages was the recollection of Akiva's philosophical speculation (see Elisha b. Abuya).
Akiva's utterances (Abot, iii. 14, 15) may serve to present the essence of his religious conviction. They run:
- How favored is man, for he was created after an image; as Scripture says, "for in an image, Elohim made man" (Gen. ix. 6).
- Everything is foreseen; but freedom is given to every man.
- The world is governed by mercy... but the divine decision is made by the preponderance of the good or bad in one's actions.
Akiva's anthropology is based upon the principle that man was created בצלם, that is, not in the image of God—which would be בצלם אלהים—but after an image, after a primordial type; or, philosophically speaking, after an Idea—what Philo calls in agreement with Judean theology, "the first heavenly man" (see Adam ḳadmon). Strict monotheist that Akiba was, he protested against any comparison of God with the angels, and declared the plain interpretation of כאחד ממנו (Gen. iii. 22) as meaning "like one of us" to be arrant blasphemy (Mek., Beshallaḥ, 6). It is quite instructive to read how a Christian of Akiba's generation, Justin Martyr, calls the literal interpretation—thus objected to by Akiba—a "Jewish heretical one" (Dial. cum Tryph. lxii.). In his earnest endeavors to insist as strongly as possible upon the incomparable nature of God, Akiba indeed lowers the angels somewhat to the realms of mortals, and, alluding to Ps. lxxviii. 25, maintains that manna is the actual food of the angels (Yoma, 75b). This view of Akiba's, in spite of the energetic protests of his colleague Rabbi Ishmael, became the one generally accepted by his contemporaries, as Justin Martyr, l.c., lvii., indicates.
Read more about this topic: Akiva Ben Joseph
Famous quotes containing the words religious and/or philosophy:
“... the loss of belief in future states is politically, though certainly not spiritually, the most significant distinction between our present period and the centuries before. And this loss is definite. For no matter how religious our world may turn again, or how much authentic faith still exists in it, or how deeply our moral values may be rooted in our religious systems, the fear of hell is no longer among the motives which would prevent or stimulate the actions of a majority.”
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)
“What makes philosophy so tedious is not the profundity of philosophers, but their lack of art; they are like physicians who sought to cure a slight hyperacidity by prescribing a carload of burned oyster-shells.”
—H.L. (Henry Lewis)