How the Jewish community adapted their religious system after the destruction of the temple in 70 AD.
The loss put Judaism at a crossroads. The destruction meant an end to the sacrificial system – a concept central to Jewish life and faith. This forced the Jewish community to adapt.
The best exposition and solution to this problem is by one of modern Israel’s great scholars–Ephraim E. Urbach. He covered this in his great work, The Sages: Their Concepts and Beliefs.
For those new to the legacy and writings of Mr. Urbach, here is a brief description: he “was a distinguished scholar of Judaism. He is best known for his landmark works on rabbinic thought, The Sages, and for research on the Tosafot. He was an unsuccessful candidate to be President of Israel in 1973.”1
Enclosed is his coverage on how the new Jewish identity had shifted from sacrifice to study and charity.
Vincent Ferrer and the Gift of Tongues
Vincent Ferrer was a Dominican missionary in the 14th century (1350 to 1419 AD). Legend has it that his native tongue was Valencian, a dialect of Catalan spoken in Spain. He didn’t know any other language. This did not stop his audience from miraculously hearing him in their language. This is a historic variant of …
St. Norbert of Xanten Speaking in Tongues
Translation and analysis of St. Norbert of Xanten. A 12th-century Christian who is claimed to have spoken in tongues. The medieval biography of the Saints called Acta Sanctorum only includes a brief reference to him and it is not clear whether it was a miraculous act. Perhaps it was a description of St. Norbert as …
St. Norbert of Xanten speaking in tongues: source texts
Source text and an important French commentary about St. Norbert of Xanten speaking in tongues.
St. Patiens Speaking in Tongues
St. Patiens was on a missionary trip to Metz and was supernaturally able to speak their language upon arrival – but there is a twist to this story.
St. Matthew Speaking in Tongues
A Medieval account on the apostle Matthew speaking in tongues. The following is a modified version of William Caxton’s 1483 English translation of the Latin work, Legendae Aurea, commonly known in English as the Golden Legend. A highly popular book during the Medieval era. The text as it is found in the Golden Legend Matthew …
When the Database Becomes god
A look into the ethics and economics of databases and algorithms. How technology has outpaced the social conscience and society needs to catch-up.
Electronic databases are necessary, and there is no way that we can revert to the days of a pen and paper society, but do we trust databases too much?
Everybody uses a database every day. The question is really how much. The answer is many times more than you think. They control how our lives are structured.
St. Anthony of Padua's Miraculous Speech
Accounts of St. Anthony of Padua allegedly speaking in tongues.
Benedict XIV on Tongues: Analysis
Discovering and understanding Pope Benedict the XIV’s treatise on the gift of tongues.
Pope Benedict XIV on Tongues: Technical Notes
Technical notes on the translation of Pope Benedict XIV’s treatise, De Servorum Dei Beatificatione et Beatorum Canonizatione, as it relates to the gift of tongues