My World Religions class at Lakeside Christian Church continues on.  Last week, we wrapped up our coverage of the major “Abrahamic” religions – those religions that trace their history back to Abraham – in other words, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.  This week, we’ll move east by looking at Hinduism.

Photo: Judaica, by Gila Brand via Wikipedia.

Helpful Links

Local links: Cincinnati has a rich Jewish heritage, particularly in Reform Judaism.

• Hebrew Union College is the oldest Jewish seminary in the U.S.
• Mayerson Jewish Community Center: In Cincinnati and many other cities, Jewish Community Centers serve as “common ground” where Orthodox, Reform, and Conservative Jews, who may disagree with each other about religious issues, can come together for social, cultural, and service events.
• Jewish Federation: The “United Way” for Cincinnati’s Jewish charities.
• David’s Voice: “The Voice of Jewish Cincinnati”

In 2008, several Jewish organizations in Cincinnati collaborated to create the Cincinnati Jewish Community Study. If you’re interested in the Jewish community in Greater Cincinnati, this is a great resource.

Star of David: Some class members were asking about the origins of the Star of David.  The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has an interesting article on the Star’s history and meaning, including several ancient artifacts that use the Star.

Jewish Bloggers: A couple of Jewish bloggers to note:

• Brad Greenberg is a Jewish-Christian writer, formerly a journalist but now in law school, who writes the God Blog for the Los Angeles-based Jewish Journal. Brad can be a helpful bridge between Jewish and Christian worlds.
• Rabbi Shmuley Boteach might be the closest thing we have to a “Jewish Billy Graham.”  He writes a blog on Beliefnet.com.

Bonus link for sports fans: did you know that the early days of professional basketball was dominated by Jewish players? Players like Dolph Schayes, legendary coaches like Red Auerbach, owners like Abe Saperstein (the founder of the Harlem Globetrotters) – Brad Greenberg wrote a great story about the Jewish roots of basketball for the Jewish Journal. (Today, there are only two Jewish NBA players – LA Laker point guard Jordan Farmar, and Omri Casspi, an Israeli forward who plays for the Sacramento Kings).

Materials from class are available after clicking “Read More.”

Materials from Class

You download the handout from class as a PDF by clicking here. The presentation is below.