Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel’s religious antecedents as legitimising a Christian faith expression

Abstract

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel’s depth theology model is a theology of the act of believing. It emerges from the Chasidic expression of Judaism founded during the Enlightenment period. A modern approach is to profile God according to circumstances as a prerequisite to believing. The uniqueness of this Jewish concept of faith is come to in an indirect way. Heschel argues from antecedents to believing in order to establish faith’s credibility. This is done, not by emphasising content of belief in the first instance, but on awareness of reality at its fullest expression. This approach could be seriously considered as establishing grounds towards credible Christian faith expressing a living testimony. It could also serve as an ecumenical bridge between Jewish and Christian religions in their sharing of commonalities of the basics of what constitutes legitimate faith.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel se diepte-teologie model is ’n teologie van die daadwerklikheid van geloof. Dit blyk uit die Chasidiese uitdrukking van Judaïsme en is tydens die Verligtingstydperk gegrondves. ’n Moderne teïstiese benadering is om ’n profiel van God volgens omstandighede as voorvereiste van geloof te skep. Die uniekheid van dié Joodse konsep van geloof kom op indirekte wyse. Heschel redeneer vanuit sy religieuse (voor)geskiedenis ter vasstelling van die geloofwaardigheid van die Christelike geloof. Dit word gedoen deur in die eerste plek nie die inhoud van geloof te beklemtoon nie, maar wel ’n bewustheid van die werklikheid as die volste uitdrukking daarvan. Hierdie benadering kan ernstig oorweeg word as die vestiging van ’n geloofwaardige Christelike geloofsuitdrukking as lewende getuienis. Dit kan ook as ekumeniese brug tussen die Joodse en Christelike godsdienste dien in die gedeelde raakpunte wat geloof regverdig.