Tag Archives: Saadia

Spinoza on the Couch

Posted on June 26, 2016 by N.S. Palmer

My latest blog post for The Jerusalem Post: I’ve spent a lot of my life dealing with crazy people, including myself. “Crazy,” of course, has various definitions, though it’s not the topic of this blog post. My favorite definition was … Continue reading →

Posted in Epistemology, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Philosophy, The Jerusalem Post | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Torah Parallels Are No Problem

Posted on May 17, 2016 by N.S. Palmer

My latest blog post for The Jerusalem Post: Were the Jews the first people to think of monotheism? And would it matter if we weren’t? Such questions tend to worry Biblical scholars when they start comparing our Torah with other … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Modern Orthodoxy, The Jerusalem Post | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Jewish Roots of Modern Science

Posted on May 1, 2016 by N.S. Palmer

Must we choose between science and religious faith? Many people think so. On the scientific side, we find pop atheists such as Sam Harris, who believes that “religious faith is one of the most perverse misuses of intelligence we have … Continue reading →

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How Medieval Islam Influenced Modern Judaism

Posted on March 7, 2016 by N.S. Palmer

My latest blog post for The Jerusalem Post: In the modern era, we associate Islam mainly with terrorism, barbarism, and opposition to science. But it was not always so. Long ago, our early encounters with Islam influenced the development of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Epistemology, Jewish Philosophy, Modern Orthodoxy, Philosophy, The Jerusalem Post | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Belief, Backward and Forward

Posted on January 2, 2016 by N.S. Palmer

My latest blog post for The Jerusalem Post: Judah Halevi was a poet. Saadia Gaon and Moses Maimonides were philosophers. On the surface, their approaches to religious belief seem almost completely different. But at a high level, they agreed almost completely … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Epistemology, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, The Jerusalem Post | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments