Toward a Theology for Conservative Judai
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Conservative Judaism's reluctance to define its theological positions has become increasingly untenable in an era of competing ideological absolutes. As religious fundamentalism and secular humanism vie for spiritual allegiance, Jewish laity increasingly demand sophisticated theological frameworks to navigate their faith. Through theological analysis and historical investigation, this research reveals that the fundamental divide between Conservative Judaism and fundamentalist movements centers on their divergent understanding of revelation. Building on Abraham Joshua Heschel's critique in "God in Search of Man," the study challenges fundamentalist doctrines of verbal revelation while demonstrating that theological pluralism has been intrinsic to authentic Jewish tradition throughout history. Analysis of rabbinic literature and historical precedents shows that rejecting verbal revelation actually preserves monotheistic faith by recognizing Torah as myth in Tillich's sense—a human interpretation of divine reality that transcends literal comprehension. Rather than ideological vagueness, Conservative Judaism's theological distinctiveness emerges in its recognition that religious language functions mythically rather than literally, enabling legitimate theological diversity while maintaining belief in divine revelation and Jewish religious authority.

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Published 1983
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Neil Gillman