Background
Rubenstein, Richard Lowell was born on January 8, 1924 in New York City. Son of Jesse George and Sara (Fine) Rubenstein.
(Richard L. Rubenstein (born 1924) is an educator in relig...)
Richard L. Rubenstein (born 1924) is an educator in religion and a major writer in the American Jewish community, noted particularly for his contributions to Holocaust theology. In the mid-60's, he was considered one of the founders of the 'God is Dead Theology.' He wrote in the Preface to this 1966 book, "A religious community has some semblance to a living organism. It is impossible savagely to rip out half of its substance without drastically affecting the surviving remnant. The first reaction to such a wounding must be shock and numbness. I do not believe the period of shock has entirely spent itself. It is only now that a tentative attempt can be made to assess the religious meaning of the events. This book represents one such attempt." Here are some additional quotations from the book: "Although Jewish history is replete with disaster, none has been so radical in its total import as the holocaust. Our images of God, man, and the moral order have been permanently impaired. No Jewish theology will possess even a remote degree of relevance to contemporary Jewish life if it ignores the question of God and the death camps." (Pg. x) "When I wrote this paper, I saw Israel's rebirth as 'the beginning of redemption.' I no longer so regard it." (Pg. 130) "I do not believe that a Divine-human encounter took place at Sinai nor do I believe that the norms of Jewish religious life possess any superordinate validation." (Pg. 145) "How can Jews believe in an omnipotent, beneficient God after Auschwitz?" (Pg. 153) "The revelation of the death camps caused me to reject the whole optimistic theology of liberal religion... The death camps spelled the end of my optimism concerning the human condition." (Pg. 216)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0024045306/?tag=2022091-20
( Distinctively coauthored by a Christian scholar and a J...)
Distinctively coauthored by a Christian scholar and a Jewish scholar, this monumental, interdisciplinary study explores the various ways in which the Holocaust has been studied and assesses its continuing significance. The authors develop an analysis of the Holocaust's historical roots, its shattering impact on human civilization, and its decisive importance in determining the fate of the world. This revised edition takes into account developments in Holocaust studies since the first edition was published.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0664223532/?tag=2022091-20
Rubenstein, Richard Lowell was born on January 8, 1924 in New York City. Son of Jesse George and Sara (Fine) Rubenstein.
Student, Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, 1945. Bachelor of Arts Cincinnati, 1946. MHL rabbi, Jewish Theological Seminary, New York City, 1952.
Doctor of Humane Letters (honoris causa), Jewish Theological Seminary, 1987. Master of Sacred Theology, Harvard University, 1955. Doctor of Philosophy, Harvard University, 1960.
Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), Grand Valley State University, 1999.
1952-1954. Rabbi in Brockton. 1954-1956, Natick; 1955-1958. Harvard University; 1958-1970, Dir.
Hillel, and Jewish student chaplain. University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Institute of Theology. 1969-1970, Professor of Humanities, University of Pittsburgh.
Since 1970, Professor, then Distinguished Professor, of Religion, Florida State University. 1976-1977, Postdoctoral Fellow, Society of Religion in Higher Education, National Humanities Institute. Fellow, Yale University.
1979, Visiting Professor, California State University. 1985, Vancouver State University;
1980-, Codirector. Institute of Humanities.
198291, President. Washington Institute of Values in Public Policy. Since 1991, Member, President Council International Religious Federation of World Peace. 1983, Member, Editorial Board, International Journal World Peace-, 1987, advisory board, International Journal of Unity of Science.
1989-1992, advisory board, Institute for the Study of the American Wars. Editor of various journals on humanism, religions and politics. Member. Rabbinical Assembly America.
American Academy
of Religion. Social Science Study of Religion. Society
Bib. Lit. Int.
Psychohist. Association.
( Distinctively coauthored by a Christian scholar and a J...)
( Richard Rubenstein writes of the holocaust, why it happ...)
(Controversial rabbi and theologian Richard L. Rubenstein ...)
(Book by Rubenstein, Richard)
(Very Good/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. 2nd pri...)
(Richard L. Rubenstein (born 1924) is an educator in relig...)
(A classic.)
Author: After Auschwitz: Radical Theology and Contemporary Judaism, 1966, The Religious Imagination, 1968 (Portico d'Ottavia literature prize for Italian translation 1977), Morality and Eros, 1970, My Brother Paul, 1972, Power Struggle: An Autobiographical Confession, 1974, The Cunning of History, 1975, The Age of Triage, 1983, (with John K. Roth) Approaches to Auschwitz, 1986, After Auschwitz: History, Theology and Contemporary Judaism, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992, La Perfidie De J'Histoire, 2005, Jihad And Genocida, 2009. Editor: Modernization: The Humanist Response to Its Promise and Problems, 1982, Spirit Matters: The Worldwide Impact of Religion on Contemporary Politics, 1987, The Dissolving Alliance: The United States and the Future of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Alliance, 1987, In Depth: A Journal of Values in Public Policy, 1991-1994. Regular columnist Sekai Nippo, Tokyo, 1987-1994.
Rubenstein is a controversial theologian who attempts to understand the meaning of Jewish existence without God, whom he considers to have died at Auschwitz. However, rather than suggesting that ‘God is dead’, he states in After Auschwitz (1966) that ‘we live in the time of the death of God. The death of God is a cultural fact.
We shall never know whether it is more than that.’ Any transcendent meaning to Jewish destiny must, in his view, increasingly be bound up with the security of the State of Israel. He received hostile criticism in the American Jewish community and has increasingly become more interested in the philosophy of global issues. Sources: HncJud: Who’s Who in America 1992-1993, p.
Trustee Greater Bridgeport Regional Business Council, 1996-1999, United Way of Eastern Fairfield County, Connecticut, since 1998, Bridgeport Public Education Fund, since 1997. Life trustee University Bridgeport, since 2000. Director, executive committee Center for Humanity, Beth Shalom Holocause Center, United Kingdom.
Member Rabbinical Assembly American, American Academy Religion, Science Society Study Religion, Professors World Peace Academy (executive committee since 1980, president 1981-1982), Society for Biblical Literature, International House of Japan, Harvard Club (New York City), Cosmos Club, Rotary.
Unitarianism. Reform and Conservative Judaism. Poverty and non-religious upbringing. Antisemitism; the Holocaust.
Death of infant son, 1950.
Married Betty Rogers Alschuler, August 21, 1966. Children by previous marriage: Aaron (deceased ), Nathaniel (deceased), Hannah Rachel, Jeremy.