“If the world today lived true to the teachings of Israel’s sainted prophets, there would be no Hitlers, no wars, no hatred and persecution of minorities,” the Rev. Geoffrey W. Stafford, pastor of University Temple, told about 500 listeners in a lecture on “Those Strange Men: The Prophets” at Herzl Synagogue. His talk was the second in a series of seven directed by Rabbi Philip A. Langh, entitled “4,000 Years of Jewish Contribution to Civilization.”
This week, Rabbi Langh will deliver the third lecture in the series, speaking on “The Bible as Literature.” He will discuss the Bible as theology, as a chronicle of history and as “the world’s most read book,” illustrating his talk with examples.
PROPHETS PROTESTED EVILS
Dr. Stafford, in his talk, which more than 100 non-Jews heard, characterized the Hebrew prophets as “not fortune tellers or future tellers, but impassioned ethical teachers, fervent ‘protest’-ants against the evils of the established order, who did not hesitate to defy royalty and priests of their days.”
“Narrow nationalism–the kind which Hitler preaches,” Dr. Stafford said, “and which the ancient prophets decried with all their might, is one of the world’s greatest ills. We must seek the peace Isaiah preached when he counseled beating swords into plowshares.”
The cleric described Jeremiah as “the prophet of woe”; Amos as “the prophet of Justice”; Hosea as “the prophet of love” and Ezekiel as the “ecclesiastical prophet.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
