The Judeo/Christian Tradition: June 2013

Star of David Bible References to the 'Sheol'

They are as HIGH as the Heavens, what can you do?
DEEPER than the Sheol, what can you know?

- Job 11:8

Oh LORD, You have brought my soul UP from Sheol...
...so that I would not go DOWN to the Pit.

- Psalm 30:3

If I ASCEND to Heaven, You are there...
...If I make my bed DOWN in Sheol, behold You are there.

-Psalm 139:8

The path of life leads UPWARD for the wise...
...so that they may keep away from Sheol BELOW.

- Proverbs 15:24

Make it DEEP as Sheol...
...or HIGH as Heaven

- Isaiah 7:11

Though they dig DEEP into Sheol...My hand will take them.
Though they ASCEND into Heaven...I will bring them down.

-Amos 9:2

Star of David Bible References to the 'Sheol'

+++ The Obama Family's Judeo/Christian Values +++

My Bible tells me that if we train a child in the way he should go, when he is old he will not turn from it. I think faith and guidance can help fortify a young woman’s sense of self, a young man’s sense of responsibility, and a sense of reverence all young people for the act of sexual intimacy.

- Senator Barack Obama

(The story of Jesus' birth) that we are called to love each other as we love ourselves, that we are our brother's keeper and our sister's keeper, and our destinies are linked...It's a message that guides my Christian faith.

- President Barack Obama

It's interesting listening to the girls, what they pray for...They'll talk about family and thanking God for blessing us, but they'll always add a little twist: 'I hope we have a great Thanksgiving, I can't wait to see the cousins'...They used to pray for a Dog, until we got a Dog.

- President Barack Obama, commenting on his family's prayers before dinner at the White House

It means all the world to us to know that there are prayer circles out there and people who are keeping the spirits clean around us.

- First Lady Michelle Obama

I found myself drawn - not just to work with the Church but to be in the Church...It was through this service that I was brought to Christ.

- President Barack Obama, University of Notre Dame, May 17 2010

I'd just sit in the back and I'd listen to the choir and I'd listen to the sermon...There were times that I would just start tearing up listening to the choir and share that sense of release.

- President Barack Obama

+++ The Obama Family's Judeo/Christian Values +++

+++ BARACK OBAMA, THE JUDEO/CHRISTIAN PRESIDENT +++

And I'd say, probably, intellectually I've drawn as much from Judaism as any other faith.

- Barack Obama, President of the United States of America (2008-2013)

+++ Former Law Professor Barack Obama, the Judeo/Christian Intellectual +++

Our law is by definition a codification of morality, much of it grounded in the Judeo-Christian tradition.

- Barack Obama

It was because of these newfound understandings - that religious commitment did not require me to suspend critical thinking, disengage from the battle for economic and social justice, or otherwise retreat from the world that I knew and loved - that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ one day and be baptized. It came about as a choice and not an epiphany; the questions I had did not magically disappear. But kneeling beneath that cross on the South Side of Chicago, I felt God's spirit beckoning me. I submitted myself to His will, and dedicated myself to discovering His truth.

- Barack Obama: My Spiritual Journey

The precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead: being my brother's and sister's keeper, treating others as they would treat me...I think my public service is part of that effort to express my Christian faith.

- President Barack Obama

As somebody who relies heavily on my Christian faith in my job, I understand the passions that religious faith can raise.

- President Barack Obama

+++ Former Law Professor Barack Obama, a Judeo/Christian Intellectual +++