When the Truth Is Not What Actually Happened: The Epistemology of Religious Truth in Orthodox Jewish Bible Study
Recent research on student epistemology has shifted from seeing epistemology as a stable entity possessed by individuals to a collection of more situated cognitive resources that individuals may employ differently depending on the context. Much of this research has focused on the explicit beliefs st...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-06-01
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| Series: | Religions |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/6/378 |
| _version_ | 1819051507493896192 |
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| author | Moshe Krakowski David Block |
| author_facet | Moshe Krakowski David Block |
| author_sort | Moshe Krakowski |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Recent research on student epistemology has shifted from seeing epistemology as a stable entity possessed by individuals to a collection of more situated cognitive resources that individuals may employ differently depending on the context. Much of this research has focused on the explicit beliefs students maintain about the nature of knowledge. This paper uses data from Jewish religious <i>chumash</i> (Bible) study to examine how students’ conceptions of biblical truth are grounded in the particular forms of <i>chumash</i> study they engage in. Using data from clinical interviews with Orthodox Jewish Bible students, we argue that, in relation to the biblical text, questions of truth are functionally meaningless; that is, they are irrelevant to the implicit epistemology embedded in the practice of <i>chumash</i> study. Because of this, students were unable to coherently answer questions about the truth-value of the biblical text, even while engaging in sophisticated reasoning about its literary character. This has implications for how religious schools and teachers approach religious study of traditional texts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T12:05:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8b07f4e038284aebbe4ece6399a641ec |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T12:05:02Z |
| publishDate | 2019-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-8b07f4e038284aebbe4ece6399a641ec2022-12-21T19:04:44ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442019-06-0110637810.3390/rel10060378rel10060378When the Truth Is Not What Actually Happened: The Epistemology of Religious Truth in Orthodox Jewish Bible StudyMoshe Krakowski0David Block1Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education, Yeshiva University, New York, NY 10033, USAShalhevet High School, Los Angeles, CA 90036, USARecent research on student epistemology has shifted from seeing epistemology as a stable entity possessed by individuals to a collection of more situated cognitive resources that individuals may employ differently depending on the context. Much of this research has focused on the explicit beliefs students maintain about the nature of knowledge. This paper uses data from Jewish religious <i>chumash</i> (Bible) study to examine how students’ conceptions of biblical truth are grounded in the particular forms of <i>chumash</i> study they engage in. Using data from clinical interviews with Orthodox Jewish Bible students, we argue that, in relation to the biblical text, questions of truth are functionally meaningless; that is, they are irrelevant to the implicit epistemology embedded in the practice of <i>chumash</i> study. Because of this, students were unable to coherently answer questions about the truth-value of the biblical text, even while engaging in sophisticated reasoning about its literary character. This has implications for how religious schools and teachers approach religious study of traditional texts.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/6/378epistemologyBiblereligious beliefseducation |
| spellingShingle | Moshe Krakowski David Block When the Truth Is Not What Actually Happened: The Epistemology of Religious Truth in Orthodox Jewish Bible Study Religions epistemology Bible religious beliefs education |
| title | When the Truth Is Not What Actually Happened: The Epistemology of Religious Truth in Orthodox Jewish Bible Study |
| title_full | When the Truth Is Not What Actually Happened: The Epistemology of Religious Truth in Orthodox Jewish Bible Study |
| title_fullStr | When the Truth Is Not What Actually Happened: The Epistemology of Religious Truth in Orthodox Jewish Bible Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | When the Truth Is Not What Actually Happened: The Epistemology of Religious Truth in Orthodox Jewish Bible Study |
| title_short | When the Truth Is Not What Actually Happened: The Epistemology of Religious Truth in Orthodox Jewish Bible Study |
| title_sort | when the truth is not what actually happened the epistemology of religious truth in orthodox jewish bible study |
| topic | epistemology Bible religious beliefs education |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/6/378 |
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