Rain of Justice, Voice from Sinai: Theology, Ethics, and Metaphor

Abstract

Religious ethics are undergirded by theology, but the assumption of a commanding God of Sinai is deeply problematic for Reconstructionist Judaism. This article draws on cognitive linguistics and Lakoff and Johnson’s theory of metaphor to explore two biblical metaphors for God: GOD IS WATER, and GOD IS VOICE. These two metaphors provide theological grounding for a non-authoritarian Jewish ethics.