Chosen people
Encyclopedia
Throughout history and even today various groups of people have considered themselves as chosen by a deity
for some purpose such as to act as the deity's agent on earth. In monotheistic faiths, like Abrahamic religions
, references to God
(or equivalent) are used in constructs such as "God's Chosen People". Modern anthropology
regards these claims as a form of ethnocentrism
.
, (or the Tanakh
), called the "Old Testament
" by Christians, the "Treasured People" is the exact phrase used in the text, referring to the Hebrews
/Israelites. In the Book of Deuteronomy, YHWH proclaims the Nation of Israel, known originally as the Children of Israel, as his "treasured people out of all the people on the face of the earth" (Deuteronomy 7:6). As mentioned in the Book of Exodus, the Hebrew people are God's chosen people, and from them shall come the Messiah
, or redeemer of the world. The Israelites also possess the "Word of God" and/or the "Law of God" in the form of the Torah
as communicated by God to Moses
.
In Judaism
, chosenness is the belief that the Jews are a people chosen to be in a covenant
with God. In modern-day Rabbinical Judaism, the idea is not connected with being the descendants of Jacob
(Israel), as it was in Biblical Judaism,, since non-Jews can become Jews.
The Jewish idea of being chosen is first found in the Torah (five books of Moses
) and is elaborated on in later books of the Hebrew Bible
. This status carries both responsibilities and blessings as described in the Biblical covenants
with God. Much is written about this topic in rabbinic literature
.
The chosenness refers to a specific set of responsibilities beyond the Seven Laws of Noah given to all mankind. Every child of Noah (non-Jew) has the responsibility to live by the seven Noahide laws.
Though not held by authority figures of the religious Jews around the world, there are people with the opinion that the acceptance to adhere to the laws and commandments of Judaism make the chosen character as one of the Jewish people choosing to be in the covenant with God and not the other way around. The usual Orthodox thinking states that even completely secular Jews are part of the Jewish nation and are 'full-fledged' Jews.
theology
, the Seventh-day Adventist church is identified as the end time
remnant identified in Revelation 12:17. According to this view, Adventists are "chosen" by God to proclaim the three angels' messages
of Revelation 14 to the world.
, all Latter Day Saints are viewed as covenant, or chosen, people; they have accepted the name of Jesus Christ. This acceptance of entering the covenant is initiated by baptism. In contrast to supersessionism
, Latter Day Saints do not dispute the "chosen" status of the Jewish people. In LDS doctrine all people who have ever lived will have the ability to enter into this covenant during the Millennium. Mormon eschatology
holds that Jews, as a chosen people, will ultimately accept Christianity (See Jeremiah 31:31-34).
Most practicing LDS members receive a patriarchal blessing
that reveals their lineage in the House of Israel. This lineage may be blood related or through "adoption;" therefore, a child may not necessarily share the lineage of her parents (but will still be a member of the tribes of Israel). It is a widely held belief that most members of the faith are in the tribe of Ephraim
or the tribe of Manasseh
.
(God incarnate), rendering them supreme physically and spiritually to all other people. Many Rastas are also physical immortalists who believe the chosen few will continue to live forever in their current bodies. This idea of ever living (rather than everlasting) life is very strong and important.
Based on Jewish biblical tradition and Ethiopian legend via Kebra Nagast
, Rastas believe that Israel's King Solomon, together with Ethiopian Queen of Sheba, conceived a child which began the Solomonic line of kings in Ethiopia, rendering the African people as the true children of Israel, and thereby chosen. Reinforcement of this belief occurred when Beta Israel
, Ethiopia's ancient Israelite First Temple community, were rescued from Sudanese famine and brought to Israel during Operation Moses
in 1985.
is the chosen nation, selected to serve a divine mission. Korea, Moon says, was "chosen by God to be the birthplace of the leading figure of the age", and to be the birthplace of "Heavenly Tradition", ushering in God's kingdom.
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
for some purpose such as to act as the deity's agent on earth. In monotheistic faiths, like Abrahamic religions
Abrahamic religions
Abrahamic religions are the monotheistic faiths emphasizing and tracing their common origin to Abraham or recognizing a spiritual tradition identified with him...
, references to God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
(or equivalent) are used in constructs such as "God's Chosen People". Modern anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
regards these claims as a form of ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism is the tendency to believe that one's ethnic or cultural group is centrally important, and that all other groups are measured in relation to one's own. The ethnocentric individual will judge other groups relative to his or her own particular ethnic group or culture, especially with...
.
Judaism
In the Hebrew BibleHebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
, (or the Tanakh
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
), called the "Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
" by Christians, the "Treasured People" is the exact phrase used in the text, referring to the Hebrews
Hebrews
Hebrews is an ethnonym used in the Hebrew Bible...
/Israelites. In the Book of Deuteronomy, YHWH proclaims the Nation of Israel, known originally as the Children of Israel, as his "treasured people out of all the people on the face of the earth" (Deuteronomy 7:6). As mentioned in the Book of Exodus, the Hebrew people are God's chosen people, and from them shall come the Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
, or redeemer of the world. The Israelites also possess the "Word of God" and/or the "Law of God" in the form of the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
as communicated by God to Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
.
In Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, chosenness is the belief that the Jews are a people chosen to be in a covenant
Covenant (biblical)
A biblical covenant is an agreement found in the Bible between God and His people in which God makes specific promises and demands. It is the customary word used to translate the Hebrew word berith. It it is used in the Tanakh 286 times . All Abrahamic religions consider the Biblical covenant...
with God. In modern-day Rabbinical Judaism, the idea is not connected with being the descendants of Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
(Israel), as it was in Biblical Judaism,, since non-Jews can become Jews.
The Jewish idea of being chosen is first found in the Torah (five books of Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
) and is elaborated on in later books of the Hebrew Bible
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
. This status carries both responsibilities and blessings as described in the Biblical covenants
Covenant (biblical)
A biblical covenant is an agreement found in the Bible between God and His people in which God makes specific promises and demands. It is the customary word used to translate the Hebrew word berith. It it is used in the Tanakh 286 times . All Abrahamic religions consider the Biblical covenant...
with God. Much is written about this topic in rabbinic literature
Rabbinic literature
Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writing, and thus corresponds with the Hebrew term...
.
The chosenness refers to a specific set of responsibilities beyond the Seven Laws of Noah given to all mankind. Every child of Noah (non-Jew) has the responsibility to live by the seven Noahide laws.
Though not held by authority figures of the religious Jews around the world, there are people with the opinion that the acceptance to adhere to the laws and commandments of Judaism make the chosen character as one of the Jewish people choosing to be in the covenant with God and not the other way around. The usual Orthodox thinking states that even completely secular Jews are part of the Jewish nation and are 'full-fledged' Jews.
Seventh-day Adventism
In traditional Seventh-day AdventistSeventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
theology
Christian theology
- Divisions of Christian theology :There are many methods of categorizing different approaches to Christian theology. For a historical analysis, see the main article on the History of Christian theology.- Sub-disciplines :...
, the Seventh-day Adventist church is identified as the end time
Christian eschatology
Christian eschatology is a major branch of study within Christian theology. Eschatology, from two Greek words meaning last and study , is the study of the end of things, whether the end of an individual life, the end of the age, or the end of the world...
remnant identified in Revelation 12:17. According to this view, Adventists are "chosen" by God to proclaim the three angels' messages
Three Angels' Messages
In Seventh-day Adventist beliefs, the "three angels' messages" is an interpretation of the messages given by three angels in Revelation . The church teaches that these messages are given to prepare the world for the second coming of Jesus Christ, and sees them as a central part of its own...
of Revelation 14 to the world.
Mormonism
In MormonismMormonism
Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...
, all Latter Day Saints are viewed as covenant, or chosen, people; they have accepted the name of Jesus Christ. This acceptance of entering the covenant is initiated by baptism. In contrast to supersessionism
Supersessionism
Supersessionism is a term for the dominant Christian view of the Old Covenant, also called fulfillment theology and replacement theology, though the latter term is disputed...
, Latter Day Saints do not dispute the "chosen" status of the Jewish people. In LDS doctrine all people who have ever lived will have the ability to enter into this covenant during the Millennium. Mormon eschatology
Eschatology
Eschatology is a part of theology, philosophy, and futurology concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world or the World to Come...
holds that Jews, as a chosen people, will ultimately accept Christianity (See Jeremiah 31:31-34).
Most practicing LDS members receive a patriarchal blessing
Patriarchal blessing
In the Latter Day Saint movement, a patriarchal blessing is a blessing or ordinance given by a patriarch to a church member. Patriarchal blessings are modeled after the blessing given by Jacob to each of his sons prior to his death...
that reveals their lineage in the House of Israel. This lineage may be blood related or through "adoption;" therefore, a child may not necessarily share the lineage of her parents (but will still be a member of the tribes of Israel). It is a widely held belief that most members of the faith are in the tribe of Ephraim
Tribe of Ephraim
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Ephraim was one of the Tribes of Israel. The Tribe of Manasseh together with Ephraim also formed the House of Joseph....
or the tribe of Manasseh
Tribe of Manasseh
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Manasseh was one of the Tribes of Israel. Together with the Tribe of Ephraim, Manasseh also formed the House of Joseph....
.
Rastafari
Rastafaris beliefs contain six fundamental principles, including the complete chosenness of the black race in the eyes of JahJah
Jah is the shortened form of the divine name YHWH , an anglicized version of the Tetragrammaton . The name is most commonly associated with the Rastafari movement or within the word hallelujah, although Christian groups may use the name to varying degrees. For example, Jehovah's Witnesses use a...
(God incarnate), rendering them supreme physically and spiritually to all other people. Many Rastas are also physical immortalists who believe the chosen few will continue to live forever in their current bodies. This idea of ever living (rather than everlasting) life is very strong and important.
Based on Jewish biblical tradition and Ethiopian legend via Kebra Nagast
Kebra Nagast
The Kebra Nagast , or the Book of the Glory of Kings, is an account written in Ge'ez of the origins of the Solomonic line of the Emperors of Ethiopia. The text, in its existing form, is at least seven hundred years old, and is considered by many Ethiopian Christians and Rastafarians to be an...
, Rastas believe that Israel's King Solomon, together with Ethiopian Queen of Sheba, conceived a child which began the Solomonic line of kings in Ethiopia, rendering the African people as the true children of Israel, and thereby chosen. Reinforcement of this belief occurred when Beta Israel
Beta Israel
Beta Israel Israel, Ge'ez: ቤተ እስራኤል - Bēta 'Isrā'ēl, modern Bēte 'Isrā'ēl, EAE: "Betä Ǝsraʾel", "Community of Israel" also known as Ethiopian Jews , are the names of Jewish communities which lived in the area of Aksumite and Ethiopian Empires , nowadays divided between Amhara and Tigray...
, Ethiopia's ancient Israelite First Temple community, were rescued from Sudanese famine and brought to Israel during Operation Moses
Operation Moses
Operation Moses refers to the covert evacuation of Ethiopian Jews from Sudan during a famine in 1984...
in 1985.
Unification Church
Reverend Moon teaches that KoreaKorea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
is the chosen nation, selected to serve a divine mission. Korea, Moon says, was "chosen by God to be the birthplace of the leading figure of the age", and to be the birthplace of "Heavenly Tradition", ushering in God's kingdom.
See also
- 144,000
- Chosen oneChosen OneChosen One is the second Hillsong Music album in the Youth Alive series by the Hillsong Church.-Track listing:# "Let the Fire" # "Salvation" # "Sing Hallelujah"...
- Christ of EuropeChrist of EuropeThe Christ of Europe is the messianic doctrine based in New Testament, first popularized among various European nations by the Church of Jesus Christ of Europe in the 16th to the 18th centuries...
- EthnocentrismEthnocentrismEthnocentrism is the tendency to believe that one's ethnic or cultural group is centrally important, and that all other groups are measured in relation to one's own. The ethnocentric individual will judge other groups relative to his or her own particular ethnic group or culture, especially with...
- ExceptionalismExceptionalismExceptionalism is the perception that a country, society, institution, movement, or time period is "exceptional" in some way and thus does not need to conform to normal rules or general principles...
- God complexGod complexA god complex is an unshakable belief characterized by consistently inflated feelings of personal ability, privilege, or infallibility. A person with a god complex may refuse to admit the possibility of error or failure, even in the face of complex or intractable problems or difficult or impossible...
- Master raceMaster raceMaster race was a phrase and concept originating in the slave-holding Southern US. The later phrase Herrenvolk , interpreted as 'master race', was a concept in Nazi ideology in which the Nordic peoples, one of the branches of what in the late-19th and early-20th century was called the Aryan race,...
- Messiah complex (self-concept)
- Moral superiorityMoral superiorityMoral superiority is the belief or attitude that one's position and actions are justified by having higher moral values than one's political, religious or moral opponent; see "just war" concept....
- ProselytismProselytismProselytizing is the act of attempting to convert people to another opinion and, particularly, another religion. The word proselytize is derived ultimately from the Greek language prefix προσ- and the verb ἔρχομαι in the form of προσήλυτος...
- Religious fanaticismReligious fanaticismReligious fanaticism is fanaticism related to a person's, or a group's, devotion to a religion. However, religious fanaticism is a subjective evaluation defined by the culture context that is performing the evaluation. What constitutes fanaticism in another's behavior or belief is determined by the...
- Religious intoleranceReligious intoleranceReligious intolerance is intolerance against another's religious beliefs or practices.-Definition:The mere statement on the part of a religion that its own beliefs and practices are correct and any contrary beliefs incorrect does not in itself constitute intolerance...
- TheocracyTheocracyTheocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....