Download or read book Biblical Ambiguities written by David H. Aaron and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2002 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Aaron systematically examines God-related idioms in the Hebrew Bible to determine whether a particular idiom is meant to be understood metaphorically. Aaron challenges current methodologies that dominate biblical scholarship regarding metaphor and offers original, viable alternatives to the standard approaches. Please note that "Biblical Ambiguities" was previously published by Brill in hardback (ISBN 90 04 12032 7), still available)
Download or read book Through a Glass Darkly written by Donald L. Berry and published by University Press of America. This book was released on 2006 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The origin, basic texts, central affirmations, and life-policy proposals of the Christian tradition are more ambiguous than either Christianity's critics or advocates often acknowledge. Through a Glass Darkly considers how one might grant authority to the biblical texts without regarding them as inerrant or infallibly true.
Download or read book Figurative Language in Biblical Prose Narrative written by Andrea Weiss and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2006-03-01 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study applies several linguistic approaches to the book of Samuel in order to investigate the defining features of metaphor and the way metaphor and other forms of figurative language operate in biblical narrative. The book begins with an exploration of how to identify and interpret the metaphors in 1 Samuel 25. Next, the metaphors in 2 Samuel 16:16-17:14 are compared with other tropes, primarily metonymy and simile. Then the notion of “dead” metaphors is challenged while examining the figurative language in 1 Samuel 24. An in-depth analysis of the figurative language in these texts results in a better understanding of the mechanics of metaphor, and a richer, more nuanced reading of these stories, their characters, and language.
Download or read book In the Eyes of God written by Brian C. Howell and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2013-09-24 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Throughout the Bible, divine interaction with humanity is portrayed in almost embarrassingly human terms. He sees, hears, thinks, feels, runs, rides chariots, laughs, wields weapons, gives birth, and even repents. Many of these expressions, taken at face value, seem to run afoul of much classical theology, including divine simplicity, transcendence, omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, and especially immutability. Traditionally, these texts have been seen as ""accommodations"" to human intellectual and moral limitations. That is, they were deemed as giving God a more approachable feel, but not as representing any ""real"" part of his character, being, or interaction with humanity. For example, references to God seeing or hearing are not deemed to represent real acts, as God already knows everything. However, this view is largely based on an Aristotelian conception of metaphors as rhetorical devices, not vehicles that carry any truth content. Since the 1970s, the understanding of how metaphors convey meaning has taken great strides. These advances can help unlock how divine action--often inadvertently flattened under theological presuppositions--functions within a text. This book aims to explore the biblical metaphor of divine sight and how current understandings of metaphorical function can enrich our reading of the text and its theology. "
Download or read book The Understanding of Adultery in the Hebrew Bible written by Alexander Izuchukwu Abasili and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2016-06-09 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Adultery, though not an umbrella concept for all the sexual prohibitions in the Hebrew Bible, enjoys a certain pride of place. Remarkably, it is the one sexual prohibition attested in all biblical genres, which makes it very representative in the Hebrew Bible. It is the only Hebrew biblical sexual prohibition explicitly mentioned in the Decalogue. A solid understanding of Hebrew biblical adultery, therefore, is an important step towards grasping the vital role of human sexuality in the Hebrew Bible, both in terms of inter-human relationships and the relationship between the human and the divine. Without prejudice to the contents of the Hebrew biblical lexicons and theological dictionaries, this work aims at providing a comprehensive understanding of adultery in the Hebrew Bible: its meaning, punishments and the implications thereof. Among others, it corrects some wrong assumptions about the concept of adultery in the Hebrew Bible, and provides a balanced and unbiased Hebrew biblical conception of adultery and the implications thereof for todays couples.
Download or read book Seeing the Face of God written by Puttagunta Satyavani and published by Langham Publishing. This book was released on 2020-04-06 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The expression the “face of God” is a familiar one to Bible scholars and its meaning has long been a point of disagreement, especially in its use with the verb “to see”. While some scholars dismissed the expression as merely a metaphor with little significance, others have compared it to the ‘face’ of gods and goddesses of the ANE religious context, where worshippers sought an audience with their ‘divine’ king. Scrutinising previous scholarship and based on careful exegesis of several crucial passages in the Pentateuch, this publication presents the motif ”seeing the face of God” in an entirely new context of divine self-revelation.
Download or read book The Silent God written by M.C.A. Korpel and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2011-03-24 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Like the biblical Job, many people suffer under the silence of God. This book shows that it is enlightening to retrace the origins of the concept of divine speech and silence in the ancient Near East and Greece.
Download or read book Hell and Divine Goodness written by James S. Spiegel and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2019-04-16 with total page 139 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Within the Christian theological tradition there has always been a variety of perspectives on hell, usually distinguished according to their views about the duration of hell's torments for the damned. Traditionalists maintain that the suffering of the damned is everlasting. Universalists claim that eventually every person is redeemed and arrives in heaven. And conditional immortalists, also known as "conditionalists" or "annihilationists," reject both the concept of eternal torment as well as universal salvation, instead claiming that after a finite period of suffering the damned are annihilated. Conditionalism has enjoyed somewhat of a revival in scholarly circles in recent years, buoyed by the influential biblical defense of the view by Edward Fudge. However, there has yet to appear a book-length philosophical defense of conditionalism . . . until now. In Hell and Divine Goodness, James Spiegel assesses the three major alternative theories of hell, arriving at the conclusion that the conditionalist view is, all things considered, the most defensible position on the issue.
Download or read book Eat the Bible written by Micah E. Chung and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2024-07-19 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: People love their metaphors for the Bible. The Bible is a sword, a mirror, a script, a score, a cathedral, a rule book, a user's manual, a lamp, a love letter. But how did metaphor, which in the eighteenth century was seen as a deceptive rhetorical trick, become such a prominent tool for speaking of Scripture? And how does one judge between a good metaphor and a bad one? This book explores the theological use of metaphor to describe the nature and interpretation of Scripture. It interrogates three such models--the Bible as musical score (Anthony Thiselton), the Bible as theo-dramatic script (Kevin Vanhoozer), and the Bible as light (John Feinberg)--seeking to evaluate their faithfulness to Scripture and church tradition, their fittingness to the current culture, and their fruitfulness for understanding and practicing the biblical text. The author then proposes and explores what he considers a better model, one drawn from the Bible itself, namely that of Scripture as food.
Download or read book Masters of the Word written by Yonatan Kolatch and published by KTAV Publishing House, Inc.. This book was released on 2006 with total page 484 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Human Shaped God written by Charles Halton and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 2021-10-26 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Human-Shaped God approaches the humanlike accounts of God in the Old Testament as the starting places for theology and uses them to build a picture of the divine. This understanding of God is then brought into conversation with traditional conceptions that depict God as a being who knows everything that happens, is at every place at the same time, is constant and unchanging, and does not ultimately have material form. But instead of pitting the Old Testament's humanlike view of God against traditional theology and assuming that only one of these understandings is correct, A Human-Shaped God posits that theologians should embrace both of these constructions simultaneously. This is a new way of theological inquiry that embraces both the humanlike characteristics of God and the transcendence of God in traditional theology. By seeing and understanding the humanlike depictions of God in the Old Testament and by using the rich language of traditional theology together in tandem, the reader acquires a much deeper and meaningful understanding of God.
Download or read book Bible Made Impossible The written by Christian Smith and published by Brazos Press. This book was released on 2011-08 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A world-renowned sociologist argues that evangelical biblicism is impossible and produces unwanted pastoral consequences.
Download or read book Israel s God and Rebecca s Children written by Larry W. Hurtado and published by Baylor University Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 501 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An important new look at community and identity in early Christianity.
Download or read book Cleansing the Cosmos written by E. Janet Warren and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2012-11-08 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Understanding evil spiritual forces is essential for Christian theology, yet discussion is almost always phrased in terms of "spiritual warfare." Warfare language is problematic, being dualistic, assigning a high degree of ontology to evil, and poorly applicable to ministry. This unique study proposes a biblically based model as the first alternative to a "spiritual warfare" framework for dealing with the demonic, thus providing insights for preaching, counseling, and missiology. Warren develops this model using metaphor theory and examining four biblical themes: Creation, Cult, Christ, and Church. Metaphors of cleansing, ordering, and boundary-setting are developed in contrast to battle imagery, and relevant theological issues are engaged (Boyd's warfare imagery, Barth's ideas of evil as "nothingness," and Eliade's notion of the sacred and the profane). The role of the Holy Spirit is emphasized and the ontology of evil minimized. This model incorporates concentric circles, evil being considered peripheral to divine reality, and provides a refreshing alternative to current "spiritual warfare" models.
Download or read book The Bible Homer and the Search for Meaning in Ancient Myths written by John Heath and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-04-29 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Bible, Homer, and the Search for Meaning in Ancient Myths explores and compares the most influential sets of divine myths in Western culture: the Homeric pantheon and Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament. Heath argues that not only does the God of the Old Testament bear a striking resemblance to the Olympians, but also that the Homeric system rejected by the Judeo-Christian tradition offers a better model for the human condition. The universe depicted by Homer and populated by his gods is one that creates a unique and powerful responsibility – almost directly counter to that evoked by the Bible—for humans to discover ethical norms, accept death as a necessary human limit, develop compassion to mitigate a tragic existence, appreciate frankly both the glory and dangers of sex, and embrace and respond courageously to an indifferent universe that was clearly not designed for human dominion. Heath builds on recent work in biblical and classical studies to examine the contemporary value of mythical deities. Judeo-Christian theologians over the millennia have tried to explain away Yahweh’s Olympian nature while dismissing the Homeric deities for the same reason Greek philosophers abandoned them: they don’t live up to preconceptions of what a deity should be. In particular, the Homeric gods are disappointingly plural, anthropomorphic, and amoral (at best). But Heath argues that Homer’s polytheistic apparatus challenges us to live meaningfully without any help from the divine. In other words, to live well in Homer’s tragic world – an insight gleaned by Achilles, the hero of the Iliad – one must live as if there were no gods at all. The Bible, Homer, and the Search for Meaning in Ancient Myths should change the conversation academics in classics, biblical studies, theology and philosophy have – especially between disciplines – about the gods of early Greek epic, while reframing on a more popular level the discussion of the role of ancient myth in shaping a thoughtful life.
Download or read book Mastering the Discipline of Bible Study written by Jenai J. Rasmussen Ed.D. and published by WestBow Press. This book was released on 2022-07-22 with total page 1543 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work, along with the other volumes in the Foundational Knowledge of the Bible series, can help those who are young in the faith to seek a Christian relationship with God. All who choose to enter into the new covenant must concurrently embrace a new perceptual field. By heeding God’s call to service, believers embark upon a Christian journey to become wise from the application of spiritual knowledge. This is made possible with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who guides covenant believers in the faithful word of God, which is the source of all spiritual truth in this world. The intended purpose presented in this plan of action is to speak the truth of God in love so that the brethren can learn godly discernment, be equipped with sound doctrine, and grow together in all things according to Christ’s authoritative leadership (Eph. 4:15). By becoming covenant Christians set apart by God for his particular use, we can be diligent by precisely and accurately handling the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). This series can serve to edify and ground those who are new in the faith because the revelation of God provides all the essential answers to life’s pressing spiritual questions, whether general or specific. Accordingly, Christ’s disciples need to comprehend the questions before the answers can have real meaning. No greater reason can be given for studying the Bible. Therefore, the people of God are duty-bound to master this Christian discipline. The first volume in this series is divided into three phases of Bible study: “Why” addresses the importance of knowing God’s word, study motivations, conditions for discipleship, Christian distinctions, and the attributes needed to study biblical truth. “How” covers preliminary actions, Bible versions, principles, study considerations, and necessary skills. “What” offers a unique sevenfold framework for understanding the Bible. Divine power can move the Scriptures to be more than words on a page. It can become a life-changing force for good in the world. To that end, this resource directs the reader on how to inquire, search, and ask diligently concerning godly truth. Invaluable information, accessible resources, clear educational materials, and deep biblical insights will all quickly serve to establish beginning students in the Sacred Text. This work will also prepare the reader to receive the Scriptures by learning how to obtain a faithful accounting of spiritual truth. To be sure, wisdom is the result of applying biblical knowledge to our lives. By speaking divine truth in love, believers can grow together in Christ as fellow workers who labor in the word of God. There is no greater work in this world than to share this life-saving truth with others. The obligation of receiving divine knowledge requires that it be shared. Truly, giving the hope and joy that is found in Jesus Christ, and the message he brought from the Father, is the greatest privilege of a human life. Amen, and amen.
Download or read book Enduring Exile written by Martien Halvorson-Taylor and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2010-12-17 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Focusing on the composition and redaction of Jeremiah 30–31, Isaiah 40–66, and Zechariah 1–8, this book examines how the Babylonian exile became a Second Temple metaphor for political disenfranchisement, social inequality, and alienation from YHWH.
