Download or read book Moses and Monotheism written by Sigmund Freud and published by Leonardo Paolo Lovari. This book was released on 2016-11-24 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book consists of three essays and is an extension of Freud’s work on psychoanalytic theory as a means of generating hypotheses about historical events. Freud hypothesizes that Moses was not Hebrew, but actually born into Ancient Egyptian nobility and was probably a follower of Akhenaten, an ancient Egyptian monotheist. Freud contradicts the biblical story of Moses with his own retelling of events, claiming that Moses only led his close followers into freedom during an unstable period in Egyptian history after Akhenaten (ca. 1350 BCE) and that they subsequently killed Moses in rebellion and later combined with another monotheistic tribe in Midian based on a volcanic God, Jahweh. Freud explains that years after the murder of Moses, the rebels regretted their action, thus forming the concept of the Messiah as a hope for the return of Moses as the Saviour of the Israelites. Freud said that the guilt from the murder of Moses is inherited through the generations; this guilt then drives the Jews to religion to make them feel better.

Download or read book One True God written by Rodney Stark and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2003-04-13 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Western history would be unrecognizable had it not been for people who believed in One True God. There would have been wars, but no religious wars. There would have been moral codes, but no Commandments. Had the Jews been polytheists, they would today be only another barely remembered people, less important, but just as extinct as the Babylonians. Had Christians presented Jesus to the Greco-Roman world as ''another'' God, their faith would long since have gone the way of Mithraism. And surely Islam would never have made it out of the desert had Muhammad not removed Allah from the context of Arab paganism and proclaimed him as the only God. The three great monotheisms changed everything. With his customary clarity and vigor, Rodney Stark explains how and why monotheism has such immense power both to unite and to divide. Why and how did Jews, Christians, and Muslims missionize, and when and why did their efforts falter? Why did both Christianity and Islam suddenly become less tolerant of Jews late in the eleventh century, prompting outbursts of mass murder? Why were the Jewish massacres by Christians concentrated in the cities along the Rhine River, and why did the pogroms by Muslims take place mainly in Granada? How could the Jews persist so long as a minority faith, able to withstand intense pressures to convert? Why did they sometimes assimilate? In the final chapter, Stark also examines the American experience to show that it is possible for committed monotheists to sustain norms of civility toward one another. A sweeping social history of religion, One True God shows how the great monotheisms shaped the past and created the modern world.

Download or read book The Price of Monotheism written by Jan Assmann and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2009-10-29 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nothing has so radically transformed the world as the distinction between true and false religion. In this nuanced consideration of his own controversial Moses the Egyptian, renowned Egyptologist Jan Assmann answers his critics, extending and building upon ideas from his previous book. Maintaining that it was indeed the Moses of the Hebrew Bible who introduced the true-false distinction in a permanent and revolutionary form, Assmann reiterates that the price of this monotheistic revolution has been the exclusion, as paganism and heresy, of everything deemed incompatible with the truth it proclaims. This exclusion has exploded time and again into violence and persecution, with no end in sight. Here, for the first time, Assmann traces the repeated attempts that have been made to do away with this distinction since the early modern period. He explores at length the notions of primary versus secondary religions, of "counter-religions," and of book religions versus cultic religions. He also deals with the entry of ethics into religion's very core. Informed by the debate his own work has generated, he presents a compelling lesson in the fluidity of cultural identity and beliefs.

Download or read book Monotheism and Tolerance written by Robert Erlewine and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2010-01-11 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Monotheism and Tolerance suggests a way to deal with the intractable problem of religiously motivated and justified violence.

Download or read book The Origins of Biblical Monotheism written by Mark S. Smith and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2003-11-06 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the leading scholars of ancient West Semitic religion discusses polytheism vs. monotheism by covering the fluidity of those categories in the ancient Near East. He argues that Israel's social history is key to the development of monotheism.

Download or read book Monotheism and the Meaning of Life written by T. J. Mawson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-08-08 with total page 75 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Monotheism and the Meaning of Life explores the role of God, and the relationship to the question 'What is the meaning of life?' for adherents of the main monotheistic religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Exploring the various senses of 'meaning' and 'life', Mawson argues that there are various questions implicit in the notion of the meaning of life and that the God of monotheistic religion is central to the correct answers to all of them.

Download or read book Hindu Monotheism written by Gavin Dennis Flood and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-08-20 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If by monotheism we mean the idea of a single transcendent God who creates the universe out of nothing (creatio ex nihilo), as in the Abrahamic religions, then that is not found in the history of Hinduism. But if we mean a supreme, transcendent deity who impels the universe, sustains it and ultimately destroys it before causing it to emerge once again, who is the ultimate source of all other gods who are her or his emanations, then this idea does develop within that history. It is a Hindu monotheism and its nature that is the topic of this Element.

Download or read book Hindutva as Political Monotheism written by Anustup Basu and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 2020-08-17 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Hindutva as Political Monotheism, Anustup Basu offers a genealogical study of Hindutva—Hindu right-wing nationalism—to illustrate the significance of Western anthropology and political theory to the idea of India as a Hindu nation. Connecting Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt's notion of political theology to traditional theorems of Hindu sovereignty and nationhood, Basu demonstrates how Western and Indian theorists subsumed a vast array of polytheistic, pantheistic, and henotheistic cults featuring millions of gods into a singular edifice of faith. Basu exposes the purported “Hindu Nation” as itself an orientalist vision by analyzing three crucial moments: European anthropologists’ and Indian intellectuals’ invention of a unified Hinduism during the long nineteenth century; Indian ideologues’ adoption of ethnoreligious nationalism in pursuit of a single Hindu way of life in the twentieth century; and the transformations of this project in the era of finance capital, Bollywood, and new media. Arguing that Hindutva aligns with Enlightenment notions of nationalism, Basu foregrounds its significance not just to Narendra Modi's right-wing, anti-Muslim government but also to mainstream Indian nationalism and its credo of secularism and tolerance.

Download or read book Radical Monotheism and Western Culture written by Helmut Richard Niebuhr and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 1993-01-01 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This reissue of a classic work of H. Richard Niebuhr, one of the most influential and creative theological ethicists of the twentieth century, highlights his mature thinking. By using path-breaking interpretations of faith as a basic dimension of human life and culture as an arena of faith in conflict, Niebuhr encourages further thought. This volume should be required reading for anyone interested in recent perspectives on theology and ethics. The Library of Theological Ethics series focuses on what it means to think theologically and ethically. It presents a selection of important and otherwise unavailable texts in easily accessible form. Volumes in this series will enable sustained dialogue with predecessors though reflection on classic works in the field.

Download or read book Deuteronomy and the Meaning of Monotheism written by Nathan MacDonald and published by Mohr Siebeck. This book was released on 2012 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nathan MacDonald examines the term 'monotheism' and its appropriateness as a category for analysing the Old Testament. He traces the use of 'monotheism' since its coinage in 1660 and argues that its use in Old Testament scholarship frequently reflects a narrowed, intellectualistic conception of religion."Finally, MacDonald's volume is a valuable contribution to the discussion because it is also a fine example of biblical theology, a truly insightful exposition of some of the significant themes in the book of Deuteronomy, accompanied by a fine, detailed exposition of crucial passages in the book. [...] This book is highly recommended for all who are interested in the debate concerning biblical monotheism and the larger study of Israel's religious identity."Robert Gnuse in Biblica, Vol. 86 (2005), No. 4, 558-560"This is one of the most significant and exciting books of biblical theology I have read for some time, illustrating how the Bible can come to life when critical attention is paid to the contemporary context of its interpretation."Philip Jenson in Themelios, Vol. 29 (2004), No. 2, 56-57

Download or read book The Idea of Monotheism written by Jack Shechter and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jack Shechter explores the idea of monotheism as it has evolved over the centuries: the belief in the existence of the One God who fashioned the world and remains involved in it and with humanity and its values.

Download or read book Of God and Gods written by Jan Assmann and published by Univ of Wisconsin Press. This book was released on 2008-06-17 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For thousands of years, our world has been shaped by biblical monotheism. But its hallmark—a distinction between one true God and many false gods—was once a new and radical idea. Of God and Gods explores the revolutionary newness of biblical theology against a background of the polytheism that was once so commonplace. Jan Assmann, one of the most distinguished scholars of ancient Egypt working today, traces the concept of a true religion back to its earliest beginnings in Egypt and describes how this new idea took shape in the context of the older polytheistic world that it rejected. He offers readers a deepened understanding of Egyptian polytheism and elaborates on his concept of the “Mosaic distinction,” which conceives an exclusive and emphatic Truth that sets religion apart from beliefs shunned as superstition, paganism, or heresy. Without a theory of polytheism, Assmann contends, any adequate understanding of monotheism is impossible. Best Books for General Audiences, selected by the American Association of School Librarians, and Best Books for Special Interests, selected by the Public Library Association

Download or read book Akhenaten and the Origins of Monotheism written by James K. Hoffmeier and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015-01-15 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pharaoh Akhenaten, who reigned for seventeen years in the fourteenth century B.C.E, is one of the most intriguing rulers of ancient Egypt. His odd appearance and his preoccupation with worshiping the sun disc Aten have stimulated academic discussion and controversy for more than a century. Despite the numerous books and articles about this enigmatic figure, many questions about Akhenaten and the Atenism religion remain unanswered. In Akhenaten and the Origins of Monotheism, James K. Hoffmeier argues that Akhenaten was not, as is often said, a radical advocating a new religion, but rather a primitivist: that is, one who reaches back to a golden age and emulates it. Akhenaten's inspiration was the Old Kingdom (2650-2400 B.C.E.), when the sun-god Re/Atum ruled as the unrivaled head of the Egyptian pantheon. Hoffmeier finds that Akhenaten was a genuine convert to the worship of Aten, the sole creator God, based on the Pharoah's own testimony of a theophany, a divine encounter that launched his monotheistic religious odyssey. The book also explores the Atenist religion's possible relationship to Israel's religion, offering a close comparison of the hymn to the Aten to Psalm 104, which has been identified by scholars as influenced by the Egyptian hymn. Through a careful reading of key texts, artworks, and archaeological studies, Hoffmeier provides compelling new insights into a religion that predated Moses and Hebrew monotheism, the impact of Atenism on Egyptian religion and politics, and the aftermath of Akhenaten's reign.

Download or read book The Only True God written by James F. McGrath and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2022-08-15 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Monotheism is a powerful religious concept shaped by competing ideas and the problems they raised. Surveying New Testament writings and Jewish sources from before and after the rise of Christianity, James F. McGrath argues that even the most developed Christologies in the New Testament fit within the context of first century Jewish monotheism. McGrath pinpoints when the parting of ways took place over the issue of God's oneness, and explores philosophical ideas such as "creation out of nothing" which caused Jews and Christians to develop differing concepts and definitions about God.

Download or read book Beyond Monotheism written by Laurel Schneider and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2007-11-13 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beyond Monotheism is an absorbing and lyrical exploration of the possibility of a new, living theology of multiplicity that is grounded in fluidity, change and incarnation.

Download or read book Jesus Monotheism written by Crispin Fletcher-Louis and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2015-07-29 with total page 389 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first of a four-volume groundbreaking study of Christological origins. The fruit of twenty years research, Jesus Monotheism lays out a new paradigm that goes beyond the now widely held view that Paul and others held to an unprecedented "Christological monotheism." There was already, in Second Temple Judaism and in the Bible, a kind of "christological monotheism." But it is first with Jesus and his followers that a human figure is included in the identity of the one God as a fully divine person. Volume 1 lays out the arguments of an emerging consensus, championed by Larry Hurtado and Richard Bauckham, that from its Jewish beginnings the Christian community had a high Christology and worshipped Jesus as a divine figure. New data is adduced to support that case. But there are weaknesses in the emerging consensus. For example, it underplays the incarnation and does not convincingly explain what caused the earliest Christology. The recent study of Adam traditions, the findings of Enoch literature specialists, and of those who have explored a Jewish and Christian debt to Greco-Roman Ruler Cult traditions, all point towards a fresh approach to both the origins and shape of the earliest divine Christology.

Download or read book A Million and One Gods written by Page duBois and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2014-06-16 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As A Million and One Gods shows, polytheism is considered a scandalous presence in societies oriented to Jewish, Christian, and Muslim beliefs. Yet it persists, even in the West, perhaps because polytheism corresponds to unconscious needs and deeply held values of tolerance, diversity, and equality that are central to civilized societies.