This book considers a range of twentieth-century novelists who practise a creative mode of reading the Bible, exploring aspects of the Book of Genesis which more conventional biblical criticism sometimes ignores. Each chapter considers some of the interpretive challenges of the relevant story in Genesis, especially those noted by rabbinic midrash, which serves as a model for such creative rewriting of the biblical text. All the novelists considered, from Mark Twain, John Steinbeck and Thom...

From the social philosopher and New York Times–bestselling author of The Sane Society: An analysis of the Old Testament as a revolutionary humanist work.The Old Testament is one of the most carefully studied books in the world's history. It is also one of the most misunderstood. This founding text of the world's three largest religions is also, Erich Fromm argues, an impressive radical humanist text. He sees the stories of mankind's transition fro...

This short and remarkable book presents the essential teachings of Hasidism, the mystical Jewish movement which swept through Eastern Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and their relevance to our lives. Told through legendary tales of the Hasidic masters, together with Bubers own unique insights, The Way of Man offers us a way of understanding ourselves and our place in a spiritual world.

In this thoroughly revised edition of a classic in spirituality, Walter Brueggemann guides the reader into a thoughtful and moving encounter with the Psalms. This new edition includes a revised text, new notes, and new bibliography. "The movement and meeting of God with us is indeed a speech-event in which new humanness is evoked among us. Being attentive to language means cultivating the candid imagination to bring our own experience to the Psalms and permitting it to be disciplined by th...

Did the historical person Jesus really regard himself as the Son of God? What did Jesus actually stand for? And what are we to make of the early Christian conviction that Jesus physically rose from the dead?In this book N. T. Wright considers these and many other questions raised by three controversial books about Jesus: Barbara Thiering's Jesus the Man, A. N. Wilson's Jesus: A Life, and John Shelby Spong's Born of a Woman. While Wright agrees with those ...

An "engagingly personal" exploration of Rosenzweig, Buber, Levinas, and the relationship between philosophy and religion ( Times Literary Supplement).In this book, distinguished philosopher and practicing Jew Hilary Putnam questions the thought of three major Jewish philosophers of the twentieth century—Franz Rosenzweig, Martin Buber, and Emmanuel Levinas—to help him reconcile the philosophical and religious sides of his life. An additional presence in the ...

2016 Word Guild Award - Academic categoryHonorable mention, Grace Irwin PrizeRenowned scholar Craig Bartholomew, coauthor of the bestselling textbook The Drama of Scripture, writes in his main area of expertise--hermeneutics--to help seminarians pursue a lifetime of biblical interpretation. Integrating the latest research in theology, philosophy, and biblical studies, this substantive hermeneutics textbook is robustly theological in its approach, ta...

Sacred to millions across the world, translated into countless languages and with estimated annual sales of 25 million, The Bible is one of the most influential books of all time. But how, in the 21st century, should believers and non-believers alike approach the Book of Books? Here, acclaimed writer, respected thinker and former bishop Richard Holloway takes us from 'Genesis' to 'Revelation', illuminating key passages and helping us to achieve a deeper understanding of the Bible's message...

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of A History of the Bible, this is the story of how the Bible has been translated, and why it mattersThe Bible is held to be both universal and specific, the source of fundamental truths inscribed in words that are exact and sacred. For much of the history of Judaism and almost the entirety of Christianity, however, believers have overwhelmingly understood scripture not in the languages in which it was firs...

Discover the intriguing connections between one of the most influential figures in psychology and the rich heritage of Jewish mysticism in David Bakan's seminal work, "Sigmund Freud and the Jewish Mystical Tradition." This groundbreaking book offers a unique perspective on Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, exploring how his Jewish background and mystical traditions may have shaped his theories and ideas.David Bakan, a distinguished psychologist and historian, meticulously...

‘This is Wright at his best – exegete, theologian, churchman, and public intellectual rolled into one.’Miroslav Volf‘Wright’s crowning achievement.’John CottinghamBuilding on his critically acclaimed Gifford Lectures, N. T. Wright presents a richly nuanced case for a theology based on a renewed understanding of historical knowledge.The question of 'natural theology' interlocks with the related questions of how we can c...

The impact of technology-enhanced mass death in the twentieth century, argues Zachary Braiterman, has profoundly affected the future shape of religious thought. In his provocative book, the author shows how key Jewish theologians faced the memory of Auschwitz by rejecting traditional theodicy, abandoning any attempt to justify and vindicate the relationship between God and catastrophic suffering. The author terms this rejection "Antitheodicy," the refusal to accept that relationship. It fi...