The Yahwist S Landscape

Author : Theodore Hiebert
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 227 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 1996-06-20
Category : Bibles
ISBN : 9780195357851

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The Yahwist's Landscape by Theodore Hiebert Pdf

The present ecological crisis has created new interest in and criticism of biblical attitudes toward nature. In this book Theodore Hiebert offers a comprehensive examination of the ideology of a single biblical author--the Yahwist (J), writer of the oldest narrative sections of Genesis, Exodus, and Numbers. Hiebert argues the importance of reading J in its ancient Near Eastern context. His analysis incorporates evidence concerning the ecologies, economies, and religions of the ancient Levant drawn from recent work in archaeology, history, social anthropology, and comparative religion. Hiebert finds that despite the limitations of J's world view (and the world in which it took shape), J's ideology is relevant to contemporary efforts to frame a theology of ecology. Particularly valuable are J's views of reality as unified and non-dualistic, humanity as limited and dependent, nature and humanity as interrelated and holding sacred significance, and agriculture as a context for an ecological theology.

Author : Thomas W. Mann
Publisher : Wipf and Stock Publishers
Page : 637 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2011-04-15
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781621890744

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The Book of the Former Prophets by Thomas W. Mann Pdf

The Former Prophets of the Hebrew Bible includes the books of Joshua through 2 Kings, a narrative of ancient Israel's history of some seven hundred years from the "conquest" of Canaan to the exile, when Israel lost the land. From a critical perspective the narrative is a composite document incorporating many different literary sources from different times; seen as a whole, the result is a compelling example of ancient historiography as well as an impressive artistic achievement. Included are fascinating (and often horrifying) stories of war, religious fanaticism, terror, and disaster, as well as stories of deep personal loyalty, friendship, and faith. Many characters in the books of The Former Prophets are at once virtuous and villainous, such as King David: slayer of giants, writer of therapeutic songs, and builder of empire, who is also a permissive parent, a rapist, an adulterer, and a murderer. The books of the Former Prophets feature a witch who is far from wicked, and a religious reformer who slaughters the unorthodox. Even God makes an appearance as an evil spirit! Not only have such vivid personages inspired works of art and motivated groups, including the Pilgrims, who came to America to found communities like New Canaan. The Former Prophets also present parallels--often uncomfortable ones--to events in our own history from ethnic cleansing to tyrannical oppression. Yet the Former Prophets also picture the dream of a just and peaceful community that has motivated people of goodwill for thousands of years. Through it all the Former Prophets raise perennial questions: What is the relationship between divine sovereignty and human political institutions? How does a culture identify "insiders" and "outsiders"? In what sense are historical events the result of human acts and also of divine Providence? How does a nation come to terms with its failures as well as its triumphs?

Author : Bruce Riley Ashford,Craig G. Bartholomew
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
Page : 450 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2020-11-10
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780830854912

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The Doctrine of Creation by Bruce Riley Ashford,Craig G. Bartholomew Pdf

Christianity Today Book Award ECPA Top Shelf Book Cover Award Apart from the doctrine of God, no doctrine is as comprehensive as that of creation. It is woven throughout the entire fabric of Christian theology. It goes to the deepest roots of reality and leaves no area of life untouched. Across the centuries, however, the doctrine of creation has often been eclipsed or threatened by various forms of gnosticism. Yet if Christians are to rise to current challenges related to public theology and ethics, we must regain a robust, biblical doctrine of creation. According to Bruce Ashford and Craig Bartholomew, one of the best sources for outfitting this recovery is Dutch neo-Calvinism. Abraham Kuyper, Herman Bavinck, and their successors set forth a substantial doctrine of creation's goodness, but recent theological advances in this tradition have been limited. Now in The Doctrine of Creation Ashford and Bartholomew develop the Kuyperian tradition's rich resources on creation for systematic theology and the life of the church today. In addition to tracing historical treatments of the doctrine, the authors explore intertwined theological themes such as the omnipotence of God, human vocation, and providence. They draw from diverse streams of Christian thought while remaining rooted in the Kuyperian tradition, with a sustained focus on doing theology in deep engagement with Scripture. Approaching the world as God's creation changes everything. Thus The Doctrine of Creation concludes with implications for current issues, including those related to philosophy, science, the self, and human dignity. This exegetically grounded constructive theology contributes to renewed appreciation for and application of the doctrine of creation—which is ultimately a doctrine of profound hope.

Author : Belden C. Lane
Publisher : JHU Press
Page : 334 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2002
Category : Architecture
ISBN : 0801868386

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Landscapes of the Sacred by Belden C. Lane Pdf

This substantially expanded edition of Belden C. Lane's Landscapes of the Sacred includes a new introductory chapter that offers three new interpretive models for understanding American sacred space. Lane maintains his approach of interspersing shorter and more personal pieces among full-length essays that explore how Native American, early French and Spanish, Puritan New England, and Catholic Worker traditions has each expressed the connection between spirituality and place. A new section at the end of the book includes three chapters that address methodological issues in the study of spirituality, the symbol-making process of religious experience, and the tension between place and placelessness in Christian spirituality.

Author : Elaine T. James
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 249 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2017
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780190619015

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Landscapes of the Song of Songs by Elaine T. James Pdf

In this masterful new study of the ancient poetry of the Song of Songs, Elaine T. James explores the Song's underlying interest in the natural world. Engaging with the fields of geography, landscape architecture, and literature, James critiques the tendency of scholars to reify a perceived dichotomy between "nature" and "culture" and instead argues that the poetic attention to landscape indicates an awareness of a viewer. Nature is here a poetic device that informs James's close-readings of agrarianism, gardens, cities, social control, and feminism and the gaze in the Song. With this two-fold emphasis on landscape and lyric, Landscape of the Song of Songs shows how the Song persistently envisions a world in which human lovers are embedded in the natural world, complexly enfolded in relationships of fragility and care.

Author : Adam E. Miglio
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 203 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2023-02-10
Category : History
ISBN : 9781000837902

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The Gilgamesh Epic in Genesis 1-11 by Adam E. Miglio Pdf

This book provides a substantive, reliable, and accessible comparison of the Gilgamesh Epic and Genesis 1–11, investigating their presentation of humanistic themes such as wisdom, power, and the ‘good life.’ While the Gilgamesh Epic and Genesis 1–11 are characterized by historical and cultural features that may seem unusual or challenging to modern readers, such as the intervention of gods and goddesses and talking animals, these ancient literary masterpieces are nonetheless familiar and relatable stories through their humanistic composition. This volume explores the presentation of humanistic themes and motifs throughout both stories. Significant passages and narratives, such as stories from the Garden of Eden and the Flood, are translated into English and accompanied by comprehensive discussions that compare and contrast shared ideas in both compositions. Written in a lucid and concise fashion, this book offers new insights into the Gilgamesh Epic and Genesis 1–11 in an accessible way. The Gilgamesh Epic in Genesis 1–11: Peering into the Deep is suitable for students and scholars of ancient Near Eastern literature, with broad appeal across religious studies, ancient history, and world literature.

Author : William P. Brown
Publisher : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Page : 484 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 1999
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0802845398

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The Ethos of the Cosmos by William P. Brown Pdf

This groundbreaking work investigates how the various pictures of creation found in Scripture helped shape the ancient faith community's moral character. Bringing together the fields of biblical studies and ethics, William Brown demonstrates how certain creation traditions of the Old and New Testaments were developed from the community's moral imagination for the purpose of forming and preserving both Israel's and the early church's identity in the world.

Author : Carolyn Merchant
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 306 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2013
Category : Nature
ISBN : 9780415644259

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Reinventing Eden by Carolyn Merchant Pdf

Visionary quests to return to the Garden of Eden have shaped Western culture from Columbus' voyages to today's tropical island retreats. Few narratives are so powerful - and, as Carolyn Merchant shows, so misguided and destructive - as the dream of recapturing a lost paradise. A sweeping account of these quixotic endeavors by one of America's leading environmentalists, Reinventing Eden traces the idea of rebuilding the primeval garden from its origins to its latest incarnations in shopping malls, theme parks and gated communities. With eloquence and insight, Merchant shows how the drive to conquer nature and to explore and settle the globe, springs from this utopian pastoral impulse throughout Western history. Time and again, human manipulation of the environment is our downfall: Eden is achieved by fencing off pristine beauty in national parks and wildlife preserves, while leaving the majority of the earth in ruins. Challenging both narratives, Merchant argues that the green veneer of city-park conservation has become a cover for the corruption of the earth and the neglect of its environment. Reinventing Eden is a bold new way to think about the earth that includes green political parties, sustainable development and a partnership between humans and earth that is nothing short of an ecological revolution.

Author : Jeffrey L. Cooley
Publisher : Penn State Press
Page : 407 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2013-03-12
Category : History
ISBN : 9781575066936

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Poetic Astronomy in the Ancient Near East by Jeffrey L. Cooley Pdf

Modern science historians have typically treated the sciences of the ancient Near East as separate from historical and cultural considerations. At the same time, biblical scholars, dominated by theological concerns, have historically understood the Israelite god as separate from the natural world. Cooley’s study, bringing to bear contemporary models of science history on the one hand and biblical studies on the other hand, seeks to bridge a gap created by 20th-century scholarship in our understanding of ancient Near Eastern cultures by investigating the ways in which ancient authors incorporated their cultures’ celestial speculation in narrative. In the literature of ancient Iraq, celestial divination is displayed quite prominently in important works such as Enuma Eliš and Erra and Išum. In ancient Ugarit as well, the sky was observed for devotional reasons, and astral deities play important roles in stories such as the Baal Cycle and Shahar and Shalim. Even though the veneration of astral deities was rejected by biblical authors, in the literature of ancient Israel the Sun, Moon, and stars are often depicted as active, conscious agents. In texts such as Genesis 1, Joshua 10, Judges 5, and Job 38, these celestial characters, these “sons of God,” are living, dynamic members of Yahweh’s royal entourage, willfully performing courtly, martial, and calendrical roles for their sovereign. The synthesis offered by this book, the first of its kind since the demise of the pan-Babylonianist school more than a century ago, is about ancient science in ancient Near Eastern literature.

Author : James William Gibson
Publisher : Metropolitan Books
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2009-04-14
Category : Nature
ISBN : 9781429994866

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A Reenchanted World by James William Gibson Pdf

A surprising and enlightening investigation of how modern society is making nature sacred once again For more than two centuries, Western cultures, as they became ever more industrialized, increasingly regarded the natural world as little more than a collection of useful raw resources. The folklore of powerful forest spirits and mountain demons was displaced by the practicalities of logging and strip-mining; the traditional rituals of hunting ceremonies gave way to the indiscriminate butchering of animals for meat markets. In the famous lament of Max Weber, our surroundings became "disenchanted," with nature's magic swept away by secularization and rationalization. But now, as acclaimed sociologist James William Gibson reveals in this insightful study, the culture of enchantment is making an astonishing comeback. From Greenpeace eco-warriors to evangelical Christians preaching "creation care" and geneticists who speak of human-animal kinship, Gibson finds a remarkably broad yearning for a spiritual reconnection to nature. As we grapple with increasingly dire environmental disasters, he points to this cultural shift as the last utopian dream—the final hope for protecting the world that all of us must live in.

Author : Whitney A. Bauman,Richard R. Bohannon,Kevin J. O'Brien
Publisher : Wipf and Stock Publishers
Page : 278 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2011-08-04
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781608999897

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Inherited Land by Whitney A. Bauman,Richard R. Bohannon,Kevin J. O'Brien Pdf

"Religion and ecology" has arrived. What was once a niche interest for a few academics concerned with environmental issues and a few environmentalists interested in religion has become an established academic field with classic texts, graduate programs, regular meetings at academic conferences, and growing interest from other academics and the mass media. Theologians, ethicists, sociologists, and other scholars are engaged in a broad dialogue about the ways religious studies can help understand and address environmental problems, including the sorts of methodological, terminological, and substantive debates that characterize any academic discourse.This book recognizes the field that has taken shape, reflects on the ways it is changing, and anticipates its development in the future. The essays offer analyses and reflections from emerging scholars of religion and ecology, each addressing her or his own specialty in light of two questions: (1) What have we inherited from the work that has come before us? and (2) What inquiries, concerns, and conversation partners should be central to the next generation of scholarship?The aim of this volume is not to lay out a single and clear path forward for the field. Rather, the authors critically reflect on the field from within, outline some of the major issues we face in the academy, and offer perspectives that will nurture continued dialogue.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 432 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 1998
Category : Agriculture
ISBN : UCBK:C069191291

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Agriculture and Human Values by Anonim Pdf

Author : Ben C. Ollenburger
Publisher : Baker Books
Page : 254 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2023-04-18
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781493440115

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God the Creator by Ben C. Ollenburger Pdf

Christians today are focused on two important creation topics: how the world came to be and how we should care for it. A highly respected Old Testament theologian recommends that before discussing these questions, we focus on God the Creator and God's ongoing work in creation. We should explore what the Bible tells us and let the text set the agenda for our reflections. Combining his storytelling gift with rigorous biblical exegesis and deep reflection, Ben Ollenburger describes the action of God the Creator as presented throughout the Old Testament. He shows how creation is about more than origins. It is about God acting against the hostile forces of chaos that can be historical, political, and military. About how God created a well-ordered world, and how human transgression ruptures God's relationship with humans and threatens creation. About how God responds as Creator to those threats by disturbing and reordering the disorder, bringing about what God intended--a world ordered in the social, political, and natural realms that is characterized by the justice, righteousness, and peace required for human flourishing.

Author : Gary Steiner
Publisher : University of Pittsburgh Pre
Page : 346 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2010-08-01
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780822970989

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Anthropocentrism and Its Discontents by Gary Steiner Pdf

Anthropocentrism and Its Discontents is the first-ever comprehensive examination of views of animals in the history of Western philosophy, from Homeric Greece to the twentieth century. In recent decades, increased interest in this area has been accompanied by scholars' willingness to conceive of animal experience in terms of human mental capacities: consciousness, self-awareness, intention, deliberation, and in some instances, at least limited moral agency. This conception has been facilitated by a shift from behavioral to cognitive ethology (the science of animal behavior), and by attempts to affirm the essential similarities between the psychophysical makeup of human beings and animals. Gary Steiner sketches the terms of the current debates about animals and relates these to their historical antecedents, focusing on both the dominant anthropocentric voices and those recurring voices that instead assert a fundamental kinship relation between human beings and animals. He concludes with a discussion of the problem of balancing the need to recognize a human indebtedness to animals and the natural world with the need to preserve a sense of the uniqueness and dignity of the human individual.

Author : James S. Mastaler
Publisher : Wipf and Stock Publishers
Page : 170 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2019-04-17
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781532661679

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Woven Together by James S. Mastaler Pdf

Now more than ever, it’s critical that religious stories encompass a call to moral responsibility for the earth and to the global poor. But, the divorce between religious faith and science has left many people feeling unmoored and adrift at a time when we ought to be drawing closer to nature and each other. It is a theological activity to see the world as it really is—to look its suffering squarely in the face and tend to a wounded world. The global poor, especially women among them, are some of the world’s most disenfranchised people. Their realities must inform the conversations about God and the world that people of faith are having in the church. There is no salvation from the world, only salvation with the world. This means learning to live as a member of a community of mutual responsibility—to look inward and ask ourselves how we might turn outward and live differently. Concern for nature and social justice must become a central part of Christian moral life.