D. M. Gunn
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780198263913
- eISBN:
- 9780191601187
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198263910.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This is the fourth of five chapters on the text of the Old Testament, and focuses on the Hebrew prose narrative of the Old Testament. It starts by discussing the various definitions of the term ...
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This is the fourth of five chapters on the text of the Old Testament, and focuses on the Hebrew prose narrative of the Old Testament. It starts by discussing the various definitions of the term narrative (as a mode of discourse; as a vehicle of narrative communication; as definable text) and the difficulties of determining which particular definable biblical texts are narrative texts, and notes that the attempt by the critic–reader to define so simple a thing as the narrative text is fraught with issues that have as much to do with the reader as with the text. The author notes that the title of the chapter and its placement within the ‘text’ part of the division of the book into parts on readers, text, and authors, might suggest a singular objective entity (the text) produced by authors, read by readers, and conceptually separable from both, but that the reality is more complicated. The Old Testament is described as a fuzzy‐edged concept, not a fixed object, and its text not as one but as beyond number; furthermore, the concept is ideologically loaded (i.e. reader‐oriented) and much of the essay is quite specifically not about the (Christian) Old Testament (which is why the hybrid term Hebrew Bible has been used). It is the author's understanding that there is no such thing as the text of the Old Testament apart from its readers and it is in this context that he gives an account (which he labels as partial) of biblical narrative and literary criticism over the past three decades; this is presented as an account not of what is in the biblical narratives, but of what some readers have claimed to find in these texts, and how they have gone about finding it.Less
This is the fourth of five chapters on the text of the Old Testament, and focuses on the Hebrew prose narrative of the Old Testament. It starts by discussing the various definitions of the term narrative (as a mode of discourse; as a vehicle of narrative communication; as definable text) and the difficulties of determining which particular definable biblical texts are narrative texts, and notes that the attempt by the critic–reader to define so simple a thing as the narrative text is fraught with issues that have as much to do with the reader as with the text. The author notes that the title of the chapter and its placement within the ‘text’ part of the division of the book into parts on readers, text, and authors, might suggest a singular objective entity (the text) produced by authors, read by readers, and conceptually separable from both, but that the reality is more complicated. The Old Testament is described as a fuzzy‐edged concept, not a fixed object, and its text not as one but as beyond number; furthermore, the concept is ideologically loaded (i.e. reader‐oriented) and much of the essay is quite specifically not about the (Christian) Old Testament (which is why the hybrid term Hebrew Bible has been used). It is the author's understanding that there is no such thing as the text of the Old Testament apart from its readers and it is in this context that he gives an account (which he labels as partial) of biblical narrative and literary criticism over the past three decades; this is presented as an account not of what is in the biblical narratives, but of what some readers have claimed to find in these texts, and how they have gone about finding it.
Eleonore Stump
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199277421
- eISBN:
- 9780191594298
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199277421.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
Job is an exemplar of an innocent person who suffers involuntarily. This chapter focuses on the biblical story of Job and gives a detailed philosophical examination of many parts of the story. Its ...
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Job is an exemplar of an innocent person who suffers involuntarily. This chapter focuses on the biblical story of Job and gives a detailed philosophical examination of many parts of the story. Its aim is to illuminate the picture the story gives us of God's reasons for allowing Job's suffering, when we are attuned to the second-person character of the narrative, in all its complexity. The nested stories the book contains regarding relations between creatures and God present God's providence operating in a fractal way, to deal with each of God's creatures as an end in himself, even while interweaving all the individual stories into one larger narrative.Less
Job is an exemplar of an innocent person who suffers involuntarily. This chapter focuses on the biblical story of Job and gives a detailed philosophical examination of many parts of the story. Its aim is to illuminate the picture the story gives us of God's reasons for allowing Job's suffering, when we are attuned to the second-person character of the narrative, in all its complexity. The nested stories the book contains regarding relations between creatures and God present God's providence operating in a fractal way, to deal with each of God's creatures as an end in himself, even while interweaving all the individual stories into one larger narrative.
Melanie J. Wright
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195152265
- eISBN:
- 9780199834884
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195152263.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This chapter discusses Zora Neale Hurston's 1939 novel, Moses, Man of the Mountain, characterizing the novel as a complex, sophisticated work influenced by biblical narrative, African‐American ...
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This chapter discusses Zora Neale Hurston's 1939 novel, Moses, Man of the Mountain, characterizing the novel as a complex, sophisticated work influenced by biblical narrative, African‐American religion, and the social sciences. In the light of Hurston's near iconic status in some feminist circles, the importance of her identity as an African‐American woman for her representation of the exodus is considered. Hurston's anthropological training with Franz Boas, and consequent familiarity with the concept of cultural relativism, is also shown to be formative of her presentation of the biblical story as at once both unique and relative, the myth by which Americans live(d).Less
This chapter discusses Zora Neale Hurston's 1939 novel, Moses, Man of the Mountain, characterizing the novel as a complex, sophisticated work influenced by biblical narrative, African‐American religion, and the social sciences. In the light of Hurston's near iconic status in some feminist circles, the importance of her identity as an African‐American woman for her representation of the exodus is considered. Hurston's anthropological training with Franz Boas, and consequent familiarity with the concept of cultural relativism, is also shown to be formative of her presentation of the biblical story as at once both unique and relative, the myth by which Americans live(d).
Ronald Hendel
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195177961
- eISBN:
- 9780199784622
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195177967.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This chapter investigates the interplay of cultural memory, historical realities, and narrative technique in the portrayal of Solomon and his kingdom. Of particular concern are the narratives of ...
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This chapter investigates the interplay of cultural memory, historical realities, and narrative technique in the portrayal of Solomon and his kingdom. Of particular concern are the narratives of Solomon’s rise to power in 1 Kings 2 and his building activity in 1 Kings 9. Royal ideology and political controversy are keys to uncovering the relation between the historical Solomon and his biblical representation.Less
This chapter investigates the interplay of cultural memory, historical realities, and narrative technique in the portrayal of Solomon and his kingdom. Of particular concern are the narratives of Solomon’s rise to power in 1 Kings 2 and his building activity in 1 Kings 9. Royal ideology and political controversy are keys to uncovering the relation between the historical Solomon and his biblical representation.
Timothy Fitzgerald
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195300093
- eISBN:
- 9780199868636
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195300093.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Literature
In this early‐seventeenth‐century collection of travel writings we can see tensions between Religion as Christian Truth on the one hand, and the beginnings of a generic concept of religions matched ...
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In this early‐seventeenth‐century collection of travel writings we can see tensions between Religion as Christian Truth on the one hand, and the beginnings of a generic concept of religions matched by an ambiguously modern secular ethnographic style on the other. This work of “pilgrimage” reflects the competition for trade and the processes of colonization, alongside the development of new ways of classifying the world and its contents. Purchas frames his whole work in Biblical terms, drawing explicitly on the expulsion of Adam and Eve, the Flood, and the Tower of Babel as explanatory concepts for the bewildering variety of newly discovered forms of human life. Yet an ironic and quite frequent application of “religions” to “superstitions” at times suggests an early if ambiguous generic modern usage, as if he is adopting a secular high ground. The world is most certainly “profane” in the sense of “fallen”; yet at the same time Purchas's concern with new knowledge of ships, maps, compasses, geography, as well as customs and superstitions, frequently suggests the early beginnings of something approaching modern nonreligious secularity.Less
In this early‐seventeenth‐century collection of travel writings we can see tensions between Religion as Christian Truth on the one hand, and the beginnings of a generic concept of religions matched by an ambiguously modern secular ethnographic style on the other. This work of “pilgrimage” reflects the competition for trade and the processes of colonization, alongside the development of new ways of classifying the world and its contents. Purchas frames his whole work in Biblical terms, drawing explicitly on the expulsion of Adam and Eve, the Flood, and the Tower of Babel as explanatory concepts for the bewildering variety of newly discovered forms of human life. Yet an ironic and quite frequent application of “religions” to “superstitions” at times suggests an early if ambiguous generic modern usage, as if he is adopting a secular high ground. The world is most certainly “profane” in the sense of “fallen”; yet at the same time Purchas's concern with new knowledge of ships, maps, compasses, geography, as well as customs and superstitions, frequently suggests the early beginnings of something approaching modern nonreligious secularity.
Eleonore Stump
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199277421
- eISBN:
- 9780191594298
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199277421.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
Abraham is an exemplar of a person who suffers because of what he has set his heart on. This chapter examines the problem of suffering in connection with the loss or deprivation of the desires of the ...
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Abraham is an exemplar of a person who suffers because of what he has set his heart on. This chapter examines the problem of suffering in connection with the loss or deprivation of the desires of the heart. It concentrates on the biblical story of Abraham and gives a detailed philosophical examination of many parts of the story, but especially the part of the story involving the binding of Isaac. It argues against Kierkegaard's well-known interpretation of the story in Fear and Trembling, and suggests an alternative that emerges when the episode of the binding of Isaac is set in the whole context of Abraham's relations with the children he fathers and their mothers. So understood, the story illuminates the nature of faith as a response to the problem of suffering, and it sets a very high standard for acceptable solutions to the problem.Less
Abraham is an exemplar of a person who suffers because of what he has set his heart on. This chapter examines the problem of suffering in connection with the loss or deprivation of the desires of the heart. It concentrates on the biblical story of Abraham and gives a detailed philosophical examination of many parts of the story, but especially the part of the story involving the binding of Isaac. It argues against Kierkegaard's well-known interpretation of the story in Fear and Trembling, and suggests an alternative that emerges when the episode of the binding of Isaac is set in the whole context of Abraham's relations with the children he fathers and their mothers. So understood, the story illuminates the nature of faith as a response to the problem of suffering, and it sets a very high standard for acceptable solutions to the problem.
Eleonore Stump
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199277421
- eISBN:
- 9780191594298
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199277421.003.0013
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter uses the narratives in the preceding chapters as well as the worldview of Aquinas outlined in earlier chapters to present Aquinas's theodicy. Taken in the context of the biblical ...
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This chapter uses the narratives in the preceding chapters as well as the worldview of Aquinas outlined in earlier chapters to present Aquinas's theodicy. Taken in the context of the biblical narratives and encompassed in Aquinas's whole worldview but especially his account of love, Aquinas's theodicy is the heart of the defence promised at the outset of the book. On Aquinas's theodicy, God is justified in allowing the suffering of a mentally fully functional adult human person by one or the other or both of two possible benefits, where Aquinas's scale of value is the measure of the benefits. For a person whose suffering is entirely involuntary, suffering is defeated in virtue of its contributing to warding off a greater harm for her. For a person whose suffering is involuntary only in a certain respect, suffering is defeated in virtue of its contributing to providing a greater good for her. The chapter concludes with an argument that Aquinas's theodicy is incomplete as it stands and in need of further development.Less
This chapter uses the narratives in the preceding chapters as well as the worldview of Aquinas outlined in earlier chapters to present Aquinas's theodicy. Taken in the context of the biblical narratives and encompassed in Aquinas's whole worldview but especially his account of love, Aquinas's theodicy is the heart of the defence promised at the outset of the book. On Aquinas's theodicy, God is justified in allowing the suffering of a mentally fully functional adult human person by one or the other or both of two possible benefits, where Aquinas's scale of value is the measure of the benefits. For a person whose suffering is entirely involuntary, suffering is defeated in virtue of its contributing to warding off a greater harm for her. For a person whose suffering is involuntary only in a certain respect, suffering is defeated in virtue of its contributing to providing a greater good for her. The chapter concludes with an argument that Aquinas's theodicy is incomplete as it stands and in need of further development.
Tal Goldfajn
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198269533
- eISBN:
- 9780191683671
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269533.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This chapter examines the unique encounter offered in biblical Hebrew (BH) studies between the distinct disciplines of linguistics and theology. It suggests that the temporal interpretation of the ...
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This chapter examines the unique encounter offered in biblical Hebrew (BH) studies between the distinct disciplines of linguistics and theology. It suggests that the temporal interpretation of the classical BH verb forms may be more fully understood if their role in biblical narrative is analysed and that the fundamental temporal meanings of the verb forms are associated with their particular role in the structuring of the text. This chapter also provides a discussion of the historical explanations of the origins of the Hebrew verbal system.Less
This chapter examines the unique encounter offered in biblical Hebrew (BH) studies between the distinct disciplines of linguistics and theology. It suggests that the temporal interpretation of the classical BH verb forms may be more fully understood if their role in biblical narrative is analysed and that the fundamental temporal meanings of the verb forms are associated with their particular role in the structuring of the text. This chapter also provides a discussion of the historical explanations of the origins of the Hebrew verbal system.
Tal Goldfajn
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198269533
- eISBN:
- 9780191683671
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269533.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This chapter examines the syntactic phenomenon of word order in biblical Hebrew (BH) narrative. It argues that variation of verb order is neither random nor explicable solely in terms of stylistic ...
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This chapter examines the syntactic phenomenon of word order in biblical Hebrew (BH) narrative. It argues that variation of verb order is neither random nor explicable solely in terms of stylistic choice and claims that verb order alterations have important effects on the temporal relations between the situations described in a narrative. This chapter suggests that the word order phenomena in BH should be considered as playing a major role in conveying temporal shifts and nuances within the biblical text.Less
This chapter examines the syntactic phenomenon of word order in biblical Hebrew (BH) narrative. It argues that variation of verb order is neither random nor explicable solely in terms of stylistic choice and claims that verb order alterations have important effects on the temporal relations between the situations described in a narrative. This chapter suggests that the word order phenomena in BH should be considered as playing a major role in conveying temporal shifts and nuances within the biblical text.
ANNETTE VOLFING
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199246847
- eISBN:
- 9780191714597
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199246847.003.0006
- Subject:
- Literature, Early and Medieval Literature, European Literature
This chapter covers a range of biblical narratives and looks particularly at the challenges faced by narrators when engaging with the figure of John. The first section considers narratives based on ...
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This chapter covers a range of biblical narratives and looks particularly at the challenges faced by narrators when engaging with the figure of John. The first section considers narratives based on the Gospels, paying particular attention to Der saelden hort, a verse romance drawing partly on the tradition that John and Mary Magdalene were to have been married at the wedding in Cana. It is argued that the narrator's perspective on the figure of John provides a key to understanding this work's almost experimental deployment of different narrative styles (veering from mystical/ascetic to courtly) and the narrator's stated ambition of out-performing the classical courtly authors of the past. The chapter also argues that narrators of texts which recount the contents of the Apocalypse consistently seek to usurp the authority of John's narrative voice and to appropriate to themselves his visionary experiences.Less
This chapter covers a range of biblical narratives and looks particularly at the challenges faced by narrators when engaging with the figure of John. The first section considers narratives based on the Gospels, paying particular attention to Der saelden hort, a verse romance drawing partly on the tradition that John and Mary Magdalene were to have been married at the wedding in Cana. It is argued that the narrator's perspective on the figure of John provides a key to understanding this work's almost experimental deployment of different narrative styles (veering from mystical/ascetic to courtly) and the narrator's stated ambition of out-performing the classical courtly authors of the past. The chapter also argues that narrators of texts which recount the contents of the Apocalypse consistently seek to usurp the authority of John's narrative voice and to appropriate to themselves his visionary experiences.
Gary A. Anderson
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199576739
- eISBN:
- 9780191595165
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199576739.003.0027
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter begins with a significant moral problem raised by the Book of Joshua: Is there any way to justify the Israelites seizing of the land of another people (in this instance the Canaanites)? ...
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This chapter begins with a significant moral problem raised by the Book of Joshua: Is there any way to justify the Israelites seizing of the land of another people (in this instance the Canaanites)? This chapter discusses some of the historical issues involved (archeology shows that the conquest as described did not happen) but spend most of my time with the texts themselves. This chapter begins by articulating the unique relationship Israel has to her land. The chapter then turns to the way in which Genesis 15 sets the canonical framework for reading the Book of Joshua. In brief, God is justified in evicting the Canaanites because of their sinful behavior that has gone on for centuries. God will use the same moral principles to judge Israel later in the biblical narrative.Less
This chapter begins with a significant moral problem raised by the Book of Joshua: Is there any way to justify the Israelites seizing of the land of another people (in this instance the Canaanites)? This chapter discusses some of the historical issues involved (archeology shows that the conquest as described did not happen) but spend most of my time with the texts themselves. This chapter begins by articulating the unique relationship Israel has to her land. The chapter then turns to the way in which Genesis 15 sets the canonical framework for reading the Book of Joshua. In brief, God is justified in evicting the Canaanites because of their sinful behavior that has gone on for centuries. God will use the same moral principles to judge Israel later in the biblical narrative.
Eleonore Stump
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199277421
- eISBN:
- 9780191594298
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199277421.003.0015
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter finishes the defence of the defence that is the object of the book by considering possible objections to the developed Thomistic theodicy and the evidence by which it can be supported. ...
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This chapter finishes the defence of the defence that is the object of the book by considering possible objections to the developed Thomistic theodicy and the evidence by which it can be supported. In particular, it discusses some results from psychological research on human reactions to trauma, which can include adversarial growth or post-traumatic growth. With this defence of the defence, Aquinas's theodicy, developed in the context of biblical narratives and examined using the methodology argued for in the first section of the book, is complete as a defence against the argument from evil.Less
This chapter finishes the defence of the defence that is the object of the book by considering possible objections to the developed Thomistic theodicy and the evidence by which it can be supported. In particular, it discusses some results from psychological research on human reactions to trauma, which can include adversarial growth or post-traumatic growth. With this defence of the defence, Aquinas's theodicy, developed in the context of biblical narratives and examined using the methodology argued for in the first section of the book, is complete as a defence against the argument from evil.
Tal Goldfajn
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198269533
- eISBN:
- 9780191683671
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269533.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This chapter examines the use of the Hebrew verb in classical biblical Hebrew (BH) narrative. It analyses the text of chapters 18 and 19 of the second Book of Kings and the passage about David and ...
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This chapter examines the use of the Hebrew verb in classical biblical Hebrew (BH) narrative. It analyses the text of chapters 18 and 19 of the second Book of Kings and the passage about David and Bathsheba in chapters 11 and 12 of the book of Samuel. It aims to determine whether the result of the analyses of these texts are consistent with the findings in Chapter 7 and to provide a better understanding of the role of the Hebrew verbs in the temporal structuring of the biblical text.Less
This chapter examines the use of the Hebrew verb in classical biblical Hebrew (BH) narrative. It analyses the text of chapters 18 and 19 of the second Book of Kings and the passage about David and Bathsheba in chapters 11 and 12 of the book of Samuel. It aims to determine whether the result of the analyses of these texts are consistent with the findings in Chapter 7 and to provide a better understanding of the role of the Hebrew verbs in the temporal structuring of the biblical text.
Eleonore Stump
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199277421
- eISBN:
- 9780191594298
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199277421.003.0010
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
Samson is an exemplar of a person who suffers greatly but whose suffering stems from his own wrongdoing. This chapter examines the problem of suffering as regards not the victims of human evil but as ...
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Samson is an exemplar of a person who suffers greatly but whose suffering stems from his own wrongdoing. This chapter examines the problem of suffering as regards not the victims of human evil but as regards the perpetrators of it, whose own lives are wrecked in consequence of the evil they do. It concentrates on the biblical story of Samson and gives a detailed philosophical examination of many parts of the story. In the process, the chapter also explores Milton's understanding of the story in his Samson Agonistes, as well as Sophocles's portrayal of an analogous case in his Oedipus at Colonus. The chapter shows that in the story what redeems Samson's suffering for him is the role of his suffering in bringing him into relationship with God.Less
Samson is an exemplar of a person who suffers greatly but whose suffering stems from his own wrongdoing. This chapter examines the problem of suffering as regards not the victims of human evil but as regards the perpetrators of it, whose own lives are wrecked in consequence of the evil they do. It concentrates on the biblical story of Samson and gives a detailed philosophical examination of many parts of the story. In the process, the chapter also explores Milton's understanding of the story in his Samson Agonistes, as well as Sophocles's portrayal of an analogous case in his Oedipus at Colonus. The chapter shows that in the story what redeems Samson's suffering for him is the role of his suffering in bringing him into relationship with God.
Tal Goldfajn
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198269533
- eISBN:
- 9780191683671
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269533.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This chapter examines the temporal ordering of the biblical Hebrew (BH) narrative text in chapter 41 of the Book of Genesis. It attempts to show that there are two basic temporal sets underlying the ...
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This chapter examines the temporal ordering of the biblical Hebrew (BH) narrative text in chapter 41 of the Book of Genesis. It attempts to show that there are two basic temporal sets underlying the more general temporal organization of the BH narrative text. It analyses the distribution of the verb forms within each set and concludes that the primary function of the BH verb forms is to establish the specific temporal relations that exist between the sentences in the text.Less
This chapter examines the temporal ordering of the biblical Hebrew (BH) narrative text in chapter 41 of the Book of Genesis. It attempts to show that there are two basic temporal sets underlying the more general temporal organization of the BH narrative text. It analyses the distribution of the verb forms within each set and concludes that the primary function of the BH verb forms is to establish the specific temporal relations that exist between the sentences in the text.
Susan James
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199698127
- eISBN:
- 9780191740558
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199698127.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Political Philosophy
According to Spinoza, the Dutch Reformed Church and other confessions defend doctrines that serve to promote superstition and obstruct a proper understanding of the relation between religion and ...
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According to Spinoza, the Dutch Reformed Church and other confessions defend doctrines that serve to promote superstition and obstruct a proper understanding of the relation between religion and philosophy. Its views about three topics—ceremonies, biblical narratives and miracles—are particularly damaging, and Spinoza sets out to show how they inhibit the growth of philosophical understanding. This chapter examines the philosophical grounds on which he argues that ceremonies are inessential to true religion. It explores his claim that narratives such as those in Scripture are designed to teach the divine law in an imaginative form and encourage devotion in ordinary people. It explicates his contentions that there are no miracles in the sense of interruptions of the natural order. True religion, Spinoza concludes, can dispense with ceremonies and should modify its conception of miracles, despite the contrary views of established religions.Less
According to Spinoza, the Dutch Reformed Church and other confessions defend doctrines that serve to promote superstition and obstruct a proper understanding of the relation between religion and philosophy. Its views about three topics—ceremonies, biblical narratives and miracles—are particularly damaging, and Spinoza sets out to show how they inhibit the growth of philosophical understanding. This chapter examines the philosophical grounds on which he argues that ceremonies are inessential to true religion. It explores his claim that narratives such as those in Scripture are designed to teach the divine law in an imaginative form and encourage devotion in ordinary people. It explicates his contentions that there are no miracles in the sense of interruptions of the natural order. True religion, Spinoza concludes, can dispense with ceremonies and should modify its conception of miracles, despite the contrary views of established religions.
Gerard O'Daly
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199263950
- eISBN:
- 9780191741364
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199263950.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval, Poetry and Poets: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This introductory chapter discusses the evidence for Prudentius' career against the background of the increasingly Christianized Roman empire of the late fourth and early fifth centuries ad. The ...
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This introductory chapter discusses the evidence for Prudentius' career against the background of the increasingly Christianized Roman empire of the late fourth and early fifth centuries ad. The biographical evidence of the Praefatio is evaluated. Prudentius' poetic output is surveyed, as well as genre, themes, literary influences, symbolism, uses of biblical narrative, metre, and poetics in the Cathemerinon. There are sections on the textual tradition of the poems, and on editions and modern critical studies, as well as on the verse translation provided.Less
This introductory chapter discusses the evidence for Prudentius' career against the background of the increasingly Christianized Roman empire of the late fourth and early fifth centuries ad. The biographical evidence of the Praefatio is evaluated. Prudentius' poetic output is surveyed, as well as genre, themes, literary influences, symbolism, uses of biblical narrative, metre, and poetics in the Cathemerinon. There are sections on the textual tradition of the poems, and on editions and modern critical studies, as well as on the verse translation provided.
Angelika Neuwirth
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- March 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780199928958
- eISBN:
- 9780190921316
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199928958.003.0012
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE
In this chapter, a detailed depiction is offered of the development of specific biblical figures and narratives in the Qur’an. Each figure reflects the Qur’anic reframing of the role of prophecy in ...
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In this chapter, a detailed depiction is offered of the development of specific biblical figures and narratives in the Qur’an. Each figure reflects the Qur’anic reframing of the role of prophecy in general and the biblical figuration of prophecy and Prophets in specific. The depictions of these figures are set against the background of their evidence in the preceding Late Antique religious and literary traditions, including Alexander legends, Christian homilies, and the Jewish accounts of Josephus.Less
In this chapter, a detailed depiction is offered of the development of specific biblical figures and narratives in the Qur’an. Each figure reflects the Qur’anic reframing of the role of prophecy in general and the biblical figuration of prophecy and Prophets in specific. The depictions of these figures are set against the background of their evidence in the preceding Late Antique religious and literary traditions, including Alexander legends, Christian homilies, and the Jewish accounts of Josephus.
Joseph HH Weiler
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199588817
- eISBN:
- 9780191725272
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588817.003.0080
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
This chapter examines the two most critical Biblical narratives which pertain to the theme of justice, narratives which have shaped Western sensibilities on this issue. These are narratives of ...
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This chapter examines the two most critical Biblical narratives which pertain to the theme of justice, narratives which have shaped Western sensibilities on this issue. These are narratives of Abraham and Jesus and his trial.Less
This chapter examines the two most critical Biblical narratives which pertain to the theme of justice, narratives which have shaped Western sensibilities on this issue. These are narratives of Abraham and Jesus and his trial.
Janet Huskinson
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- December 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199203246
- eISBN:
- 9780191802522
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199203246.003.0010
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
As well as conventional symbolic figures such as the ‘Good Shepherd’ and praying woman, Christians from the late third century represented religious subjects on strigillated sarcophagi, which ...
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As well as conventional symbolic figures such as the ‘Good Shepherd’ and praying woman, Christians from the late third century represented religious subjects on strigillated sarcophagi, which remained popular (although like other sarcophagi they became the preserve of the wealthy from the mid-fourth century). This chapter examines the range and treatment of biblical narratives and of Christian symbolic figures and motifs, and then how both of these were combined with portraits; it ends by relating findings to some central themes in the social and religious life of contemporary Rome. One particular change reflects the new religious ideology: figures in corner panels now confirm the central image (saints acclaiming Christ, for instance), rather than introducing options and ambivalences as before. In portraits this arrangement allows patrons to represent both their Roman social identity at the centre and their religious life in corner biblical scenes.Less
As well as conventional symbolic figures such as the ‘Good Shepherd’ and praying woman, Christians from the late third century represented religious subjects on strigillated sarcophagi, which remained popular (although like other sarcophagi they became the preserve of the wealthy from the mid-fourth century). This chapter examines the range and treatment of biblical narratives and of Christian symbolic figures and motifs, and then how both of these were combined with portraits; it ends by relating findings to some central themes in the social and religious life of contemporary Rome. One particular change reflects the new religious ideology: figures in corner panels now confirm the central image (saints acclaiming Christ, for instance), rather than introducing options and ambivalences as before. In portraits this arrangement allows patrons to represent both their Roman social identity at the centre and their religious life in corner biblical scenes.
