In the humanities, if they are to remain alive, it is necessary to have a relationship to the thought as well as to the thinker from the past (Karl Rahner). Rudolf Smend attempts to establish such a relationship for one single branch of the humanities, which however can be seen as particularly paradigmatic. He does this in rough descriptions of 15 scholars who had a certain share in contributing to the history of Old Testament scholarship. He begins with the French physician Jean Astruc and the English Bishop Robert Lowth. Using the names for God, Astruc was the first to show that Genesis was...

Batik occupies a special place in Indonesian culture. Each fabric has a rich story to tell--as a reflection of the nation's religious beliefs, sophisticated court cultures and cosmopolitan history.

The extraordinary textiles in this book are from the collections of Rudolf Smend and Donald Harper. Most date from the period 1880 to 1930 when the art of batik reached its apogee. Having collected historic batik for over thirty years and published two books on the subject, Rudolf Smend has invited his friend and fellow batik specialist Donald Harper to contribute his fine collection to...