Kategoria BISAC: Religion >> Biblical Criticism & Interpretation - General

Philip Davies argues that the Bible may belong to the church or synagogue as an instrument of religious practice, but as an object of academic study it belongs to the world as a whole and as such can function in theory and practice as a secular discourse. A number of exegetical studies suggests that a genuinely academic discourse about biblical writings--one that distances itself from received canons of interpretation--can expose a subtext of deceit within the Creation narratives, re-conceptualize the relationship between Abraham and his deity, reveal lament psalms as texts of oppression,...

Abraham's Children brings together essays by leading scholars of each faith to address key issues for the faiths and to collaboratively identify common ground and pose challenges for the future. The book will inspire readers in the process of inter-faith dialogue, contribute clearly to vital religious issues of contemporary world concern and help readers to understand faiths that are different from their own.

Abraham's Children brings together essays by leading scholars of each faith to address key issues for the faiths and to collaboratively identify common ground and pose challenges for the future. The book will inspire readers in the process of inter-faith dialogue, contribute clearly to vital religious issues of contemporary world concern and help readers to understand faiths that are different from their own.

In We Think What We Eat, Seth Kunin presents both an appreciation and critique of Professor Mary Douglas' classical work on Israelite food rules. He places her arguments into the context of related anthropological approaches and suggests a new interpretation of the food rules system based on a rigorous application of structuralist theory.

Kunin then goes on to extend this analysis to other areas of Israelite culture. Through detailed analysis of texts from Genesis, Exodus and Judges, he demonstrates that the same structural pattern found in the first section in respect of ritual is...

The War Texts is the name given to a small group of Dead Sea Scrolls that depict the preparation for and the various phases of the eschatological battle between the 'Sons of Light' and the 'Sons of Darkness'. Jean Duhaime briefly surveys the history of these texts from their initial discovery to their official publication. He describes the different scrolls and gives details of their contents and their relationships to one another. Duhaime summarizes the various reasons supporting a dating of this composition to the Hellenistic or Roman period and provides an example of the use of the...

Essays on scripture, tradition and reason; at the heart of every major issue confronting the life and thought of all the Christian Churches today. In honour of R. P. C. Hanson.

A highly readable and illuminating approach to biblical scholarship from the author of Christ the Form of Beauty.At a time when new approaches to biblical analysis are proliferating, Francesca Murphy opens up the literary dimension of the Bible using a lively form of narrative criticism, developing a doctrine of revelation which is both original and radically traditional. Murphy argues that the Bible is written imaginatively, and that the best way to understand its meaning is to imagine how to perform or dramatize it. She follows the sequence of heroes and heroines who carry the plot from...