Books-in-Brief: Anthropomorphic Depictions of God

Books-in-Brief: Anthropomorphic Depictions of God
Author: Zulfiqar Ali Shah
Publisher: International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT)
Total Pages: 82
Release: 2012-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1565645839

This monumental study examines issues of anthropomorphism in the three Abrahamic Faiths, as viewed through the texts of the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Qur’an. Throughout history Christianity and Judaism have tried to make sense of God. While juxtaposing the Islamic position against this, the author addresses the Judeo-Christian worldview and how each has chosen to framework its encounter with God, to what extent this has been the result of actual scripture and to what extent the product of theological debate, or church decrees of later centuries and absorption of Hellenistic philosophy. Shah also examines Islam’s heavily anti-anthropomorphic stance and Islamic theological discourse on Tawhid as well as the Ninety-Nine Names of God and what these have meant in relation to Muslim understanding of God and His attributes. Describing how these became the touchstone of Muslim discourse with Judaism and Christianity he critiques theological statements and perspectives that came to dilute if not counter strict monotheism. As secularism debates whether God is dead, the issue of anthropomorphism has become of immense importance. The quest for God, especially in this day and age, is partly one of intellectual longing. To Shah, anthropomorphic concepts and corporeal depictions of the Divine are perhaps among the leading factors of modern atheism. As such he ultimately draws the conclusion that the postmodern longing for God will not be quenched by pre-modern anthropomorphic and corporeal concepts of the Divine which have simply brought God down to this cosmos, with a precise historical function and a specified location, reducing the intellectual and spiritual force of what God is and represents, causing the soul to detract from a sense of the sacred and thereby belief in Him.

In the Eyes of God

In the Eyes of God
Author: Brian C Howell
Publisher: James Clarke & Company
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2014-07-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0227902254

Throughout the Bible, divine interaction with humanity is portrayed in almost embarrassingly human terms. God sees, hears, thinks, feels, runs, rides chariots, laughs, wields weapons, gives birth, and even repents. Many of these descriptions, taken at face value, seem to run afoul of classical thought about God's qualities of divine simplicity, transcendence, omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, and, especially, immutability. Traditionally, such representations have been seen as accommodations to human intellectual and moral limitations. They allowed God to be more comprehensible but did not actually describe any real part of His character, being, or interaction with humanity. References to God seeing or hearing, for example, are not deemed to represent real acts, as God is all-knowing. This view is largely based on the Aristotelian conception of metaphors: they are rhetorical devices and should not be taken literally. Since the 1970s, our understanding of the ways in which metaphors convey meaning has become much more sophisticated. We are better able to unlock the function of human acts of God within the Bible. This book aims to explore the biblical metaphor of divine sight in Genesis and how current conceptions of metaphorical function can enrich our reading of the text and its theology.

God's Body

God's Body
Author: Andreas Wagner
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 207
Release: 2019-02-21
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0567655989

Images of the body in ancient Near Eastern civilizations are radically different from body images today, which in turn creates significant consequences for our understanding of the biblical notion of God's human shape and the frequent and widespread misconceptions therein. Andreas Wagner illuminates such frequent and widespread misconceptions, and reveals the sometimes distant pictorial world of ancient body images. He contrasts these with contemporary models and makes the matter of the Old Testament concept of God's human form accessible and clear. Wagner begins by introducing readers to aspects of anthropomorphism, the study of body parts, and Israel's basic understanding of the human body. He then turns specifically to the body of God, analysing why and how certain body parts are emphasized or regularly employed in the biblical text when it tries to describe God. Wagner draws out the theological aspects of the ways in which God's body is described as well as considering the diverse range of ancient Near Eastern perspectives on God, and the ways in which ancient cultures constructed and understood deities. Wagner concludes by looking at how the depiction of God in the Old Testament fits with the concept of mankind made in God's image. Enhanced by over fifty illustrations, God's Body will lead the debate in biblical anthropomorphism for years to come.

Where the Gods are

Where the Gods are
Author: Mark S. Smith
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2016-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0300209223

6. The Royal City and Its Gods -- Epilogue: Ancient Theorizing About Anthropomorphism and Space -- Notes -- Subject Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z -- Index of Modern Authors -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- X -- Y -- Z -- Index of Ancient Sources

Forming God

Forming God
Author: Anne K. Knafl
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 327
Release: 2014-10-23
Genre: History
ISBN: 1575068990

This volume examines divine anthropomorphism in the Hebrew Bible, a study characterized by disagreement and contradiction. Discussions of anthropomorphism in the Hebrew Bible are typically found in three areas of inquiry: ancient Israelite religion, as reflected by the compositions of the Pentateuch; comparisons with ancient Near Eastern religions; and comparison with ancient translation and interpretation of the Hebrew Bible. Contradictory arguments exist, both within each area of study and between them, about the intent of biblical writers, with respect to a theology of anthropomorphism. In this work, Knafl asserts that biblical studies has reached this impasse, largely due to its approach to the study of the phenomenon. The prevailing method has been to study divine anthropomorphism within an assumed framework of polemic and by associating it with a theological system. By contrast, Knafl analyzes divine anthropomorphism as a literary-contextual phenomenon and seeks to build a typology, from which secondary arguments regarding theology or history of religion may be built. This typology will provide scholars of biblical studies, history of religion, and (systematic) theology with a means of evaluating divine anthropomorphisms and their relation to human-divine interactions, as a biblical phenomenon.

Language for God in Patristic Tradition

Language for God in Patristic Tradition
Author: Mark Sheridan
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2014-12-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0830840648

Mark Sheridan, an expert in early Christianity, explores how ancient Christian theologians interpreted Scripture in order to address the problem of attributing human characteristics and emotions to God.

God of All Things

God of All Things
Author: Andrew Wilson
Publisher: Zondervan
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2021-03-02
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0310109094

Abstract theology is overrated, for God can be found in even the most ordinary of things. Jesus used things like a lily, sparrow, and sheep to teach about the kingdom of God. And in the Old Testament, God repeatedly describes himself and his saving work in relation to physical things such as a rock, horn, or eagle. In God of All Things, pastor and author Andrew Wilson invites you to rediscover God in this way, too--through ordinary, everyday things. He explores the idea of a material world and presents a variety of created marvels that reveal the gospel in everyday life and fuel worship and joy in God--marvels like: Dust: the image of God Horns: the salvation of God Donkeys: the peace of God Water: the life of God Viruses: the problem of God Cities: the kingdom of God God of All Things will leave you with a deeper understanding of Scripture, the world you live in, and the God who made it all.

Anthropomorphism in Islam

Anthropomorphism in Islam
Author: Livnat Holtzman
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2018-03-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 0748689575

Through a close, contextualized, and interdisciplinary reading in Hadith compilations, theological treatises, and historical sources, this book offers an evaluation and understanding of the traditionalistic endeavours to define anthropomorphism in the most crucial and indeed most formative period of Islamic thought.

Book on the Living God

Book on the Living God
Author: B Yin R
Publisher: Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2007-09-01
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 9788120734258

You should not read this book if you believe the teachings of your faith with heart and soul. You should not read this book if you have never doubted God. This book is written for all those who suffered bitter conflicts in themselves in their labours, never found Him.