You are not signed in. Sign in.

List Books: Buy books on ListBooks.org

The Personhood of God: Biblical Theology, Human Faith and the Divine Image »

Book cover image of The Personhood of God: Biblical Theology, Human Faith and the Divine Image by Yochanan Muffs

Authors: Yochanan Muffs
ISBN-13: 9781580232654, ISBN-10: 1580232655
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Jewish Lights Publishing
Date Published: September 2005
Edition: (Non-applicable)

Find Best Prices for This Book »

Author Biography: Yochanan Muffs

Book Synopsis

A fascinating exploration of the many faces of God and what they reveal about our own humanity

He was a whole pantheon in Himself.... He constantly appeared in many and ever-changing roles lest He be frozen and converted into the dumb idols He Himself despised. God was a polyvalent personality who, by mirroring to man His many faces, provided the models that man so needed to survive and flourish. This is the true humanity of God. -from the Introduction

In scholarly but accessible terms, with many startling and controversial insights, renowned Bible scholar Dr. Yochanan Muffs examines the anthropomorphic evolution of the Divine Image-from creator of the cosmos to God the father, God the husband, God the king, God the "chess-player," God the ultimate master-and how these different images of God have shaped our faith and world view. Muffs also examines how expressions of divine power, divine will and divine love throughout the Bible have helped develop the contemporary human condition and our enriching dialectic between faith and doubt.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Introduction : monotheism, anthropomorphism, and the personhood of God1
1Paganism and biblical religion9
2The essence of biblical process19
3Theological anthropomorphism29
4The Gods and the law35
5Family and nation : two versions of national formation45
6Biblical anthropomorphism55
7The living machine61
8Divine aspirations : four aspects of kingship65
9Power, love, and justice : the positive expression of the divine will83
10On the uses of divine power89
11Image and imagination in the Bible97
12Theology and poetics103
13Toward a phenomenology of the senses113
14Intent, volition, and the roots of rabbinic prayer123
15Joy in the liturgy133
16Love and alacrity in other liturgies145
17The priestly benediction151
18God and the world159
19A Jewish view of God's relation to the world171
20Judaism and secular culture179
21On the demythologizing of religion189

Subjects