Personhood of God

Biblical Theology, Human Faith and the Divine Image

Yochanan Muffs

• Publisher: Jewish Lights
• Year: 2011
• ISBN:
  9781580235280
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Jewish Theology

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

• COVER
• TITLE
• DEDICATION
• CONTENTS
• FOREWORD BY DR. DAVID HARTMAN
• PREFACE
• INTRODUCTION: MONOTHEISM, ANTHROPOMORPHISM, AND THE PERSONHOOD OF GOD
• I. THE BIBLICAL GOD IN RELATIONSHIP WITH A PEOPLE
•         1. PAGANISM AND BIBLICAL RELIGION
•         2. THE ESSENCE OF BIBLICAL PROCESS
•         3. THEOLOGICAL ANTHROPOMORPHISM
•         4. THE GODS AND THE LAW
•         5. FAMILY AND NATION: TWO VERSIONS OF NATIONAL FORMATION
• II. THE DIVINE PERSON
•         6. BIBLICAL ANTHROPOMORPHISM
•         7. THE LIVING MACHINE
•         8. DIVINE ASPIRATIONS: FOUR ASPECTS OF KINGSHIP
•         9. POWER, LOVE, AND JUSTICE: THE POSITIVE EXPRESSION OF THE DIVINE WILL
•         10. ON THE USES OF DIVINE POWER
• III. AESTHETIC SENSIBILITY AND RELIGIOUS IMAGINATION
•         11. IMAGE AND IMAGINATION IN THE BIBLE
•         12. THEOLOGY AND POETICS
•         13. TOWARD A PHENOMENOLOGY OF THE SENSES
• IV. JOY, LOVE, AND LITURGY
•         14. INTENT, VOLITION, AND THE ROOTS OF RABBINIC PRAYER
•         15. JOY IN THE LITURGY
•         16. LOVE AND ALACRITY IN OTHER LITURGIES
•         17. THE PRIESTLY BENEDICTION
• V. ENCOUNTERING THE PERSONHOOD OF GOD
•         18. GOD AND THE WORLD
•         19. A JEWISH VIEW OF GOD’S RELATION TO THE WORLD
•         20. JUDAISM AND SECULAR CULTURE
•         21. ON THE DEMYTHOLOGIZING OF RELIGION
• NOTES
• CREDITS
• GENERAL INDEX
• INDEX OF JEWISH SOURCES
• ABOUT JEWISH LIGHTS
• COPYRIGHT