The goal of the work is a heuristic reading strategy for a modern
reader to engage with YHWH's threats against Israel in Deuteronomy.
This goal is accomplished in three steps. First, the biblical text is
considered through close reading to discern the logic of YHWH's
threats: what motivates the threats, what form the threats take, and
what effect the threats expect to produce. Second, a modern analogy is
sought that most helpfully matches the structure and logic observed in
the biblical text. A number of common modern analogies for the
divine-human relationship (e.g., parent-child, master-slave,
husband-wife) are deemed unhelpful because they cannot support the
features of the biblical pattern. However, the threats of the modern
state against those who threaten it are found to bear significant
resemblance. Finally, this analogy is developed for each of several
significant passages of Deuteronomy. In order to justify and
substantiate the analogy, this book examines the religious and
political background surrounding both Deuteronomy and the modern state
through historical reflection. Since there are significant differences
between the religio-political situations, sociological perspectives
are used to provide patterns that can be applied within both the
ancient and modern contexts. Finally, although the focus of the work
is on establishing an analogy between YHWH's threats and those of the
modern state, the book dedicates one chapter to discussing
dis-analogous features to avoid over-emphasizing the similarity
between the two.
Les mer
Religion and Politics in Deuteronomy and the Modern World
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780567554871
Publisert
2015
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Vendor
Bloomsbury T&T Clark USA
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter