scholarly journals Humans created God in their image? An anthropomorphic projectionism in the Old Testament

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ndikho Mtshiselwa ◽  
Lerato Mokoena

The Old Testament projects not only a Deity that created the world and human beings but also one that is violent and male. The debate on the depiction of the God of Israel that is violent and male is far from being exhausted in Old Testament studies. Thus, the main question posed in this article is: If re-read as ‘Humans created God in their image’, would Genesis 1:27 account for the portrayal of a Deity that is male and violent? Feuerbach’s idea of anthropomorphic projectionism and Guthrie’s view of religion as anthropomorphism come to mind here. This article therefore examines, firstly, human conceptualisation of a divine being within the framework of the theory of anthropomorphic projectionism. Because many a theologian and philosopher would deny that God is a being at all, we further investigate whether the God of Israel was a theological and social construction during the history of ancient Israel. In the end, we conclude, based on the theory of anthropomorphic projectionism, that the idea that the God of Israel was a theological and social construct accounts for the depiction of a Deity that is male and violent in the Old Testament.

2007 ◽  
pp. 27-37
Author(s):  
Dmytro V. Tsolin

Every reader of the Old Testament, both experienced researcher and newcomer, cannot fail to pay attention to one peculiarity in the presentation of the idea of ​​God: it is a harmonious (and, at times, amazing) combination of transcendence and immanence. The History of the Creation of the World (Genesis 1: 1 - 2: 3), which begins the first book of the Strictly Testament - Genesis - is an example of an exquisite prose genre with elements of epic poetry. In it, the Creator of the Universe appears to the Almighty, the Wise, and the All-Powerful, standing above the created world: Only one word of it evokes the material world from nothingness. This is emphasized by the repeated use of the formulas אלהים וימר / wa-yyo'mer 'ělohîm ("And Elohim said ...") and ויהי־כן / wa-yəhî khēn ("And so it became"). This use of two narrative constructs at the beginning and at the end of messages about the creative activities of God clearly emphasizes the idea of ​​reconciling the divine Word and being. God is shown here to be transcendental.


Vox Patrum ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
pp. 25-38
Author(s):  
Stanisław Łucarz

The article focuses on the notion of femaleness and its role in the history of salvation in the works of Clement of Alexandria. Although these are not the central themes of his considerations, he reflects on this subject against the back­ground of his magnificent vision of the incarnation of the divine Logos. The be­getting or generating of Logos by Father is the first stage of the incarnation, which is followed by the next stages: the creation of the world and of human beings, the revelation in the Old Testament and – although not directly – in the Greek philosophy. The last stage is the incarnation in Jesus Christ. All this leads towards the divinization and the unity in God. Femaleness in Clement’s work should be considered as a part of cosmic dimensions. For him, men and women are substan­tially – i.e. on the level of their souls – equal, hence in the spiritual and intellectual dimension both sexes are vested with identical dignity and enjoy equal rights. The differences between sexes are located in the body and affect various aspects of human life, mostly biological and reproductive ones, not to mention the family, community and religious reality. In practice, it is the woman who is subordinated to man due to the fact, as Clement holds, that the female body is weaker than the male one, more subjugated to passivity, less perfect and more susceptible to pas­sions. For that reason, on the way to salvation, it is the man who is the head of the woman. However, it is not an absolute subjection. If the woman goes on the way to salvation (a Christian woman), and the man does not, the Lord is the head of the woman (the divine Logos, whom she follows). All these differences resulting from the possession of a body are eliminated in eschatology, in which will be the total equality. On that way to the eschatological fulfillment, the divine Logos is indispensable. He incarnates himself and comes to the world through a woman. He chooses what is weaker in order to reveal His power. This way it is a woman, and not a man, who first experiences His divinizing closeness and action.


1974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack M. Sasson

Were Jonah's experiences true to the history of ancient Israel? Were they meant to be read comically, philosophically, allegorically, symbolically, or realistically? And is God godly when acting beyond the comprehension of prophets, let alone ordinary human beings? These issues, and many more, are thoughtfully considered in this meticulously detailed and insightful translation of the original Hebrew text of Jonah as created by Jewish authorities during the second half of the first millennium B.C.E. In these profound and enduring tales, realistic events and miraculous incidents merge, and we never have to wait long to witness the power of God's love or wrath. One of the twelve prophets, Jonah faced more challenges in a short span of time than any other biblical hero. He went to sea and nearly drowned in the belly of a great fish. On land, Jonah journeyed east to Nineveh, where his mission was to spread the word of God in a city plagued by evil. He was tested by God at every turn. But even during his darkest hours, his faith never wavered and through all the tumult, he always listened for the comforting voice of the Lord. Author Jack M. Sasson employs the very latest information in biblical scholarship to interpret the many nuances in Jonah's seemingly simple story. Providing Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Aramaic, and, occasionally, Syriac and Arabic translations, this Anchor Bible Commentary volume is an exciting addition to the world-acclaimed series.


FIKROTUNA ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
ABD WARITS

In the history of women's life, the woman has never cracked from the wild cry of helplessness. Woman always become victim of men’s egoism, marginalized, hurt, unfettered, fooled and never appreciated the presence and role. This situation troubles many intellectual Muslims who have perspective that Islam teaches equality, equality for all human beings in the world. The difference in skin color, race, tribe and nation, as well as gender does not cause them to get the status of the different rights and obligations. The potential and the right to life of every human being and the obligation to serve the Lord Almighty is the same. Indeed, all human beings, as caliph in the world, have the same obligation, namely to prosperity of life in the world. No one is allowed to act arbitrarily, destroying, or hurt among others. They are required to live side by side, united, and harmonious, help each other and respect each other. However, that "demand" never becomes a reality. The differences among human identities become a barrier and the cause of divisions. For them, those who are outside environment, different identities are "others" who rightly do not need them "know". The difference of identity has become a reason to allow "hurt" each other. Several intellectual Muslims who recognize the wrong (discrimination against women), and then they attempt to formulate a movement for women's liberation. All the efforts have been done on the basis of awareness that arbitrary action by any person can never be justified. They also realize, that the backwardness of women are "stumbling block" that will lead to the resignation of a civilization. However, this struggle found a lot of challenges; including the consideration of "insubordination" to conquer the power of men, despite it had done by using many strategies. Starting from the writing of scientific book and countless fiction themed women has been published in order to give awareness of equality between men and women. This paper seeks to reexamine the process of the empowerment struggle to give a brand new concept, so that the struggle of women empowerment is not as insubordination and curiosity process in an attempt to conquer the male. Through approach of literature review and observations on the relationship between men and women, the writer finally concluded that the movement of Islamic feminism is not a movement to seize the power of men, but an attempt to liberate women from oppression so that they get the rights of their social role, giving freedom for women to pursue a career as wide as possible like a man, without forgetting a main duty as a mother: to conceive, give birth and breastfeed their children.


Author(s):  
Abdul Rasheed

"The history of religion is as old as the world itself. That is why from Hazrat Adam to date, we find no age without divine guidance.Guidance is necessary for all human beings as the Creator of the universe, Almighty Allah addressed the first human couple while sending it to this earth:"We said," Get down from here, all of you. So, whenever 'the guidance' from ME comes to you; and whoever follows MY' guidance', they do not have to fear and they do not have to regret".Meaning: "Gm here; ate you down all frond if, as is sure, there comes to you guidance from Me, whosoever follows My guidance, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve". It means the success of Allah's vicegerents, human beings, depends on their following the laws given by the creator of this world.


2003 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alphonso Groenewald

Psalm 69:37a refers to the "servants" in the composite "the offspring of his servants". This composite takes up a concept which already ap-peared as a self-indication of the supplicant of this Psalm, namely in its singular form "servant" (69:18a). The article aims to identify these "servants" (69:37a) who articulated themselves in the voice of the other "person" in Psalm 69. It is postulated that the connections which exist between the servants in Isaiah and the servants in the Psalter are far too distinct to simply regard them as a mere matter of coincidence. The article focuses on the book of Isaiah, as conclusions drawn from Isaiah can shed light on the identity of the "servants" in Psalm 69. Secondly, the focus shifts to the term "servants" in the Psalter, and specifically in book I and II. It shows that the term "servants" not only denotes the pious, but indicates a special group of people who played an active role in shaping the literary heritage of ancient Israel in post-exilic times.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-174
Author(s):  
Naoki Odanaka

Abstract This article aims to analyze and evaluate the arguments presented in the Writing the Nation series (8 vols., ed. Stefan Berger, Christoph Conrad, and Guy Marchal [Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008–2015]). The main question to answer here is: In a globalized world, do we historians still need to talk about national history, that is, the practice of writing the history of nations, or should we instead seek to produce historical works suitable for the globalized world, including global histories?


2009 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-409
Author(s):  
Daniela Merolla

AbstractSculptures, paintings, drawings, performances, and films have often refashioned narratives of the origins of the cosmos and of human beings. The essays collected in Creation Myths and the Visual Arts investigate the interplay between image and narrative and offer critical approaches from literary studies, the history of art, archaeology, and anthropology on the interpretation and categorization of verbal and visual representations of “creation myths” from all over the world.


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