The Anti-Religious Testimony of the Bible
Theology as Self-Critique
By (author) M. Elbers
The Anti-Religious Testimony of the Bible compares the work of Jan Assmann with the writings of Dutch theologian Kornelis Heiko Miskotte. Both scholars acknowledge that biblical texts undeniably make judgements, distinctions, and divisions. Assmann considers the intolerant aspect of the Bible ‘semantic dynamite’ that causes religious violence, whereas Miskotte views the Bible’s critical stance as ‘self-critique’. Mirjam Elbers shows how Miskotte’s self-critical approach could further the Monotheism Debate that Assmann initiated in the 1990s and that is still ongoing. Additionally, this monograph dives into the Hebrew Bible to show how critique and judgement function in selected stories from the Torah and the Prophets. This exegetical research attempts to answer the question of who is actually being criticized. Finally, the book offers a theological outline of what it would mean for Christian theology if the biblical judgements are first and foremost self-critical.
- By (author) M. Elbers
Other Titles in this Series
Standing Responsibly between Silence and Speech
Religion and Revelation in the Thought of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Rene Girard
Volume 42
Answerable for our Beliefs
Reflections on Theology and Contemporary Culture Offered to Terrence Merrigan
Volume 48
Towards Another Future
On the Christian Faith and Its Shape between Yesterday and Tomorrow
Volume 34
Suffering and Salvation
The Salvific Meaning of Suffering in the Later Theology of Edward Schillebeeckx
Volume 33
How Do Stories Save Us?
An Essay on the Question with the Theological Hermeneutics of David Tracy in View
Volume 35