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Editorial Review:
Bestselling author Richard Elliott Friedman, whose Who Wrote the Bible? was an intriguing took at the origins of the Bible, takes on another momentous theme for the third millennium "to point the way toward a possible final reconciliation of science and religion and to provide the basis for a new moral code acceptable to believers and nonbelievers alike" (Cleveland Plain Dealer).
Remarkably readable, this inspiring work explores three interlinking mysteries: the amazing fact that in the Bible God gradually becomes more hidden; the eerie connection between Nietzsche and Dostoevsky, who arrived at the idea of "the death of God" almost concurrently -- but independent of one another; and the extraordinary cosmic parallel between the big bang theory and the mystlcism of the Kabbalah. Bible Review hailed this book as "brilliant, an elegant and learned reflection on one of the central mysteries or the Bible and of modern life."
The Hidden Face of God is a record of biblical scholar Richard Elliott Friedman's attempts to understand why, after God tells Moses in Deuteronomy, "I shall hide my face from them," God proceeds to disappear from the face of the earth. "Gradually through the course of the Hebrew Bible ... the deity appears less and less to humans, speaks less and less. Miracles, angels, and all other signs of divine presence become rarer and finally cease," Friedman writes. This freewheeling work of biblical and cultural criticism considers the ways modern writers such as Friedrich Nietzsche have continued to develop the idea that "we are finally utterly on our own," wrestles with the insecurities, moral ambiguities, and spiritual doubts that modernism has aggravated, and looks to contemporary science and Jewish mysticism for some clues as to how God's absence may in fact be His way of showing His presence. Without ever lapsing into intellectual laziness or maudlin sentiment, Friedman provides an accessible survey of some of this century's biggest moral dilemmas. And within those dilemmas themselves, Friedman finds hope. --Michael Joseph Gross
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Biblical scholarship meets literary criticism.:
Part one of this book is spot on with Friedman, he presents a good argument for the disappearance of God, something that I did pick up before reading the book, but not in the way Friedman presents it. And this first part will get you thinking and you will ask the question "Why did i not see that before?" This is what makes Friedman so good, pointing out the obvious and not making us feel too stupid that we missed it.more info
Ignoring the greatest modern miracle:
more info Masterpiece from one of today's top Religious Studies scholars.:
A thought-provoking analysis of the relationship between humans and the divine. If the Bible interests you, if philosophy interests you, if mankind's relationship with God interests you- buy this book!more info Who Knew?:
I sure didn't realize that YHWH was disappearing as the OT progresses until Friedman pointed it out, and then I slapped my head and wondered why I never noticed it. One of my favorite things about this book is his examination of why this might be happening, this struggle between YHWH and his children. This struggle for us to grow up, to open our eyes and to see that we've got to get back to the garden, that we are stardust, we are golden . . . .more info Similar Products:
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