This edited collection offers new perspectives on perceived paradoxes in Israels religious heritage, with a particular focus on the Garden of Eden narrative and descriptions of Israels God. The chapters examine a number of themes related to these paradoxes, including (1) knowledge versus life (referencing the two Edenic trees); (2) paradoxes pertaining to knowledge in the biblical versus Socratic traditions and the Platonic good versus the apparent eschewing of the good-evil dichotomy in Garden of Eden; (3) difficulties implicating finitude versus infinity; (4) Gods Edenic garden versus rabbinical orchard, or Pardes, the traditional fourfold manner of Torah interpretation; (5) the question of the Sōd, or secret esoteric stratum or narrative channel within the text of the Torah; (6) the issue of idolatry; (7) the nature of Israels deity; (8) a comparative glimpse of the Israelite God vis-ą-vis relevant Christian and Buddhist glosses on divinity; and (9) science-fictional explorations of the biblical exegesis discourse. The volumes contributors are based in Canada; England; Poland; Israel; and the United States.
Recenzijos
"Paradoxes in Gods Garden offers a collection of essays that revolve in a sort of whirling dance around the enigmatic nature of the Edenic narrative in the Book of Genesis. Some of the apparent paradoxes that have provoked scholarly discussions are described in the introduction by coeditor Ori Z. Soltes and in a chapter by Agata Bielik-Robson: knowledge and life; good and evil; liberation and limitation; finite life versus immortality; idolatry versus representation; and methods of memory formation and maintenance of traditions. Coeditor Alex Shalom Kohav introduces the idea of secret knowledge transmitted in the Torah and interpreted variously, by the initiated and the uninitiated (respectively, the priestly and rabbinical streams). Several chapters extend beyond the immediate focus on Eden to look at related issues. The question of knowledge in Genesis is compared by Ori Z. Soltes to the Platonic theory of knowledge as recollection (chapter 2). Michael T. Miller introduces an interesting argument of the distinction between the infinite status of perfect Being and the nature of divine Becoming, as contrasted to the absolute singularity of God, considered in Kevin Harts chapter. Louis Hébert offers a comparison of (primarily) the Christian notion of God and the spiritual attributes that Buddhism, one of only two nontheistic traditional religions, associates with the buddhas. Finally, Elana Gomel discusses the theme of forbidden knowledge as it has been refracted and reflected through literary history, including modern science fiction. In this multifaceted and absorbing collection, interested readers will find a helpful resource in developing their own understanding of a narrative that has been central to Western and Middle Eastern cultures." -- Burton Voorhees, Athabasca University
Daugiau informacijos
This book reflects on the paradoxes in ancient Israelite literature, with a focus on narratives of the garden of Eden. Contributions approach the subject not only from Jewish but also Christian and Buddhist perspectives and include new research on the nature of Israels religion as well as science fiction approaches to biblical exegesis.
Introduction: Paradise, Paradox, the Infinite Inscrutable God, and the
Idolatry of Human Interpretation
Ori Z. Soltes
Part One: Paradisiacal Paradoxes
Chapter 1: The Tree of the Finite Life: Judaism and the Affirmation of
Finitude
Agata Bielik-Robson
Chapter 2: Lost in the Garden of God and Good: Knowledge and Its Paradoxes
from Genesis to Meno and Cratylus to Levinas
Ori Z. Soltes
Chapter 3: Mystical Gardening in Jewish Lore: YHWHs Garden of Eden versus
the Rabbinical Orchard of PaRDeS
Alex Shalom Kohav
Part Two: God, Gods Name, Gods Torah
Chapter 4: Torah, God, and Idol
Kevin Hart
Chapter 5: Metaphysics of the Name in Israelite Thought: The Hebrew
Conception of Gods Nature
Michael T. Miller
Chapter 6: A Comparative Analysis of God and the Buddhas
Louis Hébert
Part Three: A Science-Fictional Afterword
Chapter 7: Taboo Knowledge or Knowledge of Taboo? Expulsion from Eden and
Science Fiction Literature
Elana Gomel
Alex S. Kohav teaches in the Department of Philosophy at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Ori Z. Soltes teaches at Georgetown University across a range of disciplines, from theology and art history to philosophy and political history.
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