Naming God

Addressing the Divine in Philosophy, Theology and Scripture
Erscheinungsjahr 2023
ISBN: 978-1-108-83446-9
Verlag: Cambridge University Pr.

Buch, Englisch, 256 Seiten, Format (B × H): 142 mm x 220 mm, Gewicht: 462 g

Generations of Christians, Janet Soskice demonstrates, once knew God and Christ by hundreds of remarkable names. These included the appellations 'Messiah', 'Emmanuel', 'Alpha', 'Omega', 'Eternal', 'All-Powerful', 'Lamb', 'Lion', 'Goat', 'One', 'Word', 'Serpent' and 'Bridegroom'. In her much-anticipated new book, Soskice argues that contemporary understandings of divinity could be transformed by a return to a venerable analogical tradition of divine naming. These ancient titles – drawn from scripture – were chanted and sung, crafted and invoked (in polyphony and plainsong) as they were woven into the worship of the faithful. However, during the sixteenth century Descartes moved from 'naming' to 'defining' God via a series of metaphysical attributes. This made God a thing among things: a being amongst beings. For the author, reclaiming divine naming is not only overdue. It can also re-energize the relationship between philosophy and religious tradition. This path-breaking book shows just how rich and revolutionary such reclamation might be.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Soskice, Janet

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Religionsphilosophie, Philosophische Theologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsphilosophie, Philosophische Theologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction; 2. Naming God at Sinai. The gift of the name; 3. Philo on knowing and naming God; 4. Creation ex Nihilo as a revolution in Christian metaphysics… and in naming God; 5. Is 'God' the name of God?; 6. Gregory of Nyssa – naming and following God: from mystic vision to ethics; 7. Augustine, Moses and God as being itself; 8. Aquinas: philosophical theology as spiritual practice; 9. Conclusion: calling and being called.

Über Autor(innen)

Soskice, Janet
Janet Soskice is Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology in the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge. She is presently the William K. Warren Distinguished Research Professor of Catholic Theology at Duke Divinity School. Her books include Metaphor and Religious Language (OUP, 1984), which is a classic work of metaphorical theology, and also the best selling trade title Sisters of Sinai: How Two Lady Adventurers Found the Hidden Gospels (Chatto & Windus, 2009), which vividly recounts how the Ayrshire twins Agnes and Margaret Smith made in the Sinai desert one of the most important New Testament manuscript discoveries of the nineteenth century.