Description
Book SynopsisBy comparing and contrasting the pictures gained from Greek and Mesopotamian cities with Ezekiel's Jerusalem, Launderville masterfully shows how Ezekiel fosters a type of symbolic thinking focused on making the Israelites into living symbols of God. The Spirit is the reality that connects humans with the cosmic order and enables the workings of the human heartâthe place within which reason functions, according to ancient Israelite anthropology. Ezekiel's symbolic thinking is an integrative rationality in which reason is regarded as operating within the heart through the empowerment and guidance of the Spirit.
Trade ReviewLaunderville makes an important contribution by presenting a thought provoking comparative study between the biblical text and the Mesopotamian/Greek literatures. -- Hee Suk Kim, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School -- Bulletin for Biblical Research
Table of ContentsPreface Abbreviations Introduction 1 The Right Ordering of Perception through the Interplay of Spirit and Reason 2 The Pure versus the Impure: A Vital Tension within a Living Symbol 3 The Heart of the Matter: The Principle of Community 4 The Place of Skepticism in Determining the Divinely Willed Order of the World 5 The Justice and Tragedy of a Community Beset by Divine and Human Violence 6 Death and Afterlife: The Journey into a New Existence or into Nothingness 7 Spirit and Holiness: The Embodiment of Divine Order Indices
