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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 Israel's religion as well as science fiction approaches to biblical exegesis.
List of contents
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: YHWH's Garden of Eden versus the Rabbinical Orchard of PaRDeS
Alex Shalom Kohav
Part Two: God, God's Name, God's Torah
Chapter 4: Torah, God, and Idol
Kevin Hart
Chapter 5: Metaphysics of the Name in Israelite Thought: The Hebrew Conception of God's 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
About the author
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.
Summary
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 Israel’s religion as well as science fiction approaches to biblical exegesis.
