PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
The Bible has been a rich source of inspiration for two thousand years,
one of the great wellsprings of Western civilization. In The Oxford Guide to Ideas and Issues of the Bible,
dozens of eminent scholars explore how the Bible has influenced our
religious, ethical, artistic, and philosophical traditions.
Here
are more than two hundred alphabetically-arranged entries that explore
key aspects of the Bible and its teachings. The contributors examine
what the Bible says about timeless issues such as adultery and abortion,
divorce and drunkenness, marriage and murder, suffering and temptation;
and they discuss religious concepts found in the Bible, ranging from
incarnation, sin, and grace, to baptism, ethics, and the Holy Spirit.
The book also considers the wider intellectual world, examining the
Bible's influence on Western law and medicine and it looks at how the
Bible has been viewed by thinkers such as Marx and Freud and by fields
such as social science and archaeology. Thoughtful essays also analyze
the Bible's influence on human creativity, in areas such as music,
dance, art, and literature (the latter includes an extensive discussion
of the impact of the Bible on American writing, from Cotton Mather to
Saul Bellow). There is even an article on everyday expressions from the
Bible, ranging from "the love of money is the root of all evil" to such
common sayings as "the skin of one's teeth," "at one's wit's end," and
"you can't take it with you."
The Oxford Guide to Ideas and Issues of the Bible brings together a wealth of insight into the Bible's impact on our
culture. It is an essential addition to any school or home library.