. . . goes to: Mark S. Smith, God in Translation: Deities in Cross-Cultural Discourse in the Biblical World (FAT 57; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008). Effortlessly and with entirely different goals in mind, Smith’s ambitious and ground-breaking work puts one more nail in the coffin of the minimalism which Jim West and company have made their daily bread. Creatively and constructively, Smith engages the fabulously important work of Jan Assmann, in particular:
Moses the Egyptian: The Memory of Egypt in
Western Monotheism (Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 1997); “Monotheismus
und Ikonoklasmus als politische Theologie,” in Mose: Agypten und das Alte
Testament (ed. Eckart Otto; SBS 189; Stuttgart: KBW, 2000) 121-39, and Die Mosiasche Unterscheidung: oder der Preis des
Monotheismus (Munich/Vienna:
Carl Hanser Verlag, 2003), with its infamous last chapter entitled, “Abolishing
the Mosaic Distinction: Religious Antagonism and Its Overcoming.”
Mark sets out to
put to rest the canard about monotheism and violence, according to which
polytheism / “cosmotheism” = tolerance, sweetness, and light, and monotheism =
war and violence. Evidence in hand, he succeeds in so doing handily. The theses
of the book have me so excited that I almost want to take my doctoral thesis on
“Imperialism as a Theological Problem in First Isaiah” (correlatori: Jan
Alberto Soggin and Mario Liverani), long ago accepted for publication by
Paideia editrice but never published, out of mothballs. The direction I was
heading in that thesis dovetails with reconstructions Smith develops.
For an
extensive overview of Smith’s volume, go here. For the table of
contents, go here.
After winning the lottery, to order the $165 volume from Eisenbrauns, go here.
Mark was one of my professors and I always enjoy reading what he writes.
Mark is also an editor for the FAT series with Mohr-Siebeck in which I published my dissertation. You might want to contact him about the possibility of publishing your dissertation there. Drop me a line if you need his contact information.
Posted by: Kevin A. Wilson | February 23, 2009 at 08:43 AM
Hi Kevin,
So is your FAT dissertation also worth its weight in gold? I bet it is.
Mark and I have corresponded in the past. You were fortunate to have had such a well-read and innovative professor.
I trust you are well. If you blog a bit more, the rest of us in cyberspace will breathe a little more easily.
Posted by: JohnFH | February 23, 2009 at 09:30 AM
John,
For some strange reason, the link took the tildes and made them %7E, so try this one:
http://www.eisenbrauns.com/wconnect/wc.dll?ebGate~EIS~~I~SMIGODINT
Thanks,
James
Posted by: James | February 23, 2009 at 11:35 AM
Thanks, James.
Posted by: JohnFH | February 23, 2009 at 11:44 AM
We've now also updated the Eisenbrauns website so that it recognizes %7E as a tilde.
Andy Kerr
Webmaster
http://www.eisenbrauns.com
Posted by: Andy Kerr | February 23, 2009 at 04:54 PM
Andy,
Thanks for that, and for all that you do.
Posted by: JohnFH | February 24, 2009 at 11:27 AM
Why don't I know about this book? Thanks!
Posted by: Alan Lenzi | April 05, 2009 at 12:07 AM