Tag Archives: what i’m reading

(Gods, Godesses, and God) Aniconic Politics in Ancient Israel (Othmar Keel and Christoph Uehlinger)

Posted on June 16, 2015 by zjb

I’m prepared to walk back anything in this post with sufficient critical pushback from experts in a field upon which I’m making such gross trespass. But I wanted to write about God, Goddesses, and Images of God in Ancient Israel, which has … Continue reading →

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Not So Chummy (Ancient Near East Gods in Temples)

Posted on June 12, 2015 by zjb

Reading Michael Hundley’s Gods in Dwelling: Temples and Divine Presence in the Ancient Near East, this made the greatest impression. As I’m reading it, this relates directly to debates about “monotheism.” Squirreled away in the innermost and most private sanctum … Continue reading →

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Iconophobic Jewish Philosophy

Posted on June 9, 2015 by zjb

I’ll do without mentioning any names here at the blog, because it’s not a nice thing to have posted to one’s name forever online. Complete citations will go in the book. For now I’d like to point out some basic fault lines … Continue reading →

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Haptic Religion and the Religions of India (Max Müller)

Posted on June 1, 2015 by zjb

Reading Max Müller’s Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion As Illustrated by the Religions of India (1882). An odd book, it does a lot of different things. On the one hand, Müller’s thinking about religion is steeped in … Continue reading →

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Gods of Flesh Gods of Stone (Theo-morphic Indian Religion)

Posted on May 27, 2015 by zjb

Close to finishing up for the moment a round of reading about Hinduism to be able to conclude that the discourse about images and idolatry in modern Jewish thought is fundamentally confused. But maybe Jewish Studies scholars interested in visual … Continue reading →

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Religious & Political Lives of Indian Images (Richard H. Davis)

Posted on May 20, 2015 by zjb

A super awesome book, I’m not sure how I stumbled upon this one. Maybe maybe it was upon the recommendation of my nephew who went to Bard, where Richard H. Davis teaches. Less devoted to aesthetics per se, Lives of … Continue reading →

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Jewish Theology & World Religions (Narrow Diaspora & The Visual Image)

Posted on May 18, 2015 by zjb

A neat and path breaking volume edited by Alon Goshen-Gottstein and Eugene Korn, Jewish Theology and World Religions is a first of its kind attempt to bring Jewish thought and culture into conversation with trends relating to globalization. Looking with … Continue reading →

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(Visual Theology) The Dome of the Rock (Oleg Grabar)

Posted on May 17, 2015 by zjb

As I make my way through a little Islamica, I feel that I need to justify each step. For such a vast and pitched phenomenon, there needs to be some justification for what I’m reading when and why. So if … Continue reading →

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In God’s Path (Arab Conquests and Ummayad Caliphate) (Robert Hoyland)

Posted on May 12, 2015 by zjb

For some reason I couldn’t get through Hugh Kennedy’s book on the first Arab conquests. I think I got bogged down by his use of the 8th century and 9th century historical source material. I found Robert Hoyland’s In God’s … Continue reading →

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Art, History, Law (Islam)

Posted on May 11, 2015 by zjb

Reading up, I don’t really have a lot of time for this, but there are too many pressing exigencies to know as little about Islam as I do. To date, I’ve covered things relating to Israel and Palestine, books by … Continue reading →

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