The Disappearance of God: A Divine Mystery [Hardcover]

Richard Elliott Friedman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1995

Friedman probes a chain of mysteries that concern the presence or absence of God, including the connection between Nietzsche and Dostoevsky who each independently developed the idea of the death of God.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Arguing that "the disappearance or death of God is a substantial part of this century's philosophical and literary legacy," Friedman (Hebrew, comparative literature, Univ. of California, San Diego) probes what he calls three mysteries: the gradual disappearance of God in the Hebrew scriptures, a topic recently considered by Jack Miles in his God: A Biography (LJ 3/1/95), a book Friedman refers to approvingly; Nietzsche's dictum, "God is dead," relating it admirably to the works of Dostoyevsky and the problem of ethics without God; and the mysticism of the Kabbalah and the Big Bang theory. Avoiding the type of Zen and... approach that degrades both religion and science, Friedman offers a credible discussion of contemporary physics and the return of the divine, doing no disservice to either but actually enhancing the relationship between them. For general readers as well as specialists.?Augustine J. Curley, Newark Abbey,
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The Disappearance of God, at once scholarly and popularly accessible, is packed with wonderful insights into scriptural narrative, Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, and cabala. Friedman notes that the narrative structure of Hebrew Scripture is marked by a disappearance of God--God's hiding of God's face to see what our end will be--that corresponds to an increasingly important role for human beings, a "coming of age" in Bonhoeffer's apt and often cited phrase. Each of the three parts of the book addresses a mystery related to the title (the disappearance of God in Hebrew Scripture, the death of God and madness in Nietzsche, and the relationship of religion to science), but it is the one mystery of the title, the disappearance of God, that binds the whole together. The disappearance is akin to what Thomas Sheehan earlier referred to as "the absolute absence of God," and it points Friedman toward a concluding moral reflection in which he maintains (as does cabala) that the structure of morality inheres in the structure of the universe. God's absolute absence is a paradoxical revelation: "There is some likelihood that the universe is the hidden face of God." Steve Schroeder

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1st edition (October 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316294349
• ISBN-13: 978-0316294348
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 9.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #478,409 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Richard Elliott Friedman is professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature and holds the Katzin Chair at the University of California, San Diego. One of the premier biblical scholars in the country, he received his doctorate at Harvard and was a visiting fellow at Oxford and Cambridge. Author of The Hidden Face of God, The Hidden Book in the Bible, Commentary on the Torah, The Exile and Biblical Narrative, and the bestselling Who Wrote the Bible?, Friedman is also the president of the Biblical Colloquium West. A consultant to universities, journals, encyclopedias, and publishers, he is also the editor of four books on biblical studies and has authored over fifty articles, reviews, and notes in scholarly and popular publications.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Outstanding Work, February 16, 2004

By 

Shawn P. Rife (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Disappearance of God: A Divine Mystery (Hardcover)

I just finished this book and intend to read it again right away. I found it to be a very powerful work and am disappointed that it does not seem to have a stronger following; this is a real gem that has apparently been lost in the shuffle. Written for both believers and non-believers, Friedman proposes a very interesting framework for understanding man's relationship with God and our place in the universe. It's not a comprehensive theology by any means nor is it an attempt to convert atheists. By the end of the book, however, I found my faith strengthened ("renewed" is actually a better word) in a God that bridges the apparent gaps between modern science, the Bible, and the oft-misunderstood philosophies of Friedrich Nietzsche (who gets soem very enlightening attention in this book, along with Dostoyevsky). Fundamentalists, on the other hand, may be disappointed (even though I think they shouldn't be). Highly recommended.

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book, but a weak ending, July 14, 2004

By 

Robert J. Stern "Bobdadbob" (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Disappearance of God: A Divine Mystery (Hardcover)

This is an ambitious and insightful book. I had never thought that the Bible had a plot, and I learned from this book that it has one: the coupled and progressive weakening of god and strengthening of man. I don't know much about Nitzsche and Dovstoyevsky but I learned a lot about these incredible philosophers from the third part of the book. The last part of the book was weak. The tie of god and scientific cosmology never panned out, and the real question of the book " How do you inculcate a moral code in the absence of faith in a divinity?" is framed, discussed, but never really answered. Still, a remarkable and thought-provoking book.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting idea that could have been explored further, January 30, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Disappearance of God: A Divine Mystery (Hardcover)

I was intrigued by author's idea to explore the disappearance of God in the Old Testament. He notes that at the beginning of creation God walked with man in the Garden of Eden, but as man developed, God spoke and interacted less and less directly with man. The author notes that God's face became 'hidden' - e.g., He appeared as a burning bush or in a column of 'glory' and could no longer be looked upon directly. Eventually he began to speak to man or demonstrate His power only in very private appearances or miracles, whereas He had previously done things that a whole people could witness. And the first part of the book takes this idea even farther.

I liked the first part of the book the best. The author tries to link the disappearance of God to the writings of Nietschze and to the Qabalah (parts two and three of the book), but IMHO fails to do anything other than suggest a connection. The book was informative, as far as it went. I would've liked to see the author search ancient religions/beliefs systems/mystical writings for a reason WHY God disappeared, rather than merely speculating on it himself.

Overall, I think it's an interesting read, especially if you like books like The Da Vinci Code.