All of us who treat religion and faith as a serious part of our lives are constantly wrestling with the meaning of God. Our existence is derived from God and destined for God. And, in between, we long to know God. But how? This important book offers the reader an opportunity to relate to God on a new level of intimacy, awe, wonder, and humility. Each chapter looks at various names, images, and metaphors for God--male and female, animate and inanimate--used in both testaments of the Bible, including images of Jesus and images used by Jesus. Published by Liturgy Training Publications.
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Review
With powerful prose and poetic images one after the other, Art Zannoni provides all spiritual seekers with a banquet of wonderful and provocative insights regarding the nature and the name of God. The style of his writing makes this book a page-turner. -- --Bill Huebsch, author of A Spirituality of Wholeness: The New Look at Grace and other works on the theology of Vatican II.
Art Zannoni has the amazing gift of expressing deep theological insights in language all can understand. The scriptures invite us to discover and encounter a God who is beyond our limited vision, and Zannoni lights our path with this book. -- --David Haas, director, The Emmaus Center for Prayer, Music and Ministry, Eagan, Minnesota
Art Zannoni has the amazing gift of expressing deep theological insights in language all can understand. The scriptures invite us to discover and encounter a God who is beyond our limited vision, and Zannoni lights our path with this book. -- --David Haas, director, The Emmaus Center for Prayer, Music and Ministry, Eagan, Minnesota
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A concise, readable survey of God's names,
By S. Samuel Shermis (Black Mountain, NC) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Tell Me Your Name: Images of God in the Bible (Paperback)
Tell Me Your Name is precisely what the title says it is: a survey of the images of God in both testaments. It is not a theological work, not a history, not an apologetic. It is a brief (85 pages) work in which Dr. Zannoni identifies the similar and dissimilar names and images of God. He does not look at the entire body of either Jewish or Christian literature. He does not examine the liturgy of both religions. He identifies and examines most of the occasions in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament where some hint of God's nature is revealed though the words which stand for God--and in Hebrew there are perhaps three score different names for God. The use of "Hebrew Bible" and "New Testament" suggest that Dr. Zannoni is sensitive to the theological and historical differences between the two religions. He is aware that what Christians refer to as the Old Testament is not the Jewish choice of words. Indeed, he is extremely knowledgeable about and sensitive to Judaism, the chief source of Christianity. He denies the theological belief that the Torah (the five books of Moses) is but a prologue to Christianity. He regrets the tendency of Christians over the past two millennia to insist that Judaism and Jewish sacred scripture has value only insofar as it "predicts" the coming of the messiah . Judaism, as far as Dr. Zannoni is concerned, has value in and of itself; as an authentic religion. In the author's words, "Throughout its history, Christianity's attitude and behavior toward Judaism and the Jews has been painful and shameful, marked by ignorance, blame and persecution. " Zannoni works mightily to demonstrate the intimate association between the two religions. The work is divided into five chapters and an epilogue. This two paragraph epilogue does what one hopes epilogues do: it summarizes the essential point of the entire work. It ends with a hope--almost a prayer--that readers will have broadened their understanding of the metaphors and images of God. And it expresses the wish that the work "has rekindled the intimacy, awe, wonder and humility in your relationship with God, so that, like the prophet Amos and the people in the Bible, you can better `prepare to meet your God.'" A brief introduction to Chapter One reveals the origin of the phrase, "Tell me your names," in Genesis 32:22-30. Chapter One covers much ground, and like all the other chapters, does it succinctly. It tackles the problem of language-- in both testaments--head on. It frankly admits the impossibility of ever finding the definitive name, description, or, in Aristotelian terms, essence of God. We are left with only suggestive and imperfect metaphors. It deals with metaphor in such a way that even a neophyte to religious thought can grasp the problem. Chapter II surveys the Hebrew words for God, e.g., Elohim, El Elyon, El Roi, El Olam, El Shaddai, and of course the name that Jews never utter aloud, Yahweh. Dr. Zannoni demonstrates what Jews call chutzpa, i.e., nerve, boldness, brass-- by explaining the cryptic phrase ehyeh asher ehyeh, often--but not always, translated as I shall be what I shall be. He also touches upon the problem of the Septuagint and the difficulty of translating Hebrew into Greek. He discusses the meaning of the Exodus from Egypt better than any Jewish source I have read. From names for God in the Hebrew scripture he moves to images for God in the Christian scripture. Zannoni surveys inanimate images for God, animal metaphors for God, metaphors from the creation myth, metaphors from the concept of extended family or clan, from the language of war, from the language of prophets, from both feminine and masculine images. He even essays a discussion of Greek and Hebrew language and ideas about Wisdom, a discussion which is both challenging and fascinating. I must admit, though, I am not fond of his transliteration of the Hebrew word for wise. But transliteration from Hebrew to English is a migraine. After-the chapter questions in this chapter--as with all chapters--reveal that this work lends itself to discussion and to classroom use. I would like to be around when a teacher asks, "Is it shocking to use animal imagery to think of God?" Through theological analysis of Biblical parables, Zannoni gradually assembles a chapter which leaves one with the feeling that no one metaphor for God is sufficient. This, of course, is one of his stated aims. Further, a hypothetical collection of all God metaphors would be inadequate. The problem of the limits of language is highlighted: ". . .our language remains limited when we reflect upon God." Most of Chapter Four is devoted to the New Testament, squeezing out of parable, theology, story and contemporary understanding of that conundrum, that riddle: What is spirit and how do Christians appropriate it? Zannoni's has immersed himself in contemporary scholarship , both Christian and Jewish. Indeed, his grasp of both is as profound as that of any of the other scholars of which I am aware. He has a felicitous writing style. His ability to deal with knotty issues so as to render them accessible to most is exceptional. This work can be read with profit by scholars. And it will provide insight for neophytes into the theological tangle that has always accompanied God's names and images, S. Samuel Shermis, Professor Emeritus Purdue University
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
