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9780197566428

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It is a highly recomendable book which will introduce its readers in a world of practice and reflection on how people developed novel Jewish forms of life in the aftermath of the crisis of the first and second major Jewish revolts against the Romans, and the re-writings of these debates in later times. * Markus Vinzent, San Miguel de Abona * The Evil Creator is a thoughtful and historically-responsible reading of the Bible. Examining the Creator Deity of the Bible through the lens of various early Christian interpreters who themselves long ago identified many of the same concerns that modern interpreters struggle with today makes this book not only a valuable contribution to the field of Biblical Studies but also important for modern readers who ponder the God of the Bible. * Kevin Sullivan, Illinois Wesleyan University * David Litwa is to be congratulated for this book, which is both well-researched and thought-provoking. He compellingly delineates here how the idea of an inferior creator-God arose directly from what was said in some of the earliest and, for many, sacred Christian texts, including Paul's letters and the Gospel of John. * Ismo Dunderberg, author of Beyond Gnosticism: Myth, Lifestyle, and Society in the School of Valentinus * Readers interested in why so many ancient Christians concluded that the creator was evil have here in one book an extremely well-researched assemblage and exposition of evidence suggesting answers. Litwa reviews the role of indigenous Egyptian myth, Graeco-Roman philosophical argument, and above all, interpretations of Jewish and Christian scripture. His sobering concluding chapter reviews how ancient evil-creator doctrines live on today. An important contribution on a perennial theological challenge. * Michael A. Williams, University of Washington, Seattle *

Nevertheless, the book offers an extremely helpful and compelling exploration of the various voices in the early Christian centuries who held this view, making clear that it was sufficiently widespread that it cannot be explained as a late anomaly. * James F. McGrath, Butler University, The Society of Biblical Literature * It is a highly recomendable book which will introduce its readers in a world of practice and reflection on how people developed novel Jewish forms of life in the aftermath of the crisis of the first and second major Jewish revolts against the Romans, and the re-writings of these debates in later times. * Markus Vinzent, San Miguel de Abona * The Evil Creator is a thoughtful and historically-responsible reading of the Bible. Examining the Creator Deity of the Bible through the lens of various early Christian interpreters who themselves long ago identified many of the same concerns that modern interpreters struggle with today makes this book not only a valuable contribution to the field of Biblical Studies but also important for modern readers who ponder the God of the Bible. * Kevin Sullivan, Illinois Wesleyan University * David Litwa is to be congratulated for this book, which is both well-researched and thought-provoking. He compellingly delineates here how the idea of an inferior creator-God arose directly from what was said in some of the earliest and, for many, sacred Christian texts, including Paul's letters and the Gospel of John. * Ismo Dunderberg, author of Beyond Gnosticism: Myth, Lifestyle, and Society in the School of Valentinus * Readers interested in why so many ancient Christians concluded that the creator was evil have here in one book an extremely well-researched assemblage and exposition of evidence suggesting answers. Litwa reviews the role of indigenous Egyptian myth, Graeco-Roman philosophical argument, and above all, interpretations of Jewish and Christian scripture. His sobering concluding chapter reviews how ancient evil-creator doctrines live on today. An important contribution on a perennial theological challenge. * Michael A. Williams, University of Washington, Seattle *

The Evil Creator is a thoughtful and historically-responsible reading of the Bible. Examining the Creator Deity of the Bible through the lens of various early Christian interpreters who themselves long ago identified many of the same concerns that modern interpreters struggle with today makes this book not only a valuable contribution to the field of Biblical Studies but also important for modern readers who ponder the God of the Bible. * Kevin Sullivan, Illinois Wesleyan University * David Litwa is to be congratulated for this book, which is both well-researched and thought-provoking. He compellingly delineates here how the idea of an inferior creator-God arose directly from what was said in some of the earliest and, for many, sacred Christian texts, including Paul's letters and the Gospel of John. * Ismo Dunderberg, author of Beyond Gnosticism: Myth, Lifestyle, and Society in the School of Valentinus * Readers interested in why so many ancient Christians concluded that the creator was evil have here in one book an extremely well-researched assemblage and exposition of evidence suggesting answers. Litwa reviews the role of indigenous Egyptian myth, Graeco-Roman philosophical argument, and above all, interpretations of Jewish and Christian scripture. His sobering concluding chapter reviews how ancient evil-creator doctrines live on today. An important contribution on a perennial theological challenge. * Michael A. Williams, University of Washington, Seattle *

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M. DAVID LITWA is a scholar of ancient Mediterranean religions with a focus on early Christianity. He has taught courses at the University of Virginia, the College of William & Mary, and Virginia Tech. He is the author of recent publications including Desiring Divinity, How the Gospel Became History: Jesus and Mediterranean Myth, and Posthuman Transformation in Ancient Mediterranean Thought: Becoming Angels and Demons. He is currently Research Fellow at the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry at Australian Catholic University in Melbourne.

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