Examines the concept of God by exploring “Perfect Being Theology” (PBT), the view that God should be conceived as a perfect being. The chapter engages with several contrasting challenges to “doing” PBT: that disputes over what attributes are perfections should reduce a believer’s confidence that God has the characteristics they ascribe; that nothing can be said about God except what actions He performs (negative theology); that in the Bible, Talmud and Midrash, He is not portrayed as a perfect being; and that statements about God should be interpreted in a “non-realist” fashion, i. e. not referring to an actual being.

The three major sections of Genesis 12–50 focus on the ancestral narratives of Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph. We know little of the historical details, although archaeological data suggests a plausible context for these stories in the Middle Bronze Age. We will see that the narratives themselves hint at even earlier traditions, suggestive of oral traditions preserved and woven into the texts. In these narratives we will also encounter the social structure of kinship-based tribal societies. The “father’s house” and the larger clan formed the subunits of the geographically based organization of the tribe.

This portion of Genesis narrates Yahweh’s provision of hope for the divine–human relationship so tragically marred by human rebellion (Genesis 1–11). Moreover, God chooses an individual, Abraham, to partner in a covenant. This covenant, shaped by God’s promises of land, descendants, and worldwide blessing, is the lasting hallmark of Israelite religion. Abraham’s descendants include not only those named in the Old Testament but those in the three monotheistic religions for which Abraham is acknowledged as the “father of faith.”

We will now focus our attention on the final book of the Pentateuch, Deuteronomy. We will discover that, even as the book recounts what has come before for the sake of Israel poised to enter the promised land, it does so in a new setting, in an innovative literary format, and with distinctive emphases that speak to generations present and yet to come.

Deuteronomy consists of four collections of speeches given by Moses, set off by literary superscriptions. Scholars have determined that the book is organized in the form of an ancient international treaty. Following a historical prologue, the speeches reiterate and affirm Torah instruction, institute a covenant renewal that links blessings with covenant fidelity, and detail provisions for Israel after Moses’ death (recounted in the final chapter of the book). Deuteronomy is distinctive in the Pentateuch for its focus on the centralization of Israel’s religious cult at the place where Yahweh will cause his name to dwell, the great statement of faith known as the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4), and the first explicit statements of monotheism in the Old Testament.

This chapter examines the history of British fascist and extreme right movements up until the end of the Second World War. It considers groups such as the British Brothers’ League as precursors to interwar British fascism, and highlights how leaders such as Rotha Lintorn Orman, Oswald Mosley and Arnold Leese developed openly fascist groups in the interwar years. It explores how these organisations offered competing versions of the ideology, were rooted in radicalised British identities steeped in cultures of empire, as well as taking inspiration from continental fascisms. Finally, it examines other important figures at this time, such as A. K. Chesterton and William Joyce.

All historiography or history writing is done with a purpose, and the purpose of Israel as expressed in the Old Testament was clearly religious and theological. The Israelites sought to record their relationship with God in the past – to relate their unique understanding of God, his universe, and his relationship to Israel. Additionally significant is the fact that Israel was among the first nations in the ancient world to write history.

This chapter will take us into the library of ancient Israel to get a better look at how the books of the Old Testament narrate history and how these books have been organized. Specifically, we will investigate the sources that appear to have been interwoven to create the so-called Primary History. These sources are characterized by their distinctive ways of referring to God and by their themes and literary techniques. We will observe that the Old Testament presents the Primary History in such a way as to provide a framework for understanding the historical contexts of all the rest of the Old Testament books.

In Extra Help you will see how easy it is to understand the subjunctive mood using the pattern we have followed so far for the verb. In Extra Material, we will think about the aspect of the subjunctive mood.

In this chapter, you meet no new grammatical principles, but the rules you have met will save you a great deal of effort. In the Extra Material, we’ll examine the significance of aspect in the ‘other moods’, beginning with general principles and how they apply to the infinitive.

Ancient Israel existed in real time and space. In time, we will recall that ancient Israel was preceded by thousands of years of world history, including, for example, the first writing of the Sumerians (third millennium bce), the Babylonian Empire, and the renowned history of ancient Egypt. In space, Israel was part of Syria–Palestine. Together with Egypt and Mesopotamia, Israel constituted a vast swath of arable land known as the “Fertile Crescent.” Syria–Palestine was thus a vital land bridge between three continents and, likewise, highly vulnerable to surrounding power struggles. The latter meant frequent invasions and domination by a succession of world empires.

The primary purpose of Israel’s story contained in the pages of the Old Testament is to explore its relationship with God. Yahweh initiated an intimate relationship with a man named Abraham, which was defined by a covenant and by promises of descendants and land. The ensuing history covers an era that left its own mark on world history, in no small part due to Israel’s legacy. The age between 800 and 200 bce(the Axial Age) witnessed the appearance of ethical religion and rational philosophy in human civilization. Israel gave the world the Old Testament and the concept of monotheism emerging in its pages.

Extra Help with the basics of the alphabet. Extra Material introduces us to the basics of accents.

This chapter provides historical and religious context to the Qur’an’s appearance. It concerns late antiquity and the transition to monotheism, apocalypticism, and the Arabian background.

Chapter 1 introduces realism and reference and provides an account of why these issues have been ignored in Jewish philosophy and theology. The second half of the chapter demonstrates that antitheoretical accounts have been dominant in the study of rabbinic theology and that a realist approach has significant historical and constructive advantages.

The introduction discusses apocalypticism and late antiquity as conceptual frameworks in Qur’anic studies as well as stylometric and literary approaches to the text, and it elucidates the goals of the monograph and its organization.

Argues that the distinction between fideism (faith-centered theories of religious epistemology) and rationalism (reason-centered theories) needs nuancing, because there are numerous avenues that lead to hybrid views. Surprisingly, some arguments of medieval rationalists yield hybrids. The chapter refers to recent trends in the analysis of faith.