Tradition and revelation are often seen as opposites: tradition is viewed as being secondary and reactionary to revelation which is a one-off gift from God. Drawing on examples from Christian history, Judaism, Islam, and the classical world, this book challenges these definitions and presents a controversial examination of the effect history and cultural development has on religious belief: its narratives and art.
David Brown pays close attention to the nature of the relationship between historical and imaginative truth, and focuses on the way stories from the Bible have not stood still but are subject to imaginative 'rewriting'. This rewriting is explained as a natural consequence of the interaction between religion and history: God speaks to humanity through the imagination, and human imagination is influenced by historical context. It is the imagination that ensures that religion continues to develop
in new and challenging ways.
- ISBN10 6611198105
- ISBN13 9786611198107
- Publish Date 1 January 1999
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 22 June 2011
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Oxford University Press
- Format eBook
- Pages 410
- Language English