PartIV: Prophecy, Knowledge and Study of Religion

Author: Preus J.S.

Source: Religion, Volume 28, Number 2, April 1998 , pp. 125-138(14)

Buy & download fulltext article:

Price: $52.63 plus tax (Refund Policy)

Abstract:

The historical connection between the study of the Bible and the study of religion is examined through Spinozas application of his anthropomorphic theory of religion to his analysis of biblicalprophecy. Drawing on current epistemological discussion, Spinoza shows in the Ethics how the pervasive anthropomorphism of popular explanations of the world, rooted in imagination, develops into religious systems. This theory informs Spinozas analysis of biblical prophecy in his Treatise, in which he displaces the philosophical hermeneutic of Maimonides in favor of an historical-critical analysis. The result is a consistency of method-historical, critical, comparative - between his study of the Bible and the study of religion generally. Copyright 1998 Academic Press Limited

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: Department of Religious Studies, Indiana University, Sycamore 230, Bloomington, IN, 47405, U.S.A.

Publication date: 1998-04-01