Advanced Search Request a Book

ORDERS

Readings Orders 0

DEMANDS

Readings Demands 0

God's Favorites:Judaism, Christianity, and the Myth Of Divine Chosenness
[Paperback - 2020]
michael coogan
On Demand
Availability in 4-6 weeks on receipt of order
List Price: $17.95
Our Price: Rs.4145 Rs.3523
Standard Discount: 15%
You Save: Rs.622
Category: Religion
Sub-category: Religions-others
Additional Category: General Religion
Publisher: Beacon Press | ISBN: 9780807028322 | Pages: 176
Shipping Weight: .221 | Dimensions: 5.21 x .5 x 8.28 inches

More Buying Options

Hardback Rs.4968

Description

A noted biblical scholar explores how the claim of divine choice has been used from ancient times to the present to justify territorial expansion and prejudice.

The Bible describes many individuals and groups as specially chosen by God. But does God choose at all? Michael Coogan explains the temporally layered and allusive storytelling of biblical texts and describes the world of the ancient Near East from which it emerged, laying bare the power struggles, the acts of vengeance, and persecutions made sacred by claims of chosenness.

Jumping forward to more modern contexts, Coogan reminds us how the self-designation of the Puritan colonizers of New England as God’s new Israel eventually morphed, in the United States, into the self-justifying doctrines of manifest destiny and American exceptionalism. In contemporary Israel, both fundamentalist Zionists and their evangelical American partners cite the Jews’ status as God’s chosen people as justification for taking land—for very different ends. Appropriated uncritically, the Bible has thus been used to reinforce exclusivity and superiority, with new myths based on old myths.

Finally, in place of the pernicious idea of chosenness, Coogan suggests we might instead focus on another key biblical concept: taking care of the immigrant and the refugee, reminding the reader of the unusual focus on the vulnerable in both the Hebrew Bible and New Testament.

About the Author

Michael Coogan is Director of Publications for the Harvard Semitic Museum and Professor of Religious Studies at Stonehill College. For several decades, he has taught an introductory course on the Hebrew Scriptures at Harvard University, as well as at Wellesley College, Boston College, and Stonehill College. One of the leading biblical scholars in the United States, he is the author of The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures, and editor of the acclaimed third edition of The New Oxford Annotated Bible.

Bestsellers in Religion

View All
Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenge And Choices Of Interpreting The Prophet's Legacy
[Paperback - 2015]
jonathan a.c. brown
In Stock
List Price: £10.99
Our Price: Rs.2945 Rs.2650
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.295
The Tibetan Book Of The Dead (Translation)
[Paperback - 2005]
graham coleman
In Stock
List Price: £12.99
Our Price: Rs.2345 Rs.2110
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.235
If The Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship And A Journey To The Heart Of The Quran
[Paperback - 2015]
carla power
Out of Stock
Availability in 4-6 weeks on receipt of order
List Price: $23
Our Price: Rs.3845 Rs.3460
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.385
Let Us Be Muslims
[Paperback - 2022]
sayyid abul a'la mawdudi
In Stock
List Price: Rs.800
Our Price: Rs.800 Rs.720
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.80
The Pilgrim's Progress
[Paperback - 2008]
john bunyan
Out of Stock
Availability in 2-4 weeks on receipt of order
List Price: £10.99
Our Price: Rs.1995 Rs.1795
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.200
Islam: Religion, History, And Civilization
[Paperback - 2003]
seyyed hossein nasir
In Stock
List Price: $14.99
Our Price: Rs.2545 Rs.2290
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.255
A Treasury Of Ibn Taymiyah
[Paperback - 2021]
mustapha sheikh
In Stock
List Price: Rs.500
Our Price: Rs.500 Rs.450
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.50
Ramadan Reflections: 30 Days Of Healing From The Past, Journeying With Presence And Looking Ahead To An Akhirah-Focused Future
[Paperback - 2023]
aliyah umm raiyaan
In Stock
List Price: £12.99
Our Price: Rs.2945 Rs.2650
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.295