Abstract
Many theologians treat biblical language that ascribes emotion to God as anthropopathic. That is, instances of divine emotion in the Hebrew Bible, especially anatomical imagery, are often interpreted as merely accommodative attributions of human pathos to God. This essay addresses three prominent rationales for treating depictions of divine emotion in the Hebrew Bible as anthropopathic and asks whether such rationales provide adequate support for excluding divine pathos in the interpretation of such imagery in the Hebrew Bible. In doing so, this essay critically examines the view that figurative anatomical expressions of divine emotion should be excluded as non-descriptive of God and suggests an alternative approach that intentionally avoids subjugating the text to theological presuppositions.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 341-355 |
| Journal | Perspectives in Religious Studies |
| Volume | 42 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| State | Published - 2015 |
Disciplines
- Religion
- Biblical Studies
- Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion