For thousands of years, our world has been shaped by biblical monotheism. But its hallmark—a distinction between one true God and many false gods—was once a new and radical idea. Of God and Gods explores the revolutionary newness of biblical theology against a background of the polytheism that was once so commonplace. Jan Assmann, one of the most distinguished scholars of ancient Egypt working today, traces the concept of a true religion back to its earliest beginnings in Egypt and describes how this new idea took shape in the context of the older polytheistic world that it rejected. He offers readers a deepened understanding of Egyptian polytheism and elaborates on his concept of the “Mosaic distinction,” which conceives an exclusive and emphatic Truth that sets religion apart from beliefs shunned as superstition, paganism, or heresy. Without a theory of polytheism, Assmann contends, any adequate understanding of monotheism is impossible. Best Books for General Audiences, selected by the American Association of School Librarians, and Best Books for Special Interests, selected by the Public Library Association

Compares early Christian beliefs about God with the religious beliefs of others in the Roman Empire and traces the development of Christian theology

In the texts of Genesis 18 and 32, God appears to a patriarch in person and is referred to by the narrator as a man, both times by the Hebrew word īsh. In both texts, God as īsh is described in graphically human terms. This type of divine appearance is identified here as the "īsh theophany". The phenomenon of God appearing in concrete human form is first distinguished from several other types of anthropomorphism, such as divine appearance in dreams. The īsh theophany is viewed in relation to appearances of angels and other divine beings in the Bible, and in relation to anthropomorphic appearances of deities in Near Eastern literature. The īsh theophany has implications for our understanding of Israelite concepts of divine-human contact and communication, and for the relationship to Ugaritic literature in particular. The book also includes discussion of philosophical approaches to anthropomorphism. The development of philosophical opposition to anthropomorphism can be traced from Greek philosophy and early Jewish and Christian writings through Avicenna, Averroes, Maimonides and Aquinas, and into the work of later philosophers such as Hume and Kant. However, the work of others can be applied fruitfully to the problem of divine anthropomorphism, such as Wittgenstein's language games.

God and the Gods presents the results of a personal journey to uncover the multifaceted pieces of information not covered in national news and hidden from the public for reasons unknown. Volumes of additional information with stories and artifacts that are off limits to mankind. Th is manuscript touches merely a few of the many secrets that society is hiding for its own benefit. They are small pieces of a multidimensional puzzle in unraveling the real origin of mankind something that could change the history of who we are and where we came from. Author John Greco opens our eyes to the possibilities that have accumulated over the years through the facts, findings, and scientific studies of the human body, religious proof, and archaeological discoveries being made throughout the world today. The Bible is fact, in most cases, but there is much more to know. The truth is out there, and most of it is staring us in the face every day. We as humans, who worship a God we cannot see, need to look in the right places and tie the many pieces of this amazing puzzle together. God and the Gods gives you the opportunity to question the basic teachings of all religions, including their exclusions, and begin to consider what the answers truly are. The city of Troy was a myth until it was found. The truth is out there and waiting to be discovered.

This story of religious wars in ancient Egypt has been called “the best book” by the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Return to Thebes (Fort Worth Star-Telegram). From Allen Drury, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the sweeping chronicle of a great and tragic pharaoh who lost his throne for the love of a God. In the glory of ancient Egypt, an epic of a royal family divided, bloody power ploys, and religious wars that nearly tore apart one of the greatest empires in human history. AKHENATEN: The dream-filled King of Egypt, who dared to challenge the ancient order of his people and dethrone the jealous deities of his land for the glory of one almighty God. NEFERTITI: The most beautiful woman in the world, bred from birth to be the Pharaoh’s devoted lover—and to follow him anywhere, even in his tortured obsessions.

Ostler steps through the common complaint that Mormons aren't Christian because they believe, not only in three separate individuals in the Godhead, but also in the deification of human beings. He demonstrates the clear biblical understanding, both in the precursors of the Old Testament and the New, and reconstructs the Hebrew view of a council of gods, presided over by the Most High God.