The Genesis of Perfection: Adam and Eve in Jewish and Christian Imagination

Rating:
Summary: A difficult but enlightening monograph
Review: I found this to be an enlightening yet difficult read. The difficulty I blame on my background and not on the author's writing skills. As a Southern Baptist, I know almost nothing about the beliefs and practices of Judaism and very little of various themes, writings, and rites of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox religions. The author relies strongly on sources I am unfamiliar with, and the text does seem more geared toward Catholicism than Protestantism. It was quite a learning experience for me to be introduced to the Talmud, rabbinical sources, and early Christian church writings not included in my Protestant Bible. I was rather amazed at the complex arguments and ideas about Adam and Eve in the Jewish and early Christian worlds; the author presented me with many thoughts and ideas that make sense yet had just never occurred to me. The basic argument I took from this work is that Adam and Eve can only be properly understood in conjunction with the "ends" of Jewish and Christian goals, which center on the giving of the Torah to the Israelites at Mt. Sinai and in the birth and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, respectively. While I have seen Christ described as the second Adam, I found the comparison of Eve to the Virgin Mary quite interesting. There has obviously been much debate among religious scholars about the events and meanings of the Fall and exile from Eden of Adam and Eve, and the author seems to address every thought and suggestion possible in this regard. He also provided me with interesting information on the rebellion and exile of Satan, drawing largely from sources outside my own religious jurisdiction. As a Christian, the concept of Original Sin has been an idea I have always accepted without question, and it was interesting to see how the full concept of Original Sin was actually developed by Saint Augustine. The author helps illustrate his points with discussions of religious artwork such as that of the Sistine Chapel and the illuminating epics of Milton's Paradise Lost and Dante's Inferno. Overall, I learned a lot from this book, information which I cannot fully digest without further study. Someone familiar with the Jewish and early Christian doctrines will doubtless find this book a much easier read than I did, but I think all Christians can certainly gain new perspectives on their beliefs in these pages.

Rating:
Summary: A difficult but enlightening monograph
Review: I found this to be an enlightening yet difficult read. The difficulty I blame on my background and not on the author's writing skills. As a Southern Baptist, I know almost nothing about the beliefs and practices of Judaism and very little of various themes, writings, and rites of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox religions. The author relies strongly on sources I am unfamiliar with, and the text does seem more geared toward Catholicism than Protestantism. It was quite a learning experience for me to be introduced to the Talmud, rabbinical sources, and early Christian church writings not included in my Protestant Bible. I was rather amazed at the complex arguments and ideas about Adam and Eve in the Jewish and early Christian worlds; the author presented me with many thoughts and ideas that make sense yet had just never occurred to me. The basic argument I took from this work is that Adam and Eve can only be properly understood in conjunction with the "ends" of Jewish and Christian goals, which center on the giving of the Torah to the Israelites at Mt. Sinai and in the birth and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, respectively. While I have seen Christ described as the second Adam, I found the comparison of Eve to the Virgin Mary quite interesting. There has obviously been much debate among religious scholars about the events and meanings of the Fall and exile from Eden of Adam and Eve, and the author seems to address every thought and suggestion possible in this regard. He also provided me with interesting information on the rebellion and exile of Satan, drawing largely from sources outside my own religious jurisdiction. As a Christian, the concept of Original Sin has been an idea I have always accepted without question, and it was interesting to see how the full concept of Original Sin was actually developed by Saint Augustine. The author helps illustrate his points with discussions of religious artwork such as that of the Sistine Chapel and the illuminating epics of Milton's Paradise Lost and Dante's Inferno. Overall, I learned a lot from this book, information which I cannot fully digest without further study. Someone familiar with the Jewish and early Christian doctrines will doubtless find this book a much easier read than I did, but I think all Christians can certainly gain new perspectives on their beliefs in these pages.