{"product_id":"material-mystery-the-flesh-of-the-world-in-three-mythic-bodies-paperback","title":"Material Mystery: The Flesh of the World in Three Mythic Bodies - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eKarmen Mackendrick\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eMaterial Mystery\u003c\/i\u003e considers three apparently anthropocentric myths that are central to Abrahamic religions--those of the primal human, the incarnated and possibly divine redeemer, and the resurrected body. At first glance, these stories reinforce a human-centered theology and point to a very anthropomorphic God. Taking them seriously seems to ignore the material turn in the humanities entirely, with the same sort of willful ignorance that some of our politicians show in declaring that their myths count as facts, or that the point of the rest of the world is to further human consumption. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut it is possible, Karmen MacKendrick shows, to read these figures through a particular tradition that emerges from the Hebrew Bible, the tradition of Wisdom as a creative force. Wisdom texts are common across the ancient Near East. As the idea of creative Wisdom develops from antiquity into the middle ages, it gathers philosophical influences from a range of philosophical traditions. This exuberantly promiscuous impurity--intellectual, artistic, and theological--generates new interpretive possibilities. In these interpretations, each human-like figure opens up onto the world''s matter, as an interdependent part of it, and matter is thoroughly mixed with divinity. Such mythic readings complement our factual, scientific understanding of the material world, to engage wider kinds of knowing and affective attention--particularly Wisdom''s combination of care and delight.\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eMaterial Mystery\u003c\/i\u003e is a landmark work that cuts through the traditional divides between philosophy and theology, religion and science, matter and spirit, and knowledge and mystery. By challenging our most cherished assumptions and modes of belief, MacKendrick opens up the Western religious and philosophical traditions to a nonstandard reading while also showing how integral the non-canonical and esoteric traditions can be to our contemporary understanding. A masterpiece of erudition, \u003ci\u003eMaterial Mystery\u003c\/i\u003e provides a moving, compelling, and timely synthesis of counter-traditional readings of ancient philosophy with biblical and gnostic literature and theology.\"--Jeffrey W. Robbins, author of \u003ci\u003eRadical Theology: A Vision for Change\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eMaterial Mystery\u003c\/i\u003e considers three apparently anthropocentric myths that are central to Abrahamic religions--those of the primal human, the incarnated and possibly divine redeemer, and the resurrected body. At first glance, these stories reinforce a human-centered theology and point to a very anthropomorphic God. Taking them seriously seems to ignore the material turn in the humanities entirely, with the same sort of willful ignorance that some of our politicians show in declaring that their myths count as facts, or that the point of the rest of the world is to further human consumption. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut it is possible, Karmen MacKendrick shows, to read these figures through a particular tradition that emerges from the Hebrew Bible, the tradition of Wisdom as a creative force. Wisdom texts are common across the ancient Near East. As the idea of creative Wisdom develops from antiquity into the middle ages, it gathers philosophical influences from a range of philosophical traditions. This exuberantly promiscuous impurity--intellectual, artistic, and theological--generates new interpretive possibilities. In these interpretations, each human-like figure opens up onto the world's matter, as an interdependent part of it, and matter is thoroughly mixed with divinity. Such mythic readings complement our factual, scientific understanding of the material world, to engage wider kinds of knowing and affective attention--particularly Wisdom's combination of care and delight. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eKarmen MacKendrick\u003c\/b\u003e is Professor of Philosophy at LeMoyne College.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eKarmen MacKendrick\u003c\/b\u003e is Professor of Philosophy at LeMoyne College. Her books include \u003ci\u003eFailing Desire\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eDivine Enticement\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eWord Made Skin\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 224\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.52 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e August 17, 2021\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51789162807584,"sku":"9780823294558","price":56.43,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/bcfd17c23dc55d0c3dcef892b0fe4642.webp?v=1780665370","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/material-mystery-the-flesh-of-the-world-in-three-mythic-bodies-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}