
Desiring Divinity
Self-Deification in Early Jewish and Christian Mythmaking
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Narrated by:
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Jason Pflug
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By:
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M. David Litwa
About this listen
Perhaps no declaration incites more theological and moral outrage than a human's claim to be divine. Those who make this claim in ancient Jewish and Christian mythology are typically represented as the most hubristic and dangerous tyrants. Their horrible punishments are predictable and still serve as morality tales in religious communities today.
But not all self-deifiers are saddled with pride and fated to fall. Some who claimed divinity stated a simple and direct truth. Though reviled on earth, misunderstood, and even killed, they received vindication and rose to the stars. This book tells the stories of six self-deifiers in their historical, social, and ideological contexts.
In the history of interpretation, the initial three figures have been demonized as cosmic rebels: the first human Adam, Lucifer (later identified with Satan), and Yaldabaoth in gnostic mythology. By contrast, the final three have served as positive models for deification and divine favor: Jesus in the gospel of John, Simon of Samaria, and Allogenes in the Nag Hammadi library. In the end, the line separating demonization from deification is dangerously thin, drawn as it is by the unsteady hand of human valuation.
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Overall
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Performance
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This book examines the origins of the evil creator idea chiefly in light of early Christian biblical interpretations. It is divided into two parts. In Part I, the focus is on the interpretations of Exodus and John. Firstly, ancient Egyptian assimilation of the Jewish god to the evil deity Seth-Typhon is studied to understand its reapplication by Phibionite and Sethian Christians to the Judeo-catholic creator. Secondly, the Christian reception of John 8:44 (understood to refer to the devil's father) is shown to implicate the Judeo-catholic creator in murdering Christ.
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By: M. David Litwa
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- Narrated by: George Ellington
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
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By: M. David Litwa
-
How the Gospels Became History
- Jesus and Mediterranean Myths (Synkrisis)
- By: M. David Litwa
- Narrated by: Doug Smith
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Did the early Christians believe their myths? Like most ancient—and modern—people, early Christians made efforts to present their myths in the most believable ways.
-
-
Fascinating context for the gospels
- By Kayte on 01-16-25
By: M. David Litwa
-
Late Revelations
- Rediscovering the Gospels in the Second Century CE
- By: M. David Litwa
- Narrated by: Lenard A Liebe
- Length: 2 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Late Revelations introduces a revolutionary model for understanding the creation of the gospels in the New Testament and beyond. Rather than viewing the gospels as static and finished works published at one time, this book proposes that the initial gospels were "waves" of rolling traditions—stories, teachings, and sayings that evolved within early Christian groups. These traditions were fluid and dynamic, initially lacking the apostolic authorship attributed to them by later generations.
-
-
History
- By Gary G. Mckirchy on 08-23-24
By: M. David Litwa
Litwa has a remarkable gift for writing clearly. He doesn’t use a lot of jargon and explains it and set it in context when he does. He describes events and meanings as he subjects so them - including acknowledging where we can’t really know with confidence what they meant - without suspending his own judgments. So this book both instructs and comments, which is just how I like it. He concludes with observations about the many theological and cultural uses of these beliefs which gave me a whole heap of fresh thoughts.
I’m delighted and can hardly recommend Desiring Divinity to anyone interested in the matrix of ideas and practices from which Christianity as we know it emerged.
Captivating look at people who’ve sought to become God, in some sense
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Listener received this title free
Exclusive content and very informative
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Listener received this title free
Another fantastic book by Dr. Litwa
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