Destroying Idols

Judaism and Christianity have different meanings for the concept of ‘God.’ These religions rely on different transmitted texts. Different words – in the biblical Hebrew, biblical Greek, biblical Latin, biblical English – contribute to confusion in meaning. For example, what does ‘elohim’ mean? Is there a difference between ‘Yah’ and ‘Yahweh’? This book examines this confusion in meaning in the biblical texts. This confusion is at the heart of the divorce of Judaism and Christianity. Despite this, we can have a new way of understanding the concept “God”, by which one may re-examine and support a minority point of view in rabbinic tradition, known as the “two powers in heaven” doctrine. Given this revision, there is ample reason for enlightened renewal of a “messianic” interpretation of both Jewish and Christian faiths. This book, therefore, speaks to theologians, philosophers of religion with interests in Jewish and Christian religious traditions, students of philosophy, and informed believers.