The Biblical Cosmos: A Pilgrim's Guide to the Weird and Wonderful World of the Bible

by Robin A Parry, Hannah Parry (Illustrator)

Overview

Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of the Bible. When we read Scripture we often imagine that the world inhabited by the Bible's characters was much the same as our own. We would be wrong. The biblical world is an ancient world with a flat earth that stands at the center of the cosmos, and with a vast ocean in the sky, chaos dragons, mystical mountains, demonic deserts, an underground zone for the dead, stars that are sentient beings, and, if you travel upwards and through the doors in the solid dome of the sky, God's heaven--the heart of the universe. This book takes readers on a guided tour of the biblical cosmos with the goal of opening up the Bible in its ancient world. It then goes further and seeks to show how this very ancient biblical way of seeing the world is still revelatory and can speak God's word afresh into our own modern worlds.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781625648105
Publisher:	Cascade Books
Publication date:	10/08/2014
Pages:	242
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Robin Parry grew up near Liverpool before moving to Wales at the age of ten. It was in Wales that he became a Christian. In 1991, after completing his undergraduate degree in theology and some teacher training, he got married to Carol and moved to Worcester (the original one). They have been there ever since. Robin and Carol have two daughters, Hannah and Jessica, and a cat called Monty. Having been a teacher in a Sixth Form College (1991-2001), he moved into theological publishing, first at Paternoster (2001-2010) and then at Wipf and Stock (2010-), where he works as an editor. Robin's MA and PhD were in Old Testament, both degrees overseen by Professor Gordon Wenham. Robin writes books for a hobby and is trying to learn to play the cajon.

Table of Contents

Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: Welcome to the Biblical Cosmos Part I : A Tour of the Biblical Earth 1. Joining the Flat Earth Society: The Big Picture 2. Here Be Dragons! The Sea 3. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: Land 4. A Land Down Under: Sheol/Hades Part II : A Tour of the Biblical Heavens 5. Eyes in Their Stars: The Sky 6. Brighter than a Thousand Suns: God's Heaven Part III : The House of God: Temple and Cosmos 7. God's in the House: The Temple and the Biblical Cosmos 8. Christ's in the House: Jesus and the Biblical Cosmos Part IV: Can We Inhabit the Biblical Cosmos? 9. How Can We Inhabit the Biblical Cosmos Today? 10. The Cosmic Temple Today 11. The Biblical Heavens Today 12. The Biblical Earth Today Bibliography Scripture Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A masterful exposition of the sacramental worldview of the Old Testament. . . . If you figure the Old Testament is simply incompatible with the Christian Platonism of the Christian tradition, you just may be startled by the insights of this book."
—Hans Boersma, J. I. Packer Professor of Theology, Regent College, Vancouver, BC, Canada

"Delightful. Robin Parry takes the reader on a fascinating tour of biblical cosmology and theology. If you want to enter the minds of the biblical writers, this book will guide you with wit and sound learning."
—Gordon Wenham, Professor emeritus of Old Testament, University of Gloucestershire, Trinity College Bristol, Bristol, UK

"Parry expertly guides us through the strange biblical world . . . and invites us to accept it as is, and to inhabit it, rather than conforming it to ours. In doing so, Parry opens up fresh ways of envisioning not only the biblical world, but Jesus, and our own Christian faith."
—Peter Enns, Professor of Biblical Studies, Eastern University, St. Davids, PA

"This book is a must-read for anyone serious about reading and making sense of the Bible today."
—Paula Gooder, Theologian in Residence, Bible Society, UK

"A fascinating survey of the cosmos as seen in holy Scripture and a helpful guide to how Christians can best understand that biblical cosmology today. Thorough, lively, and thought-provoking, I warmly recommend it."
—Michael Ward, author of Planet Narnia

"Roaaaaarrrr!!!!"
—Leviathan, mythical chaos monster

"This book is simply stellar! What a fabulously helpful way to introduce the significance of the OT cosmology for today!"
—Pleiades, open star cluster in the constellation of Taurus

Editorial Reviews

A masterful exposition of the sacramental worldview of the Old Testament. . . . If you figure the Old Testament is simply incompatible with the Christian Platonism of the Christian tradition, you just may be startled by the insights of this book.
--Hans Boersma, J. I. Packer Professor of Theology, Regent College, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Delightful. Robin Parry takes the reader on a fascinating tour of biblical cosmology and theology. If you want to enter the minds of the biblical writers, this book will guide you with wit and sound learning.
--Gordon Wenham, Professor emeritus of Old Testament, University of Gloucestershire, Trinity College Bristol, Bristol, UK

Parry expertly guides us through the strange biblical world . . . and invites us to accept it as is, and to inhabit it, rather than conforming it to ours. In doing so, Parry opens up fresh ways of envisioning not only the biblical world, but Jesus, and our own Christian faith.
--Peter Enns, Professor of Biblical Studies, Eastern University, St. Davids, PA

This book is a must-read for anyone serious about reading and making sense of the Bible today.
--Paula Gooder, Theologian in Residence, Bible Society, UK

A fascinating survey of the cosmos as seen in holy Scripture and a helpful guide to how Christians can best understand that biblical cosmology today. Thorough, lively, and thought-provoking, I warmly recommend it.
--Michael Ward, author of Planet Narnia

Roaaaaarrrr!!!!
--Leviathan, mythical chaos monster

This book is simply stellar! What a fabulously helpful way to introduce the significance of the OT cosmology for today!
--Pleiades, open star cluster in the constellation of Taurus

From the Publisher

This hugely enjoyable book has much to commend it. …do I recommend this book? Certainly, with a resounding 'yes'…

119.1 2016 - Andrew Angel

Parry is to be commended for bringing biblical cosmology to life in vivid, accessible language.

22:4, 2015 - Ann Conway-Jones