Description
The Bible highly praises human creativity. In fact, work belongs to Adam's very creation, homo faber in the image of deus faber (Gen. 2:15). Human production is nevertheless seen in the Bible as imbued with an ambiguous value. In Work and Creativity, Andre LaCocque reflects on the biblical understanding of labor, juxtaposing texts from the book of Genesis with the conceptions of work of psychoanalysts and philosophers such as Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx, and proposing a dialectical approach to human work and creativity.
About the Author
Andre LaCocque is professor emeritus of Hebrew Bible at Chicago Theological Seminary.
Reviews
This work is remarkable in several respects. It is one of the very few studies on the theme of work in the Bible, although that theme is front and central in the creation story in Genesis. It is deeply engaged with European philosophy from Hegel to Ricoeur, to a greater degree than any biblical study I can recall. Finally, it articulates a model for a dialectical biblical theology, that rejects any univocal systematizing and insists on ambiguity and paradox. This is the crowning work of a very distinguished career by an urbane and learned scholar. -- John J. Collins, Holmes Professor of Old Testament, Yale University
Andre LaCocque has written an exceedingly subtle book on interpretation. This work has required him to bring into play his astonishing erudition as he mobilizes the great critical tradition of Western philosophy. His text is the tale of origins in Genesis 2-3. His theme is "work" as he ponders, in Genesis 2-3, first human generative work that co-creates with God the creator, and then work as drudgery that lacks any generativity. His method is dialectical, through which he shows that the narrative text will not allow closure or certitude, but only on-going interpretation. LaCocque's accent on "share faber-ness" of deus faber and homo faber is the pivot of this welcome study. He here brings together a life-time of learning to show how biblical interpretation at its best engages both the resources and challenges of modern thinking. -- Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary
Book Information
ISBN 9781978708976
Author Andre LaCocque
Format Hardback
Page Count 146
Imprint Lexington Books/Fortress Academic
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Weight(grams) 390g
Dimensions(mm) 228mm * 162mm * 18mm
About the Author
Andre LaCocque is professor emeritus of Hebrew Bible at Chicago Theological Seminary.
Reviews
This work is remarkable in several respects. It is one of the very few studies on the theme of work in the Bible, although that theme is front and central in the creation story in Genesis. It is deeply engaged with European philosophy from Hegel to Ricoeur, to a greater degree than any biblical study I can recall. Finally, it articulates a model for a dialectical biblical theology, that rejects any univocal systematizing and insists on ambiguity and paradox. This is the crowning work of a very distinguished career by an urbane and learned scholar. -- John J. Collins, Holmes Professor of Old Testament, Yale University
Andre LaCocque has written an exceedingly subtle book on interpretation. This work has required him to bring into play his astonishing erudition as he mobilizes the great critical tradition of Western philosophy. His text is the tale of origins in Genesis 2-3. His theme is "work" as he ponders, in Genesis 2-3, first human generative work that co-creates with God the creator, and then work as drudgery that lacks any generativity. His method is dialectical, through which he shows that the narrative text will not allow closure or certitude, but only on-going interpretation. LaCocque's accent on "share faber-ness" of deus faber and homo faber is the pivot of this welcome study. He here brings together a life-time of learning to show how biblical interpretation at its best engages both the resources and challenges of modern thinking. -- Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary
Book Information
ISBN 9781978708976
Author Andre LaCocque
Format Hardback
Page Count 146
Imprint Lexington Books/Fortress Academic
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Weight(grams) 390g
Dimensions(mm) 228mm * 162mm * 18mm
