Skip to main content

Free US delivery on orders $35 or over

The Symbolism of Holiness

Holy Being and Holy Living Interpreted Through Paul Ricoeur's Philosophical Anthropology

The Symbolism of Holiness cover

The Symbolism of Holiness

Holy Being and Holy Living Interpreted Through Paul Ricoeur's Philosophical Anthropology

Quantity
Pre-order. Available Jan 08 2026
$103.50 RRP $115.00 Website price saving $11.50 (10%)

Payment for this pre-order will be taken when the item becomes available

Description

Through a reading of Paul Ricoeur's hermeneutics, this book explores how Judeo-Christian holiness emerges in both being and doing in the lives of human persons in a postmodern world.

Both the Old and New Testament testify that God requires holiness, yet the topic remains elusive in both understanding and actuality. Ricoeur offers a solution to this dilemma; he believed that experiences of evil and the sacred cannot be communicated directly, but only through symbols and myth. In the same way that Ricoeur interpreted the human experience of evil in relation to the Fall story in Genesis, this book interprets holiness through the symbolism communicated in the Genesis Creation narrative. When interpreted through Ricoeur's hermeneutics, the symbols of holiness in this story offer tools to understand how to be holy and live a holy life. What results is holiness as holy being, holy doing, and holy being-in-the-world in front of the biblical texts. Holiness emerges “like God,” a holy identity, ethic, and lifestyle in human beings that reflects the trifold holiness of the Triune God.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. The Symbolism of Holiness in Genesis 1-2
2. A Holy Identity and Ethic before the Symbols of Holiness
3. Surplus of Meanings for Holiness
4. Like God, a Holy Being-in-the-World
5. Questions arising on Capability, Scripture, and Ricoeur
6. Trinitarian Narrative Identity
7. Conclusion
Bibliography
About the Author
Index

Product details

Bloomsbury Academic Test
Published Jan 08 2026
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 272
ISBN 9781666959475
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic
Dimensions 9 x 6 inches
Series Studies in the Thought of Paul Ricoeur
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Related Titles

Environment: Staging