God: A Biography (1995 Miles), book

God: A Biography (1995) is a book by Jack Miles.

Abstract

"Miles shows us God in the guise of a great literary character, the hero of the Old Testament. In a close, careful, and inspired reading of that testament - book by book, verse by verse - God is seen from his first appearance as Creator to his last as Ancient of Days. The God whom Miles reveals to us is a warrior whose greatest battle is with himself. We see God torn by conflicting urges. To his own sorrow, he is by turns destructive and creative, vain and modest, subtle and naive, ruthless and tender, lawful and lawless, powerful yet powerless, omniscient and blind. As we watch him change amazingly, we are drawn into the epic drama of his search for self-knowledge, the search that prompted him to create mankind as his mirror. In that mirror he seeks to examine his own reflection, but he also finds there a rival. We then witness God's own perilous passage from power to wisdom."--Publisher's description

Editions and translations

Published in New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995.

Contents

Can God's life be written? -- Creator : Genesis 1-3 -- Destroyer : Genesis 4-11 -- Creator/destroyer : Genesis 12-25:11 -- Friend of the family : Genesis 25:12-50:18 -- What makes God godlike? -- Liberator : Exodus 1:1-15:21 -- Lawgiver : Exodus 15:22-40:38 -- Liege : Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy -- Conqueror : Joshua, Judges -- Father : Samuel -- Arbiter : Kings -- Does God fail? -- Executioner : Isaiah 1-39 -- Holy one : Isaiah 40-66 -- Does God love? -- Wife : Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi -- Counselor : Psalms -- Guarantor : Proverbs -- Fiend : Job -- Sleeper : Song of Songs -- Bystander : Ruth -- Recluse : Lamentations -- Puzzle : Ecclesiastes -- Absence : Esther -- Ancient of Days : Daniel -- Scroll : Ezra and Nehemiah -- Perpetual round : Chronicles -- Does God lose interest?

External links

• [ Google Books]