The Biblical Cosmos - Robin A. Parry

\nWelcome 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. 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!