Description:
In Western religious traditions, God is conventionally conceived as a humanlike creator, lawgiver, and king, a being both accessible and actively present in history. Yet there is a concurrent tradition of a God who actively hides, leading to a tension between a God who is simultaneously accessible and yet inaccessible, both immanent and transcendent, present and absent. Western Gnostic, esoteric, and mystical thinking capitalizes on the hidden and hiding God. Histories of the Hidden God explores this tradition from antiquity to today. The essays focus on three essential themes: the concealment of the hidden God; the human quest for the hidden God, and revelations of the hidden God.
Review Quotes:
"All of these chapters are learned and provocative, and many will surely become standard citations--and flash-points of debate--in their respective fields... Histories of the Hidden God will prove worthwhile and thought-provoking reading to scholars of religion who are interested in ''Gnosticism, esotericism, and mysticism'' and wish to hone their knowledge of their own sub-fields while learning about material with which they may be less familiar." - Nova Religio