In this important new book, the distinguished Egyptologist Jan Assmann provides a masterful overview of a crucial theme in the religious history of the West - that of 'religio duplex', or dual religion. He begins by returning to the theology of the Ancient Egyptians, who set out to present their culture as divided between the popular and the elite. By examining their beliefs, he argues, we can distinguish the two faces of ancient religions more generally: the outer face (that of the official religion) and the inner face (encompassing the mysterious nature of religious experience). Assmann explains that the Early Modern period witnessed the birth of the idea of dual religion with, on the one hand, the religion of reason and, on the other, that of revelation. This concept gained new significance in the Enlightenment when the dual structure of religion was transposed onto the individual. This meant that man now owed his allegiance not only to his native religion, but also to a universal 'religion of mankind'. In fact, argues Assmann, religion can now only hold a place in our globalized world in this way, as a religion that understands itself as one among many and has learned to see itself through the eyes of the other. This bold and wide-ranging book will be essential reading for historians, theologians and anyone interested in the nature of religion and its role in the shaping of the modern world.

Product Description: Osiris fiel als Konig Agyptens einem Mordanschlag seines Bruders Seth zum Opfer. Seiner Schwester und Gattin Isis, unterstutzt von der gemeinsamen Schwester Nephthys, gelang es, ihn so weit ins Leben zuruckzurufen, dass der gemeinsame Sohn Horus gezeugt werden konnte...read more

Product Description: For thousands of years, our world has been shaped by biblical monotheism. But its hallmark—a distinction between one true God and many false gods—was once a new and radical idea. Of God and Gods explores the revolutionary newness of biblical theology against a background of the polytheism that was once so commonplace...read more

Product Description: Mit dem zweiten von insgesamt drei Banden zu den altagyptischen Totenliturgien rucken nun die Grabinschriften aus der Zeit des Neuen Reiches (um 1550-1100v.Chr.) in das Zentrum der Untersuchungen, die insgesamt einen Zeitraum vom Mittleren Reich (Band I) bis zum Ende der altagyptischen Geschichte (Band III, in Vorbereitung) umfassen...read more

Product Description: Die alten Agypter gingen davon aus, den Tod behandeln und den Verstorbenen in den heilvollen Zustand eines "Verklarten Geistes" uberfuhren zu konnen. Das geschah in Ritualen, bei denen auch sehr umfangreiche Rezitationen eingesetzt wurden...read more

Product Description: The Mind of Egypt presents an unprecedented account of the mainsprings of Egyptian civilization--the ideals, values, mentalities, belief systems, and aspirations that shaped the first territorial state in human history. Drawing on a range of literary, iconographic, and archaeological sources, the renowned historian Jan Assmann reconstructs a world of unparalleled complexity, a culture that, long before others, possessed an extraordinary degree of awareness and self-reflection...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: Situado en el corazón mismo del monoteísmo y la cultura occidental, Moisés no es una figura de la historia, sino de la memoria, y como tal se convierte en el objeto principal de esta obra de Jan Assmann. Con increíble maestría, Assmann nos introduce en el mundo de los recuerdos, y nos muestra de qué forma se conservaron, m...read more

Product Description: From one of the world's greatest Egyptologists, an original and brilliant study of the inner life of ancient EgyptThe Mind of Egypt presents an unprecedented account of the mainsprings of Egyptian civilization-the ideals, values, mentalities, belief systems, and aspirations that shaped the first territorial state in human history...read more

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Product Description: This collection of papers from two workshops - held in Heidelberg, Germany, in July 1996 and Jerusalem, Israel, in October 1997 - is concerned with anthropological rather than theological aspects of the Near Eastern and Mediterranean religions, ranging from the 'primary' religions of the archaic period and their complex developments in Egypt and Mesopotamia to the 'soteriological' movements and 'secondary' religions that emerged in Late Antiquity...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

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