Arguing with God - by Anson H Laytner (Paperback)

About the Book

As an old proverb puts it, "Two Jews, three opinions." In the long, rich, tumultuous history of the Jewish people, this characteristic contentiousness has often been extended even unto Heaven. Arguing with God is a highly original and utterly absorbing study that skates along ...

Book Synopsis

As an old proverb puts it, "Two Jews, three opinions." In the long, rich, tumultuous history of the Jewish people, this characteristic contentiousness has often been extended even unto Heaven. Arguing with God is a highly original and utterly absorbing study that skates along the edge of this theological thin ice-at times verging dangerously close to blasphemy-yet also a source of some of the most poignant and deeply soulful expressions of human anguish and yearning.

Review Quotes

Anson Laytner has explored the anguish of the believer with moving eloquence and passion.

In this age after the Holocaust, Anson Laytner's book speaks with extraordinary force. This survey of the tradition of 'arguing with God, ' one of the most distinctive and inspiring elements in Jewish faith, covers a wealth of neglected or undiscussed sources. He shows clearly that this unique perspective runs through the seams of Jewish religion and history from the Bible down to today. Written with scholarship, sensitivity, and even humor, this book will richly reward all its readers.

This is a book that needed to be written. Anson Laytner has brought together familiar and unfamiliar material and analyzed it historically and theologically. The sources that Laytner has assembled have a power and a relevance that leap out from the page.

About the Author

Anson H. Laytner is Director of the Jewish Federation Community Relations Council of Greater Seattle. He is the editor of Points East, the periodical of the Sino-Judaic Institute, and has written The Wheels of Observance: A Growth Guide to the Jewish Holidays. His articles have appeared in Conservative Judaism and the Middle East Review. Rabbi Laytner lives in Seattle, Washington, with his wife and three daughters.