The Invention of Religion - by Jan Assmann (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A groundbreaking account of how the Book of Exodus shaped fundamental aspects of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

The Book of Exodus may be the most consequential story ever told. But its spectacular moments of heaven-sent plagues and parting seas overshadow its true significance, says Jan Assmann, a leading historian of ancient religion. The story of Moses guiding the enslaved children of Israel out of captivity to become God's chosen people is the foundation of an entirely new idea of religion, one that lives on today in many of the world's faiths. First introduced in Exodus, new ideas of faith, revelation, and above all covenant transformed basic assumptions about humankind's relationship to the divine and became the bedrock of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

From the Back Cover

"Jan Assmann's latest book is a blockbuster--beautifully written, capacious, learned, and endlessly creative. It is sure to become a touchstone for scholars and readers interested in the Bible, the ancient world, and the history of monotheism, past and present."--Jonathan Sheehan, University of California, Berkeley

"Jan Assmann, one of Germany's most influential historians and intellectuals, breaks new ground in The Invention of Religion. It is a remarkable achievement, one that promises to spark controversy."--Jacob L. Wright, Emory University

Review Quotes

"In this brilliant, imaginative, and comprehensive study of the Book of Exodus, Jan Assmann draws on his extensive and nuanced knowledge of ancient civilizations, cultural memory, and biblical texts to make the case that the Exodus story of the liberation of a people is also the story of the unprecedented invention of a radically new conception of religion--one that became the basis for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The breadth and depth of Assmann's multifaceted explorations are dazzling."--Richard J. Bernstein, New School for Social Research

"Jan Assmann's latest book is a blockbuster--beautifully written, capacious, learned, and endlessly creative. It is sure to become a touchstone for scholars and readers interested in the Bible, the ancient world, and the history of monotheism, past and present."--Jonathan Sheehan, University of California, Berkeley

"[Assmann] represents the best tradition of a German public intellectual, able to support his thesis with a wide diversity of insights and to do so with authority and creativity"---Michael R. Simone, Theological Studies

"In this bold reading of the Book of Exodus, Jan Assmann, one of the world's leading intellectuals, shows how Exodus preserves prebiblical Egyptian and Israelite memories while eliciting a 'monotheism of loyalty' that has defined much of Western religion."--David M. Carr, author of The Formation of the Hebrew Bible

"Jan Assmann, one of Germany's most influential historians and intellectuals, breaks new ground in The Invention of Religion. It is a remarkable achievement, one that promises to spark controversy."--Jacob L. Wright, Emory University

About the Author

Jan Assmann is honorary professor of cultural studies at the University of Konstanz and professor emeritus of Egyptology at the University of Heidelberg. He is the author of many books, including Cultural Memory and Early Civilization and Moses the Egyptian.