Is the Bible a Work of Ancient Philosophy? Matthew Barrett and Jonathan Pennington

In *The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture*, Yoram Hazony challenges the traditional dichotomy between reason and revelation by presenting the Hebrew Bible as a philosophical text. He argues that the biblical authors used narrative and prophetic oratory to advance universal arguments about morals, politics, and truth. This book offers a new framework for understanding the Bible as a work of philosophy, comparable to the works of Plato or Socrates.

Written between 413-426 CE, 'The City of God' is a response to pagan claims that the sack of Rome by barbarians was a consequence of the abolition of pagan worship by Christian emperors. Augustine argues that Christianity saved the city from complete destruction and that Rome’s fall was due to internal moral decay. The book divides humanity into two metaphorical cities: the City of God, characterized by devotion to God, and the City of Man, characterized by self-love. It also outlines Augustine’s theological interpretation of human history, from the Creation to the Second Coming of Christ, and critiques paganism and pagan philosophy while presenting the true history of the City of God.

In this volume, Jonathan T. Pennington provides a comprehensive commentary on the Sermon on the Mount, situating it within the contexts of Jewish wisdom literature and Greco-Roman virtue ethics. He argues that the Sermon envisions the realization of true human flourishing through doing the will of God as whole persons, balancing the unique work of Jesus with the necessity for his disciples to live in accord with the ethics of the kingdom. The book addresses contemporary issues such as ethics, philosophy, and economics, and offers a macroscopic reading strategy for understanding the Sermon's message in the twenty-first century.