Social and Cognitive Perspectives on the Sermon on the Mount
Rikard Roitto [+–]
Stockholm School of Theology, University College Stockholm
Colleen Shantz [+–]
University of Toronto
Petri Luomanen [+–]
University of Helsinki
Social and Cognitive Perspectives on the Sermon on the Mount introduces a broader group of scholars, students, and clergy to the relevance of social scientific and cognitive studies for interpretation of the Bible, by applying these approaches to what is possibly the most read and discussed text in the Bible. Because these approaches are invested in patterns of human cognition and social mechanisms, this collection highlights the persistent appeal and persuasiveness of the Sermon: from innate moral drives, to the biology of emotion and risk-taking, to the formation and obliteration of in-group/out-group distinctions. Through these socio-cognitive theories the authors show why—even across cultures and history—the Sermon continues to grip both individual minds and groups of people to shape moral communities.
Table of Contents
Prelims
Introduction
Part 1: Individual Cognition
Part 2: Text and Cognition
Part 3: Social Dynamics
End Matter
Religion Feeds
Culture on the Edge