Egyptian light and Hebrew fire : theological and philosophical roots of Christendom in evolutionary perspective /

Beginning with an extensive summary of Egyptian ^D["orthodoxy,^D]" Luckert argues that Heliopolitan ontology, soteriology, and theology find their descendants in Greek philosophy, Mosaic religion, Neoplatonism, Gnosticism, and patristic thought. At times precious and question-begging, at times naive and simply wrong, e.g., on Philip's Ethiopian, not Egyptian, eunuch (Acts 8:27), at times lyrical and even inspirational, the book is generally good history-of-religions: it seeks the broad picture to explain several phenomena, explores the relationship between abstract ideas and the earthy metaphors used to express them, and is attentive to such concerns as myths, politics, and sacrifice. The methodological introduction, not exceptionally well integrated with the thesis itself, nevertheless offers a helpful overview of the development of religion and culture. The extensive references to sources as varied as the Pyramid and Coffin Texts, the pre-Socratics and Plotinus, the Bible, Gnostic thought, and the Church Fathers allow readers to draw their own conclusions. Often the thesis of an outsider--Luckert's previous work has been on Navaho traditions--is facilely rejected. This one merits a glance--but caveat lector.