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5 comments about David And Bath Sheba.

1. At a time period when religion is not only the main theme of many heated discussions and conflicts all over the world, but also the root of doubts, at the center of which resides the notion of an omnipotent and dark unknown brewing over our heads that is bound to injure us if we don't take extreme measures. Aida Bode's book about David and Bath-Sheba provides the reader with a sense of doubt but only in the good sense of the word. It makes one doubt the cynicism and negativity surrounding the topic of religion, whether from a political perspective or otherwise. It is not arrogant or commanding, forceful or overwhelming, neither is it threatening or dooming. Its effectiveness lies in its subtleness, independent of violence and free of the graphic gory images of what Hell must be like if one strays from the right path if only for a moment. On the other hand, the book is not sugarcoating the bible by focusing only on a love story -- Aida has made sure she portrayed the anguish that the characters go through and the consequences they have to bear as a result of their actions, to end the storyline on a positive and hopeful note.
   
   Aida Bode writes descriptively and clearly, introducing well-rounded struggling characters, each fighting for a cause, humble in their beliefs and wanting to turn their lives for the better. The book doesn't point fingers and claim with prepotence "My God can beat your God!" God is loving, forgiving, and patient. I call this a refreshing point of view, one much needed for the political and religious climate that is defining the first decade of the new millenium.



2. "David and Bath-Sheba" is a book written simply and without complications, where the author has remained faithful to the story, just as it has been given in the Bible.
   The way this story has been considered, which means, how the facts have been interpreted, what tools have been used to engrave the personages, what philosophy has been presented, and what artistic linguistic effects have been used to fully provide this story: all this makes me approve that this lively material is original, deep, touching, and here and there with wonderful poetic details and moments.
   The conflict of this novel is very moving and deep. It goes beyond the borders of a common "love affair", or a banal adultery. In this conflict there is something from eternity, something from the human moral that goes beyond the conflict of a family, even a nation, why not of an era. The philosophy of the book is based on four pillars, which have (and also gain) undeniable and universal values like: love (with its power, zigzags, ego, but also its greatness, triumph, and beauty) sin, punishment and forgiveness. These four pillars of human life have on the background an eternal, omnipresent, and major force: the force of God. This concept: God with His power has been given in a thorough and comprehensive way. God in this book isn't an omnipotent conductor, who with a stick in his hand directs arbitrarily humanity from heaven. God in this book is the incarnated Law of Life, that Law which sustains, regulates and gives harmony to the world, universe, human life, everything. Everything must submit to this Law, even a king. Before this force, even a king, is powerless and must obey. This is so clear especially when David cries out: "Have mercy on me o, Lord!"
   In continuity of this concept of God, the book brings the idea that the judge and the universal justice are not against man and human life, but on the contrary. They are their basis and their protectors, that's why they forgive the sin, this unavoidable act that eats human creatures, they forgive for life's sake, love's sake, human world, continuity of life.
   The characters in this book are given in a complete way, each with his/her own world and drama. They are fully believable, and as you read you feel like you're seeing them alive.
   So:
   Saul - He's a contradicting type, a big but also small person at the same time.
   David - He's the main character that is so real, with his ups and downs, with his big spirit, but also selfish regarding Bath-Sheba and Uriah, with his spiritual tortures, humanity and great goodness that he represents.
   Bath-Sheba - She is born for love; with a rich heart, but broken in two (between David and Uriah); she's hungry to be not just a woman, but also a mother.
   Azubah - she's one of the best sculpted personages. She's wise, trustworthy, and knowledgeable; she's the embodiment of mercy and hope.
   Uriah - He's a committed warrior to the king and his people. His feelings of doubt are given so skillfully; he's a man of honor; he's worthy of Bath-Sheba.
   Other points
   The psychological analyses of the characters are very concise, touching, persuasive, realistic, and poetic. The atmosphere of Biblical times is written beautifully and intimately, with the morals of time, and primitivism of life. The sentences formulated in a biblical and religious way, are very genuine. They give exceptional values to this book. Not everyone, even a writer, can do it so authentically. The dialogs are concise, convincing, and adapted to each character.
   Briefly said, this is a MUST READ!



3. The Biblical story of David and Bath-Sheba is well-known to me, but Aida Bode in this personalized adaptation brings it to life in a descriptive and unforgettable way. At first I was understandably cautious, wondering how anyone could hold the attention of readers by the retelling of this familiar story that appears in 2nd Samuel. Let me take the next paragraph to briefly introduce the characters and remind readers of the story line before I explain just how the author does this.
   
   David, the chosen King of Israel, had remained in Jerusalem while his armies were fighting the enemy. While strolling the rooftop of his palace, he saw a beautiful woman bathing in a pool below-a woman whose name was Bath-Sheba. Though she was married to Uriah, a strong and trusted military leader, David summoned her to the palace, and she became pregnant with his child. Ultimately, after granting Uriah leave and trying unsuccessfully to get him to spend the night with his wife, he addressed a letter to General Joab, asking Uriah to deliver it to him personally. The letter contained instructions to have Uriah put David in the front line of battle, knowing that this order would result in his death. When the mourning time was past, David made Bath-Sheba his wife. But he would soon understand the consequences that individuals must face when they disobey God's laws. Though he was a king who had the love of God in his heart and many wives and riches, he gave in to temptation and committed adultery and murder. But could anything good result from David's transgressions? What was the path to forgiveness?
   
   In this beautiful, expanded adaptation by Aida Bode, readers are given the opportunity to go beyond the facts and listen in on the thoughts of the various individuals. Aide begins with some touching scenes of a mother's pride in David, her young son. What mother could not equate to the feelings of love that are so vividly described by the woman who sees her child with her heart and spirit. Whether describing his curly hair, the way he moved his small body or even the act of breathing, one sees how she cherishes each day with her son. Through her spirit and soul, David understands the love of God; he sees his future in the desires of his mother.
   
   David was spirited and courageous in his youth, possessing great faith in God. It was this faith that convinced King Saul to give him permission to go into the battlefield and fight Goliath, a Philistine who was a giant and seemingly undefeatable. David was victorious and delivered the giant using only a sling and five stones. A sling shot gave glory to the God whom he served and adored. Yes, David loved God and served Him...and eventually became the chosen King of Israel, fulfilling the promise that his mother had seen in her spirit for this beloved son. However, David had given in to passion, taking another man's wife and, for the first time, seemed to forget that man could not be redeemed by his own righteousness.
   
   When David learned that Bath-Sheba was pregnant, his thoughts tell of his pain, his anguish, and his fears-fears that led him to take drastic action to save their lives since the law stated that if a man was found in bed with a married woman, they would both be killed. Because he couldn't face God, he didn't ask for His help but tried to solve the problem his way.
   
   And what of Bath-Sheba? She loved her husband, but her king desired her. Readers feel her emotion as she speaks to her nanny, expressing her innermost thoughts and questions. Was this all her fault? Had she caused the king to sin and break the law? Was she responsible for David betraying God and for the pain in his heart from such betrayal? She had been unfaithful to her husband...their dreams and future plans were gone...the innocence of their youthful love a part of her past. She weeps with uncertainty, torn with conflict, a woman living in the past and present with two different loves. There is so much she doesn't understand...so much she feels and fears. She desperately loves this child that she conceived when the king summoned her to the palace. But what was her future? Then, suddenly widowed, she is forced to deal with the loss of her husband and her own guilt. She wants to give his life back to him...but she can't.
   
   The author brilliantly conveys the humanness of David, Bath-Sheba, and Uriah in this real-life drama that depicts situations and battles that are similar to those we face in present times. We see the characters, not just as historical Biblical figures, but as people possessing unique strengths and weaknesses. There are Godly lessons to be learned about life, love, and the consequences of choices we make.
   
   The talent and creativity of Aida Bode is evident throughout the pages of this book. She is an artist with words, painting vivid pictures in our minds and hearts. Though this adaptation of David and Bath-Sheba is a small book-fewer than eighty pages-it is delightful and unique in its presentation. It is this reviewer's hope that the author has plans for writing future books.
   
   Bettie Corbin Tucker, former publisher and independent professional reviewer



4. Take a story from the bible and make it so that people of today can really relate to it. This is what Aida Bode has done. "David and Bath Sheba" is based on the bible story of David, the shepherd boy, the one who faced Goliath, and became king. What readers take away from the story is a very personal thing.
   David is the king and Uriah is one of his most able and trustworthy military leaders. While Uriah is away at war David looks down from his castle and sees the beautiful Bath-Sheba, Uriah's wife. Unable to resist her beauty he has her brought to him, and being the king, does what he will. It is soon discovered afterward that Bath-Sheba is with child from this adulterous union. What should they do? The law says that they should be put to death. Put the king to death? Unlikely.
   
   David attempts to get Uriah back into bed with Bath-Sheba by calling back the military party for an update and "reward" for their good work, in hopes that the truth will never be known. Uriah though, is a man of honor and will not take pleasure in even the company of his wife when there is work to be done, other men in the trenches of combat. That plan foiled, David resorts to, what is in essence, murder. He sends Uriah into the depths of the battle. Will Uriah survive? What will happen to Bath-Sheba and her unborn child...the child of the king? Will the sins of the king be punished?
   
   The text is well written, telling the story in rich detail and respectful tone. What the reader comes to understand is a matter of personal belief and opinion. "David and Bath Sheba" is an interesting tale and has been given a fresher voice.
   
   review by Heather Froeschl



5. There is so much reality in this story, though it comes as an echo from thousands of years ago. There is the human fight, the good and evil within us, in which God is not the judge, but the rescuer, He's not the punisher, but the forgiver, He's not the one who sentences, but the one who delivers. This book has a way of captivating you and not letting go, till you've finished it. I enjoyed reading every letter.

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3 comments about Eastern Christian Worlds.

1. When this book was given to me to review, the accompanying adjective was "stunning," echoing the same adjective used by Clément in his preface (7). It is indeed a stunning book; this folio size volume contains ninety-six full color plates gathered into groups and divided by country of origin. There are also 188 black and white plates interspersed throughout the text. Not a few of this plates find their first public appearance in this book. The reproduction of these plates is of top quality and the colors, particularly of the Armenian and the Ethiopic entries, are brilliant. From the point of view of art reproduction, the publishers are to be highly commended for a truly beautiful--yea, stunning--book.

   This volume represents a companion volume to Liturgical Press's previously issued translation of Mahmoud Zibawi, The Icon: Its Meaning and History (1993), equally "stunning" in its artwork. One can see clearly from the mere titles of these two book that the volume under review here covers a much broader territory. In this volume, Zibawi opens with a general introduction to the characteristics and history of the Eastern Mediterranean, the region in which each of these Eastern Christian Communities is found (9-20). In a second chapter, he goes on to a brief discussion of the history of the "Exchanges and Intercommunion" between the Eastern Christian communities (21-30). In Chapter 3, he compares the two primary artistic methods of the Eastern Churces, "Iconic and Aniconic," and the preferences, manifestations, and developments within each of these communities (31-46). In chapters 4 through 7, Zibawi covers the history and artistic achievement of four primary Eastern Christian Communities that he discusses: the Syrians (47-100), the Armenians (101-54), the Egyptians [= Copts] (155-208), and the Ethiopians (209-62). A very brief epilogue, followed by a Selected Bibliography, Glossary and Credits, then concludes the book (263-72).

   While this volume follows its predecessor in its stellar artistic reproductions, it unfortunately also follows that volume in its lack of primary scholarship and lack of overall organization. The chapters each wander back and forth from ecclesiastical and/or political history to art history to descriptions of certain works of art back to ecclesiastical history. The artistic descriptions cover nearly every type of art and architecture found in these communities: churches, carvings, icons, frescoes, manuscript illuminations, miniatures, and some sacred vessels. However, these descriptions only rarely correspond to the plates in the volume, and in the few cases that the black and white plates are described, they are almost never referenced. The descriptions are also rather superficial, describing merely the scene depicted, only rarely venturing into an evaluation of its importance or its interpretation within the community's faith and worship. References to influences of other cultures, Christian or pagan, are also sporadic and then only rarely supported. Historical introductions, aided by the translator's penchant for keeping throughout the book the present tense of the original French instead of the more idiomatic English past tense, read like "grand sweeping descriptions." But not only can one only recount so much detail of a millennium or more in the space of three or four pages, Zibawi manifests little first hand knowledge of the areas with which he is dealing. A quick glance at the bibliography at the end of each chapter reveals Zibawi's complete dependence on secondary French works. Even where he includes a quotation from a primary source it is culled from a secondary work or, less often, from a French translation of the work. While it might be defensible for an art historian to be dependent on secondary sources for the historical and political background, the sketchiness and superficiality of the artistic descriptions also leaves the reader wondering just how conversant Zibawi is with art history as well.

   While these general comments may sound overly harsh, they are meant only to indicate that the scholar will find nothing new and little of use in this volume. The general reader, however, will find a book whose artwork is so impressive that it alone just might serve as the hook to lure her/him into the field of Eastern Christianity, if not as a scholar then as a more educated amateur. While there are certainly gaps in the bibliography, there is nonetheless enough for the interested reader to find a reasonable entry into the literature.

   In general, the volume is well edited, though there remains a number of errors in the Selected Bibliography at the end of the volume, e.g., Pelikan, Yaroslav for Pelikan, Jaroslav; Apren, Mar for Aprem, Mar; Isaac of Antioch for Isaac of Nineveh, John of Edessa for John of Ephesus, Narsallah for Nasrallah, and Garso'ian for Garsoïan, to cite but a few. For some reason, throughout chapter 5, on the Armenians, one consistently finds the name of the great historian of Siwnik' as Stephen Oberlian instead of the correct Orbelian. In sum then, while this book will be of little or no importance to scholars, it will nonetheless serve as a mark of very great distinction on one's coffee table for the beauty of its photographic plates. It will remain the judgment of each individual reader to determine whether such a distinctive adornment is worth $100.00.

   Edward G. Mathews, Jr.




2. I was going to write a huge review to get you excited to buy this, but I see that there is already an exhaustive review. So I will only say that this book could not be better for anyone interested in eastern orthodx art of the coptic/ethiopian/egyptian sort. It is very very richly illustrated with dozens of full page full color icons. It is fantastic! Enjoy!

   You may also enjoy: The Resurrection and the Icon for more material on eastern orthodox iconography/theology




3. Mahmoud Zibawi, Eastern Christian Worlds, trans: Madeleine Beaumont, The Liturgical Press (Collegeville, Minnesota : 1995), ISBN 0-8146-2375-1, 272 pp., Price: $US99.95

   (Review extracted from the Glastonbury Bulletin #100 {the Journal of the British Orthodox Church}. Reprinted by permission of editor.)

   We in the West seem to be experiencing a renewed Orientalism, with few more obvious signs than a singular fascination for the eastern iconographic traditions. Where icons were once assumed to inhabit the domain of populist piety or were relegated by many art historians to a developmental phase of religious art (playing, if you like, the Baptist to the messiah of the Italian Renaissance), the Orthodox icon has now come to occupy the long-vacated space of spiritual art in the popular imagination.

   As with all rediscoveries, however, the western appetite is highly selective and the palette likely to be attracted to those images for which it has been preconditioned. Such has been the case with both the popular and scholarly approaches to the vast heritage of iconography of the ancient world. Ten years ago, while studying icons intensively for a degree, I noted a eurocentric bias - seasoned with a hearty dose of racism - which underpinned the curriculum; indeed, more often than not the `naïf' images (`images', we were told, not `icons') of Ethiopia, when seen at all, were juxtaposed against the glittering domes of Daphni, Hosios Lukas and Nea Moni, to predictable effect. Icons were considered synonymous with Byzantium, not - significantly - with Orthodoxy. Thus those families of Orthodox existing on the geographical periphery of the empire, or whose confessions differed in substance or terminology from the prevailing Constantinopolitan conviction, were marginalised or ignored altogether.

   Mahmoud Zibawi's Eastern Christian Worlds succeeds brilliantly in enlivening our knowledge of the Christian religiosity of the East by focusing our attention onto the largest of such groupings, the Non-Chalcedonian Orthodox. Following upon his well-received The Icon: Its Meaning and History (The Liturgical Press, 1993), Zibawi's recent book manages the difficult feat of appearing compendious and yet comprehensive. Zibawi's book must be lauded primarily for its erudition and comprehensivity, but praise must also be accorded the author for his courage in presenting his work from an unabashedly religionist standpoint. By gathering together so many examples from the kaleidoscopic and prodigious output of the Oriental Orthodox, and then conveying the dynamic piety of the images through exuberant, if occasionally breathless, commentary, the author establishes what Olivier Clément coins in the preface as `the ecumenism of beauty'.

   Zibawi begins his analysis with a welcome historical introduction to the genesis of the Oriental churches. Starting, appropriately enough, with the Great Commission and Pentecost, Zibawi documents the growth of levantine Christianity (with the aid of useful maps) up to the time of the Arab conquest and Islamic hegemony. For those of us who have searched for a concise overview of the historical circumstances which conspired to effect a break in communion between the Orthodox, look no further; in the space of a dozen pages the author presents a clear synopsis which will prove of interest to historian and general reader alike. It was with relief that I noted Zibawi is not one of those who concentrate on the discordant, but rather on the unitive: "Crucible of schisms, the Christian East is also the world in the middle, the place of exchanges, and the heart of communions. (p.19)"

   The second and third chapters illustrate the extraordinary cultural and artistic conversations between Oriental Christianity and Islam. Thankfully the author, though obviously a devoted Christian, is possessed of a mature and sympathetic attitude towards the Islamic faith and is thus more interested in documenting the interchange between the two than in sponsoring some sort of aesthetics-based polemics: "In contradistinction to the doctrinal objections and violent aversions attested by history, Islam often appears tolerant, transparent, and prone to sympathy. (p.21)" One suspects that Zibawi, Lebanese by birth and resident in Paris, and a painter himself, is in an ideal position to analyse this extraordinary encounter between faiths; one iconic, the other aniconic. For all of the evident differences, Eastern Christianity and Islam share a conviction that that which is properly Beautiful is inseparable from that which is Good, and that contemplation of the invisible encourages the eye to strain towards the transfigured visible. The recognition of this empathy allowed for an ongoing artistic partnership that enriched the output of both communities. Zibawi's enlightened analysis of these shared influences puts paid to the strangely pervasive notion that the arts of the Non-Chalcedonian Orthodox were somehow hermetically sealed before the Arab invasion and remain unaltered to this day. The fact remains that Oriental Christians were, and are, heavily influenced by Islam, just as both were inheritors of hellenism: Stoicism, Aristotelianism, Platonism and Neoplatonism entered both Christianity and Islam, were sacralised, and then refracted endlessly from one to the other, and to the benefit of both.

   Chapters four through seven examine the arts of the Syrians, the Armenians, the Egyptians and the Ethiopians, respectively. I confess to be almost wholly ignorant of the artistic heritage of Armenia, but felt overcome by its achievements, particularly in the fields of manuscript illumination and the relief carvings of the church of the Holy Cross in Aghthamar, built a thousand years ago by Gagik I. It seems to me that a good percentage of the literature on the Armenian Apostolic Church seeks either to disavow or to exaggerate Western influence: here the Seljuk, Mongol and Frankish influences upon the Armenian religious arts are all given their proper place. (Indeed Zibawi's thesis, in this as in other chapters, seems to be that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts - a welcome lack of reductionism for an art historian!) Nevertheless the author doesn't shirk from deeming unsuccessful those Armenian artists who, from the seventeenth century, begin to emulate Renaissance and Baroque models. It seems that Dürer doesn't cross the Black Sea entirely successfully.

   The chapter on Syria emphasises, rightly in my opinion, the pivotal place of the Rabbula Gospels of 586 in the subsequent development of Byzantine iconographic types. The plasticity of the forms (indeed the most arresting image of the Virgin extant, if you ask me), the unfolding of space, the immediacy of emotional force, and the employment of formal devices to exaggerate a theological program all coalesce in such a fashion that much subsequent Byzantine iconography often appears little more than a footnote. Zibawi then traces the cross-fertilisation between Byzantine-oriented Syria and Persian-oriented Mesopotamia - indeed the Abbasid Caliphate appears to have sponsored something of a mediaeval iconographic renaissance. Unfortunately the latter part of the subsequent Ottoman dominance ushers in a period of stylistic confusion, inaugurated in major part by the intrusion of Catholic missionaries and the installation of Eastern Catholic rites. The later Aleppo icons are all rather stolid affairs, not quite icons and not quite Western devotional imagery. The presence of rosaries and the preponderance of such types as the Immaculate Conception all speak to an art bereft of identity.

   Nowhere is the magnificent imagination of the religious artist more obvious than in the land of Cush. Ethiopian icons, until very recently all-too-often regarded as animism with an overlay of Gospel, are incontrovertibly confronting to the Western eye, conditioned as it is by Masaccio's one-point perspective and Michelangelo's (deceptive un-) naturalism. The assault of colour, the confidence of execution, the rejection of tonality and the sheer modernity of the images all conspire to elevate Ethiopian icons from any historical context and place them squarely in the realm of the eternal moment. One cannot but feel the image occupies some sort of dreamscape otherwise only accessible to the saint or ascetic. This said, I can only be thankful that Zibawi didn't fall prey to the common temptation to reduce his discussion of the Ethiopian icon to its `painterly qualities' or to its (groan) `child-like innocence and naïveté'. If anything his examination of the rigorous theological underpinnings of such works is more sustained here than anywhere else in the book, thus providing a welcome relief from the rash of recent studies which concentrate solely on formalist and stylistic traits to the expense of the mature theological dimensions of the works. One suspects that however well-intentioned the desire of the recent generation of art historians to reclaim Ethiopian religious imagery for the dubious honour of proto-abstractionism, there is still an unacknowledged debasement of Ethiopian Christianity at its c

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