1. The present volume is built on two pillars that are placed in relation to each other, namely core contents of the Bible on the one hand and philosophical reflections that are closely connected to these concepts on the other.

We find ourselves in a situation today in which the concept and notion of philosophy is not only the subject of philosophical debate, but also the object of political and ideological disputes. Analytical approaches in philosophy associate it with reflections on language and the logical rules emerging from it; the metaphysical tradition links the concept of philosophy to the question of the origin and foundation of being; transcendental philosophy places this origin in the self-reflection of thought; modern (not only) phenomenological positions take psychoanalytical and feminist insights into account in their thinking and thematise the body in various ways. In addition, there are philosophies that are particularly orientated towards political, social and economic events and philosophies of nature that incorporate the rapid progress of the natural sciences in their search for truth. The question of the Bible and Philosophy today thus encounters a broad panorama of definitions of the concept of philosophy, which could be a possible starting point for a volume devoted to the Bible and Philosophy.

2. Two tendencies are particularly worth mentioning when confronting the Bible and Philosophy in a contemporary context. In so-called post-colonial discourses, the claim to a monopoly of Greek and European philosophy is fundamentally questioned and it is assumed that philosophy – for instance in the sense of a search for truth – can be found in all cultures and expresses itself noetically in the most diverse ways. Conversely, however, there is also a current tendency to replace philosophy with a science orientated towards mathematics, logic and physics, which claim to determine both the true form and the true content of thought. A concept of truth that is orientated towards the ideal of measurement and the quantifiability of measurement results renders the question of a philosophy of the Bible – if philosophy is understood as the scientific search for truth – obsolete. With this understanding of truth, it is argued against the Bible, for example, that our world was not created in seven days, but has evolved over billions of years. However, such criticism does not address the meaning of the biblical account of creation but expresses a way of thinking that is closed off to a metaphorical and poetic form of expression that is not aimed at the technical question of the creation of an object, but instead poses the question of the meaning of human existence.

3. In addition to the challenge evoked by positions that equate science with physics and mathematics, a volume dedicated to the topic of the Bible and Philosophy also raises the question of the relationship between philosophy and theology. In our specialised scientific community, the Bible is primarily a subject of theology, and occasionally of archaeology, religious studies or history. In cultures in which theology participates in academic discourse, the question of the Bible’s contribution to an understanding of man and the meaning of his existence is therefore often dealt with in theological faculties. Where there are no theological faculties, the Bible is usually only understood as a cultural asset. However, the question arises as to whether there can be a specifically philosophical approach to the Bible. Firstly, it should be noted that theology understands the Bible as God’s word and God’s revelation, but this does not exclude the possibility that in subsequent steps this word, insofar as it is mediated by humans, is questioned and analysed according to its social, psychological, cultural and political preconditions and contexts. A philosophical approach will not be able to assume with certainty that the Bible is the Word of God, but it does not have to a priori negate a connection between this scripture and a divine being, however the latter may be understood. A philosophical approach will in any case ask about the truth – or at least the meaning of the Bible, whether this is located in an existential-practical, aesthetic or ontological sphere, and can even take into account that this work was received by many readers as inspired and is therefore not only to be regarded object-like as an object of the self-understanding of certain epochs and cultures, but was also understood subject-like i.e. as a text that speaks of its own accord and opens up a dialogue.

4. If the Bible is therefore viewed as a starting point for philosophical consideration, both the objectifiable content in its various possible interpretations and the book as a living dialogue partner can be placed at the centre of philosophical reflection. Beyond the fixed written text, the various effects and interactions that the Bible triggers can become the subject of philosophical discourse. In terms of content, despite all plurality, the attempt to create a specific profile of biblical thought is, of course, also possible. It has a profoundly prophetic character, which is characterised by the fact that it seeks to interpret history, not only as a fixation of a historical past that is recorded for the purpose of its own reassurance, but also with regard to that which is still to come and that which is to be changed.

Biblical philosophy, like Greek philosophy, is a critical reflection of myth, albeit one that also works with this myth. As the philosopher of religion, Klaus Heinrich, has pointed out in his various writings, its criticism is directed at myths of origin that seek to reassure themselves of the past in order to legitimise a strong, closed-off identity on the basis of already established rule. Biblical thinking has a subversive character that opposes the glorification of one’s own past and does not view history as the triumph of an identity-forming past over the future, but instead repeatedly calls for critical reversion and change. Ultimately, it is about escaping slavery and entering into a just social order, and the path to it, which can only be revealed through a critical examination of society and the actions of people, especially of those in power. For the sake of an interpretation of history, figures such as God, Noah, Israel and many others appear, as well as figures such as Jesus and Mary of Magdala in the New Testament. Each of these figures and the stories associated with them provides a perspective for a possible meaning of history and can therefore be the starting point for philosophical reflection.

5. Of course, this volume cannot even begin to provide a complete philosophical examination of the Bible. However, it does aim to show the many ways in which the Bible is able to inspire and shape philosophical thought. Anette Schellenberg examines whether God is recognisable in the eyes of the Old Testament. Jaco Gericke attempts to provide an overview of the relationship between the Hebrew Bible and Philosophy of Religion. Mark Glouberman asks whether the Bible introduces new noetic categories into philosophical discourse. Esther Heinrich’s contribution discusses whether Gen 2–3 can be seen as the prelude to a weak metaphysics. Jakob Deibl uses the motif of the ark to show how an initially iconographic motif can create a discursive landscape. How another symbol of the Bible, namely Jacob’s ladder, permeates a wide variety of discourses, from Pico della Mirandola to Wittgenstein, is illuminated in Richard Heinrich’s contribution. Isabella Guanzini uses the Song of Songs to present the body as a philosophical theme. The dimension of generativity in the Gospel of John is the subject of the joint contribution by Eduard Prenga and Isabella Bruckner. Kurt Appel links the question of the absolute to the question of the potential of encounters in a discourse with Mark 16:1–8 and John 20:11–18. Clarissa Breu shows the relevance of performative gestures for an adequate understanding of identities and their transformations on the basis of the text of John 20:11–18. Daniel Kuran takes up Hegel’s early writings and shows the reader how Hegel makes the New Testament motif of baptism fruitful as an entrance into philosophy. The Special Issue on Bible and Philosophy concludes with a contribution by Sandra Lehmann on the distinction between divine and human violence, as Walter Benjamin draws it in light of the Bible.