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Several pre-biblical protagonists appearing in Mesopotamian myths are identified as being fused together and recast as the Garden of Eden's serpent.

The first general introduction to Mesopotamia that covers all four of the area's major ancient civilizations—Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, and Babylonia. Ancient Mesopotamia: New Perspectives ranges from the region's cultural beginnings to its Persian "liberation," from simple farmers to mighty kings, from the marshy Gulf shores and Arabian desert sands to the foothills of the Taurus and Zagros mountains. It is the first volume to capture the entire sweep of Mesopotamia's four major ancient cultures (Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, Babylonian) in one concise and captivating volume. Ancient Mesopotamia reveals how archaeologists, geologists, geographers, and other scientists have pieced together an understanding of some of the most complex and accomplished civilizations in history: their economies, social orders, political systems, religions, intellectual accomplishments, and material culture. It offers a wealth of information and insights into the glorious past of a land in turmoil today.

Two theses are presented in this book. First, that there is an overarching School of Thought in Mesopotamia, consistent in its basic tenets, from ancient times to the late middle ages, and that this Mesopotamian School is fundamentally realistic as opposed to idealistic. Second, that the Christology of Theodore of Mopsuestia, as read as an expression of this School, is orthodox by the Chalcedonian standard. Included in the Appendices are complete translations of Mar Narsai's 16th and 35th Metrical Sermons, on human nature and the Trinity, respectively, as well as of his Dialogue Between the Watcher & Mary.

Sumerians were the ?rst people to write. Using a sharp three-cornered stylus, they wrote on claysmall wedge-shapes called cuneiform. With writing, Sumerians turned the corner from prehistory to history! After at least two million years of humans telling stories, the Sumerians introduced literacy. Most civilizations passed down their heritage through orally recited traditionsstories were passed from one generation to another by word of mouth. The Sumerians were the ?rst to write down their oral traditions. To make the historical record easier, the Sumerians invented calendars with exact dates of events and contracts often corroborated by astronomy. Since Sumerian farmers invented irrigation and created a surplus, other Sumerians could choose to specialize in law, education, architecture, engineering, marketing, and politicsall of which were accompanied by written records. Using the writings of the Sumerians and modern archaeology, this book will trace the story of the Sumerians, the worlds ?rst writers.

"God our Savior desires everyone to be saved" (1Tim 2:4). Does God get what God wants? "Yes, but--" depending on how we read the Bible. The Bible is universal: One God, Sovereign Creator of everything, especially humanity in God's image, God's partner to manage creation. Science and evolution say humanity evolved, gradually acquiring superior capabilities. We have yet to transcend animal nature and acknowledge oneness of creation under God. Humans exploited our semi-divine status, becoming alienated. God chose Israelites/Jews for blessing and reconciling humanity. They exploited chosenness, so God sent the Jew Jesus to reveal God's gracious concern for all people. Roman political and Jewish religious power killed Jesus, but he appeared resurrected to his disciples, who proclaimed him Savior. God gave another Jew, Paul, a vision of Jesus resurrected and appointed him to proclaim God's reconciliation to Gentiles. Paul taught that through the faithfulness of Jesus, Gentiles too become God's people and share Israel's blessings without becoming Jews. All who experience reconciliation share Jesus's partnership with God. "We toil and struggle, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe" (1 Tim 4:10).

The curiosity that leads to the search for religious understanding and the curiosity that leads to the search for scientific understanding have common origins in aspects of the human mind that go back as far as the earliest records of human intellectual endeavour. Tracing that history all the way from cave painting to quantum physics, this book (a collaboration between a painter and a physical scientist that uses illustrations throughout the narrative) sets out to explain the nature of the long entanglement between religion and science: the ultimate and the penultimate curiosity. --Adapted from publisher description.