Heschel's fundamental thesis is that the prophets were people whose heart and soul willingly or not resonated with the spirit of Adonai, and reflected a state and purpose which cannot be characterised in any other way or subsumed under any other intellectual tradition. Accordingly, he reflects a faith perspective within the Jewish tradition. What it provides to Jewish people, this work also provides a strand of informed support to those Christians who encounter debates about whether God in his omnipotence cares, in any way resembling that of (some of) his human creation, for the issues humanity perennially faces in the 'this-world' struggle for social justice among human beings (fired by concern for the paradigmatic 'widow', 'orphan', or otherwise weak or dispossessed...), as well as how to make productive but respectful use of the rest of creation, over which we have power. In his own life, Heschel was a person passionate about social justice and personally involved in some of its causes. In that sense, he listened to his own sense of what the prophets were about, beyond offering an account of it. As both an academic (of its time) text and reflection of the work of an amazingly thoughtful theologian, this work deserves to be read and referenced in any course of theology or religious study of any substantive duration.
- Professor: Dr. Conny Williams