God's Monsters

Vengeful Spirits, Deadly Angels, Hybrid Creatures, and Divine Hitmen of the Bible

By: Esther Hamori

Narrated by: Lisa Larsen

The Bible is teeming with monsters. Giants tromp through the land of milk and honey; Leviathan swims through the wine-dark sea. A stunning array of peculiar creatures, mind-altering spirits, and supernatural hitmen fill the biblical heavens.

Traditional interpretations of the creatures of the Bible have sanded down their sharp, unsavory edges, transforming them into celestial beings of glory and light—or chubby, happy cherubs. Those cherubs? They're actually hybrid guardian monsters, more closely associated with the Egyptian sphinx than with flying babies. And the seraphim? Winged serpents sent to mete out God's vengeance. Demons aren't at war with angels; they're a distinct supernatural species used by Satan and by God. The pattern is chilling. Most of these monsters aren't God's opponents—they're God's entourage.

Killer angels, plague demons, manipulative spirits, creatures with an alarming number of wings (and eyes all over)—these shapeshifters and realm-crossers act with stunning brutality, each reflecting a facet of God's own monstrosity. Confronting God's monsters—and the God-monster—may be uncomfortable, but the Bible is richer for their presence. For anyone interested in monsters, myths, folklore, demons, and more, God's Monsters is an entertaining deep dive into the creaturely strangeness of the Bible.

©2023 Esther J. Hamori (P)2023 eChristian

The Dark Side of God

This is a wonderful examination of the darker nature of God as evidenced by the Bible.

Honest look at the hard parts of the Bible

The author took a hard hitting look at the spooky, weird, and downright terrifying tales of the Bible, ultimately revealing how God himself is not above the fray. This forces readers to make an intellectually honest assessment about who exactly this God is, and why does he do or allow these things. I’ve always enjoyed great Biblical analysis and scholarship, and this did not disappoint. Be warned though, this will challenge our conception of the feel-good, all-loving Heavenly Father we hear about in Sunday School as kids!

As a Gen X reader, I caught just about all of the 80s/90s pop culture references. The author is rhetorically gifted and has a great sense of humor. I would enjoy her class if I were a Union Seminary student. Great book and highly recommended.

Excellent!

Esther provides a fantastic view behind the scenes into the true nature of the monsters in the Bible (including God) - all grounded in academic rigor.

God’s Monsters

I had no idea how god is viewed in the Bible. I was always taught that it was our fault when something bad happened. God’s punishment. This is the god that I’ve come to see in my own misery and I hated him for it. I was raised as a fundamentalist. Everything god did was for our benefit. He is kinda human, only he can do awful things to good people just because. We are created in his image. This book was phenomenal. I first learned of it on Bart Ehrman’s blog. On of the best books I’ve read in a long, long time.

intuitive observations

The story highlights what the Bible actually says!
Bringing to light things people don't like to think about or haven't taken the time to actually understand.