Page - 71 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 03/02

Review: Hermeneutik des Bilderverbots | 71www.jrfm.eu 2017, 3/2, 71–77 DOI: 10.25364/ 05.3:2017.2.6 Isabella Bruckner Book review: Friedhelm Hartenstein/Michael Moxter, Hermeneutik des Bilderverbots. Exegetische und systematisch-theologische Annäherungen Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt 2016, 360 pages, ISBn: 978-3-374-03060-6 the representability of the divine, as well as the therewith-coherent power over the represented deity, is raised as an issue throughout the old testament, cul- minating in the explicit image ban of the decalogue, in exodus 20 and deuter- onomy 5. this issue has not only theological implications, but also anthropologi- cal significance, in, for example, the belief that humankind is made in the image of God. in the current age of ubiquitous virtualization, questions concerning the essence of icons and iconic media arise anew, above all in the context of philosophical discussion about corporeality and in media theory. therefore, in this work the two authors, friedhelm hartenstein and Michael Moxter, seek to develop a hermeneutic of the biblical image ban, to which end they adopt first a religio-historical and exegetical approach and secondly a systematic-theological approach. from a Protestant point of view, they unfold exemplarily the diverse layers of interpretation and reception of the ban and, further, show how every hermeneutic of the ban operates with a specific understanding of images and icons. forMaL asPeCts With this book, the publishing company Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, based in Leipzig, has produced a paperback publication of some 360 pages, a very handy format, with an attractive cover image. the work was launched as the 26th vol- ume of the series “forum theologische Literaturzeitung” (thLZ.f), in which is- sues of contemporary society are addressed in scholarly studies that have an interdisciplinary theological perspective. this text is well suited to the series for it provides interested readers (also from outside the subject area) with an over-