The Curse of Cain: The Violent Legacy of Monotheism [Paperback]

Regina M. Schwartz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1998

The Curse of Cain confronts the inherent ambiguities of biblical stories on many levels and, in the end, offers an alternative, inspiring reading of the Bible that is attentive to visions of plenitude rather than scarcity, and to an ethics based on generosity rather than violence.

"[A] provocative and timely examination of the interrelationship of monotheism and violence. . . . This is a refreshing alternative to criticism-biblical and otherwise-that so often confuses interpretation with closure; it is an invitation to an ethic of possibility, plenitude, and generosity, a welcome antidote to violence, as important for its insights into memory, identity, and place as for its criticism of monotheism's violent legacy."—Booklist

"Brilliant and provocative, this is a work demanding close attention from critics, theologians, and all those interested in the imaginative roots of common life."—Rowan Williams, Bishop of Monmouth

"A stunningly important book."—Walter Brueggemann, Theology Today

"Artfully rendered, endlessly provocative."—Lawrence Weschler, New Yorker

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This provocative and timely examination of the interrelationship of monotheism and violence was precipitated by a question posed to Schwartz when she was teaching the Bible to undergraduates, "What about the Canaanites?" Biblical narrative has been a singularly powerful form of social memory, and Schwartz's reflection on its often violent political impact is an eloquent call not so much to close as to open an "old monotheistic" book to the possibility of multiplicity so that, as she puts it, "new books may be fruitful and multiply." This is a refreshing alternative to criticism--biblical and otherwise--that so often confuses interpretation with closure; it is an invitation to an ethic of possibility, plenitude, and generosity, a welcome antidote to violence, as important for its insights into memory, identity, and place as for its criticism of monotheism's violent legacy. Steve Schroeder --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

Schwartz (English/Northwestern Univ.; Remembering and Repeating, not reviewed) has written a strange, discomfiting book on the Bible's legacy of violence. The author uses the Bible as a lens to explore Western culture's heritage of violence, but defines violence in such a broad way--as ``acts of identity formation'' and ``the very construction of the Other''--that the reader is left wondering what isn't violent behavior. Indeed, the book is far more deconstructive than constructive; it is only in the last chapter that Schwartz rather generically envisions a Bible that embraces generosity and pluralism, not scarcity and a totalizing monotheism, as ethics to cultivate. The book also suffers from a certain eco-preachiness (as in such first-person assertions as ``we cannot really own anything''), which systematically undermines what is truly prophetic here. Yet there is also a coldly brilliant realism at work. Schwartz writes with style and verve, gracefully teasing out new meanings from the Bible's elusive Hebrew text. Her chapters on land and kinship are as insightful as they are disturbing. Particularly significant is her connection between monotheism, land, and female sexuality: Hosea's denunciations of the adulterous wife, for example, can be understood as more than an embrace of a strict moral code. The wife (who represents faithless Israel) has also violated Yahweh's property rights, because unlike a self-respecting whore, she doesn't even receive money for her favors, but pays her lovers. The story, Schwartz argues, is a metaphor for Israel's transgression of the boundaries of monotheism, which is basically ``a doctrine of possession.'' Ultimately, both monogamy and monotheism function to set a people apart in a covenant relationship--but, Schwartz reminds us, this otherness is always inherently dangerous, potentially violent. The construction of boundaries, Schwartz asserts, leads to nations, and then to bloodshed. Unfortunately, the few alternatives she offers are vague and touchy-feely. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226742008
• ISBN-13: 978-0226742007
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #224,195 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very important discourse, October 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Curse of Cain: The Violent Legacy of Monotheism (Paperback)

While frequently very western in scope and perspective, this book offers a unique view of the formation of identity within the framework of competition that has been the calling card of monotheism since the beginning of recorded history. She quotes the bible and related texts familiarly and, without apology, draws attention to the paradigms that are built and followed throughout. The writing is flawless and edgy, very flowing and logically directed, and, if anything, she is too kind to her subject, willing to accept the undeniability of certain facts, even outside the influence of monotheism (important since identity seems to be a secular goal as well, a national goal...) Maybe some readers would be more content to have her draw more solid lines between competitive identification (deFacto creation of an "Other" within a closed system) and violence, but I found that the connections were readily available, especially to anyone familiar with contemporary church teachings. Her discussions of Ownership and Land are the most unsettling and satisfying, while the attention paid to homosexuality (and the innately un-biologically sponsored disgust of manufactured by monotheists) is thin and frustratingly incomplete. But that is not a flaw. This is a large subject, one not lending itself to easy interpretation. Most exciting, I think, is the evidence supporting her claim that Monotheism is a philosophy of scarcity,not just regulated inclusion. There are powerful images there, especially when seen alongside the newly revived evangelism of many protestant religions. You realize in the face of that movement, it is bound to fail because it is not built to succeed. Their God is not meant to be a God patronized by everyone, however, he is meant to be a God superior to everyone. This is necessarily a violent dynamic, if even ideologically. A very insightful book, even handed and reasonable. In a larger format, it would have been fascinating to see more pieces drawn from other monotheistic religions...

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Startling and Moving, June 26, 2007

By 

Santi Tafarella (california) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Curse of Cain: The Violent Legacy of Monotheism (Paperback)

Almost every page of Regina Schwartz' book on the Hebrew Bible flashes with startling insights. Her most basic (and I think most helpful) overall observation is to note the pervasive issue of scarcity functioning throughout the Old Testament. Land is scarce, blessings are scarce, and this scarcity drives characters into conflict, and conflict leads to concerns over identity and possession (Who's in and who's out? Who gets what?). Hence her chapter headings run like this: "Inventing Identity", "Owning Identity" etc. Schwartz' "scarcity leading to identity formation" key for reading the Hebrew Bible opens a great deal of fresh interpretive space. Get this book, then reread the Old Testament again, as if for the first time.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unjustified Violence, in Search of an Identity, Then and Now, July 3, 2006

By 

TheoGnostus "Encycoptic" (Sketes,Theognostic America) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Curse of Cain: The Violent Legacy of Monotheism (Paperback)

"The issue I am focusing attention on is the price of imagining collective identity under one principle and banishing the rest--it doesn't have to be one god, it can be one nation, one kinship group, one territory." Regina Schwartz



Violence and Monotheism:
Monotheism is a deep, complex concept with a multifaceted history, complicit with violence, and the demand of allegiance to one god, is accompanied by aggression against those of other beliefs, is Dr. Schwartz conclusion, based on her study relating violence to Monotheism. Unfortunately, tales of violence may have been exaggerated in the Hebrew narratives to impress, while it receded when Hebrew Monolatery developed into Monotheism. Sometimes peoples that have a monotheistic religion are in fact very pluralistic and tolerant.

Violent Interpretations:
"Biblical narratives are infinitely interpretable, and interpretations of the Bible have been put to any and every political purpose. The number of ante-bellum clergy who used the Bible to justify slavery is astonishing." Regina Schwartz, a promoter of Ethics and Non violence says, adding, "The Bible..., not only as a spiritual guide and a handbook of truth, but also as a manual of politics. As though all this authorizing of scripture doesn't make biblical interpretation hazardous enough,..."
She interprets the Bible as describing peoples who were in conflict, competing for their needs, of material resources, in the ancient world, as they are today. Biblical narratives reflect that violence against peoples who worship other deities, leaving us a legacy of intolerance, and sometimes authorizing such intolerance as God's own command.

Themes and Findings:
The author's scheme is logical, analytical and thematically compelling, briefly; Violence, in search of identity, Covenants to confirm identity, Land to conserve identity, Legislation to guard identity and limit internal conflict, Nationalism to strengthen identity, Memory to preserve identity.
She proposes that the injunction "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" promotes intolerance to other people, and their beliefs. The Bible, debates Dr. Schwartz, has bequeathed not only narratives of violence, but has promoted an ethic of charity and social justice; taking care of the widow, the orphan, and the poor. The Bible also offers alternative visions toward the neighbor, of peace and generosity, of forging alliances with the foreigner, and we could highlight them. The prophets emphasized visions of bounty and peace, of the lion laying down with the lamb, thus, overwriting the violent themes of winners and losers.

The Curse of Cain:
The Curse of Cain invites a fresh analytical re-reading of the Hebrew Bible narratives without prejudice or bias. Dr. Schwartz proposes Cain's violence was the first sin against God and humanity. Her study plan is impressive, and her interpretation of the narrative is both bold and lucid, analyzing the perplexing stories to discover a psychological motive for the unjustified violence, and evaluates its implications.