Politics & Apocalypse (Studies in Violence, Mimesis and Culture) [Paperback]

Robert Hamerton-Kelly (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Studies in Violence, Mimesis and Culture | Publication Date: November 30, 2007

Apocalypse. To most, the word signifies destruction, death, the end of the world, but the literal definition is "revelation" or "unveiling," the basis from which renowned theologian René Girard builds his own view of Biblical apocalypse. Properly understood, Girard explains, Biblical apocalypse has nothing to do with a wrathful or vengeful God punishing his unworthy children, and everything to do with a foretelling of what future humans are making for themselves now that they have devised the instruments of global self-destruction. In this volume, some of the major thinkers about the interpretation of politics and religion— including Eric Voegelin, Leo Strauss, and Carl Schmitt— are scrutinized by some of today's most qualified scholars, all of whom are thoroughly versed in Girard’s groundbreaking work.
     Including an important new essay by Girard, this volume enters into a philosophical debate that challenges the bona fides of philosophy itself by examining three supremely important philosopher of the twentieth century. It asks how we might think about politics now that the attacks of 9/11 have shifted our intellectual foundations and what the outbreak of rabid religion might signify for international politics.

 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert Hamerton-Kelly is a founding member of the Colloquium on Violence and Religion, and has authored, edited, or contributed to several books. From 1986 to 1997, he was a Senior Research Scholar at the Center for International Security and Arms Control at Stanford University, specializing in the ethics of nuclear weapons, and the ethics of military intervention, with special attention to ethnic conflicts in Central Europe. He is pastor of the Woodside Village Church in Woodside, California. From 1972 to 1986, he was Dean of the Chapel and minister of Memorial Church at Stanford, Consulting Professor of religious studies and, by courtesy, of classics. He retired from Stanford in 1997.

Product Details

• Paperback: 266 pages
• Publisher: Michigan State University Press (November 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870138111
• ISBN-13: 978-0870138119
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #503,131 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)