What is a modern philosopher to make of Paul, the apostle? What do
non-Christian philosophers in Europe gain from reading ancient letters
from Christianity's first great ideologue, and letters addressed to
groups of people lost to time? To ask this question is to acknowledge
that despite religious faith being regarded by many as a stage that
our modern societies have left behind, contemporary philosophers are
confronted with questions such as multiculturalism and religious
fundamentalism in the wake of immigration and the increasing presence
of religious minorities.
The Letters of Paul have gained the interest of several philosophers,
and the interpretations of the apostle have taken many forms. Looking
closely at Paul's letters which have gained most interest from atheist
philosophers, The First Letter to the Corinthians and the Letter to
the Romans, this book offers an overview of the various ways they have
been understood. It pays close attention also to the readings of Paul
in the three thinkers, Friedrich Nietzsche and Sigmund Freud –
canonized as two of the great pillars of the modern critique of
religion – with Spinoza as one of their important predecessors.
Confronting these readings with insights not only from the more recent
philosophical readings of the apostle but also from
historical-critical scholarship on the Bible, this book lifts the veil
over a new picture of the apostle as a figure with potential value for
non-Christians and atheists.
_An Apostle for Atheists_ leaves us with ideas that compel us to
reconsider Paul's negative reputation for secular modernity and
appreciate him as a figure of a radically new politics as well as a
renewed psychoanalysis.
Les mer
Paul and the Quest for Radical Philosophy
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781350420090
Publisert
2024
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Bloomsbury UK
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter