Religious passions are again driving world politics. The quest to bring political life under God's authority has been revived, confounding expectations of a secular future. In this major book, Mark Lilla reveals the sources of this age-old quest--and its surprising role in shaping Western thought. The story could not be more timely. Most civilizations in history have been organized on the basis of a political theology - a myth or revelation about the correct ordering of society. Yet due to a crisis in Western Christendom nearly five hundred years ago, a novel intellectual challenge to political theology arose in Europe. By portraying religion as an expression of human nature, not a divine gift, modern Western thinkers found a way to free politics from God's authority and build barriers against destructive religious passions. But the temptations of political theology are always present, even in the West. As Lilla vividly shows, the urge to reconnect politics to religion remained strong and took novel forms in modern European thought. By the Second World War a forceful political messianism had arisen, justifying the most deadly ideologies of the age. Making us question what we thought we knew about religion, politics, and the fate of civilizations, Lilla reminds us of the modern West's unique trajectory and what is required to remain on it.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
A Fair History of Political Theology:
Mark Lilla's "Stillborn God" is a book about politcal theology, and more particularly, the gradual "evolution" of ideas about how and whether the State should be founded on religious precepts. There are two major problems, though: first, Lilla deals more with the history of theology than the history of its relationship to political thought; secondly, Lilla focuses so much on the history of ideas that he ignores how theology has influenced the ACTUAL world of politics in favor of dealing with how the... more info
The Tenuous Rope of Political Thelogy:
I'm a huge reader of religious critisim. Purchasing this book, with a title like "The Stillborn God," I assumed that it was more along the ilk that found in "The God Delusion" and "God is not Great." That being said, I was still very happy with "The Stillborn God" and its through discussion of the development of politics from a religous standpoint, from the Hebrews to The Great Depression. Granted, a few more years of philosophy in college would have done me well before reading this book, but I was still... more info
Two Undying Worlds Forever in Conflict: The Stillborn God by Mark Lilla:
Written in the straightforward tone of a lucid history lecture, Lilla's 310-page book argues that complacency and chauvinism, the idea that our country has paved the way for secular enlightenment and that all other nations will soon follow, have made the great nations allow for religious fanaticism to dangerously creep into political life. Secular political philosophies are the best but they don't have the appeal of religious political philosophies and that appeal is assurance and comprehensiveness. To wake... more info
The Stillborn God:
A very insightful and provocative introduction to Western political philosophy, which is also helpful for understanding today's political conflicts in both domestic and international contexts. The first part of the book that characterizes Christian orthodox in contrast to other religious doctrines might be deemed as an over-generalization. However, as you proceed to the later part of the book, you will see that the seemingly rough characterization of Chritianity is a reflective frame which has emerged out... more info
