William T. Cavanaugh’s seminal 1995 essay “A Fire Strong Enough to Consume the House: The Wars of Religion and the Rise of the State” seeks to dismantle the myth of the modern secular state as the peacemaker who stepped onto the scene a few hundred years ago to quell religious violence. Instead, Cavanaugh argues, the […]
Tag Archive for 'narrative'
I just finished reading Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion. On the whole, it wasn’t as bad as some responses have made it out to be, which is hardly surprising given the topic that he tackles. Much of the book was a disturbing tour through the dark side of religion, one that should disturb any religious […]
As my last post indicated, I’m currently reading James K.A. Smith’s Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism?: Taking Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault to Church. He’s helping me to understand the phenomenon of postmodern philosophy much better than any other tutor I’ve had previously. He is actually familiar with each author’s writings (particularly Derrida) and is therefore able […]
