History As Apocalypse

by Thomas J.J. Altizer

History as Apocalypse is a reenactment of the history of the Western consciousness from the Homeric and Biblica revolutions through Finnegans Wake. This occurs through a historical, literary, and theological analysis of the Christian epic tradition. While attention is focused primarily upon Dante, Milton, Blake, and Joyce, the Classical and Biblical foundations of the Christian epic are explored with the intention of discovering an organic unity in the evolution of the Western consciousness. Our primary epics are identified as revolutionary breakthroughs, not only as transformations of consciousness but also records of social revolutions. The Christian epic is both a consequence and a primary embodiment of the decisive historical revolutions, revolutions culminating with the ending of our historical evolution.

265 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Thomas Jonathan Jackson Altizer was a radical theologian who is known for incorporating Friedrich Nietzsche's conception of the "death of God" and G. W. F. Hegel's dialectical philosophy into his systematic theology.

Reviews

[Mike DePue, OFS · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Thomas Altizer” and “death of God” go together like horse and carriage. Not that Alitzer (who died in November, 2018) came up with either the phrase or the concept—he imported them wholesale from Nietzsche. But since an Eastertime cover of Time magazine in 1966 trumpeted the question Is God Dead? the linkage with Altizer has been forever forged. Much too nuanced to be more than mentioned in this short review, Altizer’s development of the concept drew both death threats on the one hand and engagement of other radical theologians on the other.

While the death of God has a role to play in this book, the fact that I’m writing this on an Easter Monday resonates more with the book’s arcane use of Resurrection and its consistent presence throughout “a uniquely Western culture and society [that] now promises to come to an end, if it has not done so already.” (p. 9) Where is the title’s apocalypse in all this? Apparently, the publication of Joyce’s Finnegans Wake! (The book’s final chapter is entitled “Joyce and the End of History”.)

Be prepared for a wild and perplexing ride if you’re going to take on this book’s effervescent entanglement of history, theology, and literature.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute tour de force concerning the history of human consciousness qua religion, art, and culture and one of my all-time favorite books.

[David M]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejHe7...