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Ancestry of Christian Thought: Egyptian--Hebrew--Greek
Christian Thought took shape during millennia when religion and politics where still the same. During the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius it began to spread as a movement of protest against the Roman cult of emperor deification. Prehistoric chiefs among Stone Age hunters already knew themselves to be sons of totemic gods- Eagle, Bear, Lion, Wolf, Dragon and more. Sons of less specialized deities invented agriculture, while hunters and herdsmen, as warriors, progressed to "hyper-domestication"-Sons of the mightiest gods proceeded to enslave humankind.
Christians tell their story about God Father Almighty who sent his Son, who died by Roman crucifixion, resurrected and ascended into Heaven, for enthronement there. The Christian story mocked and topped religious as well as political paths to salvation. Three thousand years of Son of God tradition were rendered obsolete-Egyptian, Persian, Greek, and Roman-were replaced by the only-begotten Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth, an oil-anointed commoner. Three centuries after Jesus was crucified, the Emperor Constantine, presiding over all religions of Rome as Pontifex Maximus, began to favor Christianity. Thenceforth Christians in Western civilization, as "siblings of Jesus Christ" and as "equal children under God Almighty" have, by their faith, risen to the "level of royalty" where in later democratic revolutions their secularized offspring still could insist on equal status for all humankind.
Christians tell their story about God Father Almighty who sent his Son, who died by Roman crucifixion, resurrected and ascended into Heaven, for enthronement there. The Christian story mocked and topped religious as well as political paths to salvation. Three thousand years of Son of God tradition were rendered obsolete-Egyptian, Persian, Greek, and Roman-were replaced by the only-begotten Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth, an oil-anointed commoner. Three centuries after Jesus was crucified, the Emperor Constantine, presiding over all religions of Rome as Pontifex Maximus, began to favor Christianity. Thenceforth Christians in Western civilization, as "siblings of Jesus Christ" and as "equal children under God Almighty" have, by their faith, risen to the "level of royalty" where in later democratic revolutions their secularized offspring still could insist on equal status for all humankind.
454 pages, Hardcover
Published March 5, 2021
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July 18, 2024
Luckert takes us on a bobsled ride through western religious and philosophical history, at all points through the lens of religion’s political implications.
The content is challenging and insightful. Unfortunately his writing style is generally obscure, making it a difficult book to read.
None-the-less, his primary thesis is convincing: that the oppressive character of every “civilization” requires the moral critique of a religious culture that holds and nurtures humane values, lest it demonically oppress the many in preserving the privilege of the few.
The content is challenging and insightful. Unfortunately his writing style is generally obscure, making it a difficult book to read.
None-the-less, his primary thesis is convincing: that the oppressive character of every “civilization” requires the moral critique of a religious culture that holds and nurtures humane values, lest it demonically oppress the many in preserving the privilege of the few.
Displaying 1 of 1 review