Anarchism and religion have historically had an uneasy relationship. Indeed, representatives of both sides have regularly insisted on the fundamental incompatibility of anarchist and religious ideas and practices. Yet, ever since the emergence of anarchism as an intellectual and political movement, a considerable number of religious anarchists have insisted that their religious tradition necessarily implies an anarchist political stance. Their stories are finally gaining increasing public and scholarly attention. Reflecting both a rise of interest in anarchist ideas and activism on the one hand, and the revival of religious ideas and movements in the political sphere on the other, this book examines a range of examples of overlaps and contestations between the two from a diverse range of academic perspectives. The first pioneering volume of Essays in Anarchism & Religion comprises eight essays from leading international scholars on topics ranging from the anarchism of the historical Jesus to Zen Buddhism and the philosophies of Max Stirner and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon. In a world where political ideas increasingly matter once more, and religion is an increasingly visible aspect of global political life, these essays offer scholarly analysis of overlooked activists, ideas and movements, and as such reveal the possibility of a powerful critique of contemporary global society. "This book series is being funded via a crowdfunding campaign. For more information, or to make a donation for the next volume, please visit the funding page . This scheme ensures that the content will remain fully open access.

Essays in Anarchism and Religion: Volume II

The author considers that the “New Age movement” and the “World of the Spiritual” (so called in Japan) are distinct although similar phenomena which should be grouped together under a common term: ...

“New Age Movement” or “New Spirituality Movements and Culture”?:

This dissertation analyses and critically evaluates an aspect of Karl Barth’s thought, the understanding of which is important to a broader understanding of Barth, his relationship to other (especially iconoclastic) thinkers, and his relevance for contemporary theology: his understanding and critique of idolatry and the idol. Chapter 2 argues that it was revelation which both drove Barth’s idolatry-critique and determined his concepts of idolatry and the idol. It analyses Bath’s idolatry-critique as it was levelled against natural theology, and offers an evaluation of the picture of Barth’s thought which emerges. Chapter 3 analyses Barth’s idolatry-critique in relation to the doctrine of God. Directives which, for Barth, had to be adhered to within the development of the doctrine of God for the avoidance of idolatry, are discussed. Finally, an evaluation and critique of Barth’s critique of idolatry within the doctrine of God, and of his own adherence to these directives, is offered. Chapter 4 analyses the relationship of Barth’s idolatry-critique to his discussion of religion. It is shown that Barth, in his mature thought, criticised both the essence of religion and certain theological uses of the concept of religion as idolatry. Barth’s critique of religion as idolatry is itself subjected to critique, and the question of what bearing his critique of religion as idolatry ought to have for Christian, theological engagement with adherents of other world religions is taken up. Chapter 5 summarises and discusses further some of the findings and implications of this study. It is suggested that Barth’s thoroughly christological critique of idolatry (which is not without its own problems), in that it stands in contrast to the less particularistic forms of idolatry-critique set forth by several other modern scholars, raises the question of whether an idolatry-critique like his own might be called for within contemporary theology. For Isabel, Liam, and Scotland Acknowledgements There are many people to whom (and for whom) I must give thanks: to my fellow PhD students at the universities of Aberdeen and St Andrews, who in both formal and informal settings have helped me to think through the topics about which I’ve written; to Professor Tom Greggs, who helped to supervise my doctoral studies during their pivotal first year, and who first taught me to use a French press; to my viva committee, made up of Professors Mark Elliott and David Clough, for whose kindness and eagerness to help me grow as a scholar I am grateful, and whose questions, comments, and critiques were very valuable; to my Doktorvater, Professor John Webster, who guided me throughout the process of writing this dissertation. My viva and the lead-up to it was overshadowed by his untimely death, and I will forever be grateful for the time I had with him. The greatness of his intellectual powers was matched only by that of his Christian character: his humility, his patience, his kindness, and so on. He is deeply missed. To the people who made up my church family in Aberdeen, Scotland during the early stages of writing my dissertation, and who will always be my friends; to the people of First Congregational Church in Crawford, NE, where I was pastor during the final stages of writing this dissertation. Their love, patience and prayers for me during this time has meant a tremendous amount to me. To Scott Ludlow, who in the latter stages of my writing of this dissertation prayed for me and encouraged me as someone who had ‘been there before’; to Alvin and Barbara Brown, whose love and support never wavered; to Derick Jenkins whose friendship over the years, including during the writing of this dissertation, has meant more to me than I can express; to my mother and father, Bill and Delanie Brennan, who from the earliest years of my life, taught me Scripture, loved me and encouraged me in whatever I pursued; to my four sisters, Millicent, Molly, Amelia and Maya, and my brother Tucker, for whose love and prayers I am deeply grateful; To my son Liam, and my daughter Scotland, who patiently endured even times when I was working and writing from morning till night, and who have been two of the greatest sources of joy in my life during the time of writing this dissertation; and above all to my wife, Isabel, who several years ago uprooted and moved with me to a strange, new world within Scotland, and whose love and support has caused me to press on and has been a comfort to me and a great cause for giving thanks to God always. I have been working toward this goal throughout the entirety of our marriage and now having, by God’s grace, obtained it, there’s no one I’d rather celebrate it with.

Idolatry in the theology of Karl Barth

Traditional exegetical scholarship has treated Paul's presentation of reconciliation as referring to reconciliation between people and God, and has primarily focused its attention on key [Greek] passages in the Pauline corpus. The present study challenges this view and argues that Paul has a more complex understanding of the concept and uses a rich symbolism to describe reconciliation as a multifaceted reality that encompasses reconciliation with God and reconciliation between human beings, forming together an inseparable reality. The discussion is placed within Paul's overall religious,
social and political contexts, showing that an analysis of the social dimension of reconciliation in his thought is both plausible and necessary. It is argued that the social
meaning of reconciliation is to be understood within Paul's comprehensive vision of reconciliation: a vision grounded in the story of Christ and Paul's own reconciliation
experience, substantiated by the Isaianic vision of cosmic peace, and given form and expression in a rich symbolism of reconciliation.

Having established this framework of reference, the study offers an analysis of two major sections of Romans, respectively chapters 5-8 and 12-15, using primarily insights from a narrative reading of Paul. A special emphasis is placed on Paul's use of the story of Jesus Christ for community formation, for the shaping of identity, values and practices of the community. In Romans 5-8 we find that Paul shows the inseparability of the horizontal and the vertical dimensions of reconciliation. By describing the complex dynamic of the incorporation of the believer "in Christ, " through baptism, Paul draws his readers into the same story of Christ, thus reminding them that they are an integral part of, and active
participants in, the ongoing story of God's reconciling the world through Christ. In this way, God's reconciling initiative, shown in the very act of Christ's death on the cross, is not only the pronouncement of God's reconciling the world, but also the ground and model for reconciliation among people. Similarly, in Romans 12-15 we find that Paul expresses the social dimension of reconciliation in various ways: as genuine love for one another and for enemies, as welcoming the weak and powerless, as affirming the other, as blessing one's persecutors, as overcoming evil with good and living at peace with all. These, we
argue, are practices of reconciliation which are anchored in, and presuppose, the story of Christ as both the ground and paradigm for a reconciling way of life. Thus, by placing these practices within the larger horizon of God's reconciliation of the world in Christ, Paul provides an unshakable foundation for both the possibility and the actuality of social reconciliation. So then, Paul's ultimate vision of the reconciliation of all things in Christ gives assurance and hope, and an irresistible impetus to the believer's ministry of reconciliation in all its forms and manifestations.

We conclude with several suggestions for how the churches in Romania can build on a Pauline understanding of reconciliation as presented in this research. We suggest that communities of believers could make a contribution to the public arena by offering and maintaining a sense of fundamental values for human life in the world; by discerning, unmasking and resisting any form of totalitarianism and absolutism; and by offering a framework of hope, and a vision of life, that will enable people not only to cope with "otherness" and "difference, " but also to promote a culture of peace and justice, of freedom and love, of forgiveness and reconciliation, i. e., a culture of life.

The social significance of reconciliation in Paul's theology, with particular reference to the Romanian context

The Sermon on the Mount: a manifesto for Christian anarchism

Deity and Domination: Images of God and the State in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. By David Nicholls. New York: Routledge, 1994. 321 pp. $18.95

Professor Anthony Champagne, explores the critically important topic of \"Religion as a Political Interest Group.\" Excepting Cecil's discussion of \"Loyalty,\" already noted, the last essay, by President George E. Rupp of Rice, develops his reflections under the title \"From Civil Religion to Public Faith.\" For this reviewer, the significance of such a volume, and others like it, lies in making accessible to larger and informed—usually lay—groups some of the bedrock issues of the culture which are so easily slighted as we focus on surface topics and immediate challenges. With an objective of reaching such thoughtful readers, subscribers to Church History may find this collection eminently useful.

Nature Religion in America: From the Algonkian Indians to the New Age. By Catherine L. Albanese. Chicago History of American Religion. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990. xvi + 267 pp. $24.95.

It was difficult to be an American citizen during the first half of the nineteenth century and not be caught up in the swelling tides of American mission and Manifest Destiny. Newspaper editorials waxed prophetic as they predicted ever increasing incidents of revolutions in Europe. Expansionist sentiment suggested the United States assist in the birth of revolutions wherever monarchial reactionaries sought to destroy them. American liberty and republicanism might even be extended to Canada, Cuba, and all the West Indies. "Asia had her day"; said the New York Evening Post, "Europe has had hers: and it remains to be seen whether the diadem must not first be worn by the new world before it reverts again to the old" (Merk 1966:199). Others said we should remain aloof from the actual struggles of Europe, standing aside as "the reserve corps to consummate the triumphs of freedom," ready to serve if liberty called us to arms. In 1848 "the fulfillment of Destiny was delayed by Mexican stubbornness and Whig treason. But why worry?... Europe [had] seen the light, the fire, the polestar, from the depth of her darkness, and [was] successfully shaking off her chains" (Merk:201). American expansionism was really a form of "continentalism"-"a vision of future greatness born of expectations bred by a contemplation of a vast continent to be settled and nourished by the millennial hopes of evangelical religion" (Hudson:56). The people of the earth would be regenerated by the attraction of freedom, Christian piety, and virtue. The revolutions in Europe were themselves evidence of a stirring of the liberty and equality that American represented. Drawing upon Montesquieu's model of republicanism, Robert Bellah has suggested that the principle of social life for a republic is virtue (Bellah 1975:23). Presumably every society is constituted by a set of ideas, values, beliefs, and practices that reflect its perception of reality. As the poet Wallace Ste-

John Williamson Nevin and American Nationalism

T was a little more than a year ago that I journeyed into the dustblown desert for the first time. A strange descent it was. I was at home in the North where the mountains and the arcane ponderosas offered reassurance after a day's drive through the hostile barrens of New Mexico and Northeastern Arizona. But as I plunged into the new wasteland, a strange uneasiness came over me. The Valley of the Sun was to be my dwelling place. I was going to live in the desert, work there, do my thinking and writing there. An unusual fate for a lifelong Pennsylvania German. It was a foreign and exotic land I was approaching. The desert in this part of the world is like no other desert. There was no feeling of violence and hostility. Even the tremendous heat of the descent into 118 degrees wasn't enough to smother my excitement. The majestic saguaro cactuses seemed to beckon me on with their gesturing arms. Make no mistake about it, there was fear, but it was mysterium fascinans and I could begin to understand how those ancient people we call Amerindians saw fit to inhabit these regions. I asked myself, what have I in common with this place? How could I be drawn to it, I who have spent many years as a child of the lush green mountains and valleys of Pennsylvania? Was there any affinity between my twentieth-century fascination and the response of the Hohokam, those ceremonial engineers or even the omniscient Hopis of the North? A Pennsylvania German is often silent; he is seldom loquacious. He does not tell all because it is forbidden. There is ancient wisdom, secret truth that cannot be expressed. The pietism and the philosophical idealism that came to America from Germany came as the heritage of common people, of the dispossessed. And there were ingredients in that pietism and idealism which have never been exposed in their fullness. Scholars of church history have expounded the themes from the standpoint of the triumph of a dominant orthodoxy, a victorious party. Other scholars have made their separate evaluations of mysticism and theosophy. But there was a kind of synthesis, an appropriation and adjustment, that no one has fully narrated. The story has not been told, because in some sense it reaches back into the darkness where no one can discern its radicality. But the story has also been neglected, because it has seemed to have had uncomfortable assumptions for the modern mind with its positivistic inclinations and its harsh rationalism. Nevertheless, the story has been there and its truth has been at work. What we call mysticism and theosophy have

The saga of the American soul

discusses the less visible but no less important reorganization of fundamentalist forces in the 1930s and 1940s and the split in the 1950s between \"hardliners\" and those who became identified as the \"new evangelicals.\" Further subdivision occurred during the more recent inerrancy debate and the charismatic movement. In the second part of the book Marsden uses historical tools to push toward an analysis of the political and intellectual implications and paradoxes of a movement that at times has claimed to be apolitical and has often been perceived to be anti-intellectual. Throughout the section he reiterates the importance of secularization as a factor affecting both the successes and ambiguities of the movement, noting that for better or worse \"fundamentalism is a version of Christianity matched to its age.\" One chapter on science illuminates why the Darwinian evolution became a focal point, while another describes what is at stake for evangelicals in current discussions of creation science. One might question the decision to end with a chapter on J. Gresham Machen, whom Marsden himself describes as \"not a typical fundamentalist.\" But it would have been unfortunate to miss the point which Machen illustrates for Marsden: that implicit in Machen's view of history with its insistence on \"truth\" as an absolute to be discovered (as contrasted with, for instance, Carl Becker's relativism) is an issue which troubled the fundamentalists of Machen's day and still provokes hermeneutical discussion in our own.

God's People in the Ivory Tower: Religion in the Early American University. By Robert S. Shepard. Chicago Studies in the History of American Religion 20. Brooklyn: Carlson Publishing Inc., 1991. xiv + 174 pp. $50.00.

Richard E. Wentz

Papers

Deity and Domination: Images of God and the State in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. By David Nicholls. New York: Routledge, 1994. 321 pp. $18.95

Nature Religion in America: From the Algonkian Indians to the New Age. By Catherine L. Albanese. Chicago History of American Religion. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990. xvi + 267 pp. $24.95.

John Williamson Nevin and American Nationalism

The saga of the American soul

God's People in the Ivory Tower: Religion in the Early American University. By Robert S. Shepard. Chicago Studies in the History of American Religion 20. Brooklyn: Carlson Publishing Inc., 1991. xiv + 174 pp. $50.00.