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Faculty Profiles
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KELTON
COBB
 Rodney
Stark’s One True God: Historical Consequences of Monotheism and
René
Girard’s I See Satan Fall Like Lightning have
helped me in my efforts to sort through the roles that religion
and theology have played in the civilizational fracturing that we
are facing now in global history.
Rodney Stark examines the cultural effects of monotheism,
and develops positive and negative columns of roughly equal
length.
The monotheism of the Abrahamic faiths, he argues, both
exacerbates conflict and promotes civility.
Theologically, monotheism is a potent force, and key to
understanding present socio-political realities.
Similarly, René Girard reflects on deep religious currents
in our culture, and offers the reassurance that a unique concern
for victims entered western societies through the Abrahamic
traditions, and that our legal codes and cultural attitudes are
slowly absorbing this concern in a way that overcomes our
otherwise natural tendency to violence--albeit with many setbacks.
Nick Hornby’s How to Be Good provides some relief
from this cultural interrogation.
It is a humorously told morality tale that explores why we
choose to be good and what unintended consequences result when we
do. |
Contact
Info:
Center for Faith in Practice
77 Sherman Street
Hartford, CT 06105 USA
Telephone: 860/509-9513
Fax: 860/509-9509
Email: kcobb@hartsem.edu |
Visit
Dr. Cobb's web page
The
Center for Faith in Practice website
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