The Curse of Cain: The Violent Legacy of Monotheism by Regina M. Schwartz - 9780226742007 - Compare Prices on New & Used Textbooks, Cheap Textbooks

The Curse of Cain confronts the inherent ambiguities of biblical stories on many levels and, in the end, offers an alternative, inspiring reading of the Bible that is attentive to visions of plenitude rather than scarcity, and to an ethics based on generosity rather than violence.

"[A] provocative and timely examination of the interrelationship of monotheism and violence. . . . This is a refreshing alternative to criticism-biblical and otherwise-that so often confuses interpretation with closure; it is an invitation to an ethic of possibility, plenitude, and generosity, a welcome antidote to violence, as important for its insights into memory, identity, and place as for its criticism of monotheism's violent legacy."—Booklist

"Brilliant and provocative, this is a work demanding close attention from critics, theologians, and all those interested in the imaginative roots of common life."—Rowan Williams, Bishop of Monmouth

"A stunningly important book."—Walter Brueggemann, Theology Today

"Artfully rendered, endlessly provocative."—Lawrence Weschler, New Yorker

		The Curse of Cain: The Violent Legacy of Monotheism by Regina M. Schwartz ISBN-10: 9780226742007 ISBN-10: 0-226-74200-8 ISBN-13: 9780226742007 ISBN-13: 978-0-226-74200-7 Paperback 1998-10-01 University Of Chicago Press Find Lowest Price
Editorials

Product Description The Curse of Cain confronts the inherent ambiguities of biblical stories on many levels and, in the end, offers an alternative, inspiring reading of the Bible that is attentive to visions of plenitude rather than scarcity, and to an ethics based on generosity rather than violence. "[A] provocative and timely examination of the interrelationship of monotheism and violence. . . . This is a refreshing alternative to criticism-biblical and otherwise-that so often confuses interpretation with closure; it is an invitation to an ethic of possibility, plenitude, and generosity, a welcome antidote to violence, as important for its insights into memory, identity, and place as for its criticism of monotheism's violent legacy."—Booklist "Brilliant and provocative, this is a work demanding close attention from critics, theologians, and all those interested in the imaginative roots of common life."—Rowan Williams, Bishop of Monmouth "A stunningly important book."—Walter Brueggemann, Theology Today "Artfully rendered, endlessly provocative."—Lawrence Weschler, New Yorker
Reviews

Startling and Moving Almost every page of Regina Schwartz' book on the Hebrew Bible flashes with startling insights. Her most basic (and I think most helpful) overall observation is to note the pervasive issue of scarcity functioning throughout the Old Testament. Land is scarce, blessings are scarce, and this scarcity drives characters into conflict, and conflict leads to concerns over identity and possession (Who's in and who's out? Who gets what?). Hence her chapter headings run like this: "Inventing Identity", "Owning Identity" etc. Schwartz' "scarcity leading to identity formation" key for reading the Hebrew Bible opens a great deal of fresh interpretive space. Get this book, then reread the Old Testament again, as if for the first time.
Doesn't Bother With Context The author like so many others lumped all Christian denominations and seeminingly monotheistic religions together as one. No, not all Christians are the same. Furthermore, the author took many verses in the Bible out of context, rather than choosing to see it as a whole, he instead sees it in pieces, as being contradictory, not bothering to take seriously WHY the Bible made certain statements.
Unjustified Violence, in Search of an Identity, Then and Now "The issue I am focusing attention on is the price of imagining collective identity under one principle and banishing the rest--it doesn't have to be one god, it can be one nation, one kinship group, one territory." Regina Schwartz Violence and Monotheism: Monotheism is a deep, complex concept with a multifaceted history, complicit with violence, and the demand of allegiance to one god, is accompanied by aggression against those of other beliefs, is Dr. Schwartz conclusion, based on her study relating violence to Monotheism. Unfortunately, tales of violence may have been exaggerated in the Hebrew narratives to impress, while it receded when Hebrew Monolatery developed into Monotheism. Sometimes peoples that have a monotheistic religion are in fact very pluralistic and tolerant. Violent Interpretations: "Biblical narratives are infinitely interpretable, and interpretations of the Bible have been put to any and every political purpose. The number of ante-bellum clergy who used the Bible to justify slavery is astonishing." Regina Schwartz, a promoter of Ethics and Non violence says, adding, "The Bible..., not only as a spiritual guide and a handbook of truth, but also as a manual of politics. As though all this authorizing of scripture doesn't make biblical interpretation hazardous enough,..." She interprets the Bible as describing peoples who were in conflict, competing for their needs, of material resources, in the ancient world, as they are today. Biblical narratives reflect that violence against peoples who worship other deities, leaving us a legacy of intolerance, and sometimes authorizing such intolerance as God's own command. Themes and Findings: The author's scheme is logical, analytical and thematically compelling, briefly; Violence, in search of identity, Covenants to confirm identity, Land to conserve identity, Legislation to guard identity and limit internal conflict, Nationalism to strengthen identity, Memory to preserve identity. She proposes that the injunction "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" promotes intolerance to other people, and their beliefs. The Bible, debates Dr. Schwartz, has bequeathed not only narratives of violence, but has promoted an ethic of charity and social justice; taking care of the widow, the orphan, and the poor. The Bible also offers alternative visions toward the neighbor, of peace and generosity, of forging alliances with the foreigner, and we could highlight them. The prophets emphasized visions of bounty and peace, of the lion laying down with the lamb, thus, overwriting the violent themes of winners and losers. The Curse of Cain: The Curse of Cain invites a fresh analytical re-reading of the Hebrew Bible narratives without prejudice or bias. Dr. Schwartz proposes Cain's violence was the first sin against God and humanity. Her study plan is impressive, and her interpretation of the narrative is both bold and lucid, analyzing the perplexing stories to discover a psychological motive for the unjustified violence, and evaluates its implications.
Great Read This is a truly brilliant book.
Helpful Summary of Monotheistic Violence. This book is a useful introduction to the idea that Western religious identites are formed through exclusionary violence. As such, it is an important book that could be a great resource for adult education in churches and synagogues. However, Schwartz does not really say anything that hasn't been said before, or rather she doesn't engage with a slew of writers who have made similar associations between identity and violence (Adorno being the most uncompromising example). For a more satisfying look at how the critique of identity looks when applied to biblical criticism, see Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza's _But SHE Said._ Still, Schwartz's accessible prose opens these challenging questions to a wider readership than has previously been attempted.