The Curse of Cain: The Violent Legacy of Monotheism

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


Author: Regina M. Schwartz
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 10/01/1998
Pages: 228
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.73lbs
Size: 8.99h x 6.02w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9780226742007

About the Author
Regina M. Schwartz is professor of English and religion at Northwestern University and director of the Chicago Institute of Religion, Ethics, and Violence. She is the author of Remembering and Repeating: On Milton's Theology and Poetics; editor of The Book and the Text: The Bible and Literary Theory; and co-author of The Postmodern Bible.