The Trinitarian Self - The Key to the Puzzle of Violence (Paperback)

'The Trinitarian Self' argues that the insights of three key authors - Soren Kierkegaard, Eric Voegelin, and Rene Girard - can be synthesised to produce a Trinitarian theological anthropology. Their reflections on the deep roots of human behavior illuminate three structural dimensions of human existence: the temporal trajectory of selfhood, the vertical axis (God and nature), and the horizontal plane of cultural formation. An understanding of these dimensions and how they interrelate proves very fruitful in making sense of a wide variety of pathological forms of behavior that human beings have engaged in during the modern era. This work links together various realms of thought, such as Trinitarian theology, a plea for a "New Copernican Revolution" that will result in a broadly held psychological understanding of violence, the ethics of war and peace, atonement theologies, and critical commentaries on terrorism and the war on terror. The interplay between these topics will likely prove very stimulating to a wide variety of readers. Charles K. Bellinger is Associate Professor of Theology and Ethics at Brite Divinity School, Fort Worth, Texas. He is the author of 'The Genealogy of Violence: Reflections on Creation, Freedom, and Evil' (2001). "Bellinger has thrown a clarifying spotlight on the question of violence as the crucial intersection between our human sciences and theology, a dialogue that proves as fruitful in theory as it is necessary in practice. His telling readings of Soren Kierkegaard, Eric Voegelin, and Rene Girard are woven together into an interpretive framework that multiplies the diagnostic relevance of each one for our conflicted human condition. Ambitious, clear, and creative, this book is a welcome contribution to the theological understanding of humanity and to the struggle to overcome violence." - S. Mark Heim, Samuel Abbot Professor of Christian Theology, Andover Newton Theological School "The lethal blow is as ancient as Cain, and it is this mystery of human malice that Charles Bellinger explores with creativity and verve. His ambitious theological anthropology, closely tied to the doctrine of God and ethics, consistently provokes insights into our painfully predictable tendency toward pyscho-social pathology - and gives us valuable hints about the way toward peace." - R.R. Reno, Professor of Theological Ethics, Creighton University