The Curse of Cain
Author | : Regina M. Schwartz |
Publisher | : University of Chicago Press |
Total Pages | : 244 |
Release | : 1997-05-15 |
ISBN-10 | : 0226741990 |
ISBN-13 | : 9780226741994 |
Rating | : 4/5 (90 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: For Regina Schwartz, we ignore the dark side of the Bible to our peril. The perplexing story of Cain and Abel is emblematic of the tenacious influence of the Bible on secular notions of identity - notions that are all too often violently exclusionary, negatively defining "us" against "them" in ethnic, religious, racial, gender, and nationalistic terms. In this compelling work of cultural and biblical criticism, Schwartz contends that it is the very concept of monotheism and its jealous demand for exclusive allegiance - to one God, one Land, one Nation or one People - that informs the model of collective identity forged in violence, against the other.