Theosis; or the principle of divine-human communion; sparks the theological imagination of Orthodox Christians and has been historically important to questions of political theology. In The Mystical as Political: Democracy and Non-Radical Orthodoxy; Aristotle Papanikolaou argues that a political theology grounded in the principle of divine-human communion must be one that unequivocally endorses a political community that is democratic in a way that structures itself around the modern liberal principles of freedom of religion; the protection of human rights; and church-state separation. Papanikolaou hopes to forge a non-radical Orthodox political theology that extends beyond a reflexive opposition to the West and a nostalgic return to a Byzantine-like unified political-religious culture. His exploration is prompted by two trends: the fall of communism in traditionally Orthodox countries has revealed an unpreparedness on the part of Orthodox Christianity to address the question of political theology in a way that is consistent with its core axiom of theosis; and recent Christian political theology; some of it evoking the notion of “deification;†has been critical of liberal democracy; implying a mutual incompatibility between a Christian world view and that of modern liberal democracy. The first comprehensive treatment from an Orthodox theological perspective of the issue of the compatibility between Orthodoxy and liberal democracy; Papanikolaou’s is an affirmation that Orthodox support for liberal forms of democracy is justified within the framework of Orthodox understandings of God and the human person. His overtly theological approach shows that the basic principles of liberal democracy are not tied exclusively to the language and categories of Enlightenment philosophy and; so; are not inherently secular. "Aristotle Papanikolaou’s The Mystical as Political is a stellar contribution to the analysis of Orthodox thought and also to current debates about theology and politics. For too long scholars in the Western academy have failed to engage the resources and insights of Orthodox theology. This book aptly shows those resources and insights in a way that marks a genuine advance in thought. The Mystical as Political rewards its reader with fresh insight into the complex relation between faith and politics. Papanikolaou is a rising star on the theological scene. This book deserves wide readership as a crucial theological contribution to debates about our political and personal lives." —William Schweiker; University of Chicago "In The Mystical as Political; Papanikolaou not only guides readers through the rich legacy of Eastern Orthodox political thought; from the formative struggles of the pre-Constantinian era to the post-Enlightenment; post-Ottoman; and post-Communist challenges encountered today; but also presents a compelling argument that Orthodoxy's goal of 'divine-human communion' can—and should—include core elements of modern liberal democracy and the human rights tradition. This study signals a new phase in political theology for Orthodox and non-Orthodox alike; and it secures Papanikolaou's place as one of today's leading Orthodox thinkers and theological bridge-builders." —Perry T. Hamalis; North Central College “Aristotle Papanikolaou’s The Mystical as Political will be the standard Eastern Orthodox text in classes on theology and politics. It evinces a thorough engagement with the current debates in theology and politics; a rich awareness of the theological issues at stake; and a crisply distinctive position of its own. It will be enormously educational for classroom use; as well as being an immense contribution to the scholarly conversations on these matters.†—Charles Mathewes; University of Virginia
#169978 in Books 2012-02-07 2012-02-07Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 1.66 x 6.00l; 2.03 #File Name: 0253356873616 pages
Review
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. An American Advisor to ARVN ReviewBy Will KingThis book brings home the real feelings of the Viet Nam people and provides an excellent; detailed documentation of the political and military history of their amazing struggle to simply be free. It clearly shows the anti-communist attitude of the people throughout the 1940's and up to today. It should make any American who fought for these brave people in any capacity especially proud of that effort; it was worth our sacrifices.I'm beyond the half-way point and am enjoying hearing the same story that so many of my Viet Nam friends told me. But Luan gives the reader the gut-wrenching feelings of the people who were put upon by so many French; North Viet Nam Communists; North and South Viet Nam Nationalists; Buddhist Hoa Hao; Buddhist Cao Dai; South Viet Nam Viet Cong and the many Ngo Dinh Diem etal regimes. The people were persecuted over and over but only the Americans that lived and fought with them understood; only the Americans could understand the frustration of the farmer who sees the US helicopters as the enemy because they just shot and killed his water buffalo because the farmer lives in a VC-controlled area. Now we hear from the native that can verify what the farmers were feeling.It is chilling to read the names of Viet Nam soldiers I fought with that stayed to the last and then committed suicide rather than be subjected to phony communist re-education camps. What a shame that this true story can't be told to more people. It is also fun to be reunited by footnotes and off-the-cuff comments with the "Cochin Chinese" dialect language that I spoke so fluently so long ago but is now fading quickly!An excellent book that reinforces the uniquely American instinct to stick up for underdogs; stay the course and do what is right; even if the politicians so often quickly run out of backbone and abandon that uniquely American value.Will King; 21st Infantry Division; Army of Viet Nam5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Nationalists in the Viet Nam War by Nguyen Cong LusnBy Cong chua PPThis is a well researched; well written book. I was so moved by it; especially the part where he grew up in norh Vietnam. Readers familiar with the VN war; like me; probably will read about this for the first time. I was very familiar with all the horror stories both in the north and south Vietnam during the war; but always in vietnamese or french. This is the first time i read it in english. Mr Nguyen Cong Luan has described in detail his life. He might as well describe the life of thousands of vietnamese men his age or his generarion. He conveyed his message to the world clear and loud.The french has a saying: la raison du plus fort est toujours la meilleure; the reason of the strongest is always the best. There are countless books about vn war but they are written by the victorious side; the north vietnamese writers in vietnamese or english. There are also a lot of books written by american writers for the anerican audience. Most of those books present a distorted point of view. However; there are none written by the vietnamese whose side is lost. This is by far the most thoroughly written account; candid and moving descritpion of an extraordinary vietnamese who sees himself as an ordinary man living in a country at war.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A MasterpieceBy neihtnThe author of this book; Nguyen Cong Luan; was born in North Vietnam in a family of nationalists who had been fighting the French since the 1930s. It is this background which allowed him to recount in full details how Ho Chi Minh and his communist party; in the few years after 1945; coopted the movement for independence and tried to eliminate their nationalist opponents. While some nationalists were assassinated outright; his father was imprisoned in a communist reeducation camp where he eventually perished. What happened then explains why; when Vietnam was partitioned in 1954; one million North Vietnamese; including the author and his family; chose to leave their villages and cities to go South even though their future there was by no means assured.In simple and clear prose; the author leads us through his life in the South; from his training as a cadet in Vietnam’s military academy to his service in the 22nd Division; and later his running of the Reception Directorate in the Open Arms program. That’s the program that induced an estimated 150;000 communist soldiers to defect throughout the war.In April 1975; after a training stage at Fort Benning; he chose to return to Saigon less than a month before North Vietnamese divisions finally conquered the South. While military and civilian leaders fled the country; he remained at his post until the very end and spent six years in several concentration camps in South and North Vietnam. His description of those harrowing years is filled with facts but it is surprisingly devoid of rancor.Throughout the book; he minces no words about corruption and misguided policies taken by South Vietnam and its US allies. Still he remains level-headed; only reserving his harshest criticisms for the North’s leaders who sacrificed millions of Vietnamese lives; only to give the unified nation a government much more corrupt and brutal than the one they overthrew.This masterpiece of a book is well-researched; with ample footnotes from many diverse sources. However; it represents above all the honest feelings and unique viewpoints of a man who lived through the worst of it and survived to tell the rest of us what nightmare South Vietnam had gone through in the last half of the 20th century.
