Theological Origins of Modernity

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epilogue 293 In the twentieth century, a number of Islamic thinkers sought to articulate a theological foundation for opposition to Western modernism, which came to the Islamic world with great force from many diff erent directions. Perhaps the foremost among these radicals were Sayyid Qutb (1906-66), the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, who argued that Muslims must live under Sharia law in a state governed by truly believing Muslims, separate from Christians and Jews, who he argued were infi dels and not people of the book, and Mawlana Mawdudi (1903-73) an Indian/Pakistani Muslim who preached the imminence of the coming apocalyptic battle of Muslims against Christians and Jews. 6 Th ey both in diff erent ways inspired the work of later radicals such as Osama Bin Laden. Th eir versions of Islam did not exclude all modernist elements. Indeed, beginning with Ghazali and including even contemporary Islamic radicals, Islam has been remarkably hospitable to science. Radical Islam, however, has been generally disinclined to accept modern humanism and individualism, which they believe (with some justifi cation within Islam) is or at least verges on idolatry. As we saw in our discussion of Luther and the Reformation, this is not a position that is entirely foreign to the Christian tradition. Indeed, recent attacks by Christian fundamentalists on “secular humanism” reemphasize this point, although they are typically less troubled by individualism and more troubled by modern science than their Islamic counterparts. Th e ways in which we in the Western world misunderstand Islam are complicated by the ways in which we misunderstand ourselves. Th is is especially true of our ignorance of the theological provenance of our own liberalism. Since we do not understand the way in which our Christian past has shaped the individualism and humanism at the heart of liberalism, we do not understand why radical Islam sees our liberal world as impious and immoral. We similarly do not understand the ways in which our liberal institutions are ill-suited to the Islamic view of the proper order of the world. But perhaps such a misunderstanding is inevitable. Aft er all, modernity is above all things convinced that it owes nothing to the past, that it has made itself, that what matters is what is happening right now. Indeed, this is the meaning of the freedom, power, and progress that we all prize. Th is belief, however, leaves us in a precarious situation, for reasons that Sophocles made clear long ago. His great hero Oedipus had risen to power in Th ebes by means of his own abilities. He was an immigrant who had tamed a new world and established himself as its master. What he did not remember was his origin, proclaiming himself “fortune’s child,” the world’s fi rst self-made man. Was there ever a clearer expression of the dangers inherent in modernity? For none of us is fortune’s child. We all
294 epilogue come from somewhere, and our genealogy is more than just a list of names on a page. Unless and until we become aware of this fact, we may storm through the world like Oedipus, brilliant in our ability to answer questions and astonishing in our drive to mastery, but blind to the truth of who we are and what we are doing. We too like him may become the one “all men call great,” but like him we may also have to confront the abysmal questions that spring forth from our fi nitude.
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the theological origins of modernit
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Michael Allen Gillespie is professo
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contents Preface ix Introduction 1
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x preface up to its aspirations or
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xii preface ligious doctrine and pr
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introduction the concept of the mod
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introduction 3 twelft h century to
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part schema of world history, with
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central to the intellectual crisis
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introduction 9 on ancient philosoph
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introduction 11 tions of their time
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introduction 13 the experience of f
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Until recently, the importance of t
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introduction 17 for example, put ma
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1 Th e Nominalist Revolution and th
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the nominalist revolution and moder
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petrarch and the invention of indiv
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Cola di Rienzo to revive the Roman
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3 Humanism and the Apotheosis of Ma
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humanism and the apotheosis of man
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4 Luther and the Storm of Faith As
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luther and the storm of faith 103 t
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luther and the storm of faith 105 y
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luther and the storm of faith 107 a
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luther and the storm of faith 109 r
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luther and the storm of faith 111 o
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luther and the storm of faith 113 n
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luther and the storm of faith 115 b
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luther and the storm of faith 117 a
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luther and the storm of faith 119 b
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luther and the storm of faith 121 m
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luther and the storm of faith 125 m
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5 Th e Contradictions of Premoderni
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the contradictions of premodernity
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descartes’ path to truth 171 prov
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descartes’ path to truth 173 its
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descartes’ path to truth 175 Beec
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descartes’ path to truth 177 agai
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descartes’ path to truth 179 (4 p
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descartes’ path to truth 181 worl
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descartes’ path to truth 183 and
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descartes’ path to truth 185 enth
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descartes’ path to truth 187 with
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descartes’ path to truth 189 this
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descartes’ path to truth 191 from
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descartes’ path to truth 193 his
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descartes’ path to truth 195 beli
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descartes’ path to truth 197 can
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descartes’ path to truth 199 by t
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descartes’ path to truth 201 the
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descartes’ path to truth 203 Bona
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descartes’ path to truth 205 huma
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7 Hobbes’ Fearful Wisdom In 1588
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hobbes’ fearful wisdom 209 view i
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hobbes’ fearful wisdom 211 ascens
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hobbes’ fearful wisdom 213 litica
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hobbes’ fearful wisdom 215 Italy,
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hobbes’ fearful wisdom 217 sued b
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hobbes’ fearful wisdom 219 when h
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hobbes’ fearful wisdom 221 but fo
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hobbes’ fearful wisdom 223 Descar
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hobbes’ fearful wisdom 225 neva.
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hobbes’ fearful wisdom 227 out th
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hobbes’ fearful wisdom 229 tact w
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hobbes’ fearful wisdom 231 God pr
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hobbes’ fearful wisdom 233 all ex
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hobbes’ fearful wisdom 235 only r
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hobbes’ fearful wisdom 237 Or to
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hobbes’ fearful wisdom 239 imity
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hobbes’ fearful wisdom 241 In fac
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index Abelard, Peter, 22, 26, 321n4
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334n45, 335n67; Enlightenment and,
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Clift on, Gervase, 216 cogito ergo
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Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 278 end of da
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Friedman, Th omas L., 295n1 Fukuyam
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244, 349n120; priority of nature an
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Lamettrie, Julien Off roy de, 275,
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5, 42; modern science and, 5, 35, 3
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and, 43; Salutati and, 77; science
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Platonism: Enlightenment and, 257;
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135, 136; evil and, 159; Ficino’s
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Trapp, Joseph, 311n1 Trinity: Arian
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Theological Origins of Modernity

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