Playing With Fire? On Prometheus Rebound: The Irony of Atheism
Can God will the human good so that choosing His will is ipso facto choosing authentic humanity? The analysis of modem atheism in Joseph C. McLelland's Prometheus Rebound links this question to the image of Prometheus and the new prometheans — key historical figures and movements leading a wilf...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
1991
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| In: |
Toronto journal of theology
Year: 1991, Volume: 7, Issue: 2, Pages: 211-212 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Can God will the human good so that choosing His will is ipso facto choosing authentic humanity? The analysis of modem atheism in Joseph C. McLelland's Prometheus Rebound links this question to the image of Prometheus and the new prometheans — key historical figures and movements leading a wilful struggle for survival against any alien force pretending to hold the secret of being human. The conflict of wills (Prometheus against Zeus) means not only mastery of technology, and thus human autonomy. For according to McLelland, McConnell Professor of Philosophy of Religion at McGill University in Montreal, Prometheus' gift of fire is an ambiguous legacy. While fire is symbolic of a rebellion of will against every alien power holding the human spirit in bondage, the cost of gaining that gift is an anthropology without any transcendent root. The image of Prometheus, on the rebound, is a return of idols. Perhaps an idol returned is in the form of military might and its accompanying technology, as recently unleashed under Operation Desert Storm. Thus, an irony of 'playing with fire' is that the gift has proven tragic. Technological independence can become a threat to humanity. Or, as McLelland expresses it theologically, to think for oneself means to trust only in the human and worldly and thus to deny God (p. 29). In his book, subtitled The Irony of Atheism, McLelland explores the ironic fate of the new prometheans and closes — ironically — on a note in favour of a theism that will accommodate Prometheus, the master of rebellion, as saint of humanism, without having spelled out the theism. A treat in the history of ideas, McLelland's analysis of |
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| ISSN: | 1918-6371 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Toronto journal of theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.3138/tjt.7.2.211 |
