Gnostic wars: the Cold War in the context of a history of western spirituality / Stefan Rossbach

In this unique exposition of important and yet often neglected developments in the history of Western spirituality, Stefan Rossbach reminds us of the philosophical and spiritual underpinnings of the Cold War era, drawing on the traditions of apocalypticism, millenarianism and 'Gnostic' spirituality. Beginning with the 'Gnostic' systems of late Antiquity, the analysis follows 'lines of meaning' which extend through the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, right up to the present. From the long-term perspective which is thereby established, the spectre of a man-made nuclear apocalypse appears as the latest and most dramatic expression of an outlook on the human condition which refuses to accept limits in the imposition of human designs on the world. The paradoxical continuities that underlie the sense of epoch evoked by the end of the Cold War highlight this work's profound implications for our understanding of contemporary international politics. This original account of the Cold War reveals a surprising underlying spiritual dimension. Stefan Rossbach argues that, throughout history, breakdowns in order have led to interpretations of humanity which declare the absence of meaning and order. Such interpretations can be understood as Gnostic spirituality -- the idea that beyond this world there is a pre-cosmic world of light in which humans are meant to exist. Moving from Plato and St. Augustine through Machiavelli to Kennan, and to recent experiences of the Cold War, the author shows how revivals of Gnosticism have paradoxically inspired concrete political attempts at restructuring. Liminality In Platonic Philosophy And Early Christian Thought -- Issues In 'gnostic Studies' -- Lines Of Meaning I: From Manichaeism To 'neo-manichaeism' -- Intersections: Renaissance Syncretism -- Lines Of Meaning Ii: Boehme, Hegel, Marx -- Lines Of Meaning Iii: The Third Rome Against The New World -- Parrhesia Against Gnosis: George F. Kennan On The Spiritual Dimension Of The Cold War. Stefan Rossbach. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 232-247) And Index. In a letter to a friend, Max Weber called the second part of his The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism 'a sort of "spiritualist" construction of the modern economy'.