In a vision of the night : Job, Cormac McCarthy, and the challenge of chaos

How is life possible in a world of evil, suffering, and chaos? Christians have historically been inept at offering adequate answers as to why people’s lives are derailed by sudden chaos and, even worse, at equipping people to live in the throes, or aftermath, of that same chaos. Underlying this confusion is an assumption that evil is a formidable chink in the armor of God’s creation. The book of Job challenges such thinking, but its meaning often remains hidden because of a long-standing belief in Christian hermeneutics that the book is about why bad things happen to good people, or about why suffering happens. This is not the case. With In a Vision of the Night Philip Thomas offers a fresh perspective into the book of Job by reading it alongside the fiction of Cormac McCarthy. While some critics have previously identified Joban overtones in McCarthy’s work, Thomas argues for something far stronger: a recurrent Joban resonance throughout McCarthy’s works. McCarthy’s rejection of philosophical theodicy, his anti-anthropocentric vision of the world, his assumed presence of chaotic figures, and the quietly persistent note of hope that runs throughout his books reveal the Joban influence. Thomas contends that knowledge of the book of Job gives insight into McCarthy’s literary output; conversely, reading Job through a McCarthyite lens enables proper apprehension of the scriptural text. Through a thematically based theological reading of McCarthy and Job, In a Vision of the Night draws out often overlooked aspects of the book of Job. Further, it reveals that McCarthy, like the Joban author, constructs a theodicy that both rejects the easy stance of a detached and generalized answer to the question of why chaos comes and advances the more pressing question of how life continues in the face of chaos. Cover 1 Half Title Page, Title Page, Copyright, Dedication, Epigraph 2 Contents 10 Preface and Acknowledgments 12 Abbreviations 14 Introduction: True Words in Literature 16 1. Of Darkness and Definition: Not the Why but the How 22 2. The Fruitlessness of Philosophical Theodicy: An Untamable God 46 3. The Decentering of the Human Subject: Anthropocentric Impotence 68 4. The Looming Threat of Chaos: An Unpredictable Creation 82 5. The Possibility of Hope: Between the Idealized and the Real 112 6. Of Theodicy and Transformation: McCarthy as Theologian 150 Notes 176 Bibliography 222 Author Index 236 Subject Index 242 Scripture Index 246 Outer Dark,Blood Meridian,All the Pretty Horses,No Country for Old Men,The Road,The Crossing,Cities of the Plain,The Counselor,The Sunset Limited,Karl Barth,theodicy,Leviathan,Behemoth,Bible and literature,literature and theology,Cormack McCarthy How is life possible in a world of evil, suffering, and chaos? Christians have historically been inept at offering adequate answers as to __why__ people’s lives are derailed by sudden chaos and, even worse, at equipping people to live in the throes, or aftermath, of that same chaos. Underlying this confusion is an assumption that evil is a formidable chink in the armor of God’s creation. The book of Job challenges such thinking, but its meaning often remains hidden because of a long-standing belief in Christian hermeneutics that the book is about __why__ bad things happen to good people, or about __why__ suffering happens. This is not the case. Through a thematically based theological reading of McCarthy and Job, __In a Vision__ __of the Night__ draws out often overlooked aspects of the book of Job. Further, it reveals that McCarthy, like the Joban author, constructs a theodicy that both rejects the easy stance of a detached and generalized answer to the question of why chaos comes and advances the more pressing question of how life continues in the face of chaos. Offers a fresh perspective into the book of Job by reading it alongside the fiction of Cormac McCarthy. While some critics have previously identified Joban overtones in McCarthy's work, Philip Thomas argues for something far stronger: a recurrent Joban resonance throughout McCarthy's works. "Employs a thematic reading of Cormac McCarthy's works to explore themes of creation, chaos, purpose, and theodicy in the book of Job"-- Provided by publisher