Apocalyptic Patience
Mystical Theology / Gnosticism / Ethical Phenomenology

By (author) Revd Canon Dr Andrew Shanks

ISBN13: 9781350410664

Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Published: 19/02/2026

Availability: Not yet available

Description
Andrew Shanks brings together a grand narrative of theology and continental philosophy to argue that the 'solidarity of the shaken' is the kingdom of God in secular dress. Shanks engages with the philosophy of Jan Patocka; specifically, his Heretical Essays in the Philosophy of History, which culminate in the concept of the ‘solidarity of the shaken’. Such solidarity is quite simply that which empowers the most radically thoughtful openness to others, embattled against even the most repressive closure; a solidarity without any other essential qualification. Split into three distinct parts, Shanks begins by discussing Patocka’s philosophico-centric grand narrative, and drawing wider reference to the pre-philosophic origins of Abrahamic religious tradition. This is followed by an exploration of mystical theology, Christian and Islamic; of its decay into ‘mysticism’, and its influence on Christian and Jewish gnostic traditions. The final third presents a discussion on ethical phenomenology. Analysing the proponents of a ‘pathos of shakenness’ such as Kierkegaard, Levinas, Løgstrup, he juxtaposes 19th-century thinkers such as Arendt and Hegel with Heidegger and Strauss as he moves through the century, and eventually to the rise of secular public conscience movement.
Introduction PART I: THE TWO SIDES OF THE EQUATION 1. The Solidarity of the Shaken: Jan Patocka’s Argument 2. The Kingdom of God: Abrahamic Religion, its Historic Origins in a Dilemma PART II: RECOIL FROM EVANGELISTIC IMPATIENCE: MYSTICAL THEOLOGY / GNOSTICISM 3. ‘Mystical Theology’ 4. Decadence of ‘Mysticism’ 5. ‘Gnosticism’ PART III: PHILOSOPHY AND CATHOLICITY: ETHICAL PHENOMENOLOGY 6. Philosophic Meditation on the ‘Pathos of Shakenness’ 7. Variant Envisionings of Ideal Solidarity, on a Phenomenological Basis 8. Modern ‘Anti-Politics’: A Phenomenological Sketch Coda Bibliography Index
  • Philosophy
  • Western philosophy: c 1600 to c 1900
  • Philosophy of religion
  • Theology
  • Professional & Vocational
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