Apostle to Nixonland: Taylor Caldwell's Paul and the Unknown God of Neoliberalism
In 1970, Taylor Caldwell (1900–1985) published a best-selling historical novel about Saint Paul, Great Lion of God, making the apostle politically available to a nation facing divisive social and political turmoil. Channeling Nixon-era resentments and Cold War libertarianism, Caldwell's Paul is...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group
2021
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| In: |
Political theology
Year: 2021, Volume: 22, Issue: 8, Pages: 665-679 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Caldwell, Taylor 1900-1985
/ Paul Apostle
/ USA
/ Neo-liberalism
/ History 1970-1985
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| IxTheo Classification: | CG Christianity and Politics HC New Testament KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history KBQ North America |
| Further subjects: | B
Economics
B Nixon B Taylor Caldwell B unknown god B Saint Paul B Neoliberalism B Fiction |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In 1970, Taylor Caldwell (1900–1985) published a best-selling historical novel about Saint Paul, Great Lion of God, making the apostle politically available to a nation facing divisive social and political turmoil. Channeling Nixon-era resentments and Cold War libertarianism, Caldwell's Paul is offered up as an answer to America's ills. But unlike the protagonists of Caldwell's other works, some of which continue to be read by conservative audiences today (including Sean Hannity), her Paul never quite finds his footing. The reason for this involves what might be considered Caldwell's political theology of the Unknown God. The Unknown God operates in Caldwell's work as a neoliberal theologeme, combining in one figure a vaguely Christological universalism and a market-based vision of American greatness. The instabilities and tensions inherent in this pairing are borne out in her characterization of Paul and presage the experience of American neoliberalism from the 1970s on. |
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| ISSN: | 1743-1719 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Political theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/1462317X.2020.1855844 |