Cambridge University Press Spinoza's Revelation: Religion, Democracy, and Reason

Nancy Levene reinterprets a major early modern philosopher, Benedict de Spinoza - a Jew who was rejected by the Jewish community of his day but whose thought contains, and critiques, both Jewish and Christian ideas. It foregrounds the connection of religion, democracy, and reason, showing that Spinoza's theories of the Bible, the theologico-political, and the philosophical all involve the concepts of equality and sovereignty. Professor Levene argues that Spinoza's concept of revelation is the key to this connection, and above all to Spinoza's view of human power. This is to shift the emphasis in Spinoza's thought from the language of amor Dei (love of God) to the language of libertas humana (human freedom) without losing either the dialectic of his most striking claim - that man is God to man - or the Jewish and Christian elements in his thought. Original and thoughtfully argued, this book offers fresh insights into Spinoza's thought. Review 'Nancy Levene … has written an energetic and inspiring book on Spinoza. Based on a thorough reading of Spinoza's Theologico-Political Treatise and his other works, and in constant conversation with previous interpretations, Levene retrieves a constructive agenda from Spinoza's writing about Biblical revelation that makes it once mire possible to fathom why some earlier readers, such as the Romantic poet Novalis, considered Spinoza a 'God intoxicated' man rather than an athiest.' Scottish Journal of Theology Book Description A reinterpretation of the early modern philosopher Benedict de Spinoza. About the Author Nancy Levene is Assistant Professor of Religion at Williams College, Williamstown, MA. She is co-editor, with Peter Ochs, of Textual Reasonings: Jewish Philosophy and Text Study at the End of the Twentieth Century (2002).