Gifts Glittering and Poisoned

by Chanon Ross

Overview

Spectacles designed to capture our attention surround us. Marketing, movies, shopping malls, concerts, and virtual realities capture our imaginations and cultivate our desires. We live in a ""society of the spectacle."" However, is the power and prevalence of spectacle unique to the modern era? In the pages of Gifts Glittering and Poisoned, early Christian voices echo across the centuries to show that the society of the spectacle is not new. Our era resembles a time when the spectacular entertainments of ancient Rome had a profound effect on every aspect of social life. By drawing on the rich theology and witness of early Christianity, Gifts Glittering and Poisoned asks what it means for us to live in a new era of empire and spectacle. Through Augustine's description of the demonic, it shows how consumerism constructs a sophisticated symbolic order, a ""society of the spectacle,"" that corrupts our deepest longings for God. ""Gifts Glittering and Poisoned is an astonishing read--and an interdisciplinary tour de force that establishes Chanon Ross as one of the most exciting practical theologians of his generation. Dense and delicious as chocolate lava cake, this book begs to be savored, line by unexpected line, as Ross reveals his unflinching gift for seeing our contemporary reflection in the ancient Roman culture of spectacle. Gifts Glittering and Poisoned is a dizzying and exhilarating ride through pagan metaphysics, Augustinian views on the demonic, Abercrombie and Fitch, ecstasy, vampires, Coldplay, exorcism, American politics, and the Eucharist's power to turn human consumption on its ear. These pages left me breathless, convicted, and hopeful. Prepare to be amazed."" --Kenda Creasy Dean, Princeton Theological Seminary ""Gifts Glittering and Poisoned offers spot-on theology for the contemporary church, a church disenchanted with disenchantment but so often unaware of the idols by which we are bound. Ross takes us on a journey of the spectacular from Augustine to Bono, and he has the theological and spiritual insight to provide us with a sure guide along the way."" --Beth Felker Jones, Wheaton College ""Chanon Ross sees connections the rest of us cannot--between spectacle, then and now, between metaphysics and youth culture, between postmodern theology and demons (of all things!). But once he shows us, we cannot not see them. This book shows the mind of a theologian and the heart of a pastor."" --Jason Byassee, Duke Divinity School Chanon Ross, PhD, is Director of the Institute for Youth Ministry at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620327159
Publisher:	Cascade Books
Publication date:	11/18/2014
Series:	Kalos , #3
Pages:	166
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.39(d)

About the Author

Chanon Ross, PhD, is Director of the Institute for Youth Ministry at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

1 Introduction 1

Early Christians and the Spectacles of the Roman Empire 5

The Early Christian Witness 9

The Significance of Christian Witness Today 11

Modern Spectacle and the New Empire 12

Spectacle and Metaphysics 16

Chapter Summaries 21

2 Rome's Politics of Consumption and the Early Church 25

Part I Spectacle, Politics, and Consumption in Imperial Rome 26

Spectacle and Politics in Imperial Rome 26

Pilate and the Spectacle of Jesus' Crucifixion 31

Spectacle, Consumption, and the Politics of the Eucharist 37

Part II Spectacle and Eucharist in Augustine 43

Spectacle as Perverse Eucharist in Confessions 43

Gazing and Consuming True Spectacle 45

Baptism and Exorcism 48

Sacraments versus Paganism 53

Consuming as Binding 54

Augustine on Spectacle and Demonic Ontology 55

Summary 59

3 Modern Spectacle, Politics, and the Fellowship of the Demons 61

Politics, Spectacle, and the Meta-Arena 61

Origins of the Consumer Subject and Demonic Metaphysics 71

Marketing, Demons, and the Double-Consciousness of the Image 81

Spectacle and the De-intensification of Being 88

Eucharist as Redirected Gaze 91

Resisting Empire: Eucharist as Political Subjectivity 93

Recovering Exorcism and Renunciation 100

Today's Living Martyrs 108

4 Ecstasy, Spectacle, and Consumption 110

Ecstasy and Eucharist in Aquinas 114

Debasing Ecstasy, Roman Spectacle, and Christ's Ecstatic Forgiveness 121

From Ancient to Modern Ecstasy: Taking Aquinas to the Music Festival 130

Transgressing the Secular 135

5 Conclusion: Contesting for Christianity 138

Bibliography 145

Index 151

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Gifts Glittering and Poisoned is an astonishing read—and an interdisciplinary tour de force that establishes Chanon Ross as one of the most exciting practical theologians of his generation. Dense and delicious as chocolate lava cake, this book begs to be savored, line by unexpected line, as Ross reveals his unflinching gift for seeing our contemporary reflection in the ancient Roman culture of spectacle. Gifts Glittering and Poisoned is a dizzying and exhilarating ride through pagan metaphysics, Augustinian views on the demonic, Abercrombie and Fitch, ecstasy, vampires, Coldplay, exorcism, American politics, and the Eucharist's power to turn human consumption on its ear. These pages left me breathless, convicted, and hopeful. Prepare to be amazed."
—Kenda Creasy Dean, Princeton Theological Seminary

"Gifts Glittering and Poisoned offers spot-on theology for the contemporary church, a church disenchanted with disenchantment but so often unaware of the idols by which we are bound. Ross takes us on a journey of the spectacular from Augustine to Bono, and he has the theological and spiritual insight to provide us with a sure guide along the way."
—Beth Felker Jones, Wheaton College

"Chanon Ross sees connections the rest of us cannot—between spectacle, then and now, between metaphysics and youth culture, between postmodern theology and demons (of all things!). But once he shows us, we cannot not see them. This book shows the mind of a theologian and the heart of a pastor."
—Jason Byassee, Duke Divinity School

Editorial Reviews

Gifts Glittering and Poisoned is an astonishing read--and an interdisciplinary tour de force that establishes Chanon Ross as one of the most exciting practical theologians of his generation. Dense and delicious as chocolate lava cake, this book begs to be savored, line by unexpected line, as Ross reveals his unflinching gift for seeing our contemporary reflection in the ancient Roman culture of spectacle. Gifts Glittering and Poisoned is a dizzying and exhilarating ride through pagan metaphysics, Augustinian views on the demonic, Abercrombie and Fitch, ecstasy, vampires, Coldplay, exorcism, American politics, and the Eucharist's power to turn human consumption on its ear. These pages left me breathless, convicted, and hopeful. Prepare to be amazed.
--Kenda Creasy Dean, Princeton Theological Seminary

Gifts Glittering and Poisoned offers spot-on theology for the contemporary church, a church disenchanted with disenchantment but so often unaware of the idols by which we are bound. Ross takes us on a journey of the spectacular from Augustine to Bono, and he has the theological and spiritual insight to provide us with a sure guide along the way.
--Beth Felker Jones, Wheaton College

Chanon Ross sees connections the rest of us cannot--between spectacle, then and now, between metaphysics and youth culture, between postmodern theology and demons (of all things!). But once he shows us, we cannot not see them. This book shows the mind of a theologian and the heart of a pastor.
--Jason Byassee, Duke Divinity School

From the Publisher