Against Religion: The Alienation of the Ecclesial Event

What is religion? In this book Christos Yannaras argues that it is a human construct, the product of our instincts of self-preservation and self-perpetuation, which bolsters our sense of security as individuals, promising us personal eternal happiness. Against this, Yannaras sets the commitment of faith, defining it as an act of trust, self-offering, and self-transcendence. For a Christian, faith is lived within the ecclesial event, that is to say, within a mode of relations of communion embodied in Christ. Contents 1. Religiosity p. 1 1.1 An Instinctive Need... p. 1 1.2 ... Always Centered on the Individual p. 6 1.3 Nonrational Thoughts and the Emotions p. 10 1.4 The Armored Shell of Authority p. 16 2. The Ecclesial Event p. 21 2.1 The Reversal of Religious Terms p. 21 2.2 Historical Realism p. 29 2.3 Relativity of Language and Priority of Experience p. 34 2.4 Authority as Service p. 41 3. The Religionization of the Eccle