Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2003 Voegelin's History of Political Ideas and the problem of Christian order: a critical appraisal Jeffrey Charles Herndon Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Herndon, Jeffrey Charles, "Voegelin's History of Political Ideas and the problem of Christian order: a critical appraisal" (2003). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 2487. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/2487 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. VOEGELIN’S HISTORY OF POLITICAL IDEAS AND THE PROBLEM OF CHRISTIAN ORDER: A CRITICAL APPRAISAL A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In The Department of Political Science By Jeffrey C. Herndon B.A., Southwest Texas State University, 1989 M.A., Southwest Texas State University, 1993 May 2003 Acknowledgements Contrary to the mythology of authorship, the writing of a book is really a collective enterprise. While invariably the names of one or two people appear on the title page, my own experience leads me to believe that no book would ever be finished without the help, love, support, and some degree of gentle authoritarianism on the part of those prodding the author forward in his or her work. With this in mind, I would like to take a couple of pages to thank those people who have been instrumental in the completion of this work. As an undergraduate at Southwest Texas State University, I made the mistake of taking a course in political theory being taught by Kenneth L. Grasso. As a result of this error, the course of my personal history was irrevocably changed. For this I am grateful to Ken and other members of the political science faculty at SWT. It was Grasso who piqued my interest in political science generally (the first question of politics is not “who gets what, where and when?” but rather “what is a human being?”) and Eric Voegelin, in particular. In addition to Ken, I would be remiss if I did not thank Robert Gorman, and Ted Hindson (who planted the idea that graduate school might be more interesting for me than law school—it turns out he was correct), in addition to the late Randall Bland. They offered a burgeoning scholar a nurturing environment and opened up possibilities for me that I had not considered (this was in addition to the camaraderie of Notre Dame football on Saturdays and nearly always picking up the tab at dinner). At Louisiana State University a new world was opened up and once again I found guidance and friendship in the Political Science Department. In this regard, I would like to thank Mark Schafer for both his creative use of modern literature in class and the ii experience of Thai and Indian food. Thanks also go to Wayne Parent for the Friday afternoon “discussion group.” When it began to look as if the inexorability of time was going to destroy the project before completion, several people assisted me in defeating the inevitability of deadlines. Tara Montelaro, the graduate secretary in the department, worked many long hours on my behalf to help keep me on track in terms of paperwork and time management (I had to reformat my computer’s hard drive because of the extensive email correspondence). Her assistance was invaluable in keeping me enrolled and allowing the project to move forward. The office coordinator for the Eric Voegelin Institute at LSU, Wanda Ashley, also deserves special recognition for her help in matters academic, financial, and spiritual. Always a sympathetic audience, Wanda’s patience and willingness to help is remarkable. In addition, James Garand, the Director of Graduate Studies for the department, went out of his way to help me with scheduling and other matters related to the calendar requirements for the dissertation and the degree. The patience and support of my doctoral committee is much appreciated. I would like to thank Cecil Eubanks for opening the world of Greek tragedy to me in a meaningful way and for his many kind words of support. James Stoner, the former director of graduate studies in the department, was helpful in both that capacity and as a teacher who gave some needed perspective to a scholar who needed it. This was in addition to his conversations with my wife that contributed to the “gentle authoritarianism” previously mentioned. Eugene Wittkopf helped me to understand the nuances of international relations theory and its implications for the understanding of political science generally. Dr. Wittkopf was also instrumental in pointing out some of iii the unforeseen implications of the current dissertation, thereby opening other avenues for future exploration. I would also like to thank my “dean’s rep” on my committee, Kent Mathewson of the department of geography and anthropology for his insightful questions and patience. Deserving of special recognition is the chairman of my committee, Ellis Sandoz. There is no real way to thank Dr. Sandoz for his assistance in so many areas related to this project, be it from the perspective of Voegelin scholarship generally, the management of the calendar, providing insight into problems with the research project, even down to pointing out typographical errors that somehow persisted through the process. Dr. Sandoz went out of his way to help me when I needed help for which I am truly grateful and appreciative. I am sure that I frustrated him to no end, but he was always there pushing me forward. In addition to the academic assistance, this book would not have been possible without the support and love of my family. I would like to thank my mother and father for their insistence that I finish my homework before I go outside to play. In addition, I would like to express my appreciation to my wife’s parents for their help and support when I took their daughter and grandchildren away to the wilds of Louisiana. Finally, and most importantly, I would like to thank my wife, Cindy, and our children, Jacob and Ariana. I am sure that Jacob and Ariana, at some point, had to believe that their father had left the planet. As we entered into the final phase of the project our time together was limited by the exigencies of dissertation writing. However, they hung in there and were patient with their father and provided many fond memories of, and necessary diversions from, the process (all this in addition to their “help” with the iv organization of research materials—nothing like a two-year old and a four-year old assisting in the organization of books and journals!). At the outset I mentioned the “gentle authoritarianism” required in dissertation writing. No one epitomizes this quality more than my wife and partner. Cindy sacrificed more than anyone in seeing this phase of my academic career to its completion. Her faith, patience, understanding and love sustained me when I first left Texas for Louisiana to undertake my doctoral program as it does to this, the completion of it. In the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 13 tells us the qualities of love. In addition to being the gentle authoritarian, Cindy epitomizes those qualities in dropping everything to go with me to LSU to finish my graduate work. This book is as much hers as it is mine—in many ways it is more hers. For this reason, this dissertation is dedicated to her with much gratitude and love. A dissertation is said to the “first book” written by an academic. I can only hope and pray that my future academic endeavors will benefit from the same type of support that I have received in the composition of this one. Needless to say, any errors or omissions in the text are my responsibility alone. v Table of Contents Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………. ii Abbreviations of Works by Eric Voegelin Cited in the Text………………………….. viii Abstract………………………………………………………………………………… xi Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….. 1 Chapter One: Voegelin’s History of Political Ideas…………………………………... 6 The Background to the History of Political Ideas……………………………... 6 Voegelin’s Christian Critics: A Review of the Literature…………………….. 10 “The Crisis of Civic Consciousness”…………………………………………... 21 The Relationship of the History of Political Ideas to the Later Works………... 31 The Plan of the Work…………………………………………………………... 33 Chapter Two: Voegelin and the Emergence of the Christian Community……………. 36 Voegelin and the “Jesus of History”…………………………………………… 36 Voegelin’s Approach to the Gospels…………………………………………... 43 The Messiah and the Self-Consciousness of Jesus…………………………….. 44 Mana, Metanoia, Spirit and Faith: The Community Substance………………. 50 A Community for Human Existence: The Pauline Compromises…………….. 53 Historical Horizon……………………………………………………… 55 The Body of Christ……………………………………………………...59 The Powers That Be……………………………………………………. 62 Obstacles to Metanoia and the Social Order…………………………………… 64 Saint Augustine and the Construction of Christian History…………………… 69 The Tyconian Problem…………………………………………………………. 74 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………... 75 Chapter Three: Imperium……………………………………………………………… 76 The Political Idea in Voegelin’s History of Political Ideas……………………. 76 The Construction of the Imperium……………………………………………... 82 Monasteries as Repositories of Reform: The Question of Community……….. 89 The Investiture Controversy and the Contraction of Reality…………………... 95 Joachim and the New Age……………………………………………………... 101 Symbols of the Epoch………………………………………………………….. 105 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………... 111 Chapter Four: The Age of Confusion…………………………………………………. 112 Saint Thomas Aquinas at the Edge of the Abyss………………………………. 112 The Church as State: Unam Sanctum………………………………………….. 119 Authoritarian Faith……………………………………………………………..