Remember; remember the cultural history of Guy Fawkes Day is a volume that was written by Sharpe James in 2005. The book which is 230 pages explores the 2005 anniversary of Fawkes gun powders plot as one of the most famous plots in world history. Even though the book is written colorfully, there are myriad implications worth noting. [1] For instance, the 1605 plot has a great resonance in today’s history in an era when there is religious fanaticism, terrorism, and ideological conflicts. The volume illustrates how on 5th November 1605, Fawkes was found under the cellars of parliament house guarding gun powder. Guys Fawkes is usually remembered for his tyranny act in the 1500s whereby hundreds of Roman Catholics were killed during Queen Elizabeth’s reign. It further examines how The Roman Catholics had great hopes that after the death of Queen Elizabeth, King James who took power would be more tolerant to the Roman Catholics. However, their hopes were not realized and as a result, a group of anarchists was formed. The groups came up with the gunpowder plot to put an end to the violence that was meted against Roman Catholics. In the process, they wanted to eliminate king James 1 and parliament. The set date was November 5th but part of the group felt that the explosion would result in innocent people being injured including parliament members who were not against the Catholics. Hence, a member of the group wrote to a friend to warn him of the impending plan and thus the plot was exposed. Finally, the book illustrates how on the same night, a search party found Fawkes guarding the gun powder. He was then arrested and charged with treason and presently, guy Fawkes is one of the most notorious historical figures in the world.[2]
The book was published in 1987. It introduces English-speaking readers to the theories of Kung”s works on the future of Christology by tackling issues such as deism and theism. The author discusses an existing duality in the religious lives of people. According to Hans Kung, grassroots Christianity and the Christian denomination of the believers have pietism. On the other hand, government officials and politicians’ religions are all about deism flavor. The book gives an illustration of how individuals rationally talk about the blessings of God without necessarily mentioning the name of Jesus Christ or salvation or sin. According to the works of Hans Kung, these individuals merely practice experiential religion not only in their churches but also in their private lives.[3]
“Inventing the sacred: imposture, inquisition, and the boundaries of the supernatural in golden age Spain” was written by Andrew Keitt and published by Brill in 2005. The book examines the issue of Seventeenth-century rationalism (1600-1699). The author explores the inquisition of Spanish to individuals who are self-proclaimed, miracle-working, and holy.[4] The 229 pages book illustrates how the Spanish inquisition started to prosecute people for crimes of attempting to distinguish the existence of “false saints”. The book further draws manuals of religious confessions, autobiographies of spiritual beliefs, spiritual discernment, and trial record inquisition. It points out the imposture of religious problems about the campaigns of Catholics on the issues of confession and social discipline that existed in Seventeenth-century rationalism. The volume also analyses various ways on conceptual controversies in 17th-century medicine, demonology, and natural philosophy and how the same affected church disciplinary goals in society.
References
Keitt, Andrew. Inventing the sacred: imposture, Inquisition, and the boundaries of the supernatural in Golden Age Spain. Boston: Brill. 2005.
kung, Hans. The incarnation of God: an introduction to Hegel’s theological thought as prolegomena to a future Christology. London: Continuum international publishing group. 1987.
Sharpe, James. Remember, remember: a cultural history of Guy Fawkes Day. Harvard: Harvard university press. 2005.
Footnotes
- James Sharpe, Remember, remember: a cultural history of Guy Fawkes Day. Harvard: Harvard university press, 2005. p.56.
- Ibid, p.28.
- Hans, Kung. The incarnation of God: an introduction to Hegel’s theological thought as prolegomena to a future Christology. London: Continuum international publishing group. 1987, p.12.
- Keitt, Andrew. Inventing the sacred: imposture, Inquisition, and the boundaries of the supernatural in Golden Age Spain. Boston: Brill. 2005. p.8