Whitlock/Critical Theory, 2. Walter Benjamin and Early Christian Texts

This chapter discusses the life and work of Walter Benjamin in the context of critical theory and early Christianity. The chapter begins by underscoring Benjamin’s insistence on including both the present and past while examining history, blasting both together in dialectical images. Next, it outlines Benjamin’s life, providing context for his ideas. Finally, the chapter summarizes the two essays in this section, one by Robert Paul Seesengood and another by Carl Levenson, and suggests further research on the aura of early Christian origins in light of Benjamin’s ideas in “The Work of Art in the Age of Technological Reproducibility.”