Last week Lake Drive Books and myself put out a call announcing the updated version of my book, Trump & The MAGA Movement as Antichrist: Recognizing the Archetype of Evil in Our Times. The book appears October 13—just in time for the November election.
A new Appendix lists numerous references to MAGA politics and the Antichrist happening in the media since the book came out two years ago. We are not alone anymore.
We are inviting folks to become helpers in spreading the word by joining our Launch Team. Already, 196 volunteers have stood up to do exactly that. People see it as a practical contribution they can make toward this critical and potentially game-changing election, so we want to put out the invitation again if you care to get on board.
A launch like this significantly impacts a book’s visibility in this age of social media. (See press release.)
I am excited about this book because we need new language to stand up to evil today. As I’ve written elsewhere, evil is not dumb, it is very smart. It does not shine light on itself, it lives in the shadows—our own personal shadows and collective shadows. It especially likes to hide in places of power whether it be pentagons or supreme courts or media or corporate headquarters or white houses.
We need to name evil and its archetypes in order to understand it, expose it, and face it. So we need artists to assist us, as evil is as much about symbols and metaphors as it is about rational analysis. This is why I invoke Hildegard of Bingen’s powerful painting of the Antichrist from the 12th century, as well as Luca Signorelli’s fresco on “The Preaching and Deeds of the Antichrist” from the early 16th century to help tell the story of Evil today.
It was the latter painting that so captured the imagination of Sigmund Freud that on three different occasions, he visited Orvieto Cathedral to study it. This powerful story constitutes the first chapter of my book. Nicholas Fox Weber, author of the brilliant book, Freud’s Trip to Orvieto, called my book “a lively and fascinating journey into the forces of evil and into the warped mind of the world leader who is their incarnation.”
I also include recent paintings by MAGA influencers in this new edition.
I maintain that the opposite of Evil is not the good strictly speaking. The opposite of the good is the bad. The proper opposite of Evil is the Sacred. A discussion of Evil should pave the way for a resurrection of the Sacred and vice versa.
That is one more reason we need artists to assist us. The artist speaks to our deeper selves, touches our imaginations, intuitions and dreams whether one is seeking to name the Sacred or its opposite. “Art seduces us in the struggle against repression” says Norman Brown.
The Gospels and Epistles are works of art and poetry and dreams, as well as concrete stories of factual happenings. The same is true of the psalms and the wisdom books of the Bible which stretch the soul into the realm of mystery and vastness. The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, etc., birthed some of the finest poetry in the world. The Vedas and the Upanishads of the East do the same when speaking of life’s big mysteries, evil included.
In waking up to our powers of greatness and also our powers of doing evil, we have choices to make: Imitate the divine? Or play out the demonic?
The chaos in our culture today provokes such questions and invitations as these. I hope my book assists the decisions we make.
Banner image: The devil whispers to the antichrist, from Luca Signorelli’s 1501 painting “Sermon and Deeds of the Antichrist,” from the Orvieto Cathedral.” Wikimedia Commons.
Queries for Contemplation
Do you recognize Evil alive and well in today’s politics around the world? What more can we do about it? Do you feel it swirling about, causing chaos in our world including in our upcoming elections?
Related Reading by Matthew Fox
Prayer: A Radical Response to Life.
Creativity: Where the Divine and the Human Meet.
Trump and the MAGA Movement as Antichrist
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul & Society.
Adam Bucko and Matthew Fox, Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation.
Charles Burack, ed., Matthew Fox: Essential Writings in Creation Spirituality.
The Coming of the Cosmic Christ.
Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth.
