Silence and Praise: Rhetorical Cosmology and Political Theology in the Book of Revelation

In Silence and Praise, Ryan Leif Hansen begins with the premise that cosmology is a central focus in John’s Apocalypse. However, John’s intention in reflecting theologically on the nature, existence, and destiny of the created world is not in order to explicate a stable system. Rather, John’s cosmological thought is employed for persuasive purposes as an ethical and political critique of Roman imperial cultic discourse. Hansen seeks to read the contours of John’s “rhetorical cosmology” and to understand the theological and political implications of its strategy.