Abstract
Testifying before Omnicide: the Apocalyptic Imagination of the Kings Bay Plowshares 7
When is the proper time to act against nuclear weapons? In the middle of the night on April 4, 2018, seven Catholic activists walked on the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in St. Mary’s, GA. The seven went to perform a “symbolic disarmament” of the nuclear weapons found on the base. Biblical-inspired, they brought the good news—that a world of militarism, capitalism, and racism does not have to be this way. Through an examination of their court documents and journalistic interviews with the members of the group, I argue that the Plowshares have an apocalyptic imagination that considers the end of the world in the face of destructive nuclear capabilities. This apocalyptic imagination constitutes a form of politics which is distinct from how other faith-based political actors conduct themselves. Through their urgency and protest, the Plowshares challenge the legitimacy in nuclear weapons holding as well as the ideas of time and hope within the post-war political theological discourse.
About the Speaker
Jacques Linder (he/him) is a Ph.D. candidate in the Theology and Religious Studies Department at Villanova University. He is currently completing his dissertation “In the Security of the Bomb: A Political Theology of Nuclear Catastrophe.” Through an investigation of faith-based and secular activist and political thought across the United States, his dissertation traces the theological and political conversations surrounding the creation, use, proliferation, and disposal of nuclear weapons. He is the Managing Editor of Political Theology and co-convener of the blog Catholic Re-Visions.