Religion and Its Monsters

by Timothy Beal

Religion's great and powerful mystery fascinates us, but it also terrifies. So too the monsters that haunt the stories of the Judeo-Christian mythos and earlier Leviathan, Behemoth, dragons, and other beasts. In this unusual and provocative book, Timothy K. Beal writes about the monsters that lurk in our religious texts, and about how monsters and religion are deeply entwined. Horror and faith are inextricable. Ans as monsters are part of religious texts and traditions, so religion lurks in the modern horror genre, from its birth in Dante's Inferno to the contemporary spookiness of H.P. Lovecraft and the Hellraiser films. Religion and Its Monsters is essential reading for students of religion and popular culture, as well as any readers with an interest in horror.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, History, Monsters, Mythology, Philosophy, Animals

248 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2001

About the author

Timothy Beal is Distinguished University Professor, Florence Harkness Professor of Religion, and Director of h.lab at Case Western Reserve University. He has published sixteen books, including When Time Is Short: Finding Our Way in the Anthropocene (Beacon Press, 2022) and The Book of Revelation: A Biography (Princeton University Press, 2018), for which he won a Public Scholar Award from the National Endowment for the Humanities. He has also written popular essays on religion and culture for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and The Christian Century, among others.

Tim was born in Hood River, Oregon and grew up near Anchorage, Alaska. He now commutes between Cleveland, Ohio, where he works, and Denver, Colorado, where he lives with his wife, Clover Reuter Beal, a Presbyterian minister. They have two grown kids, Sophie and Seth.

Reviews

[Daniel N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Religion and its Monsters approaches an interesting subject in a manner that is at times appropriate, but at other times overly complex. Beal splits his novel into two sections, the first of which looks at religion's monsters, and the second of which analyzes monsters' religions. The earlier section is certainly superior to the latter, with Beal's mastery of Judeo-Christian texts on full display. The latter section is occasionally sidetracked by unnecessary asides, and tangents that are really only peripherally related to the novel's subject matter. While the material Beal approaches is quite interesting, he adopts an exceedingly complicated style of writing that interrupts his flows at times. I found myself constantly consulting a dictionary in order to interpret the sometimes archaic vocabulary he uses. On the whole, Religion and its Monsters is a worthwhile book for those studying the subject matter, but not a particularly friendly read for those new to the discipline or with only a passing interest in the topic.

[Stealth.librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I had to like it at a base level bc it was so readable. Tim Beal seems to be a very good academic writer (yay!) and that really comes out. In addition, the book was just interesting. However, I do wish they would've given it one more run through before going to press? Sometimes the chapters really jump topics and don't flow as well as they could have with a bit more transition. Tim, your editor didn't do your writing justice. That being said, this is a very informative book, and an enjoyable read, so pick it up.

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Respectful but insightful analysis of Abrahamic traditions, monsters, and horror tropes. Best textbook I've ever been assigned. Ludicrously readable.

[Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wanted to rate a 3.5, but I'm rounding up to a 4 because I feel generous. I had to read this for a class, so might as well review it! Not something I'd typically read, but it's very dense and thought provoking. It comes in two parts: religion's monsters, and monsters' religions. The first part felt more cohesive and therefore the argument was stronger. I thought at times there were some loose ends in the second part and tangents that didn't necessarily tie in with the overall argument, but were interesting nonetheless. I especially liked the chapter about Godzilla, it had some juicy commentary on ecohorror and humanity's effects on and "awakening" of nature. The chapter on film kind of lost me, but I see how it argues an important landmark on the development of monsters and popular culture -- the bit about Metropolis was nice, too. I was slightly disappointed on how centered the book was on the Bible, with Christianity and Judaism being supposedly the main influences on culture with other religions feeling like an afterthought (I don't think Islam is mentioned at all, and many other marginalized religions like Hinduism and European paganism are used to prop up arguments about the main two). The newest chapter (I read the second edition) has some great commentary on artificial intelligence. The book wraps up pretty well at the end and seems to have a pretty cohesive argument.

[Emma Hastings · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Religion and Its Monsters (2002), Timothy K. Beal explores the relationship between horror and Judeo-Christian religion. The opening chapters seem to promise a discussion of theological horror, a horror that comes from grappling with the theodicy problem of why a good, all-powerful God allows the existence of evil an the possibility that God is not so good or not so powerful, and that more sinister forces may lurk in the universe. Beal fulfills this promise in his chilling examination of theological horror in the Book of Job. But for me, the book too soon strays from its most interesting themes.

The next chapter after the deep-dive into Job describes stories from the Talmud and Midrash about Leviathan, Behemoth, and other monsters. These stories are amusing and illustrate the strange paths that midrash can go down; for example, the rabbis debate whether it would be kosher to eat Leviathan or Behemoth if they died in battle. However, these tales don’t really seem to contribute anything to book’s argument; the conclusion of this chapter is only that these stories show how monsters are part of the Judeo-Christian worldview. The second half of the book, purporting to be about religion in popular horror, was a bit of a letdown for me. The topics of the first two chapters are only tenuously, if at all, connected to monsters from the horror genre—a discussion of Hobbes’ Leviathan was tied to a minor character in Hellraiser II, and a discussion of how white colonists make monsters of other cultures’ gods was related to the flying monkeys of The Wizard of Oz via the Hindu god Hanuman. The remaining chapters include close readings that highlight religious elements in Dracula, Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, and ecohorror movies such as Godzilla.

The book was undeniably well-written, and mercifully free of the jargon that tends to plague academic books. However, I sometimes felt that Beal employed a dramatic turn-of-phrase rather than offering a clear conclusion, and the text was choked with unnecessarily long (and sometimes, in my opinion, just unnecessary) block quotes. All that being said, this book is definitely worth checking out, for its discussion of theological horror and the Book of Job alone. It will definitely make you think a little more deeply the next time you pick up the Bible or a Lovecraft story.

[Naomi Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has like all of my favourite things: analysis of religion, literature, film, sociology with a focus on the ancient Near East and Gothic Horror. The chapter on Chaos Gods was delicious. It reminded me of the chaos gods from N.K. Jemisin's The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. I loved the analysis of Dracula, as I had recently re-read it. I also enjoyed the bit about Metropolis since I watched that in a film class in college. So much to think about; so enjoyable to read.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a couple years a UNI prof had her May term Capstone class present to my ELP students at West. This was the textbook she used for the course, and I’d been curious for a while to read it myself. Overall I liked the ideas, but the later third or so felt less tied together than the first part, so I’m rounding a 3.5 down to 3.

[Abe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

[Frank R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monsters. They both fascinate and repulse us. In this slim but meaty little book, Beal examines the monsters of the Judeo-Christian tradition, and then turns and examines how our current monster milieu draws heavily on that tradition. The first section examines the theme of the chaos monster, as portrayed throughout Middle Eastern societies, and how that theme is manifested in the Bible. The highlight of this section was the examination of Leviathan, especially in that richest book, the Book of Job.

The second half of the book examines our modern Horror culture and finds it, from Frankenstein to Godzilla, as rich in Biblical imagery and meaning. The chapters on Dracula and on H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos were particularly good.

My greatest disappointment with the book is that it failed to cover some ground: the imagery of the Apocalypse of St. John deserved more time, as did its role in our modern Horror milieu: with Anti-Christ movies and books being quite prolific. Otherwise, a great read.

[Jeb Card · Rating 3 out of 5]

Examination of religion and religious impulse and the symbolic grip of monsters. I wasn't as impressed with some of the pop culture study, but the discussion of the rarely discussed monsters of the Old Testament and later Rabbinic literature was fascinating.

[AngelaGay Kinkead · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is in two sections; Religion and its Monsters and Monsters and their Religion. A fun look at Dracula, the Leviathan, dragons, etc. Nice reading to get me out of my box!

[Madly Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

REREAD EVERY OCTOBER. Never have noted it or reviewed in Goodreads. About time. This is a favorite book I had to read for folklore and religious studies. Everyone should read it.