Othering: The Original Sin of Humanity

by Charles K. Bellinger

Publisher:

Cascade Books

, 2020

Overview

Othering is a word used in academic circles, but it may be unfamiliar to many laypersons. This work introduces the word, which is a refined way of describing prejudice, discrimination, and scapegoating. The book addresses what othering is, how it has been practiced in varied contexts, and how it prepares the way for violence. Dimensional anthropology is introduced, which is the idea that there are three main dimensions of reality as it is inhabited by human beings: the vertical axis (the Great Chain of Being), the horizontal plane (society), and individual selfhood. Othering can be present within all three of these dimensions, with slavery being an example of vertical axis othering, ethnic violence being an example of horizontal othering, and lone wolf or psychotic shooters being an example of individual othering. The most thought-provoking aspect of the book for many readers will be its application to the culture wars in our current individualistic age. Rights language is also addressed at length, since it can function as anti-othering rhetoric or as rhetoric that supports othering. The largest framework for the book is its argument that othering is a way of illuminating what the theological tradition has understood as original sin.

Praise for Othering

“Charles Bellinger has provided a powerful analysis of the modes of dehumanization that have tragically marred our civilization. What is needed in our moment of political and ideological polarization is a recovery of the profound wisdom and insight of the doctrine of original sin.”

—Justin Buckley Dyer, author of Slavery, Abortion, and the Politics of Constitutional Meaning



“Charles Bellinger has written a truly magisterial and engrossing tour de force on the central theme of our contemporary world, the radical discord of our age and its many manifestations—political, spiritual, and personal. . . . The transcendent God is not merely among the genus of ‘beings,’ per se, but the Holy Other against whom to harbor a resentment or rivalry (our original sin) effectively derails our golden opportunity to take the ancient confession of the Shema—and the words of the Prophets and Christ himself—to grow into full human maturity, both individually and societally.”

—Nicholas A. Marziani, retired Senior Priest, Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter

Product Details

• Title: Othering: The Original Sin of Humanity
• Author: Charles K. Bellinger
• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Print Publication Date: 2020
• Logos Release Date: 2021
• Pages: 196
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9781725254114, 9781725254107, 1725254107, 9781725254091, 1725254093, 1725254115
• Resource ID: LLS:9781725254114
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-04-22T17:19:53Z

About Charles K. Bellinger

During my years in graduate school I studied both theology and ethics because the concept of narrow disciplinary boundaries separating the two fields never made sense to me. I also developed a strong interest in reflecting on human psychology from a theological point of view. Over the past several years my attention has come into focus on the topic of theological anthropology seen through a Trinitarian lens. My major theme over the years since college has been reflecting on violence psychologically and ethically. Key thinkers I draw on include Soren Kierkegaard, Eric Voegelin, and Rene Girard.