Scholars, public figures, and prominent theologians alike clamor to diagnose our age as cynical. Combating the notion of a "healthy" cynicism, A Crisis of Relations demonstrates that the cynic engages not in genuine critique, but rather in a denial of the possibility of fruitful change. Mustain first uses two historical versions of cynicism - ancient Greek and Victorian - to describe competing currents within the cynical attitude. She brings this historical discussion to bear upon two contemporary sources of cynicism: Christian fundamentalism and scientism. Christian fundamentalism, with its...