The Left Hand of God: A Biography of the Holy Spirit (Paperback)

by Adolf Holl (Author) "THE FIRST DECENTLY RELIABLE NEWS about the intervention of a "Holy Spirit" in the course of earthly events comes from the second decade of our..." (more)
Key Phrases: noonday friend, Holy Spirit, Friars Minor, Lord Jesus (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
As Jack Miles is to God, Adolf Holl is to the Holy Spirit. Like Miles's God: A Biography, Holls's The Left Hand of God: A Biography of the Holy Spirit deftly weaves scholarly reflections on religion, myth, and culture into a compelling story about the life of a divinity. Holls casts his net wide, trolling history to discern the similarities and differences among Christian, Jewish, and Islamic relationships with the Spirit. He also has a keen eye for wildly unusual expressions of the Spirit, which inspire him to ask some questions you've always been curious about, and others that may seem, at first glance, almost absurd: Why does the story of Jesus' baptism render the Spirit as a dove? Has the Holy Spirit ever been a member of the Communist party? How did James Joyce and Rainer Maria Rilke receive the Spirit--or did they? This is a witty, brilliant, readable, enlivening story. Its brief chapters are easy on the attention span without being soft on the brain. Best of all, The Left Hand of God never quite makes up its mind as to whether its subject is a figment of our imagination or the Real Thing. After all, that's your job. --Michael Joseph Gross --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Now that Jack Miles has written God's biography, it's only fitting that someone write a biography of the third person of the Christian Trinity, the Holy Spirit. Yet this is less a biography than an episodic novel. Holl (Jesus in Bad Company) traces the "life" of the Holy Spirit from the baptism of Jesus, which Holl calls the "first decently reliable news about the intervention of a Holy Spirit," to the Spirit's dictation of the Koran to Muhammad and the influence of the Spirit on Freud, Jung, Rilke and Joyce. Holl ranges through an incredible body of literature and religious history as he chronicles the activity of the Holy Spirit. He also encourages readers to determine whether the reported activity is the work of a divine Spirit or simply the workings of the human mind. While Holl's ideas are certainly playful, this is a confusing book. He treats synonymously the Holy Spirit?a distinctly Christian phrase that has limited religious currency?and the Spirit, which he uses to refer to just about any quality of the human personality. Even though the book is eloquently written, and equally well translated, it simply fails to deliver what it promises.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Image (November 9, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385492855
• ISBN-13: 978-0385492850
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,332,264 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Holl's thoughts run deep!, November 17, 1999

By A Customer

I first heard about Adolf Holl in the mid-70s when the controversy around his teachings spread through the Austrian media like wildfire. Occasionally, Holl was a talk-show host and guest on various Austrian programs where he communicated his deep-running thoughts. This book is certainly an interesting read as Holl researches and analyses the subject intensely. To judge if his conclusions are correct is up to the reader--some may agree and find it even inspirational, others may brush off this and that. Anyway, it sure provides plenty of ammunition for many brain-storming hours of debate, discussion and thought. Another book that I highly recommend, which was also written by an Austrian-born writer, who's become known as the theological whiz kid of our time, is a very helpful book by Dietmar Scherf "I Love Me: Avoiding and Overcoming Depression" -- also available at Amazon.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Over the Face of the Waters, April 11, 2002

By	Jeremy Garber "urbanmenno" (Elkhart, IN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Holl's brilliantly written masterpiece surveys the history of those who were convinced they were inspired directly by God, only to clash with established religion. Holl looks at Gnostics, Cathars, renegade militant Anabaptists, and Pentecostals, all with superbly readable wit and touches of dry humor. This book is a golden example of theology that is fun bedtime reading as well. Interested in getting in touch with the heretics of history? There's no better selected guide.

5.0 out of 5 stars Reads Like "Air in Movement", May 24, 2008

By	John R. Hawkins "yogarific" (Bellingham, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A lucky used-book store find. One of my favorite books. This biography of the Holy Spirit is a highly entertaining study of people in the west possessed with the Holy Spirit. Holl offers an obscure history with much involvement by women in Christianity. Holl takes on a topic as easy to grasp as the wind. His words fly by as we move through a history not in the mainstream of Western Christianity.