Why does Western civilization take time so seriously? While various scholars have traced the intensification of time in the West either to the Enlightenment or to the Protestant Ethic, the author traces Western attitudes toward time back to the doctrine and myth of Purgatory. As popular and theological understandings of Purgatory became increasingly secularized, the lifespan of the individual became correspondingly purgatorial. No time could be wasted. The author demonstrates the impact of Purgatory on the preaching of Richard Baxter and William Channing, but he also argues that John Locke's views can only be understood when placed within the context of a belief in Purgatory and the life everlasting. For observers such as Charles Dickens, America itself seemed to be a purgatorial wasteland full of lost and melancholy souls: a place where time is always of the essence.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
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"Fenn's thesis is provocative and shows the scholarly brilliance of an expert in theology and sociology....Fenn's essay is a very significant contribution to the theory of the sources of the modern self and will stimulate a vivid discussion." American Journal of Sociology
"...this is a wide-ranging and demanding book. It is recommended for those who are interested in an inventive and suggestive reflection on the roots of modernity." Rodger M. Payne
"This book is so brilliantly argued, appeals to such a variety of sources and touches on so central and inescapable an element of modern experience that one is tempted to suggest that it will appeal to any of thoughtful person." Kevin Madigan, Religious Studies Review
"Fenn's argument is subtle and suspenseful; he is a nimble exxplorer of paradox with a mischievous eye for surprising associations." Alan P. R. Gregory, Anglican Theological Review
"...Fenn has written a rich and insightful history of a religious phenomenon." Kelton Cobb, The Journal of Religion
"...this is a wide-ranging and demanding book. It is recommended for those who are interested in an inventive and suggestive reflection on the roots of modernity." Rodger M. Payne
"This book is so brilliantly argued, appeals to such a variety of sources and touches on so central and inescapable an element of modern experience that one is tempted to suggest that it will appeal to any of thoughtful person." Kevin Madigan, Religious Studies Review
"Fenn's argument is subtle and suspenseful; he is a nimble exxplorer of paradox with a mischievous eye for surprising associations." Alan P. R. Gregory, Anglican Theological Review
"...Fenn has written a rich and insightful history of a religious phenomenon." Kelton Cobb, The Journal of Religion
Book Description
Why does Western civilization take time so seriously? While various scholars have traced the intensification of time in the West either to the Enlightenment or to the Protestant Ethic, the author traces Western attitudes toward time back to the doctrine and myth of Purgatory.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
In his excellent study of primitive magic, De Martino argues that a fragile sense of one's own "controlling presence" underlies the threat of losing one's soul. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
purgatorial complex, masochistic social character, temporal panic, eternal foreground, secular purgatory, negative cult, positive cult, punctual self, everlasting rest, secularized form Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, New York, The Cloud of Unknowing, New England, Catherine of Genoa, Richard Baxter, Some Thoughts Concerning Education, John Brown, Bill of Rights, John Locke, Human Understanding, Spiritual Laws, Alexander Campbell, Jill Montgomery, Latter-Day Saints, The Present Age New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
In his excellent study of primitive magic, De Martino argues that a fragile sense of one's own "controlling presence" underlies the threat of losing one's soul. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
purgatorial complex, masochistic social character, temporal panic, eternal foreground, secular purgatory, negative cult, positive cult, punctual self, everlasting rest, secularized form Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, New York, The Cloud of Unknowing, New England, Catherine of Genoa, Richard Baxter, Some Thoughts Concerning Education, John Brown, Bill of Rights, John Locke, Human Understanding, Spiritual Laws, Alexander Campbell, Jill Montgomery, Latter-Day Saints, The Present Age New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 97
books:
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14
books
cite this book:
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- Some Thoughts Concerning Education (Clarendon Edition of the Works of John Locke) by John Locke on 8 pages
- The Cloud Of Unknowing by Anonymous on 4 pages
- Masochism: Current Psychoanalytic Perspectives by Robert A. Glick in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- American Notes (Konemann Classics) by Charles Dickens on page 169, page 172, and Back Matter
- Saints' Everlasting Rest by Richard Baxter on page 77, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 97 books this book cites
- Time and Mind: The History of a Philosophical Problem (Brill's Studies in Intellectual History) by J. J. A. Mooij on page 111, page 115, and Back Matter
- Juan Soldado: Rapist, Murderer, Martyr, Saint (American Encounters/Global Interactions) by Paul J. Vanderwood in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Death and Dying in the Middle Ages by Edelgard E. DuBruck on page 172, and Back Matter
- Satan's Rhetoric: A Study of Renaissance Demonology by Armando Maggi on page 160, and Back Matter
- The Liturgies Of Quakerism (Liturgy, Worship and Society Series) (Liturgy, Worship and Society Series) by Pink Dandelion on page 8, and Back Matter
See all 14 books citing this book
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