Spirits in Rebellion: The Rise and Development of New Thought [Paperback]

Charles S. Braden (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 584 pages
• Publisher: Southern Methodist University Press (January 1, 1963)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870740253
• ISBN-13: 978-0870740251
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #142,918 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Origins and History of New Thought, April 21, 2000

By 

Bruce Kerievsky (Great Neck, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spirits in Rebellion: The Rise and Development of New Thought (Paperback)

This 1963 book provides an invaluable glimpse into the mid-nineteenth century origins, beginning with Phineas P. Quimby, of the New Thought movement in the United States. It describes the careers of the most influential teachers and writers in the various schools and movements, with the exception of the well-known Christian Science church.

It is most successful in uncritically informing the reader of the roots of modern New-Age ideas, most of which were expressed more than a hundred years earlier. It is endlessly surprising to discover how little credit most spiritual leaders give to their ideological forbears and how, because of the lack of any coherent organization, a widespread unawareness of earlier discoveries persists.

Although the author supplies an apparently comprehensive bibliography to the grateful student, the reader wishes that the text delineated more precisely the specific differences in philosophy among the several teachings, for it is those differences that produced the individual schools and distinct spiritual communities.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars re: An historical treasure, May 21, 2006

By 

Dr. Greg (CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spirits in Rebellion: The Rise and Development of New Thought (Paperback)

Braden's text is a MUST for any serious student of metaphysics. The work delves deeply into the roots of New Thought and chronicles many key churches and movements throughout the United States and abroad. Braden writes with scholarly insight and spirit-led intuition. You won't be dissappointed!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN EXTREMELY ILLUMINATING HISTORY OF THE NEW THOUGHT MOVEMENT, September 16, 2009

By 

Steven H. Propp (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spirits in Rebellion: The Rise and Development of New Thought (Paperback)

Charles Samuel Braden (1878-1970) was a Methodist Episcopal Church missionary and educator, who was Professor of History and Literature of Religions at Northwestern University from 1926 until his retirement in 1954. He wrote a number of books on comparative religions, such as: The World's Religions, a Short History., and These Also Believe,A Study of Modern Amereican Cults in Minority religious movements.

"Spirits in Rebellion" has justifiably been called "the definitive history of New Thought." Braden comprehensively and fairly covers the forerunners of the New Thought movement such as Phineas Parkhurst Quimby (who Braden identifies as "certainly the pioneer in America of the theory of the mental basis of disease") and Warren Felt Evans (whose failure to have founded a movement Braden attributes to the fact that "Evans was clearly not an organization man"), who each have their own chapter, as well as devoting separate chapters to the actual "religions" that emerged from the movement: the Unity School of Christianity, Divine Science, and Religious Science.

He notes that New Thought developed in contrast to the "authoritarian" tendencies in Mary Baker Eddy's Christian Science church, and that Religious Science founder Ernest Holmes "did not expect that his writings would crystallize into hard and fast doctrines ... as in the case of Mrs. Eddy's." Nevertheless, "the line of demarcation between the two (i.e., Christian Science and New Thought) is by no means clear and sharp." Braden chronicles the Unity School founder Charles Fillmore's origins from the New Thought movement, but then his "growing dissatisfaction with the movement ... (which) had ceased to express what he thought to be absolute truth."

The book ends with chapters on "New Thought Leaders," "Leaders Outside the Movement," and several chapters on "New Thought Abroad." Overall, this is an extremely informative, and highly interesting book for anyone interested in New Thought, Christian Science, Religious Science, Divine Science, the Unity School, metaphysical healing, or New Age ideas in general. VERY highly recommended!