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Dean Grodzins

American Heretic: Theodore Parker and Transcendentalism Hardcover – November 25, 2002

by Dean Grodzins (Author)

4.8 15 ratings

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Theodore Parker (1810-1860) was a powerful preacher who rejected the authority of the Bible and of Jesus, a brilliant scholar who became a popular agitator for the abolition of slavery and for women's rights, and a political theorist who defined democracy as "government of all the people, by all the people, for all the people--words that inspired Abraham Lincoln. Parker had more influence than anyone except Ralph Waldo Emerson in shaping Transcendentalism in America.

In American Heretic, Dean Grodzins offers a compelling account of the remarkable first phase of Parker's career, when this complex man--charismatic yet awkward, brave yet insecure--rose from poverty and obscurity to fame and notoriety as a Transcendentalist prophet. Grodzins reveals hitherto hidden facets of Parker's life, including his love for a woman who was not his wife, and presents fresh perspectives on Transcendentalism. Grodzins explores Transcendentalism's religious roots, shows the profound religious and political issues at stake in the "Transcendentalist controversy," and offers new insights into Parker's Transcendentalist colleagues, including Emerson, Margaret Fuller, and Bronson Alcott. He traces, too, the intellectual origins of Parker's epochal definition of democracy as government of, by, and for the people.

The manuscript of this book was awarded the Allan Nevins Prize by the Society of American Historians.

Print length

631 pages
Language

English
Publisher

The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date

November 25, 2002
Dimensions

6.12 x 1 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

1469622947
ISBN-13

978-0807827109
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Theodore Parker
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A landmark event. . . . Grodzins delivers a wide-ranging and intelligent exploration of his subject, deftly blending narrative and interpretation." -- The New England Quarterly, September 2003

Review

American Heretic . . . [offers] a fair-minded, perceptive, and detailed account of the transcendentalist phase of Parker's career from the early 1830s to 1846.--Journal of Religion

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 080782710X
Publisher ‏ : ‎ The University of North Carolina Press; First Edition (November 25, 2002)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 631 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1469622947
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0807827109
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.4 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.12 x 1 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,209,125 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #125 in Unitarian Universalism (Books)
- #326 in U.S. Abolition of Slavery History
- #6,424 in Religious Leader Biographies

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4.8 15 ratings

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The Black Patriot

Honest American history

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 28, 2011

Verified Purchase

How did "the most powerful minister of the mid-19th century" fade away into oblivion. Why is a literary figure, Ralph Waldo Emerson, credited as the father of transcendentalism when this Parker genius who spokes 20 languages, translated a 14th century John Wycliffe bible, is quoted by Pres Lincoln and Dr. Martin Luther King (quotes currently decorating the oval office), the grandson of a national icon, etc. passed over by history. It's as if Parker's work was given to the less controversial Emerson. The same Emerson who places the "shot heard round the world" at Concord instead of Lexington where Rev Parker's grandfather and his minutemen bravely faced a trained military force with 10 times their number?

Why is Parker conspicuously absent from the history books?

10 people found this helpful

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Daniel R. Retzer

Encouraging and Liberating

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 26, 2010

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A very thorough biography about an amazing individual. Parker would be proud of the term-"heretic" which literally means "chooser." When it comes down to it, we are all heretics since ultimately; we believe what we want to believe. Worth putting your life on back burner and letting this book consume your time. Requires some wading through background info, but overall wheat/chaff ratio is excellent. It is very encouraging to see a liberal non-literal approach to the Bible comes with deep historical roots. Current similar thinkers such as Shelby Spong and Marcus Borg owe Parker a lot. If every religion would admit the large degree of cognitive dissonance necessary to swallow many seemingly self-evident axioms this would be a more peaceful world.

7 people found this helpful

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Rachel Greene

bought as a gift

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 15, 2014

Verified Purchase

Got this book for my mother. She is interested in this subject, and she seems to like the way it was written.

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jmartin

one of the best biographies i have ever read

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 15, 2011

Dean Grodzins created a masterpiece in "American Heretic." It could also have been subtitled "The Life and Times of Theodore Parker."

Grodzins wove together a deft combination of the chronology of Parker's life (up until his leaving the ministry) with analysis of Parker's thinking and actions. I assume Grodzins is working on a book about the last 15 years of Parker's life?

As a Christian conservative, i lamented the movement leftward, so to speak, of Parker's religious thought, but even for that, i gained a lot of insight for that 'move' on the part of Parker and the rest of the transcendentalists.

So moving was Grodzins' description of Parker's mostly unhappy married domestic life, mostly due to the very negative influence of his wife's live-in aunt.

This book does a splendid job of not being a hagiography nor a hatchet-job.

On p. 117, in his personal journal, Parker agrees with Brownson that RW Emerson "is a great Egotist". But Parker was also something of an egotist, always believing that he should have been in a larger, more prominent congregation. It was interesting to note on p. 127 that even in 1839, many Bostonians pronounced the word "Lord" as if it were spelled 'laaawd!'

From p. 127 onward, Grodzins shows how Parker's and others' more 'spiritual' Unitarianism led to a more relativistic morality. Yet on p.142, Parker declared that the family as man, woman and children was ordained by God, and was thus "unchangeable."

Toward the end of the book, Grodzins candidly illustrates that as Parker moved out of the ministry, he changed his priorities, ordering them as: most important "political action," then the economic sphere, matters of the communication press, and only then religion. On p.491, Grodzins opines that Parker overplayed his hand as a modern martyr, as many of his fellow ministers avoided him due to the 'heresy' in the book's title.

Overall, "American Heretic" is well worth your while.

5 people found this helpful

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bookman109

First-rate bio and history

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 3, 2009

This is probably the best biography I've ever read... of anyone. Grodzins must have spent a decade or more scouring the depths of libraries and archives, and yet each chapter is coherent, readable, and fascinating. The book is a thorough account of the life and career of the famous preacher, theologian, and activist Theodore Parker (1810-60), stopping before the final phase of his career, when he moved from preaching to political activism. Grodzins delivers a finely sketched, sympathetic portrait of this complex man. It isn't hagiography - Grodzins notes his shortcomings in painful detail, even delving into his code-written diaries. You see Parker's evolution from a relatively traditional early 18th c. Unitarian Christian to a self-proclaimed prophet of what he thought was the real essence of Jesus' teaching. But the thing I most enjoyed about the book was its thorough picture of Parker's intellectual environment - Transcendentalism, Boston Unitarianism, congretationalism, a few utopians, controversies about Christian ethics, the Trinity, biblical criticism, belief in miracles, religious experience, freedom of conscience, creeds. This is rich, rich stuff. Grodzins provides even-handed summaries of countless books and articles, both by Parker and his friends and foes. He handles the theology and philosophy accurately enough, without bogging down the storylines. You get a real feel for other fascinating characters, and even pictures of them, such as Andrews Norton, William Ellery Channing, and Convers Francis. Grodzins summarizes many complex controversies between Parker and his Unitarian and Orthodox opponents. I could not put this book down! Highly recommended for those interested in 19th c. American history, theology, or philosophy of religion. You'll learn a lot about American religion and theology in the first half of the 19th c.

12 people found this helpful

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American Heretic: Theodore Parker and Transcendentalism Hardcover – November 25, 2002

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