Gary Scott Smith

Heaven in the American Imagination (eBook, ePUB)

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

Does heaven exist? If so, what is it like? And how does one get in? Throughout history, painters, poets, philosophers, pastors, and many ordinary people have pondered these questions. Perhaps no other topic captures the popular imagination quite like heaven. Gary Scott Smith examines how Americans from the Puritans to the present have imagined heaven. He argues that whether Americans have perceived heaven as reality or fantasy, as God's home or a human invention, as a source of inspiration and comfort or an opiate that distracts from earthly life, or as a place of worship or a perpetual playground has varied largely according to the spirit of the age. In the colonial era, conceptions of heaven focused primarily on the glory of God. For the Victorians, heaven was a warm, comfortable home where people would live forever with their family and friends. Today, heaven is often less distinctively Christian and more of a celestial entertainment center or a paradise where everyone can reach his full potential. Drawing on an astounding array of sources, including works of art, music, sociology, psychology, folklore, liturgy, sermons, poetry, fiction, jokes, and devotional books, Smith paints a sweeping, provocative portrait of what Americans-from Jonathan Edwards to Mitch Albom-have thought about heaven.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Oxford University Press
• Erscheinungstermin: 1. Juni 2011
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9780199831975
• Artikelnr.: 38132397

Autorenporträt

Gary Scott Smith is Professor of History at Grove City College, in Pennsylvania. He is the author, most recently, of Faith and the Presidency: From George Washington to George W. Bush.

Inhaltsangabe

* Preface Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. The Puritans: Celebrating the Glory of Heaven Chapter 3. Jonathan Edwards and the First Great Awakening: Heaven Is a World of Love Chapter 4. The Early National Era and the Second Great Awakening: The Founders
Assaults on Orthodoxy
and Revival Chapter 5. Heaven as Home: The Victorians and Heaven
1830-1870; Family
Friends
and Fellowship Chapter 6. Slavery
the Civil War
and Heaven Chapter 7. Heaven in the Gilded Age: Dwight Moody and the Princes of the Pulpit Chapter 8. Heaven in the Progressive Years: The Social Gospel
Urban Revivalism
and Theological Liberalism; Personal Growth
Service
and Reform Chapter 9. Heaven from the Roaring Twenties to the Fabulous Fifties Chapter 10. Heaven
1960-2000: New Trends and Revived Themes Chapter 11. The Contemporary Scene: Heaven Today Chapter 12. Conclusion