About this title: The bestselling author of The Book of J says that Americans are a nation of Gnostics, believers in a pre-Christian tradition of individual divinity, of a divine spark more primordial than Creation itself--and that God knows and loves each of us.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date Published: 1992
ISBN-13:9780671679972ISBN:067167997X
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. 8vo soft cover. Audience: General/trade. Very nearly fine soft cover is clean inside and out with no creases to cover or spine. Very light edge/shelf wear to soft cover. read more
Description: Good. Light shelving wear with minimal damage to cover and bindings. Pages show minor use. Help save a tree. Buy all your used books from Green Earth Books. Read. Recycle and Reuse! read more
Binding: Hard Back
Publisher: SIMON AND SCHUSTER, NEW Y ORK
Date Published: 1992
ISBN-13:9780671679972ISBN:067167997X
Description: VERY GOOD in Very Good jacket. Hard bound in dust cover both in very good condition. Front cover illustrated in color. Cover and page edging are slightly soiled. Leaves are clean. Has underlining and marking's by previous owner. Has 288 page's. read more
Edition: 1st Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Riverside, New Jersey, U.S.A. : Simon & Schuster
Date Published: 1992
ISBN-13:9780671679972ISBN:067167997X
Description: Very Good in Very Good jacket. First Edition. 288 pages. Blue paper boards with gray cloth spine title stamped in silver on spine. Glossy illustrated jacket smooth and clean. Light wrinkling to crown/foot of jacket spine. Price unclipped. Light bumping to crown/foot of spine. Corners square. Pages unmarked and clean. Binding tight and strong. read more
"Bloom's hysterical rendering of American religion was almost endearing. Although, now in the year 2009, it doesn't look as though the Mormons have taken over the government. I need to study this man more to understand what was happening in his life/career around 1990 to make him fling himself into the academic arena as the self-proclaimed leader of "religious criticism". His insights are superficially potent, but he ends up with a moribund historical interpretation of the term "American Religion". For Bloom, American religion (like American literature, for the most part) had a limited existence during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Beforehand, religion in America was nothing more than the upstart offspring of European Christianity (to say nothing of those other people that lived in American who Bloom doesn't seem to remember. What were they called?). Revivalism spawned the American originals, as he would call them, which, unfortunately then died out with the death of Joseph Smith and the rise of Baptist Fundamentalism. As a result, pretty much all religion in American is no longer the American religion. Thus American=19th century white American. Just so there's no confusion. Worth reading with a grain of salt. Though be warned that Bloom makes a point at the beginning of his analysis of each religion with one of two statements. "I never actually finished reading the founding texts of this religion" or "No one in this religion would ever corroborate anything I'm about to say." Consider Bloom one part bold investigator, two parts pedant who invents lame excuses to justify his own agenda. Sorry, Harold."
"In this book, Bloom gives insight into what he calls the American religion--the de facto religious culture that most Americans share. He names the LDS church as the most literal embodiment of the mix between love of country and love of God and devotes a chapter to them. He also argues that the southern baptists are a growing American religion, and suggests that the LDS and SB churches have more in common than either may be willing to admit."
"An attempt at "religious criticism" by a literary critic. A self-described Gnostic, Bloom thinks that American religion in all its forms are essentially gnostic in character -- meaning that it emphasizes the individual's relationship to God and the primacy of spiritual experience, as opposed to the hierarchical and authoritative religion of the European type. He particularly focuses on the "home grown" religions of Mormonism, Seventh Day Adventism, and the Southern Baptist religion following E.Y. Mullins. Bloom is always a provocative read, largely because he is quite opinionated and has a high opinion of his opinions. But he is also erudite and writes in an engaging, conversational style. Whether you agree with him, or not, that American religious life is Gnostic, it seems a given that American religious life is unique and unlike that of other cultures. It is this uniqueness that fascinates him and he splendidly conveys this fascination to the reader."
"I admire the way that Bloom is able to free himself from preconceived notions of what religion is, or what particular American religions are. His analysis is quite brilliant."
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