By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture That Launched a New World Religion - Couverture rigide

Givens, Terryl L.

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 019513818X ISBN 13 : 9780195138184

Editeur : Oxford University Press Inc, 2002

Synopsis

With over 100 million copies in print, the Book of Mormon has spawned a vast religious empire, but it remains little discussed outside Mormon circles. Now Terryl Givens offers a full-length treatment of this highly influential work, illuminating many facets of this uniquely American scripture. Givens explores how the Book of Mormon has been a sacred sign, or divine testament of the Last Days and of Joseph Smith's role as a modern-day prophet. He shows how it has functioned as an ancient history of the pre-Columbian peopling of the Western Hemisphere, first by a small Old World exodus occurring in the era of Babel, and later by groups from Jerusalem in the age of Jeremiah. Givens describes how it has been seen as a cultural product, the imaginative ravings of a rustic religion maker more inspired by the winds of culture than the breath of God. Or it is seen as a new American Bible or Fifth Gospel, displacing, supporting, or perverting the canonical World of God, according to the disposition of the reader? Givens also examines the Book's shifting relationship to Mormon doctrine and its changing reputation among theologians and scholars. Finally, in exploring what Martin Marty refers to as the Book of Mormon's "revelatory appeal," Givens highlights the Book's role as the engine behind what may be the next world religion. The most wide ranging study of the subject, By the Hand of Mormon will fascinate anyone curious about a religious people who, despite their numbers, remains very much strangers in our midst.

A propos du livre

Revue de presse

This outstanding book investigates the history and theology of the Book of Mormon, which Givens calls 'perhaps the most religiously influential, hotly contested, and, at least in the secular press, intellectually underinvestigated book in America.' Givens persuasively demonstrates how the Book of Mormon was trumpeted by early Latter-Day Saints more for the fact of its existence (which to them indicated an imminent apocalypse)

Givens is fair-minded, sympathetic, and knows his Mormon history, as well as the history of visionaries.... Givens's surest ground is in folding Joseph Smith in with the religious mystics who claimed immediate and intimate knowledge of the supernatural. The importance of his book lies in its scholarly, unbiased, and disinterested examination of a sacred text. (Harpers)

A closely written, thoughtful (if polemical) book by a devoted scholar. It is certainly provocative reading, whether you happen to be a Mormon or not. (Benson Bobrick, New York Times Book Review)

By the Hand of Mormon, Terryl L. Givens's study of the Book of Mormon, is vastly informative, particularly to the general reader who seeks for insight into this extraordinary work. There are enigmatic splendors in the Book of Mormon, whether it was revealed to Joseph Smith or whether it emerged from his indubitable religious genius. (Harold Bloom, author of The American Religion: The Emergence of the Post-Christian Nation)

This is an exceptional study. Terryl Givens has written an important work that increases our understanding of both the Book of Mormon and of Mormonism generally. He demonstrates how a single literary work gave rise to an enduring community, a theology, a religion, and a culture, and helps to explain not only the book's history but also the persisting success of Mormonism as an enduring belief system and worshipping community. By the Hand of Mormon is an achievement of real distinction. (Jan Shipps, author of Sojourner in the Promised Land: Forty Years Among the Mormons and Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition)

The publication of By the Hand of Mormon represents a breakthrough in the history of Mormon scholarship. This is a multifaceted book that sheds light on numerous aspects of Latter-day Saint belief and practice as well as upon the Book of Mormon itself. Latter-day Saints should purchase [this book] for themselves and for others because it is a profound book from which they and others will learn much. (Daniel C. Patterson, Professor of Islamis Studies, Bringham Young University)

A unique study of the Book of Mormon. (Edward S. Cutler, Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Bringham Young University)

Until now, the Book of Mormon has not been on anyone's list of canonical literary works, but it may be added soon as Mormonism assumes the dimensions of a budding world religion. Thus far no one has been able to situate this much-contested work in our intellectual history. Givens does, and offers a striking appraisal of just what the Book of Mormon means to our culture. (Richard Lyman Bushman, Gouverneur Morris Professor of History Emeritus, Columbia University, and co-author of Mormons in America)

Présentation de l'éditeur

With over 100 million copies in print, the Book of Mormon has spawned a vast religious movement, but it remains little discussed outside Mormon circles. Now Terry L. Givens offers a full-length treatment of this influential work, illuminating the varied meanings and tempestuous impact of this uniquely American scripture. Givens examines the text's role as a divine testament of the Last Days and as a sacred sign of Joseph Smith's status as a modern-day prophet. He assesses its claim to be a history of the pre-Columbian peopling of the Western Hemisphere, and later explores how the Book has been defined as a cultural product--the imaginative ravings of a rustic religion-maker. Givens further investigates its status as a new American Bible or Fifth Gospel, one that displaces, supports, or, in some views, perverts the canonical Word of God. Finally, Givens highlights the Book's role as the engine behind what may become the next world religion. The most wide-ranging study on the subject outside Mormon presses, By the Hand of Mormon will fascinate anyone curious about a religious people who, despite their numbers, remain strangers in our midst.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Oxford University Press Inc
• Date d'édition: 2002
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 019513818X
• ISBN 13: 9780195138184
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 330
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: Messaggerie Libri; ufficio.anagrafiche@meli.it; ; Via Verdi, 8; Assago Milano; Italie