A sweeping yet nuanced intellectual history of the rise of millennialism in Protestant Christianity. Popkin (Philosophy and Religion/Univ. of Calif., Los Angeles) and Katz (History/Tel Aviv Univ.) begin their story in an unusual place. Rather than tracing millennialism from its most popular 19th-century manifestations (William Miller’s followers tarrying for the return of Christ, for example), Katz and Popkin begin with the European Renaissance, finding apocalyptic themes in 15th-century hermeticism and alchemy. They carefully wend their tale through the Reformation, discussing how millennialist fervor spawned the English Civil War and the creation of the Fifth Monarchy, which they call “the first organized millenarian political movement.” The Enlightenment period favored empirical truth and scientific rationalism, but as the authors show, millennialism did not fall by the wayside; championed by esteemed philosophers such as Isaac Newton, it only grew more vigorous. The Enlightenment did shift millennialism’s focus away from personal piety, toward a quest for verifiable knowledge about precisely when Christ might arrive and what an apocalypse would entail. This obsession with dates and other specifics carried over into the 19th and 20th centuries, most obviously in the Millerite movement, but also among its descendants (Jehovah’s Witnesses and Seventh-day Adventists, as well as the descendants of the latter, the Branch Davidians). The authors weave their way expertly through intricate terminology, such as “Darbyite dispensational premillennialism,” defining terms by example. One surprising thread among these millenarian groups, stretching across seven centuries, is their fascination with the Jews’ role in bringing about the apocalypse (though, as the authors show, philo-Semitism can easily morph into its ugly opposite, as it has in the Christian Identity movement). The book is well written and, for an intellectual history, fairly straightforward, but the historical connections are sometimes tentatively drawn (e.g., “possibly Columbus knew something” of the views of one apocalyptic contemporary). In all, a superior attempt at a broader view of millennialism, uncovering some intriguing recurrent motifs.
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8090-6885-0
Page Count: 287
Publisher: Hill and Wang/Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1999
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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