A confused and overtheorized look at gender and the Christian Right. Kintz (English/Univ. of Oregon) can't seem to decide if he is writing a history of the rise of the Christian Right, a literary-critical evaluation of the movement's seminal texts, or an ethnographic encounter with female fundamentalists. This book tries to be all of those things, and a feminist manifesto besides. But it is so overladen with the postmodern theoretical jargon of semiotics, utilitarianism, and subjectivity that the meaning gets lost. Also, Kintz's use of Christian ``texts'' is disappointingly impressionistic; she never explains why she chose a particular work out of the vast array of options in any Christian bookstore. That said, there are some intriguing points made here, and in her postmodern way Kintz is not afraid to insert herself into her work and acknowledge her own biases. The first few chapters examine the Christian Right's reconstructions of motherhood as a sacred calling and of sexual differences as essential and divinely ordained. But the best writing here explores the ironies of today's Christian right: specifically, that the movement depends on women activists who preach their own subordination while lecturing around the country and hosting power lunches. She also understands the crucial importance of emotions to the movement. The Christian men's movement owes its current success, she points out, to its willingness to allow men to have feelings, even if they are restricted to ``tender warrior'' feelings. Though there are some valuable arguments here, the reader has to wade through far too much theoretical babble to find them.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-8223-1959-4
Page Count: 302
Publisher: Duke Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1997
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
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
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