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Heaven : our enduring fascination with the afterlife / Lisa Miller.

By: Material type: TextTextPublication details: New York, NY : Harper, c2010.Edition: 1st edDescription: xxvii, 331 p. ; 24 cmISBN:
  • 9780060554750 :
  • 0060554754
Subject(s): LOC classification:
  • BL540 .M56 2010
Contents:
What is heaven? -- The miracle -- The kingdom is near -- Green, green pastures -- Resurrection -- Salvation -- Visionaries -- Reunions -- Is heaven boring?
Summary: A groundbreaking and accessible history of heaven--from the earliest biblical conceptions of the afterlife to the theologians who frame our understandings, to the convictions and perceptions of everyday people. Drawing on history and popular culture, biblical research and everyday beliefs, religion journalist Lisa Miller offers a new understanding of one of the most cherished ideals of spiritual life. She discusses not just our visions of the afterlife, but how our beliefs have influenced the societies we have built and the lifestyles to which we have subscribed. She also reveals how the notion of heaven has been used for manipulation--to promulgate goodness and evil--as inspiration for selfless behavior, and as justification for mass murder. From the Revelation to the Left Behind series, Augustine to bin Laden, Muslims in the West Bank to American Mormons baptizing their dead, this is a penetrating look at a cherished religious ideal.--From publisher description.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode
Books (30-Day Checkout) Books (30-Day Checkout) Nash Library General Stacks BL540.M56 2010 1 Available 33710001246185

Includes bibliographical references (p. [255]-320) and index.

What is heaven? -- The miracle -- The kingdom is near -- Green, green pastures -- Resurrection -- Salvation -- Visionaries -- Reunions -- Is heaven boring?

A groundbreaking and accessible history of heaven--from the earliest biblical conceptions of the afterlife to the theologians who frame our understandings, to the convictions and perceptions of everyday people. Drawing on history and popular culture, biblical research and everyday beliefs, religion journalist Lisa Miller offers a new understanding of one of the most cherished ideals of spiritual life. She discusses not just our visions of the afterlife, but how our beliefs have influenced the societies we have built and the lifestyles to which we have subscribed. She also reveals how the notion of heaven has been used for manipulation--to promulgate goodness and evil--as inspiration for selfless behavior, and as justification for mass murder. From the Revelation to the Left Behind series, Augustine to bin Laden, Muslims in the West Bank to American Mormons baptizing their dead, this is a penetrating look at a cherished religious ideal.--From publisher description.