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Title: The American Religion: The Emergence of the Post-Christian Nation by Harold Bloom, William Golding ISBN: 0-671-67997-X Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: May, 1992 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $22.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.42 (12 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Right, but not a new discovery
Comment: Bloom's argument, that virtually all Americans, from Southern Baptist to New Ager, are "gnostics," no matter what their denominational label, is right on the mark -- even if the tag "gnostic" offends some. What is his definition of a gnostic? 1) there is no higher religious authority than the private individual 2) every individual has the "soul sufficiency" to reach religious truth by themselves 3) external objective expressions of religion like churches, worship, or creeds are at best unnecessary but mostly a block to true spirituality 4) true religion does not need any external forms 5) so, no one can tell me what to believe, and anyone who does is potential threat to religious freedom. THE PROBLEM with Bloom is that this profound analysis of the essential American religious attitude was already made in the 1840s by the great Calvinist theologian John Williamson Nevin in his books "Anxious Bench" and "Antichrist" (available, published by Wiph and Stock). Both Bloom and Nevin are right, American-style Christianity is not Christian at all because it denies the objective presence of Christ in the World through Church, Sacrament, and Creed. In short, it makes the Incarnation irrelevent. What's left is a subjective worship of the self in place of God. We are all popes (but only for ourselves).
Rating: 3
Summary: Interesting essay
Comment: Bloom describes the main religions of the United States in a very comprehensive analysis, not suitable for beginners. I would have liked the author to include more information about each religion in order to achieve a better understanding of them.
Rating: 4
Summary: Different Cut of the Religious Pie
Comment: Prominent American literary critic points his analysis to the American church in what he terms "the post-Christian" time. Probably most striking and true is his conclusion that American religion is more closer to gnosticism than Christianity. Many Amercian strains of former confessional groups have strayed from their roots to evolve into something far removed from their historic predecessors. Many more are now engaged in that struggle. Fascinating analysis.
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Title: Kabbalah & Criticism by Harold Bloom, William Golding ISBN: 0826402429 Publisher: Continuum Pub. Date: December, 1983 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Omens of Millennium: The Gnosis of Angels, Dreams, and Resurrection by Harold Bloom ISBN: 1573226297 Publisher: Riverhead Books Pub. Date: October, 1997 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: The Book of J by Harold Bloom, David Rosenberg ISBN: 0679736247 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 05 November, 1991 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Genius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds by Harold Bloom ISBN: 0446527173 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: November, 2002 List Price(USD): $35.95 |
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Title: Wallace Stevens: The Poems of Our Climate by Harold Bloom, William Golding ISBN: 0801491851 Publisher: Cornell Univ Pr Pub. Date: December, 1980 List Price(USD): $21.50 |
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