Elaine Showalter
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198123835
- eISBN:
- 9780191671616
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198123835.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Women's Literature, American, 20th Century Literature
Are American women writers from different eras and different backgrounds connected by common threads in a coherent tradition? How have the relationships between women's rights, women's rites, and ...
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Are American women writers from different eras and different backgrounds connected by common threads in a coherent tradition? How have the relationships between women's rights, women's rites, and women's writing figured in the history of literature by women in the United States? Drawing on a wide range of writers from Margaret Fuller to Alice Walker, the author argues that post-colonial as well as feminist literary theory can help in understanding the hybrid, intertextual, and changing forms of American women's writing, and the way that ‘women's culture’ intersects with other cultural forms. She looks closely at three American classics – Little Women, The Awakening, and The House of Mirth – and traces the transformations in such major themes, images, and genres of American women's writing as the American Miranda, the Female Gothic, and the patchwork quilt. Ending with a moving description of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, she shows how the women's tradition is a literary quilt that offers a new map of a changing America.Less
Are American women writers from different eras and different backgrounds connected by common threads in a coherent tradition? How have the relationships between women's rights, women's rites, and women's writing figured in the history of literature by women in the United States? Drawing on a wide range of writers from Margaret Fuller to Alice Walker, the author argues that post-colonial as well as feminist literary theory can help in understanding the hybrid, intertextual, and changing forms of American women's writing, and the way that ‘women's culture’ intersects with other cultural forms. She looks closely at three American classics – Little Women, The Awakening, and The House of Mirth – and traces the transformations in such major themes, images, and genres of American women's writing as the American Miranda, the Female Gothic, and the patchwork quilt. Ending with a moving description of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, she shows how the women's tradition is a literary quilt that offers a new map of a changing America.
Taigen Dan Leighton
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195320930
- eISBN:
- 9780199785360
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195320930.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
As a religion concerned with universal liberation, Zen grew out of a Buddhist worldview very different from the currently prevalent scientific materialism. Zen cannot be fully understood outside of a ...
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As a religion concerned with universal liberation, Zen grew out of a Buddhist worldview very different from the currently prevalent scientific materialism. Zen cannot be fully understood outside of a worldview that sees reality itself as a vital, dynamic agent of awareness and healing. This book explicates that worldview through the writings of the Zen master Eihei Dōgen (1200-1253), considered the founder of the Japanese Sōtō Zen tradition, which currently enjoys popularity in the West. The Lotus Sutra, arguably the most important Buddhist scripture in East Asia, contains a famous story about bodhisattvas (enlightening beings) who emerge from under the earth to preserve and expound the Lotus teaching in the distant future. The story reveals that the Buddha only appears to pass away, but actually has been practicing, and will continue to do so, over an inconceivably long life span. The book traces commentaries on the Lotus Sutra from key East Asian Buddhist thinkers, including Daosheng, Zhiyi, Zhanran, Saigyo, Myoe, Nichiren, Hakuin, and Ryokan. But the main focus is Eihei Dōgen, whose profuse, provocative, and poetic writings are important to the modern expansion of Buddhism to the West. Dōgen's use of this sutra expresses the critical role of Mahnullynullna vision and imagination as the context of Zen teaching, and his interpretations of this story furthermore reveal his dynamic worldview of the earth, space, and time themselves as vital agents of spiritual awakening. The book argues that Dōgen uses the images and metaphors in this story to express his own religious worldview, in which earth, space, and time are lively agents in the bodhisattva project. Broader awareness of Dōgen's worldview and its implications can illuminate the possibilities for contemporary approaches to primary Mahnullynullna concepts and practices.Less
As a religion concerned with universal liberation, Zen grew out of a Buddhist worldview very different from the currently prevalent scientific materialism. Zen cannot be fully understood outside of a worldview that sees reality itself as a vital, dynamic agent of awareness and healing. This book explicates that worldview through the writings of the Zen master Eihei Dōgen (1200-1253), considered the founder of the Japanese Sōtō Zen tradition, which currently enjoys popularity in the West. The Lotus Sutra, arguably the most important Buddhist scripture in East Asia, contains a famous story about bodhisattvas (enlightening beings) who emerge from under the earth to preserve and expound the Lotus teaching in the distant future. The story reveals that the Buddha only appears to pass away, but actually has been practicing, and will continue to do so, over an inconceivably long life span. The book traces commentaries on the Lotus Sutra from key East Asian Buddhist thinkers, including Daosheng, Zhiyi, Zhanran, Saigyo, Myoe, Nichiren, Hakuin, and Ryokan. But the main focus is Eihei Dōgen, whose profuse, provocative, and poetic writings are important to the modern expansion of Buddhism to the West. Dōgen's use of this sutra expresses the critical role of Mahnullynullna vision and imagination as the context of Zen teaching, and his interpretations of this story furthermore reveal his dynamic worldview of the earth, space, and time themselves as vital agents of spiritual awakening. The book argues that Dōgen uses the images and metaphors in this story to express his own religious worldview, in which earth, space, and time are lively agents in the bodhisattva project. Broader awareness of Dōgen's worldview and its implications can illuminate the possibilities for contemporary approaches to primary Mahnullynullna concepts and practices.
Arie Morgenstern
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195305784
- eISBN:
- 9780199784820
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195305787.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
The Vilna Ga’on, an extraordinary Talmudic scholar, inspired in his disciples a sense that he was a supernatural phenomenon, with a messianic mission to redeem the Jewish nation by disseminating the ...
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The Vilna Ga’on, an extraordinary Talmudic scholar, inspired in his disciples a sense that he was a supernatural phenomenon, with a messianic mission to redeem the Jewish nation by disseminating the true knowledge of Torah and by settling the Land of Israel. Although he himself never succeeded in immigrating to the Land, many of his disciples did so. They had a profound sense that the End of Days was approaching, and they developed the doctrine that redemption was not contingent on repentance but would come at its appointed time no matter what; repentance bore only on how it was to come about and on whether it might be accelerated. They likewise regarded as no longer applicable the prohibition in the “Three Oaths” against efforts on Israel’s part to hasten the End (“ascending the wall”). Rejecting the traditional emphasis on passivity, they held that the awakening above (i.e., God’s redemptive actions) could be triggered by the awakening from below (human actions directed toward hastening redemption), such as settling the Land of Israel and rebuilding it in order to “raise the Shekhinah from its ashes”.Less
The Vilna Ga’on, an extraordinary Talmudic scholar, inspired in his disciples a sense that he was a supernatural phenomenon, with a messianic mission to redeem the Jewish nation by disseminating the true knowledge of Torah and by settling the Land of Israel. Although he himself never succeeded in immigrating to the Land, many of his disciples did so. They had a profound sense that the End of Days was approaching, and they developed the doctrine that redemption was not contingent on repentance but would come at its appointed time no matter what; repentance bore only on how it was to come about and on whether it might be accelerated. They likewise regarded as no longer applicable the prohibition in the “Three Oaths” against efforts on Israel’s part to hasten the End (“ascending the wall”). Rejecting the traditional emphasis on passivity, they held that the awakening above (i.e., God’s redemptive actions) could be triggered by the awakening from below (human actions directed toward hastening redemption), such as settling the Land of Israel and rebuilding it in order to “raise the Shekhinah from its ashes”.
Paul E. Johnson and Sean Wilentz
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195098358
- eISBN:
- 9780199854134
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195098358.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: 19th Century
In the autumn of 1834, New York City was awash with rumors of a strange religious cult operating nearby, centered around a mysterious, self-styled prophet named Matthias. It was said that Matthias ...
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In the autumn of 1834, New York City was awash with rumors of a strange religious cult operating nearby, centered around a mysterious, self-styled prophet named Matthias. It was said that Matthias the Prophet was stealing money from one of his followers; then came reports of lascivious sexual relations, based on odd teachings of matched spirits, apostolic priesthoods, and the inferiority of women. At its climax, the rumors transformed into legal charges, as the Prophet was arrested for the murder of a once highly regarded Christian gentleman who had fallen under his sway. This book recaptures the strange tale, providing a window into the turbulent movements of the religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening—movements which swept up great numbers of evangelical Americans and gave rise to new sects like the Mormons. Into this teeming environment walked a down-and-out carpenter named Robert Matthews, who announced himself as Matthias, prophet of the God of the Jews. His hypnotic spell drew in a cast of unforgettable characters: the meekly devout businessman Elijah Pierson, who once tried to raise his late wife from the dead; the young attractive Christian couple, Benjamin Folger and his wife Ann, who seduced the woman-hating Prophet; and the shrewd ex-slave Isabella Van Wagenen, regarded by some as “the most wicked of the wicked.” None was more colorful than the Prophet himself, a bearded, thundering tyrant who gathered his followers into an absolutist household, using their money to buy an elaborate, eccentric wardrobe, and reordering their marital relations. By the time the tensions within the kingdom exploded into a clash with the law, Matthias had become a national scandal.Less
In the autumn of 1834, New York City was awash with rumors of a strange religious cult operating nearby, centered around a mysterious, self-styled prophet named Matthias. It was said that Matthias the Prophet was stealing money from one of his followers; then came reports of lascivious sexual relations, based on odd teachings of matched spirits, apostolic priesthoods, and the inferiority of women. At its climax, the rumors transformed into legal charges, as the Prophet was arrested for the murder of a once highly regarded Christian gentleman who had fallen under his sway. This book recaptures the strange tale, providing a window into the turbulent movements of the religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening—movements which swept up great numbers of evangelical Americans and gave rise to new sects like the Mormons. Into this teeming environment walked a down-and-out carpenter named Robert Matthews, who announced himself as Matthias, prophet of the God of the Jews. His hypnotic spell drew in a cast of unforgettable characters: the meekly devout businessman Elijah Pierson, who once tried to raise his late wife from the dead; the young attractive Christian couple, Benjamin Folger and his wife Ann, who seduced the woman-hating Prophet; and the shrewd ex-slave Isabella Van Wagenen, regarded by some as “the most wicked of the wicked.” None was more colorful than the Prophet himself, a bearded, thundering tyrant who gathered his followers into an absolutist household, using their money to buy an elaborate, eccentric wardrobe, and reordering their marital relations. By the time the tensions within the kingdom exploded into a clash with the law, Matthias had become a national scandal.
Chris Beneke
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195305555
- eISBN:
- 9780199784899
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195305558.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter focuses on the disruptive religious revivals of the 1740s and 1750s, known as the First Great Awakening. It explores how the impressive mobility and astonishing popularity of itinerant ...
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This chapter focuses on the disruptive religious revivals of the 1740s and 1750s, known as the First Great Awakening. It explores how the impressive mobility and astonishing popularity of itinerant ministers gave new meaning to the right of private judgment. It also documents the rash of revival-inspired church separations, which broadened the range of religious alternatives and undermined traditional religious authority. The travails of a humble minister named Ebenezer Parkman dramatize the sometimes painful consequences of religious diversity, as well as its liberating possibilities.Less
This chapter focuses on the disruptive religious revivals of the 1740s and 1750s, known as the First Great Awakening. It explores how the impressive mobility and astonishing popularity of itinerant ministers gave new meaning to the right of private judgment. It also documents the rash of revival-inspired church separations, which broadened the range of religious alternatives and undermined traditional religious authority. The travails of a humble minister named Ebenezer Parkman dramatize the sometimes painful consequences of religious diversity, as well as its liberating possibilities.
Ian Christie
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265536
- eISBN:
- 9780191760327
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265536.003.0027
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
The forces which impede transformational tipping points are very strong, entrenched and locked in. To overcome these will require polycentric governance, cooperating corporations, alliances between ...
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The forces which impede transformational tipping points are very strong, entrenched and locked in. To overcome these will require polycentric governance, cooperating corporations, alliances between civic and religious groups, and the onset of more autonomous yet accountable local and regional governance. These may form parallel infrastructures of change in corporate ethos and accounting, in the ecological awakening of religions, and in the effective democratization and economic autonomy of local governance.Less
The forces which impede transformational tipping points are very strong, entrenched and locked in. To overcome these will require polycentric governance, cooperating corporations, alliances between civic and religious groups, and the onset of more autonomous yet accountable local and regional governance. These may form parallel infrastructures of change in corporate ethos and accounting, in the ecological awakening of religions, and in the effective democratization and economic autonomy of local governance.
Lamin O. Sanneh
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195189605
- eISBN:
- 9780199868582
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195189605.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The book describes the Christian movement from New Testament times and the Gentile mission to developments in the Roman Empire. It expounds Christianity's eastward expansion and seminal interaction ...
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The book describes the Christian movement from New Testament times and the Gentile mission to developments in the Roman Empire. It expounds Christianity's eastward expansion and seminal interaction with Islam whose resistance encouraged Europe to embark on its maritime expansion to the East and the New World. Christianity followed Europe into the non‐Christian world, and became identified with the rising mercantilism and colonial empires. Missions gained—and lost—momentum by association with the slave trade and with related systems of native exploitation, acquiring range and imperial protection, for example, but also by provoking local resistance. Conversely, the first mass conversion of New World Africans provided impetus for the missionary drive into Africa and Asia, culminating in the 20th-century post‐Western awakening. Nineteenth-century colonial empires masked the true potential of Christianity's indigenous appeal, though the adoption of vernacular Bible translation appealed to reserves of local initiative and persisted vigorously into the post‐colonial phase. The book follows the theme to post‐Maoist China and in developments in the global Pentecostal/Charismatic movement. All these manifestations paint the picture of World Christianity as a critical dynamic force in the 21st century.Less
The book describes the Christian movement from New Testament times and the Gentile mission to developments in the Roman Empire. It expounds Christianity's eastward expansion and seminal interaction with Islam whose resistance encouraged Europe to embark on its maritime expansion to the East and the New World. Christianity followed Europe into the non‐Christian world, and became identified with the rising mercantilism and colonial empires. Missions gained—and lost—momentum by association with the slave trade and with related systems of native exploitation, acquiring range and imperial protection, for example, but also by provoking local resistance. Conversely, the first mass conversion of New World Africans provided impetus for the missionary drive into Africa and Asia, culminating in the 20th-century post‐Western awakening. Nineteenth-century colonial empires masked the true potential of Christianity's indigenous appeal, though the adoption of vernacular Bible translation appealed to reserves of local initiative and persisted vigorously into the post‐colonial phase. The book follows the theme to post‐Maoist China and in developments in the global Pentecostal/Charismatic movement. All these manifestations paint the picture of World Christianity as a critical dynamic force in the 21st century.
Brian A. Hatcher
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195326086
- eISBN:
- 9780199869282
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195326086.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This chapter discusses the origins of the Tattvabodhinī Sabhā. Topics covered include the early religious experiences of Debendranath Tagore, Debendranath's great awakening, founding of the ...
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This chapter discusses the origins of the Tattvabodhinī Sabhā. Topics covered include the early religious experiences of Debendranath Tagore, Debendranath's great awakening, founding of the Tattvabodhinī Sabhā, and understanding Sabhyadiger vaktṛtā in its moment.Less
This chapter discusses the origins of the Tattvabodhinī Sabhā. Topics covered include the early religious experiences of Debendranath Tagore, Debendranath's great awakening, founding of the Tattvabodhinī Sabhā, and understanding Sabhyadiger vaktṛtā in its moment.
Linford D. Fisher
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199740048
- eISBN:
- 9780199949892
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199740048.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, American History: early to 18th Century
The Great Awakening has long been recognized by historians as an important moment in time for Indian communities in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and on Long Island, New York. This chapter examines the ...
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The Great Awakening has long been recognized by historians as an important moment in time for Indian communities in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and on Long Island, New York. This chapter examines the experience of the Awakening in individual communities while placing the “Indian Great Awakening” within the Great Awakening as a whole. This chapter also interprets Indian participation within a longer trajectory of Indians making religious and cultural decisions to meet their own needs.Less
The Great Awakening has long been recognized by historians as an important moment in time for Indian communities in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and on Long Island, New York. This chapter examines the experience of the Awakening in individual communities while placing the “Indian Great Awakening” within the Great Awakening as a whole. This chapter also interprets Indian participation within a longer trajectory of Indians making religious and cultural decisions to meet their own needs.
James Davison Hunter
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199730803
- eISBN:
- 9780199777082
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199730803.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The alternative view of cultural change that assigns roles not only to ideas but also to elites, networks, technology, and new institutions, provides a much better account of the growth in ...
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The alternative view of cultural change that assigns roles not only to ideas but also to elites, networks, technology, and new institutions, provides a much better account of the growth in plausibility and popularity of these important cultural developments. This is the evidence of history—particularly clear in an overview of key moments in church history and the rise of the Enlightenment and its various manifestations. Change in culture or civilization simply does not occur when there is change in the beliefs and values in the hearts and minds of ordinary people or in the creation of mere artifacts.Less
The alternative view of cultural change that assigns roles not only to ideas but also to elites, networks, technology, and new institutions, provides a much better account of the growth in plausibility and popularity of these important cultural developments. This is the evidence of history—particularly clear in an overview of key moments in church history and the rise of the Enlightenment and its various manifestations. Change in culture or civilization simply does not occur when there is change in the beliefs and values in the hearts and minds of ordinary people or in the creation of mere artifacts.
Harry S. Stout
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195373431
- eISBN:
- 9780199871681
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195373431.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This chapter explores the cultural and intellectual context for Edwards’s revival sermons preached during the “Great Awakening” of the early 1740s, concentrating on the theme of redemption with a ...
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This chapter explores the cultural and intellectual context for Edwards’s revival sermons preached during the “Great Awakening” of the early 1740s, concentrating on the theme of redemption with a special focus on its implications for revival preaching. The centerpiece of this preaching, indeed the apotheosis, is “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” which the chapter explores theologically and rhetorically. The chapter also discusses the rhetorical significance of Edwards’s brief, handwritten, notes, which compelled a more extemporaneous delivery. Finally, it looks at the clerical opposition of “Old Lights” to Edwards and Revival as the context for Edwards’s theological treatises.Less
This chapter explores the cultural and intellectual context for Edwards’s revival sermons preached during the “Great Awakening” of the early 1740s, concentrating on the theme of redemption with a special focus on its implications for revival preaching. The centerpiece of this preaching, indeed the apotheosis, is “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” which the chapter explores theologically and rhetorically. The chapter also discusses the rhetorical significance of Edwards’s brief, handwritten, notes, which compelled a more extemporaneous delivery. Finally, it looks at the clerical opposition of “Old Lights” to Edwards and Revival as the context for Edwards’s theological treatises.
Willem van Vlastuin
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195373431
- eISBN:
- 9780199871681
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195373431.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This chapter evaluates Edwards from four perspectives—the spiritual (Edwards’s metanarrative of history is a spiritual history directed to revival and the millennium), the historical (Edwards had ...
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This chapter evaluates Edwards from four perspectives—the spiritual (Edwards’s metanarrative of history is a spiritual history directed to revival and the millennium), the historical (Edwards had real-world impact on the modern Protestant missionary movement), the Reformed (Calvin stressed the hiddenness of the kingdom of Christ, while Edwards said the kingdom will be visible within history), and the systematic (Edwards seems to make the work of the Spirit more important than the work of Christ).Less
This chapter evaluates Edwards from four perspectives—the spiritual (Edwards’s metanarrative of history is a spiritual history directed to revival and the millennium), the historical (Edwards had real-world impact on the modern Protestant missionary movement), the Reformed (Calvin stressed the hiddenness of the kingdom of Christ, while Edwards said the kingdom will be visible within history), and the systematic (Edwards seems to make the work of the Spirit more important than the work of Christ).
J. Rixey Ruffin
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195326512
- eISBN:
- 9780199870417
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195326512.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Ultimately, in politics as well as in religion, Bentley's projects came to little. For while he had led the Republicans to success, that very success then led them to abandon him. The party would ...
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Ultimately, in politics as well as in religion, Bentley's projects came to little. For while he had led the Republicans to success, that very success then led them to abandon him. The party would grow ever larger and more influential, but the tenor of the party changed too, away from the rationalist, libertarian egalitarianism that Bentley wanted it to have. Meanwhile, his efforts to convert Americans to Unitarian Christian naturalism came to even less. His church actually shrank and was the only congregation in Salem to do so, for it was the age of the Second Great Awakening, and Bentley could only stand by and watch as many more Americans moved toward an evangelical, experientialist version of Christianity rather toward his side. This chapter offers some explanations for these failures, in the limited appeal of his desires for a free America, compared to those of most Americans, and the failure of his Christian naturalism to meet the spiritual, communal, and emotional needs of those who looked to their Christianity to provide more than just a rationally consistent explanation of the world.Less
Ultimately, in politics as well as in religion, Bentley's projects came to little. For while he had led the Republicans to success, that very success then led them to abandon him. The party would grow ever larger and more influential, but the tenor of the party changed too, away from the rationalist, libertarian egalitarianism that Bentley wanted it to have. Meanwhile, his efforts to convert Americans to Unitarian Christian naturalism came to even less. His church actually shrank and was the only congregation in Salem to do so, for it was the age of the Second Great Awakening, and Bentley could only stand by and watch as many more Americans moved toward an evangelical, experientialist version of Christianity rather toward his side. This chapter offers some explanations for these failures, in the limited appeal of his desires for a free America, compared to those of most Americans, and the failure of his Christian naturalism to meet the spiritual, communal, and emotional needs of those who looked to their Christianity to provide more than just a rationally consistent explanation of the world.
Stephen A. Marini
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195173048
- eISBN:
- 9780199872091
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195173048.003.0008
- Subject:
- Music, Ethnomusicology, World Music
This chapter examines the ways in which early American hymns provided texts and discourse for American history by employing computer-assisted statistical analysis. Evangelical hymns formed as ...
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This chapter examines the ways in which early American hymns provided texts and discourse for American history by employing computer-assisted statistical analysis. Evangelical hymns formed as repertories and canons as they passed from English Protestant traditions to the social and sacred practices that accompanied the settlement of the United States from the late 18th through the 19th century, particularly at moments such as the Great Awakening. At the beginning of the 21st century, many hymns from historically evangelical practices have become the favorite hymns (e.g., those by Isaac Watt, and Charles and John Wesley) shared by Protestant denominations and beyond. The chapter compares the ways meaning in hymn texts affords meaning to American religious experience. Hymnody itself is presented comparatively, as texts (ritual song, sacred medium) and contexts (belief, spirituality) for the lives of evangelicals and the formation of their churches and denominations.Less
This chapter examines the ways in which early American hymns provided texts and discourse for American history by employing computer-assisted statistical analysis. Evangelical hymns formed as repertories and canons as they passed from English Protestant traditions to the social and sacred practices that accompanied the settlement of the United States from the late 18th through the 19th century, particularly at moments such as the Great Awakening. At the beginning of the 21st century, many hymns from historically evangelical practices have become the favorite hymns (e.g., those by Isaac Watt, and Charles and John Wesley) shared by Protestant denominations and beyond. The chapter compares the ways meaning in hymn texts affords meaning to American religious experience. Hymnody itself is presented comparatively, as texts (ritual song, sacred medium) and contexts (belief, spirituality) for the lives of evangelicals and the formation of their churches and denominations.
Graham Priest
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199751426
- eISBN:
- 9780199827190
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199751426.003.0013
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Madhyamaka-influenced schools of Buddhism are committed to the view that there are two realities (the doctrine of “two truths”). This chapter provides two ways in which the idea may be (and has been) ...
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Madhyamaka-influenced schools of Buddhism are committed to the view that there are two realities (the doctrine of “two truths”). This chapter provides two ways in which the idea may be (and has been) understood. According to one of these, the two realities are two (subjective) perspectives on one and the same thing. According to the other, the relation between the two is that between something and its (objective) manifestation.Less
Madhyamaka-influenced schools of Buddhism are committed to the view that there are two realities (the doctrine of “two truths”). This chapter provides two ways in which the idea may be (and has been) understood. According to one of these, the two realities are two (subjective) perspectives on one and the same thing. According to the other, the relation between the two is that between something and its (objective) manifestation.
Theodore Ziolkowski
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195336917
- eISBN:
- 9780199868353
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195336917.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter investigates how the tale of Europa and the bull—in poetry, drama, and art, but also in cartoons, advertising, and currency—was initially seized upon by artists around the turn of the ...
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This chapter investigates how the tale of Europa and the bull—in poetry, drama, and art, but also in cartoons, advertising, and currency—was initially seized upon by artists around the turn of the century and by Expressionist poets as a parable of sexual awakening and of the essential animality of sex. In the 1920s it emerged as a vehicle for social commentary and political satire; later exile artists used the myth to suggest the descent into social depravity and political chaos in Europe. Long a popular subject for works of artistic kitsch, it triumphed as a widespread symbol of European unity after World War II.Less
This chapter investigates how the tale of Europa and the bull—in poetry, drama, and art, but also in cartoons, advertising, and currency—was initially seized upon by artists around the turn of the century and by Expressionist poets as a parable of sexual awakening and of the essential animality of sex. In the 1920s it emerged as a vehicle for social commentary and political satire; later exile artists used the myth to suggest the descent into social depravity and political chaos in Europe. Long a popular subject for works of artistic kitsch, it triumphed as a widespread symbol of European unity after World War II.
John A Grigg
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195372373
- eISBN:
- 9780199870868
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195372373.001.1
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
David Brainerd is one of the more recognizable names in the history of colonial America both to those inside the academy and to the general public. Much of his reputation is based on the picture ...
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David Brainerd is one of the more recognizable names in the history of colonial America both to those inside the academy and to the general public. Much of his reputation is based on the picture constructed by Jonathan Edwards in his bestselling Life of Brainerd. This new biography seeks to restore Brainerd to the context of the culture in which he lived. Combining archival research with the most recent scholarship on the Great Awakening and Indian missions, the book argues that Brainerd's work among the Indians resulted from his determination to combine two major parts of his life experience. Rather than being forced into Indian missions by his expulsion from Yale, Brainerd made a deliberate decision to work among the Indians as a way to combine the sense of order and tradition inherited from his family with the radical experiences of the revivals of the 1740s. In the second part of the book examines how the constructed version of Brainerd was brought about. In separate chapters devoted to Jonathan Edwards and John Wesley, it argues that each of them crafted their versions of Brainerd's life in order to address specific problems. The book also examines how subsequent generations of evangelicals utilized Brainerd for their own purposes. The David Brainerd who emerges from this work will be both familiar and new to academics and evangelicals alike.Less
David Brainerd is one of the more recognizable names in the history of colonial America both to those inside the academy and to the general public. Much of his reputation is based on the picture constructed by Jonathan Edwards in his bestselling Life of Brainerd. This new biography seeks to restore Brainerd to the context of the culture in which he lived. Combining archival research with the most recent scholarship on the Great Awakening and Indian missions, the book argues that Brainerd's work among the Indians resulted from his determination to combine two major parts of his life experience. Rather than being forced into Indian missions by his expulsion from Yale, Brainerd made a deliberate decision to work among the Indians as a way to combine the sense of order and tradition inherited from his family with the radical experiences of the revivals of the 1740s. In the second part of the book examines how the constructed version of Brainerd was brought about. In separate chapters devoted to Jonathan Edwards and John Wesley, it argues that each of them crafted their versions of Brainerd's life in order to address specific problems. The book also examines how subsequent generations of evangelicals utilized Brainerd for their own purposes. The David Brainerd who emerges from this work will be both familiar and new to academics and evangelicals alike.
Dan P. McAdams
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195176933
- eISBN:
- 9780199786787
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195176933.003.0007
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
Drawing from empirical research on the psychology and sociology of religion and from historical analyses of American religious life, this chapter describes how religiosity among Americans is ...
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Drawing from empirical research on the psychology and sociology of religion and from historical analyses of American religious life, this chapter describes how religiosity among Americans is positively associated with physical health, psychological well-being, and generativity. Case studies of moral exemplars and empirical research on the life narrative and generativity, strongly suggest that highly generative American adults often draw upon religious traditions to articulate their redemptive stories of self. The chapter also considers how Americans have reacted to the narrative challenge of reconciling within their own redemptive life stories their devout religious sentiments on the one hand, and the drive for money and material gain on the other.Less
Drawing from empirical research on the psychology and sociology of religion and from historical analyses of American religious life, this chapter describes how religiosity among Americans is positively associated with physical health, psychological well-being, and generativity. Case studies of moral exemplars and empirical research on the life narrative and generativity, strongly suggest that highly generative American adults often draw upon religious traditions to articulate their redemptive stories of self. The chapter also considers how Americans have reacted to the narrative challenge of reconciling within their own redemptive life stories their devout religious sentiments on the one hand, and the drive for money and material gain on the other.
John R. Dichtl
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813124865
- eISBN:
- 9780813135106
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813124865.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion
This book examines how Catholics in the early nineteenth-century Ohio Valley—despite the evangelical success of the Protestant faith during the Second Great Awakening —expanded their church, ...
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This book examines how Catholics in the early nineteenth-century Ohio Valley—despite the evangelical success of the Protestant faith during the Second Great Awakening —expanded their church, strengthened their connections to Rome, and sought fellowship with their non-Catholic neighbors. Using extensive correspondence, reports, diaries, court documents, apologetical works, and other records of Catholic clergy, the book shows how Catholic leadership successfully pursued strategies of growth in frontier regions while continually weighing major decisions against established Protestant doctrine. This book helps restore Catholicism to the story of religious development in the Early Republic and emphasizes the importance of clerical and lay efforts to make sacred the landscape of the New West.Less
This book examines how Catholics in the early nineteenth-century Ohio Valley—despite the evangelical success of the Protestant faith during the Second Great Awakening —expanded their church, strengthened their connections to Rome, and sought fellowship with their non-Catholic neighbors. Using extensive correspondence, reports, diaries, court documents, apologetical works, and other records of Catholic clergy, the book shows how Catholic leadership successfully pursued strategies of growth in frontier regions while continually weighing major decisions against established Protestant doctrine. This book helps restore Catholicism to the story of religious development in the Early Republic and emphasizes the importance of clerical and lay efforts to make sacred the landscape of the New West.
Philip N. Mulder
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195131635
- eISBN:
- 9780199834525
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195131630.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists in the American South competed divisively with each other during the First and Second Great Awakenings, establishing a spirited evangelical presence in the ...
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Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists in the American South competed divisively with each other during the First and Second Great Awakenings, establishing a spirited evangelical presence in the region, but left wanting a common religious influence that would fulfill ecumenical ideals. Presbyterians and Baptists set the tone by subordinating New Light techniques to their denominational traditions, the Presbyterians countering the novelties of the revivals with their long‐standing emphasis on education and decorum, and the Baptists demanding that converts be judged by their knowledge of core doctrines. The two Calvinist denominations successfully limited the innovative Methodists, who had hoped to transcend the others’ sectarian spirit with piety and ecumenism – the very definition of the New Light. Methodists were absorbed into the arguments over denominational differences, and all the groups turned their aggressiveness toward each other as the Anglican Church, formerly their target of mutual dissent, disintegrated during the American Revolution. Left to encounter each other during outdoor preaching, camp meetings, and neighborhood discussions, Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists became obsessed with their own debates over proper religion and the acceptable measure of New Light piety. In their polities, beliefs, rituals, and conversions, these churches, led by the Baptists, defined evangelicalism as a controversial spirit, with the New Light ideal of the Methodists falling into the rivalry of denominationalism.Less
Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists in the American South competed divisively with each other during the First and Second Great Awakenings, establishing a spirited evangelical presence in the region, but left wanting a common religious influence that would fulfill ecumenical ideals. Presbyterians and Baptists set the tone by subordinating New Light techniques to their denominational traditions, the Presbyterians countering the novelties of the revivals with their long‐standing emphasis on education and decorum, and the Baptists demanding that converts be judged by their knowledge of core doctrines. The two Calvinist denominations successfully limited the innovative Methodists, who had hoped to transcend the others’ sectarian spirit with piety and ecumenism – the very definition of the New Light. Methodists were absorbed into the arguments over denominational differences, and all the groups turned their aggressiveness toward each other as the Anglican Church, formerly their target of mutual dissent, disintegrated during the American Revolution. Left to encounter each other during outdoor preaching, camp meetings, and neighborhood discussions, Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists became obsessed with their own debates over proper religion and the acceptable measure of New Light piety. In their polities, beliefs, rituals, and conversions, these churches, led by the Baptists, defined evangelicalism as a controversial spirit, with the New Light ideal of the Methodists falling into the rivalry of denominationalism.
