Heaven: A History, 2nd ed.

by Bernhard Lang; Colleen McDannell

Publisher:

Yale University Press

, 2001

Overview

What do Christians believe they will experience after a virtuous life? What will an eternity in the hereafter be like? In this copiously illustrated, lively book, Colleen McDannell and Bernhard Lang describe and interpret the ways in which believers—from biblical authors to medieval mystics, from Jesus to present-day religious thinkers—have pictured Heaven, not just in doctrine but also in poetry, art, literature, and popular culture. In so doing, they shed new light on both the private and public dimensions of western culture. This second edition includes a substantial new preface relating the book to changing views of life after death in the new century.

Key Features

• Analyzes the foundations of the Christian belief of heaven
• Explores the history of the heaven as it has been historically and biblically portrayed throughout the centuries
• Examines what the belief of an after-life involves and implicates for the Christian believer

Praise for the Print Edition

Heaven: A History offers a whistlestop tour, thoroughly researched and engagingly written, of the extraordinary things Christians and others have believed about life after death. A compendium of fascinating finds from the past.

John Barton, London Review of Books

A fascinating survey of Western culture and a delightful tour of the histories of art, literature, and theology.

Christian Century

[A] fascinating new study...It is a ruch and provocative subject and the authors use it as a springboard from which to examine shifting attitudes toward man and God, within the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Michiko Kakutani, New York Times

Product Details

• Title: Heaven: A History, 2nd ed.
• Authors: Bernhard Lang, Colleen McDannell
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Print Publication Date: 2001
• Pages: 448
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Resource ID: LLS:HVNHSTSCNDDTN
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2021-01-27T19:30:27Z