A history of heaven : the singing silence
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
A history of heaven : the singing silence
Princeton University Press, c1997
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Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 191-210) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
This text explores the brighter side of eternity, namely, heaven. Dispensing with cliched images of heaven, the author aims to stimulate readers' imaginations with a history of how the joy of paradise has been conceived by writers, philosophers and artists, for whom heaven was not immediate reality. He not only explores concepts found among the ancient Jews, Greeks and Romans, as well as early and medieval Christians, but also addresses the intellectual problems heaven poses: how does time "pass" in eternity? is heaven a place or a state? who is in and who is not? what happens to the body and soul between death and Judgement Day? Russell argues that the best way to approach the logic-defying concept of a place occupying neither space nor time is through poetry, paradox and the writings of such mystics as Bernard, Julian of Norwich and Eckhart. The book culminates in a lively analysis of how Dante described the glories of the indescribable.
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