The persistence of purgatory
Taking his cue from Heaven: A History by McDannell and Lang, Fenn in this stimulating and provocative essay makes apposite connections between theological doctrine and a ubiquitous modern preoccupation. It will appeal to scholars of American studies, to intellectual historians, and to sociologists of religion alike.
viii, 209 pages ; 22 cm
9780521550390, 9780521568555, 0521550394, 0521568552
32200349
Introduction : testing claims to grace : the intensification of time
Silent anguish : distinguishing the cure for soul-loss from the disease
Purgatory as a way of life : time as the essence of the soul
The modern self emerges : Baxter Locke, and the prospect of heaven
Locke, reason, and the soul
The American purgatory and the state
Protestants and Catholics in the American purgatory
Charles Dickens in the American purgatory : the eternal foreground