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Born Bad: Original Sin and the Making of the Western World

Born Bad: Original Sin and the Making of the Western World

Original Sin and the Making of the Western World

by James Boyce
Paperback
Publication Date: 23/07/2014

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Born Bad traces a fascinating journey from Adam and Eve all the way to Adam Smith and Richard Dawkins in this sweeping story of a controversial idea and its remarkable influence.

Original sin is the Western world's creation story' According to the doctrine of original sin, humans are born bad and only God's grace can bring salvation. In this captivating book, acclaimed historian James Boyce shows how these ideas have shaped the Western view of human nature right up to the present. The legacy of original sin takes many forms, including the distinctive discontent of Western people - the feelings of guilt and inadequacy associated not with doing wrong, but with being wrong. As well as an innovative history of Christianity, Boyce offers new insights into the making of the West. Born Bad traces a fascinating journey from Adam and Eve all the way to Adam Smith and Richard Dawkins in this sweeping story of a controversial idea and its remarkable influence. Praise for Van Diemen's Land- 'The most significant colonial history since The Fatal Shore. In re-imagining Australia's past, it invents a new future.' Richard Flanagan 'Like the best history, Van Diemen's Land is not an artfully constructed narrative with the (inevitably inadequate) evidence banished to endnotes, but a dialogue between historian and reader as they explore the fragile sources, and the silences, together.' Inga Clendinnen 'The publication of Van Diemen's Land signals an entirely fresh approach to Australian history-writing . . . this is a brilliant publication.' Alan Atkinson Praise for 1835- 'Anyone who calls Melbourne home - in fact anyone who calls Australia home - should read this book.' Peter Mares 'A first-class piece of historical writing. Boyce is a graceful and robust stylist and a fine storyteller.' Sunday Age'What is wrong with me? This question has haunted the West for fifteen hundred years, but until recently it came with an answer - which was called original sin. Western people believed they were 'born bad' because they had inherited the sin of the first humans.' James Boyce 'This highly original and readable book shows how the Christian idea that we are all somehow fundamentally warped has helped to shape democratic politics, free markets, sexual anxieties and even debates about whether dead babies go to heaven.' Marion Maddox author of God Under Howard and Taking God to School 'This is an exceptional, highly recommended work, innovative and creative in surprising ways.' Publishers Weekly
ISBN:
9781863956765
9781863956765
Category:
Social & cultural history
Format:
Paperback
Publication Date:
23-07-2014
Publisher:
Black Inc.
Country of origin:
Australia
Pages:
272
Dimensions (mm):
234x152x21mm
Weight:
0.37kg
James Boyce

James Boyce is the acclaimed author of Van Diemen’s Land, 1835 and Born Bad.

His books have been shortlisted for almost every major Australian literary award and he has won the Tasmania Book Prize on two occasions.

He is also a professional social worker, who worked for many years in social policy and research and has been involved in the poker-machine debate for nearly twenty years.

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