Synopses & Reviews
This can’t be ignored forever.
We have, for the most part, attempted to loosen ourselves from the beliefs of the past when it comes to the afterlife. We have found the leftovers appetizing, picking and choosing whatever parts of whatever paths suit our needs. But what basis do our beliefs about Heaven and Hell have in reality?
From the Great Awakening to the American Revolution through the tumultuous nineteenth century, all the way past two world wars and a technological revolution, Rebecca Price Janney pieces together a thoughtful narrative of American ideas about the afterlife.
And throughout this historical journey there still exists an eternal truth that presses on us, ever so slightly, despite public opinion.
A choice must be made.
Review
Whatever your beliefs about the destiny of the soul after death, read Who Goes There?: A Cultural History of Heaven and Hell. Rebecca Price Janney's tour of these controversial destinations of the soul is an astute analysis of the colliding dogmas that shape our cultural expressions of eternity.
-Dr. Peter A. Lillback, president, The Providence Forum; president, Westminster Theological Seminary
In her thoroughly readable and highly informative historical survey, Rebecca Price Janney has traced Americans' attitudes toward the afterlife, and done us all a great service.
-Peter Marshall, minister and author; founder of Peter Marshall Ministries
Synopsis
Princess Diana, John Ritter, Saddam Hussein, Mother Teresa, Chris Farley… Does it seem reasonable to guess where each of these people ended up after they died? While it is comforting to suppose that everyone who’s “good” goes to a better place when they die, and everyone who’s “bad” doesn’t, on what is that hope based?
To adequately understand how these thoughts influence us today, Rebecca Price Janney goes back to the colonization and founding of the United States. From the Great Awakening to the American Revolution, through the tumultuous 19th century, and all the way past two world wars and a technological revolution, Who Goes There? pieces together a thoughtful narrative of American beliefs about the afterlife.
Synopsis
From the Great Awakening to the American Revolution, through the tumultuous 19th century and a technological revolution, "Who Goes There?" pieces together a thoughtful narrative of American beliefs about the afterlife.
Synopsis
While it is comforting to suppose that everyone who’s “good” goes to a better place when they die, and everyone who’s “bad” doesn’t, on what is that hope based? From the Great Awakening to the American Revolution, through the tumultuous 19th century, all the way past two world wars, and a technological revolution, Who Goes There? pieces together a thoughtful narrative of American beliefs about the afterlife.
About the Author
DR. REBECCA PRICE JANNEY is a theologically trained historian and the author of 18 books including Who Goes There: A Cultural History of Heaven and Hell, Great Women in American History, Great Stories in American History, Harriet Tubman, and two young adult series as well as hundreds of articles in magazines and newspapers. She began writing professionally as a teenager when she covered the Philadelphia Phillies for a New Jersey newspaper. A graduate of Lafayette College, and Princeton Seminary, Rebecca received her D. Min. from Biblical Seminary. She resides with her husband and son in suburban Philadelphia.
Table of Contents
1. What are We Thinking?
2. Let's Start at the Very Beginning
3. American Origins
4. Fanning the Flames
5. You Say You Want a Revolution
6. Alternate Lifestyles
7. That Old-Time Religion
8. Knocking on Heaven's Door
9. The Critical Period
10. A Future, but What Kind of Hope?
11. "e;Cracks in the Dike"e;
12. A Lost Generation
13. Depression and the Good War
14. The Post-War Era: Anxiety and Assurance
15. Eve of Destruction?
16. Anything Goes
17. From Here to Eternity
Epilogue
Notes
Acknowledgments