false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1181745676m/1186910.jpg 1186910 1 <I>Fits, Trances, & Visions</I> is a wide-ranging cultural study of some of the most controversial and dramatic expressions of Christian spirituality. Faith healing, possession, clairvoyance, out-of-body experiences, speaking in tongues, animal magnetism, and even hypnotized crabs are among the many subjects described by the fearless Ann Taves, a professor of history and religion at Claremont College. The book's primary focus is the debate between religion and psychology about the sources of such dramatic spiritual experiences. From the mid-18th to the early 20th century, believers and skeptics clashed over the question of whether God was supernaturally present in these experiences, or whether they were merely natural expressions of physical disease or psychological disorder. Taves is especially attentive and sympathetic to the conclusion reached in the early 20th century by William James, who argued that charismatic spirituality was <I>both</I> natural and religious. Taves does sometimes get bogged down in theoretical language, but <I>Fits, Trances & Visions</I> is noteworthy for offering sympathetic and sophisticated attention to a realm of religious experience that too often receives little more than scholarly scorn. <I>--Michael Joseph Gross</I> 1174896 25 10 1999 Fits, Trances, and Visions total:3|4:2|3:1| 3 11 9 0 0 0 false false Mon Nov 23 06:48:08 -0800 2009 Mon May 18 08:14:59 -0700 2009 Mon Nov 23 06:48:08 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Thu Feb 26 14:00:10 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 26 14:01:46 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Tue Jan 27 16:43:20 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 27 16:43:20 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sun Nov 02 10:05:44 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 02 10:05:44 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Mon Jun 23 08:54:51 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 23 08:54:51 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Sun Apr 27 09:26:01 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 27 09:26:01 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Sat Apr 26 07:44:01 -0700 2008 Sat Feb 02 18:01:25 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 02 18:01:30 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jan 14 15:59:29 -0800 2008 Mon Aug 03 15:56:45 -0700 2009 2 0 0 false false Sun Jul 22 09:41:51 -0700 2007 Sun Jul 22 09:41:51 -0700 2007 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1186910