false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1202488388m/2773518.jpg 2773518 4 Essayist and biographer Alan Jacobs introduces us to the world of original sin, which he describes as not only a profound idea but a necessary one. As G. K. Chesterton explains, "Only with original sin can we at once pity the beggar and distrust the king." <br> <br> Do we arrive in this world predisposed to evil? St. Augustine passionately argued that we do; his opponents thought the notion was an insult to a good God. Ever since Augustine, the church has taught the doctrine of original sin, which is the idea that we are not born innocent, but as babes we are corrupt, guilty, and worthy of condemnation. Thus started a debate that has raged for centuries and done much to shape Western civilization. <br> <br> Perhaps no Christian doctrine is more controversial; perhaps none is more consequential. Blaise Pascal claimed that "but for this mystery, the most incomprehensible of all, we remain incomprehensible to ourselves." Chesterton affirmed it as the only provable Christian doctrine. Modern scholars assail the idea as baleful and pernicious. But whether or not we believe in original sin, the idea has shaped our most fundamental institutions&#8212;our political structures, how we teach and raise our young, and, perhaps most pervasively of all, how we understand ourselves. In <i>Original Sin</i>, Alan Jacobs takes readers on a sweeping tour of the idea of original sin, its origins, its history, and its proponents and opponents. And he leaves us better prepared to answer one of the most important questions of all: Are we really, all of us, bad to the bone? 2799256 book 29 4 2008 Original Sin: A Cultural History total:29|5:2|4:12|3:9|2:5|1:1| 29 96 71 2 3 2 false false Sun Sep 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 22 14:15:39 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 29 08:25:17 -0700 2008
The Western imagination, as Jacobs illustrates, has been preoccupied for millennia with the suspicion that we humans have somehow inherited a condition of pervasive moral corruption. ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jul 08 11:38:56 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 30 15:00:46 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 08 11:38:56 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Wed Nov 11 14:34:19 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 11 14:34:19 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Tue Oct 27 14:12:17 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 27 14:12:17 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Nov 16 06:54:15 -0800 2009 Sun Oct 25 15:12:28 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 15:12:33 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Tue Oct 06 05:35:03 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 06 05:35:03 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Oct 01 11:05:23 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 01 11:05:23 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Sep 30 20:01:33 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 30 20:01:33 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Sep 18 15:46:36 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 18 15:46:39 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Fri Sep 04 08:28:28 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 04 08:28:28 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Sep 02 19:49:03 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 02 19:49:03 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Jul 17 17:32:20 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 17 17:32:20 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 11 07:50:58 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 10:35:39 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 19 17:55:47 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 07:03:39 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Jun 18 14:12:12 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 18 23:04:32 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sun Jun 07 07:09:10 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 07 07:09:10 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri May 29 13:21:13 -0700 2009 Fri May 29 13:21:13 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu Jun 11 12:24:06 -0700 2009 Tue May 26 12:17:17 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 11 12:24:06 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Wed May 20 06:14:41 -0700 2009 Thu May 14 07:18:18 -0700 2009 Wed May 20 06:14:41 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu May 07 19:52:10 -0700 2009 Thu May 07 19:52:10 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=2773518