Storms Over Genesis: Biblical Battleground in America's Wars of Religion

By William H. Jennings

Book Overview

In one of history's discouraging ironies, just as the academic study of the Pentateuch revealed the multilayered composition of Genesis and separated it from scientific and dogmatic accounts of creation, Genesis became and remains a lightning rod of controversy in America's century-long battle over Christian identity and commitments.

No words ever recorded have had as much influence upon human affairs as those of the first three chapters of Genesis. Nor caused as much mischief, argues William Jennings.

In his fascinating and informative account, Jennings shows how and why fundamentalists and modernists, Catholics and Protestants, feminists and the old guard all have been drawn to Genesis and wrestled with its meaning, legacy, and relevance today. Focusing on four key controversies the critical account of the creation stories, the challenges from and to feminists, the critique of Genesis by environmentalists, and the claims of creationists Jennings reveals not only the many facets of this archimedean text but also the unique light it continues to throw on American religious life.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0800662113
• ISBN13: 9780800662110
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Length: 166 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

An enlightening study that also reveals just how hotly disputed religious passages can be.

Written by William H. Jennings (Professor of Religion Emeritus, Muhlenberg College) Storms Over Genesis: Biblical Battleground in America's Wars of Religion is the amazing true story of conflicting and controversial interpretations over the first three chapters of Genesis in the Christian Bible. Opening with the New Revised Standard Version of Genesis 1-3, so that the reader may evaluate the source material directly, Storms Over Genesis examines the views of fundamentalists, modernists, Catholics, Protestants, Jews, feminists, and more concerning these passages, while striving to illuminate core concerns fundamental to all who critically regard this text. An enlightening study that also reveals just how hotly disputed religious passages can be.