Born Bad
Original Sin and the Making of the Western World
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
“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.
“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
James Boyce is the author of Van Diemen’s Land: A History and 1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia. The former won the Tasmania Book Prize and was shortlisted for the NSW, Victorian and Queensland premiers’ and the Prime Minister’s literary awards. The latter won the Age Book of the Year Award, the Tasmania Book Prize and was shortlisted for the Victorian and WA premiers’ and the Prime Minister’s literary awards and the Adelaide Festival Award for Literature. James Boyce has a PhD from the University of Tasmania, where he is an honorary research associate of the School of Geography and Environmental Studies.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The doctrine of original sin, which has roots in the theological urgings of St. Augustine, has long been a requisite element of Western Christian orthodoxy. Although this teaching has faded from public discourse in recent years, Australian historian Boyce (Van Diemen's Land) makes a compelling argument for its initial and continuing relevance to Western cultures, influencing government and society as well as religion. Not so much a theological treatise as a history of an idea, this fascinating work by an accomplished scholar is an engrossing study of the development of the Western church and Western society, showing how original sin helped define the political, economic, and social evolution of the West. Boyce leads us into new understandings of some of the central figures in Western culture. Artists, poets, and others take on new life in light of the effects of original sin in their thinking. Especially intriguing are his insights into America's founding fathers' reflections on human depravity and their hope for an enlightened democracy, a yearning that shrugs off some of Western Christendom's orthodoxy. This is an exceptional, highly recommended work, innovative and creative in surprising ways.
