
Orthodoxy, Modernity, and Authenticity
The Reception of Ernest Renan's "Life of Jesus" in Russia
Heather Bailey(Author)
Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Published on 28. May 2008
Book
Hardback
355 pages
978-1-84718-448-1 (ISBN)
Description
Ernest Renan was one of the most renowned European intellectuals of the second half of the nineteenth century. Yet, the impact of his most popular work, Life of Jesus, has been underestimated when not altogether ignored. While commonplace now, the idea that Jesus was merely human was at one time a novelty, with significant socio-political, cultural, and religious implications. A case study in the Russian encounter with modernity, Orthodoxy, Modernity, and Authenticity: The Reception of Ernest Renan's "Life of Jesus" in Russia demonstrates that Renan's book has had long-lasting and broad appeal in Russia because it presents an alternative to a strictly materialist worldview on the one hand, and an Orthodox worldview on the other. Renan offered his readers the possibility to accept the tenets of modernity while still retaining both an admiration for the importance of religion in history and a sense of religious feeling or even belief in a higher religious ideal. Assessments of Renan's alternative belief system, whether positive, negative, or mixed, were often simultaneously evaluations of the moral, socio-political, and spiritual condition of European society in general and Russian society in particular. The interpretive history of Renan's Life of Jesus in Russia reveals a persistent disillusionment with a strictly materialist interpretation of history and of life.
More details
Edition
Unabridged edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Newcastle upon Tyne
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
Unabridged edition
Product notice
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 212 mm
Width: 148 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-84718-448-1 (9781847184481)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Heather Bailey
Orthodoxy, Modernity, and Authenticity
The Reception of Ernest Renan's "e;Life of Jesus"e; in Russia
E-Book
10/2020
1st Edition
Cambridge Scholars Publishing
€139.99
Available for download
Person
Heather Bailey is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Illinois at Springfield.