Background
Cox, Harvey Gallagher was born on May 19, 1929 in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of Harvey Gallagher and Dorothea (Dunwoody) Cox.
( In this fascinating interpretation of contemporary cul...)
In this fascinating interpretation of contemporary culture and theology, Harvey Cox examines both the loss and reemergence of festivity and fantasy in Western civilization. He evaluates both processes from a theological perspective, defining festivity as the capacity for genuine revelry and joyous celebration and defining fantasy as the faculty for envisioning radically alternative life situations. He asserts that both are absolutely vital to contemporary human life and faith; both are a precondition for genuine social transformation. In a success and money-oriented society we need a rebirth of unapologetically unproductive festivity and expressive celebration. In an age that has quarantined parody and separated politics from imagination, we need a renaissance of social fantasy. It has been said over and over again that affluent Western man has been gaining the whole world while losing his soul. In the face of this Mr. Cox affirms the possibility and necessity of a resurgence of hope, celebration, liberation, and experimentation. The medieval Feast of Fools, from which he has taken his title, symbolizes both the problem and the process. Centuries ago it provided an opportunity for the choirboy to play bishop and for serious townsfolk to mock the stately rituals of church and court. The eventual disappearance of the custom in the sixteenth century, unlamented if not welcomed by those in authority, illustrates the concerns of this provocative and controversial essay. Mr. Cox does not propose that a medieval practice should be revived, but he does argue for a rebirth in our own cultural idiom of what was right and good about the Feast of Fools. It is likely that this book will become significant in wide circles. It speaks directly to such contemporary movements as the theology of hope, the rapidly disappearing radical theology, and the theology of culture. For many it will provide a new perspective on the renewal of religious life and the secular search for religious experience. For others it will function as a window into the experimental laboratories of the so-called "underground church." For everyone it is a refreshing encounter with a wholly new set of perceptive observations about the problems that plague us.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674295250/?tag=2022091-20
(Twenty years ago theologian Harvey Cox wrote The Secular ...)
Twenty years ago theologian Harvey Cox wrote The Secular City, which became the most influential book on religion of its generation. Now Religion in the Secular City, a daring, far-sighted assessment of religion and politics in the postmodern world, is speaking with equal force to its generation of readers. Dr. Cox, Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School, examines the dramatic reappearance of traditional religion throughout the world, from the grassroots fervor of Christian communities in Latin America to the rise of fundamentalism on network television. He draws on his wide travels and personal experiences to articulate a new theology which will come, not from the existing intellectual centers of religious thought, but "from the bottom and the edges." Among the social and political consequences of this new theological synthesis are the Roman Catholic bishops' call for a nuclear freeze, the central role of religion in the political struggle in Poland, and in Latin America, the liberation theologists' advocacy of revolution. The reformation of Christian theology that has begun, Dr. Cox writes, comes from "base communities" analogous to the early Christian communities, and will have consequences as far-reaching as did the Reformation of the sixteenth century.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067152805X/?tag=2022091-20
( It was born a scant ninety-five years ago in a rundown ...)
It was born a scant ninety-five years ago in a rundown warehouse on Azusa Street in Los Angeles. For days the religious-revival service there went on and on-and within a week the Los Angeles Times was reporting on a "weird babble" coming from the building. Believers were "speaking in tongues," the way they did at the first Pentecost recorded in the Bible?and a pentecostal movement was created that would, by the start of the twenty-first century, attract over 400 million followers worldwide. Harvey Cox has traveled the globe to visit and worship with pentecostal congregations on four continents, and he has written a dynamic, provocative history of this explosion of spirituality?a movement that represents no less than a tidal change in what religion is and what it means to people.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0306810492/?tag=2022091-20
(Excerpt(s): The chemically active ingredient in peyote is...)
Excerpt(s): The chemically active ingredient in peyote is mescaline, which is structurally related to psilocybin and LSD. Although some people call these substances "hallucinogens" (capable of triggering hallucinations) or even "psychotomimetics" (creating states of mind that seem psychotic), Roquet refuses to use this terminology, since few people really hallucinate when under the influence of these substances. They see and hear and feel what is actually there, only much more intensely. Roquet believes that the term most psychologists prefer, "psychedelic" has become relatively useless because of its sensational attachment to vivid poster art and fortissimo guitar music. In my experience, these substances suspend temporarily the feeling-inhibiting and perception-censoring mechanisms that operate in us during our "normal" hours. They do not add anything of their own. They are "tools" in the best sense of the word. They enable us to feel with full pungency the most buried joys and fears our memories hold. They help us see the starkness and complexity of what is around us, devoid of the gauze with which our manipulative minds usually cover them. They help us remember past happiness grown dim with time, present loves, bygone pains of separation and abandonment. But these substances are terribly potent. They are the psychological equivalent of nuclear power, capable of doing enormous good and creating awesome destruction. No wonder the Huichols wanted to be purified before they let us touch peyote. (pages 44-45)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0713911808/?tag=2022091-20
( Since its initial publication in 1965, The Secular City...)
Since its initial publication in 1965, The Secular City has been hailed as a classic for its nuanced exploration of the relationships among the rise of urban civilization, the decline of hierarchical, institutional religion, and the place of the secular within society. Now, half a century later, this international best seller remains as relevant as when it first appeared. The book's arguments--that secularity has a positive effect on institutions, that the city can be a space where people of all faiths fulfill their potential, and that God is present in both the secular and formal religious realms--still resonate with readers of all backgrounds. For this brand-new edition, Harvey Cox provides a substantial and updated introduction. He reflects on the book's initial stunning success in an age of political and religious upheaval and makes the case for its enduring relevance at a time when the debates that The Secular City helped ignite have caught fire once again.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0691158851/?tag=2022091-20
Cox, Harvey Gallagher was born on May 19, 1929 in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of Harvey Gallagher and Dorothea (Dunwoody) Cox.
Bachelor of Arts with honors in history, University of Pennsylvania, 1951; Bachelor of Divinity cum laude, Yale, 1955; Doctor of Philosophy, Harvard, 1963.
Director religious activities, Oberlin College, 1955-1958; program associate, American Baptist Home Mission Society, 1958-1962; fraternal worker, Gossner Mission, East Berlin, 1962-1963; assistant professor, Andover Newton Theological School, 1963-1965; associate professor church and society, Harvard, 1965-1970; Victor Thomas professor divinity, Harvard, since 1970. Consultant Third Assembly World Council Churches, New Delhi, India, 1961.
( Since its initial publication in 1965, The Secular City...)
( In this fascinating interpretation of contemporary cul...)
(Twenty years ago theologian Harvey Cox wrote The Secular ...)
(Excerpt(s): The chemically active ingredient in peyote is...)
( It was born a scant ninety-five years ago in a rundown ...)
(book is about secularization and urbanization from a theo...)
(Paperback, Owner underlining and notes, wear to cover and...)
(Book by Cox, Harvey Gallagher)
(1967 MACMILLAN PAPERBACK)
(Will be shipped from US. Used books may not include compa...)
Chairman board Blue Hill Christian Center, 1963-1966. Chairman Boston Industrial Mission.
Married Nancy Nieburger, May 10, 1957. Children— Rachel Lianelly, Martin Stephen, Sarah Irene.