Holl, chaplain of and a theology lecturer at the University of
Vienna, was suspended from teaching in the Catholic Church for some
of his heterodox notions, but this book is a mellifluous testimony
of faith from start to finish. Holl captures the contradictions
inherent in the personage of the Holy Spirit, who is described one
moment as a pacific, "still small voice" and the next as a tongue
of fire. He takes as his canvas the history of Western religion and
philosophy (though his attention to Judaism and Islam, which he
examines as manifestations of the Holy Spirit, suffers when
compared with his easy familiarity with Christianity). Holl is also
conscious of the Holy Spirit's role as a political subversive - the
oppressed can tap into the Spirit's immediate authority, which
transcends all earthly control. The book is arranged somewhat
chronologically, beginning with a quick look at the Old Testament,
followed by New Testament events like the unexpected descent of the
Holy Spirit onto Jesus and the gift of tongues on the Day of
Pentecost. (Holl pairs this latter incident with an account of the
Pentecostal movement in the US in the early 20th century; he does
history a real service by crediting the movement's founding to its
true leader, the African-American preacher William Seymour, rather
than to the white pastor who has traditionally gotten top billing.)
Holl continues the story of the Holy Spirit's workings through the
rise of Islam, as well as the monastic movement and various
"heretical" groups in Christianity. The last third of the book
explores the Spirit's entanglements with some great modern
thinkers, including James Joyce, Martin Heidegger, Friedrich
Nietzsche, Simone Weil, and Sigmund Freud. This section is, of
course, less overtly "religious" than what precedes it, but its
implicit message seems to be that the Spirit is at work even in a
modern society where philosophers have found it irrelevant. A
provocative read, gracefully translated from the German. (Kirkus
Reviews)
Adolf Holl's divine biography examines the life of the Holy Spirit in the context of the history of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Interweaving scholarship with religion, myth, and culture, Holl expertly traces the influence of the Holy Spirit on men and women from all walks of life, over the course of centuries. The result is quite unlike anything written before.
The Holy Spirit inspired a few Galilean fishermen to find the courage to preach a new world religion. The Jews recognized it as the breath of God. Mohammed was inspired by it in the dictation of the Koran. Yet this same spirit has moved individuals to rebel against convention, authority, and even sanity. Through Holl's freewheeling yet always crystal-clear discourse, we see how the Holy Spirit informs an incredible array of beliefs (including those underlying the rituals of Appalachian snake handlers) and ideas (the works of Freud and James Joyce are among the many discussed).
When the book was published in Germany, Der Spiegel wrote, "Holl has presented a formidable history, linking together the most distant things in a surprising way and leaving the whole as a paradox. He leaves it to the reader to judge the encounter with the Holy Spirit as a manifestation of the divine in the human being--or as a case for the psychiatrist."
Whatever the reader's conclusion may be, The Left Hand of God is sure to be hailed as a major religious publishing event.
From the Hardcover edition.
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