University Press Copublishing Division / Fairleigh Dickinson University Press
Pages: 314
•
Trim: 6¼ x 9½
978-1-61147-871-6 • Hardback • October 2015 • $121.00 • (£93.00)
978-1-61147-872-3 • eBook • October 2015 • $115.00 • (£88.00)
Adam Powell is assistant professor of religious studies and director of the Master of Arts in Religious Studies at Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Center for Graduate Studies of Asheville, NC.
AcknowledgmentsIntroductionApproaching AnswersOutlinePart One- Heresy as Opposition: Debates and Definitions
Available DefinitionsRelativity and HeresyThe Ideal TypeToward a Sociology of HeresyHeresy and Soteriology: The Process of Interaction- The Heretical Process: Its Assumptions and Predictions
The Sociology of KnowledgeHans Mol’s Adaptation/Identity DialecticWhen Position becomes ConfessionFrom Opposition to SalvationPart Two- Locating Heresy: The Threefold Attack
Pagans, Jews, Gnostics, and Rome: The Irenaean AntecedentMinisters, Mobs, Apostates, and “Gentile” (Protestant) America: The Early Mormon ExampleFerment and Fecundity- Resolving Heresy: Soteriological Schemas
Toward ResolutionOrder and SalvationGroup and Self in the Soteriological SchemaGod, Humanity, Resolution, and AdaptationConclusion: Salvation and SuccessGod-making HeresyFinaleBibliographyIndexAbout the Author
Adam J. Powell's work utilizes a robust theoretical framework to present the connection between the opposition faced by religious communities and the development of new doctrines, specifically deification.... This text offers an important contribution to the discussion of Mormon history and how doctrines form in light of exterior forces. This text is well researched and offers an important theoretical framework for the study of heresy's impact on religious movements.
— Journal of Mormon History
In just over two hundred pages, Powell manages to produce not only a fascinating comparison between Joseph Smith’s nineteenth-century Mormonism and the religious thought of second-century church father Irenaeus, but also introduces an innovative application of the work of Max Weber and Hans Mol to the question of religious conflict management.... [B]ooks like Powell’s are important, pioneering steps toward a more mature notion of how Mormonism can function as a suitable subject of study for scholars interested in the nature of religion as a concept and as a fully integrated cultural agent.
— Mormon Studies Review
At first glance, second-century bishop Irenaeus of Lyon and Joseph Smith . . . don't seem to have much in common. . . .However, as Dr. Adam Powell shows in his fascinating study, Irenaeus, Joseph Smith God-Making Heresy, they and their communities shared a great deal.
— New Books Network
Powell does an admirable job of articulating many striking similarities surrounding the formation of early Christianity, as represented by Irenaeus, and the formation of early Mormonism. Those similarities are compelling, and well-worth examining. . . .Sociologists of religion will find this book of value.
— AML's Dawning of a Brighter Day
Irenaeus, Joseph Smith, and God-Making Heresy is very highly recommended for academic library Christian Studies collections.
— Midwest Book Review