| Contents |
Introduction: Believing and belonging -- Part one: Our place in the pattern. The beginnings of belief ; Fire and state ; Water of life and death ; The return of the light ; Harvest and homage -- Part two: Believing together. Living with the dead ; Birth and the body ; A place in tradition ; Let us pray ; The power of song -- Part three: Theatres of faith. The house of God ; Gifts to the gods ; Holy killing ; To be a pilgrim ; Festival time -- Part four: The power of images. The protectoresses ; The work of art in times of spiritual reproduction ; The accretion of meaning ; Change your life ; Rejecting the image, revering the word -- Part five: One god or many. The blessings of many gods ; The power of one ; Spirits of place ; If God be with us ; Tolerating and not tolerating -- Part six: Powers earthly and divine. The mandate of Heaven ; Thy kingdom come ; Turning the screw ; "There is no God!" ; Living with each other. |
| Abstract |
"Until fairly recently, religion as a major influence on the nature of individual societies around the world seemed to be on the wane. Now, far from being marginalized, the relationship between faith and society has moved to the center of politics and global conversation. Neil MacGregor's new book traces the ways in which different societies have understood and articulated their places in the cosmic scheme. It examines mankind's beliefs not from the perspective of institutional religions but according to how shared narratives have shaped societies--and what happens when different narratives run up against each other. As he did in A History of the World in 100 Objects and Germany: Memories of a Nation, MacGregor brilliantly combines objects, places, and ideas to examine and, ultimately, illuminate these pressing contemporary concerns"-- Provided by publisher. |
| General note | "This is a Borzoi Book published by Alfred A. Knopf." |
| General note | "Originally published in Great Britain by Allen Lane, an imprint of Penguin Books, London." |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 476-478) and index. |
| Language | Text in English. |
| Issued in other form | Online version: MacGregor, Neil, 1946- Living with the gods. First United States edition. New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2018 9780525521471 |
| LCCN | 2018030942 |
| ISBN | 9780525521464 |
| ISBN | 0525521461 |
