A Book Forged in Hell: Spinoza’s Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular Age
About this audiobook
The story of one of the most important—and incendiary—books in Western history
When it appeared in 1670, Baruch Spinoza’s Theological-Political Treatise was denounced as the most dangerous book ever published—“godless,” “full of abominations,” “a book forged in hell ... by the devil himself.” Religious and secular authorities saw it as a threat to faith, social and political harmony, and everyday morality, and its author was almost universally regarded as a religious subversive and political radical who sought to spread atheism throughout Europe. Yet Spinoza’s book has contributed as much as the Declaration of Independence or Thomas Paine’s Common Sense to modern liberal, secular, and democratic thinking.
In A Book Forged in Hell, Steven Nadler tells the fascinating story of this extraordinary book: its radical claims and their background in the philosophical, religious, and political tensions of the Dutch Golden Age, as well as the vitriolic reaction these ideas inspired.
It is not hard to see why Spinoza’s Treatise was so important or so controversial or why the uproar it caused is one of the most significant events in European intellectual history. In the book, Spinoza became the first to argue that the Bible is not literally the word of God but rather a work of human literature; that true religion has nothing to do with theology, liturgical ceremonies, or sectarian dogma; and that religious authorities should have no role in governing a modern state. He also denied the reality of miracles and divine providence, reinterpreted the nature of prophecy, and made an eloquent plea for toleration and democracy.
A vivid story of incendiary ideas and vicious backlash, A Book Forged in Hell will interest anyone who is curious about the origin of some of our most cherished modern beliefs.
About the author
Steven Nadler is an American author and philosopher specializing in early modern philosophy. His books include Rembrandt’s Jews, which was a finalist for the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction, and Spinoza: A Life, which won the Koret Jewish Book Award. He is the William H. Hay II Professor of Philosophy and Evjue-Bascom Professor in Humanities, and from 2004 to 2009, he was the Max and Frieda Weinstein-Bascom Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Patrick Cullen (a.k.a. John Lescault), a native of Massachusetts, is a graduate of the Catholic University of America. He lives in Washington, DC, where he works in theater.
