Jerusalem Blessed, Jerusalem Cursed: Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Holy City from David's Time to Our Own - Hardcover

Idinopulos, Thomas A.

9780929587660: Jerusalem Blessed, Jerusalem Cursed: Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Holy City from David's Time to Our Own

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0929587669 ISBN 13: 9780929587660

Publisher: Ivan R. Dee, Publisher, 1991

"Ariel, David's city, Zion, Mountain of God—Jerusalem. Why such exalted titles for one small dusty hilltop town? Because religious people herald Jerusalem as earth's link to heaven. For centuries millions of Jews, Christians, and Muslims from every corner of the globe gathered in Jerusalem in the expectation of hearing the Word of God. They still do. This is a book about those ancient religious traditions which has made Jerusalem's name sacred and immortal." So begins Thomas Idinopulos's majestic history of the holiest city. Prophets, priests, and pilgrims, kings and conquerors—they fill the pages of a narrative as rich, intricate, and spectacular as a religious tapestry. Mr. Idinopulos's story is one of suffering and distrust, of piety and blood, belief and battle–in short, the stake of the three great religions in this earthly kingdom over the centuries and to the perils of the present day. He explores the glory and the depths of a city besieged, defended, conquered, damaged or destroyed, and rebuilt forty times in thirty centuries, always in the name of God. Jerusalem in spite of her history continues to comfort the believers. Jerusalem Blessed, Jerusalem Cursed is history in the grand manner, a unique and engrossing saga. Illustrated with six maps and twenty-two photographs and drawings.

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About the Author:

Thomas A. Idinopulos, who teaches religion at Miami University in Ohio, is also the author of the widely praised Jerusalem.

From Kirkus Reviews:

A kaleidoscopic history of the thrice-holy city, written from the inside by Idinopulos (Religion/Miami Univ.; The Erosion of Faith, 1971). One of the best features of Idinopulos's account is the breadth of his perspective: He has provided, in effect, three histories in one volume, relating (in separate sections) the disparate experiences and expectations brought to Jerusalem by the three great religions that at various times have claimed--and still claim--the city as their own. Thus, the zeal of Jewish nationalism, rooted in David's ill-fated attempt to establish a Jewish kingdom, is contrasted with both the Christian ambivalence toward the place that witnessed Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, and the doomed pragmatism of Islam, which sought unsuccessfully to amalgamate Judaism and Christianity into a new monotheism of its own devising. The sorry spectacle of the Crusades, jihads, and persecutions that have marred Jerusalem's history throughout the ages is related without prejudice or apology for any party, and the final section of the book, which unfolds the history of modern Zionism and the Intifada, provides fresh perspectives on a crisis that, to many observers, shows no hopeful signs of resolution. One might question Idinopulos's overreliance on a small number of historians whom he quotes authoritatively throughout the book, but this is balanced somewhat by an ample bibliography and generous annotations. The illustrations and maps are carefully chosen and helpful. A splendidly told tale, which succeeds against great odds in providing a clear, balanced, and lively history of one of the most complicated cities in the world. -- Copyright �1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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