Audio only
A Book Forged in Hell
Spinoza’s Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular AgeBy Steven NadlerNarrated by John LescaultLength9h 17m
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.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.2 (1.4K)
Includes Goodreads, Amazon, LibraryThing
GenrePhilosophy, History
Length9 hrs 17 mins
Narrated byJohn Lescault
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateJun 19, 2021
LanguageEnglish
Lessons in TruthH. Emilie Cady3h 50m4.5 (2.4K)$20 · $0.00
The LawFrédéric Bastiat2h 7m4.4 (17K)$10
IlluminationsWalter Benjamin10h 12m4.4 (16.2K)$20 · $0.00
That Bird Has My WingsJarvis Jay Masters9h 49m4.4 (13.7K)$29 · $0.00
Tâo Teh KingLaozi2h 34m4.4 (230.9K)$2 · $0.00
SymposiumPlato3h 26m4.4 (97.9K)$1.20 · $0.00
Buddhist Boot CampTimber Hawkeye2h 39m4.4 (8.4K)$18 · $0.00
Change Your MindRJ Spina7h 5m4.6 (288)$17
Enchiridion & The Discourses of Epictetus (Annotated)Arrian Epictetus18h 9m4.4 (3.5K)$2 · $0.00
The Meditations of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius AntoninusEmperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius5h 41m4.4 (1.8M)$1 · $0.00
Crime and PunishmentFyodor Dostoevsky23h 11m4.4 (1.3M)$12 · $0.00
MeditationsMarcus Aurelius5h 52m4.4 (433.7K)$1 · $0.00
Everyday DharmaSuneel Gupta5h 2m4.5 (761)$20 · $0.00
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on LoveMartin Luther King10h 2m4.7 (94)$29 · $0.00
The KybalionThree Initiates3h 47m4.4 (35.9K)$2.30
The Joyful Wisdom ("La Gaya Scienza")Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche11h 37m4.4 (26.6K)$1 · $0.00
One sees or understands only when the mind is quiet.Jiddu Krishnamurti11h4.8 (40)$18 · $0.00
The ProphetKahlil Gibran3h 9m4.4 (393.3K)$15
The Art of LivingEpictetus, Sharon Lebell3h 16m4.4 (50.1K)$18 · $0.00
Radical WholenessPhilip Shepherd11h 45m4.4 (789)$20
RevolutionariesSanjeev Sanyal11h 23m4.6 (2.6K)$29 · $0.00
We Crossed a Bridge and It TrembledWendy Pearlman6h4.6 (5.2K)$24 · $0.00
Unbroken Bonds of BattleJohnny Joey Jones8h 31m4.6 (2.6K)$8 · $0.00
The Daughter of AuschwitzTova Friedman, Malcolm Brabant7h 54m4.6 (16.7K)$26 · $0.00
Lily's PromiseLily Ebert, Dov Forman8h 54m4.6 (16.1K)$29 · $0.00
Saving My EnemyBob Welch9h 11m4.6 (2.3K)$20
On Democracies and Death CultsDouglas Murray10h 38m4.6 (6.5K)$29 · $0.00
Across the RiverKent Babb11h 40m4.6 (927)$29 · $0.00
The Red Record (Annotated)Ida B. Wells-Barnett5h 19m4.8 (102)$0.99 · $0.00
Balcony Over Jerusalem: A Middle East Memoir - Israel, Palestine and BeyondJohn Lyons12h 37m4.6 (1.4K)$33 · $0.00
The Fire Next TimeJames Baldwin2h 25m4.6 (159.1K)$15
EnduranceAlfred Lansing6h 1m4.6 (40.8K)$20
BeyondStephen Walker15h 39m4.6 (3.2K)$33 · $0.00
Kings and PawnsHoward Bryant10h 9m4.6 (678)$29 · $0.00
No EscapeNury Turkel9h 30m4.6 (809)$28 · $0.00
Jubal Stone: U.S. Marshal: Blood Trail To Hell: A Western Adventure NovelCasey Nash3h 42m4.6 (3.2K)$18 · $0.00
Fall and RiseMitchell Zuckoff17h 23m4.6 (9.8K)$40 · $0.00
The SurvivorJosef Lewkowicz, Michael Calvin9h 22m4.6 (2.5K)$29 · $0.00
Always FaithfulThomas Schueman, Zainullah Zaki12h 12m4.6 (977)$29 · $0.00
A Brief History of IntelligenceMax S. Bennett12h 18m4.6 (6.6K)$29 · $0.00
You may also like
Atheist ManifestoOnfray, Michel7h 53m3.8 (5.2K)Free
The Politically Incorrect Guide to American HistoryWoods, Thomas E.8h 49m4.0 (4K)Free
The Social ContractJean-Jacques Rousseau10h 49m3.9 (68.7K)$9 · $0.00
Socrates in 90 MinutesPaul Strathern1h 19m3.7 (1.5K)$7
Hippie FoodJonathan Kauffman9h 13m4.1 (1.4K)$29 · $0.00
Darwin DevolvesMichael J. Behe10h 34m4.1 (490)$29 · $0.00
A Discourse Upon the Origin and the Foundation of the Inequality Among Mankind Jean-Jacques Rousseau2h 51m4.0 (21.8K)Free
Sacred CowDiana Rodgers RD, Robb Wolf8h 28m4.4 (4.3K)$20
The Great DerangementAmitav Ghosh6h 7m4.1 (8.3K)$17
The Painted WordTom Wolfe2h 6m3.9 (9.1K)$10
The Despot’s ApprenticeBrian Klaas9h 22m4.3 (778)$20
American CarnageTim Alberta26h 21m4.3 (6K)$53 · $0.00
The Case for NationalismRich Lowry9h 27m4.0 (995)$29 · $0.00
Discoveries and Opinions of GalileoGalileo Galilei10h 7m4.0 (1.2K)$20
The Art of Not Being GovernedJames C. Scott17h 34m4.3 (2.9K)$30
The Founding of New EnglandJames Truslow Adams20h 15m4.0 (114)$1 · $0.00
History of the Philippine Islands (Vol. 1&2) (Annotated)Joaquín Martínez de Zúñiga11h 54m4.2 (18)$2 · $0.00
The News Coverage Of Jb And Globo About The Fall Of The Berlin Wall (1989) And The End Of Soviet Union (1991)Célio Azevedo2h 56m$8 · $0.00
A letter to the Rev. Charles N. Wodehouse, Canon of Norwich, occasioned by his recent publicationCharles Campbell2h 11m$2 · $0.00
James Frederick FerrierElizabeth Sanderson Haldane3h 14m$2 · $0.00