A Beautiful Ending: The Apocalyptic Imagination and the Making of the Modern World

In his book, "The Apocalyptic Mind," John Jeffries Martin explores how apocalyptic ideas influenced political, religious, and intellectual transformations in the early modern world. He argues that religious faith, a providential view of history, and a belief in the End of the World fostered a modern scientific spirit. By re-reading primary sources, Martin reveals the religious foundation of even the most radical empirical thinking and presents familiar icons as agents of a previously untold history and a modern world shaped by its imminent end.

Format: Hardback
Length: 336 pages
Publication date: 07 June 2022
Publisher: Yale University Press

Rewritten text:

"A groundbreaking revisionist account of the early modern world, showcasing how apocalyptic ideas drove political, religious, and intellectual transformations. John Jeffries Martin's book explores one of the enduring themes that shaped the medieval and early modern world."
- Paula E. Findlen, Stanford University

In this captivating exploration of apocalyptic, messianic, and millenarian ideas and movements that shaped the modern world, John Jeffries Martin takes us on a profound empathic time journey. Through meticulous attention to primary sources, he re-reads the Renaissance, revealing a religious foundation at the core of even the most radical empirical thinking. Familiar icons such as Ibn Khaldūn, Columbus, Isaac Luria, and Francis Bacon emerge as fresh and newly gleaned agents of a history previously untold, and of a modern world made in the image of its imminent end.

Martin argues that religious faith, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, did not oppose but rather fostered the making of a modern scientific spirit. This was buoyed along by a providential view of history and nature and a deep conviction in the coming End of the World.

Through his meticulous research and insightful analysis, Martin sheds new light on the complex interplay between faith, knowledge, and politics in the early modern world. He challenges traditional narratives and offers a fresh perspective on the historical actors and movements that shaped our world. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in history, religion, and the origins of modern society."

Dimension: 235 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780300247329