Born Bad: Original Sin and the Making of the Western World

Product Description

'The purpose of this book is not to defend or condemn the Western creation story, but to challenge the assumption that its influence was ended by science and secularism.' - James Boyce, Born Bad

Born Bad is the latest book from James Boyce, acclaimed author and historian. Boyce traces a history of original sin from Adam and Eve, St Augustine and Martin Luther to Adam Smith, Sigmund Freud and Richard Dawkins.

According to original sin, humans are 'born bad' and only God's grace can bring salvation. Although Christianity is on the wane, Boyce explores how these religious ideas of morality still underpin our modern secular society, though we are often not aware of their origins. If today the specific doctrine has all but disappeared (even from the churches), what remains is the distinctive discontent of Western people - the feelings of guilt and inadequacy associated not with doing wrong, but with being wrong.

'Original sin is the Western world's creation story,' James Boyce writes, in this fascinating sweeping history of a dark and controversial idea.