John E. Fetzer and the Quest for the New Age
John E. Fetzer and the Quest for the New Age
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Overview
John E. Fetzer and the Quest for the New Age follows the spiritual sojourn of John E. Fetzer, a Michigan business tycoon. Born in 1901 and living most of his life in Kalamazoo, Fetzer parlayed his first radio station into extensive holdings in broadcasting and other enterprises, leading to his sole ownership of the Detroit Tigers in 1961. By the time he died in 1991, Fetzer had been listed in Forbes magazine as one of the four hundred wealthiest people in America. And yet, business success was never enough for Fetzer—his deep spiritual yearnings led him from the Christianity of his youth to a restless exploration of metaphysical religions and movements ranging from Spiritualism, Theosophy, Freemasonry, UFOology, and parapsychology, all the way to the New Age as it blossomed in the 1980s.
Author Brian C. Wilson demonstrates how Fetzer's quest mirrored those of thousands of Americans who sought new ways of thinking and being in the ever-changing spiritual movements of the twentieth century. Over his lifetime, Fetzer's worldview continuously evolved, combining and recombining elements from dozens of traditions in a process he called "freedom of the spirit." Unlike most others who engaged in a similar process, Fetzer's synthesis can be documented step by step using extensive archival materials, providing readers with a remarkably rich and detailed roadmap through metaphysical America. The book also documents how Fetzer's wealth allowed him to institutionalize his spiritual vision into a thriving foundation—the Fetzer Institute—which was designed to carry his insights into the future in hopes that it would help catalyze a global spiritual transformation.
John E. Fetzer and the Quest for the New Age offers a window into the rich and complex history of metaphysical religions in the Midwest and the United States at large. It will be read with interest by those wishing to learn more about this enigmatic Michigan figure, as well as those looking for an engaging introduction into America's rapidly shifting spiritual landscape.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780814345313 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Wayne State University Press |
| Publication date: | 08/06/2018 |
| Series: | Great Lakes Books Series |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 30 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
About the Author
Table of Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xv
1 Meeting Jesus in an Elevator: Fetzer's Earliest Spiritual Influences and Experiences (1901-1920s) 1
2 Fundamental Disagreements: Leaving Seventh-day Adventism (1926-1930) 19
3 Restless among the Spirits: Fetzer and the Spiritualist Mediums of Camp Chesterfield (1930s on) 33
4 Finding Ancient Wisdom in the Midwest: Freemasonry, Hermeticism, and Rosicrucianism (1930s on) 55
5 The Ascended Masters' Call: Fetzer Explores the Theosophical Cosmos (1930s on) 71
6 Unorthodox Science: Fetzer, UFOs, and the Paranormal (1950s on) 91
7 Articulating a Worldview for the New Age (1960s and 1970s) 109
8 The Science of Spirit: The Fetzer Foundation and Parapsychological Research (1970s) 125
9 Fetzer's Psychic Advisor: Jim Gordon and the Channelings (1980s) 153
10 Building for the New Age: The Fetzer Foundation's New Mission and Headquarters (1980s) 175
11 The Last of the Nine Lives: Fetzer's Transition and Legacy (Late 1980s to 1991 and Beyond) 197
Notes 213
Bibliography 297
Index 313
What People are Saying About This
This is a nuanced religious biography of a pioneer of radio, a major philanthropist, and a well-known Michigan personality who sought a monistic spirituality receptive to subtle conscious energies that he considered to be as real as radio waves, electricity, and radiation. It is also a near-encyclopedic map of the eclectic American esoteric and an erudite exploration of a New Age to which we have not paid nearly enough attention: one emerging from and expressive of esoteric Christian piety, business, patriotism, civic responsibility, and a distinctly metaphysical Midwest. Highly original and genuinely pioneering through and through.
John Fetzer is best remembered as a communications magnate who owned the Detroit Tigers and became one of the wealthiest persons in America. Until now little has been known about his lifelong spiritual journey, from Seventh-day Adventism to spiritualism. In this sympathetic but balanced book Brian C. Wilson brings Midwestern metaphysical religion to life.
This is a well-written and meticulously researched overview of spiritual exploration outside the mainstream in twentieth-century America and a skillful explanation of how various strains of belief came together to form what became known as New Age religion. John Fetzer and the Quest for the New Age unearths a complex landscape of nontraditional spiritual actors and institutions, constructed behind the more familiar infrastructure of churches, temples, and mosques.
This is an important biography. By giving us Fetzer's spiritual biography, Brian Wilson presents something like a condensed history of alternative, metaphysical, spiritualist, and New Age religion in the twentieth century. Fetzer was a remarkable figure, and this book demonstrates just how unusual a figure he really was while at the same time showing how Fetzer's life was the confluence of many major and less well-known religious figures and movements.
Brian Wilson's book vividly and astutely traces the life of businessman and philanthropist John E. Fetzer, whose journey combined the distinctly American story of a spiritual seeker with the personal quest for a deeper meaning of freedom. The John Fetzer Wilson describes shines forth as an energetic, great-hearted man utterly open to the wonder and miracle of life. He shows how the spiritual journey of one twentieth-century soul crosses the threshold into the human future.