When Religion Becomes Evil - Hardcover

Kimball, Charles A.

3.78

479 ratings by Goodreads

9780060506537: When Religion Becomes Evil

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060506539 ISBN 13: 9780060506537

Publisher: HarperSanFrancisco, 2002

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An expert on religion and the Middle East seeks to distinguish between "authentic" and "corrupt" forms of religious expression, identifying the ways in which the major religious traditions are vulnerable to corruption and how they can be corrected.

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Review:

?I cannot imagine a more timely or insightful book for the time in whichwe live.?Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) ?A wise, perceptive, and fair assessment ... Just the book for today's and tomorrow's journey of faith.?Walter Harrelson, Professor emeritus, Vanderbilt University ?A bold, powerful, truth-telling analysis of the ways in which religions can become destructive.?Diana L. Eck, author of A New Religious America ?Effectively confronts, analyzes and explores the maddeningly diffuse forms of religious impulse...?Rev. Ken Sehested, executive director of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America and co-editor of "Peace Primer: Quotes from Christian and Islamic Scripture and Tradition" ?Charles Kimball has uttered a cry that resonates like ?a fire bell in the night.? ?Arthur Hertzberg, Bronfman Visiting Professor of Humanities, New York University

"A great deal of insight ...." -- John Berthrong, Associate Dean for Boston University School of Theology

"[A] thought-provoking analysis." -- Cecile S. Holmes, Religion News Service

"Well-reasoned and focused." -- Wayne Holst, The [Toronto] Star

Effectively confronts, analyzes and explores the maddeningly diffuse forms of religious impulse... --Rev. Ken Sehested, executive director of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America and co-editor of "Peace Primer: Quotes from Christian and Islamic Scripture and Tradition"

"[T]imely and persuasive . . . . deserves to be widely read."--Fellowship Magazine

"Kimball...displays a fair hand in assessing how the world's leading religions can be used for both good and evil."--Baptists Today

"[A] thought-provoking analysis."--Cecile S. Holmes, Religion News Service

"Well-reasoned and focused."--Wayne Holst, The [Toronto] Star

"Effectively confronts, analyzes and explores the maddeningly diffuse forms of religious impulse..."--Rev. Ken Sehested, executive director of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America and co-editor of "Peace Primer: Quotes from Christian and Islamic Scripture and Tradition"

Synopsis:

Religious persuasions are indisputably central factors in the escalation of evil and violence on the global scene - and hence a growing subject of popular concern and debate. Many argue that religion is the chief source of problems in the world today. Central to this debate is the need to distinguish between "corrupt" forms of religious expression and the "authentic" forms that offer real correctives and solutions to this global threat. Kimball outlines a clear description of the five basic corruptions that manifest themselves in each of the major religious traditions (Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, and Buddhist). While no single religion is exempt from these corruptions, there is within the wisdom traditions of each the ability and means to identify and correct such tendencies. Kimball offers a reliable guide to this urgent issue and shows us that the ways in which people of faith understand and live out their deepest religious commitments in the 21st century will have profound consequences for the future of humanity.

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