I’M READING AS FAST AS I CAN (JULY 2020 EDITION)
Well, that was a slow month.
Actually, it’s been a busy month, what with starting a new part-time job on top of freelancing, and some personal family issues to attend to. Also, the two books I was reading were pretty involved reads that have been worth taking time to chew on. This is one of them.
Not in God's Name: Confronting Religious Violence by Jonathan Sacks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
In which Jonathan Sacks - who I knew was a rabbi in the UK but didn’t know was also a member of Parliament - explores the reasons why religious violence has become more of a problem since the end of the Cold War, and uses key stories from the book of Genesis to refute religious justifications for violence.
While Sacks is talking about religious violence in general, he focuses chiefly on anti-Semitism and radical Islamic terrorists to frame his argument, as both are the most contemporary examples (and, I suppose, aspects he has more direct experience with). In any case, he looks at the various ways that conflict arises between individuals and groups, what religion brings to that dynamic, and how the rise of dualism leads to the “My God vs Your God” mentality of religious extremism. He then reviews stories of sibling rivalry in Genesis to show that Abrahamic monotheism (the root of Judaism, Christianity and Islam) is about peace, love and acceptance of “the Other”.
Overall, Sacks makes a lot of good points, though I do have minor disagreements with a couple of them. The main weakness is that it relies on Biblical interpretation, something that people of all faiths tend to never agree on 100%. Personally, I find his take on Genesis thought-provoking and inspiring, but I’m sure other believers might find it heretical (an adjective that some Orthodox rabbis have directed at Sacks in the past on a different topic). And of course people who advocate violence in the name of religion are unlikely to change their minds after reading this. Still, I think it works as both a Bible study discussion prompt and an intellectual argument in favor of church/state separation.
View all my reviews
Love not war,
This is dF
This entry was originally posted at https://defrog.dreamwidth.org/1646938.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Actually, it’s been a busy month, what with starting a new part-time job on top of freelancing, and some personal family issues to attend to. Also, the two books I was reading were pretty involved reads that have been worth taking time to chew on. This is one of them.
Not in God's Name: Confronting Religious Violence by Jonathan Sacks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
In which Jonathan Sacks - who I knew was a rabbi in the UK but didn’t know was also a member of Parliament - explores the reasons why religious violence has become more of a problem since the end of the Cold War, and uses key stories from the book of Genesis to refute religious justifications for violence.
While Sacks is talking about religious violence in general, he focuses chiefly on anti-Semitism and radical Islamic terrorists to frame his argument, as both are the most contemporary examples (and, I suppose, aspects he has more direct experience with). In any case, he looks at the various ways that conflict arises between individuals and groups, what religion brings to that dynamic, and how the rise of dualism leads to the “My God vs Your God” mentality of religious extremism. He then reviews stories of sibling rivalry in Genesis to show that Abrahamic monotheism (the root of Judaism, Christianity and Islam) is about peace, love and acceptance of “the Other”.
Overall, Sacks makes a lot of good points, though I do have minor disagreements with a couple of them. The main weakness is that it relies on Biblical interpretation, something that people of all faiths tend to never agree on 100%. Personally, I find his take on Genesis thought-provoking and inspiring, but I’m sure other believers might find it heretical (an adjective that some Orthodox rabbis have directed at Sacks in the past on a different topic). And of course people who advocate violence in the name of religion are unlikely to change their minds after reading this. Still, I think it works as both a Bible study discussion prompt and an intellectual argument in favor of church/state separation.
View all my reviews
Love not war,
This is dF
This entry was originally posted at https://defrog.dreamwidth.org/1646938.html. Please comment there using OpenID.