Ludovic Kennedy explores the question of whether we are any longer justified in interpreting what we call God as an autonomous, sentient being, or whether the time has come to recognize him as we do all history's gods - as images created by the human mind to meet human needs.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
From the first page, which boasts epigraphs from Corinthians, Thomas Paine and Ludwig Feuerbach, to the concluding salvo, British newscaster and author Kennedy relentlessly attacks Christianity. We postmoderns realize, he notes, that ancient Greek gods weren't real, but were merely invented by the Greeks to fill some need. We know that Isis and Pluto and the other Egyptian and Roman deities were fabricated, too. Most people even admit that SatanAat least the half-man, half-beast, red-horns and pitchfork varietyAis a fiction. Isn't it time, Kennedy asks, that we made the same concession about the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost? Kennedy offers familiar critiques of the Bible, arguing that the virgin birth is implausible, as are Jesus' many miracles. He writes with passion about the atrocities committed in the name of Christ, from gouging out the eyes of disobedient archbishops to the Inquisition. Fortunately, in Kennedy's view, between Voltaire, Darwin and Bishop John Robinson (an early British version of John Shelby Spong), many Christians have seen the light and signed up with the atheists. Surely it is time, Kennedy pleads, for the few remaining Christians to give up the ghost. Kennedy's forceful writing compensates, at least in part, for his failure to produce any original arguments, or to consult any of the truly great teachers of the Christian tradition. This throw-down-the-gauntlet and take-no-prisoners manifesto will delight skeptics, disturb Christians and perhaps win over a few fence-sitters. (Aug.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting personal view,
By Vic Botterill (HERTFORD, Hertfordshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: All in the Mind: A Farewell to God (Paperback)
Kennedy clearly gives his view of Christianity based on his 80 years of life. I found it a good read and persuasive in places. Kennedy really gives the low down on how power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely - and that religious folk are no exception. As he clearly shows, the Christian message has been so tainted, changed and corrupted that its value has become undermined. He accepts that many people believe in a God, but mainly because other people seem to do so. I found him persuasive, although at times shallow. However, Kennedy doesn't pretend that the book is anything but his personal view. It is interesting how the religious minded attack him but produce no valid arguments to sustain their own irrational beliefs. He is charitable about the majority of priests and believers, but sad that so many have been taken in by religion.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fine personal perspective,
This review is from: All in the Mind: A Farewell to God (Paperback)
Ludovic Kennedy provides a very personal and broad view of freethought and atheism as he sees it. Starting with his own upbringing and his shock of the death of his christian father he charts christianity thru the ages and the rise of those who dare go against the grain.
Kennedy weaves a broad loom and introduces characters such as Thomas Aikenhead, Chevalier de la Barre and Baron d'Holbach to the unititiated. It's an easy read and excites the truth-seeker to delve into extensive "books consulted" list. The point of Ludovic Kennedy's work is to promote thought and to answer some of the doubts of the waverers. In this regard it does an excellent job. After reading this book you come away with the view that christianity is a religion that has survived by stifling free expression and that established religions are there because it is useful to elites rather than their truthfulness. If Kennedy wanted to get us to question the status quo he could not have written a better book.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Of Revalations,
By A humanist (NC, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: All in the Mind: A Farewell to God (Paperback)
An extremly interesting book, the likes of which I'm sad never to have been exposed to growing up. Wouldn't it be great if we could expose our children to the many views of our existence, both religious and non-religous and then let them make up their own minds. Isn't it more than a coincidence that in general our religion is dictated to us almost uniquely by the place we are born.
Being a European currently living in the Southern US, it boggles the mind to see the unquestioning "faith" of so many. It's also eye opening to compare this to their politics and actions both in the US and internationally. There's little correlation. This book is a great read, most revealing..
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