The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country from the Religious Right [Hardcover]

Michael Lerner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 7, 2006

The unholy alliance of the Political Right and Religious Right threatens to destroy the America we love. It also threatens to generate a popular aversion to God and religion by identifying religious values with a pro-war, pro-business, pro-rich, anti-science, and anti-environmental stance. In the past few decades, the Republicans have achieved political dominance by forging a union with a Religious Right that provided a sanctimonious veneer to policies that help the rich get richer while ignoring the needs of the middle class and the poor, dismantling environmental and civil liberties protections, and seeking global domination. The Right champions the materialism, and ruthless selfishness promoted by the global competitive marketplace, and then laments the moral crisis when the values that people have learned all day in the world of work gets carried home into personal life and contributes to family instability and a culture of loneliness. Enter the Religious Right with nurturing communities for the faithful and a culture that blames liberals, activist judges, and all secular people for the moral and spiritual emptiness so many Americans experience. The Left, on the other hand, remains largely tone-deaf to the spiritual needs of the American people. It is the yearning for meaning in life, not just the desire for money or power that is at the core of American politics.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Named one of Utne's 100 American Visionaries, Rabbi Lerner, editor of Tikkun magazine, delivers an ambitious proposal called a "Spiritual Covenant with America." Before detailing his plan, he provides an extensive survey of American history and ideology, rife with examples of dominant and controlling attributes favored by those on the right (the "right hand of God") who believe in a frightening world replete with evil and ruled by an avenging God. This contrasts with what he considers the loving, kind and generous tendencies of those at the "left hand of God," who instead believe in a compassionate and merciful deity. These delineations occur on both sides of the political aisle—and not solely within one religion. Rabbi Lerner addresses both the "intolerant and militaristic" tactics of the political right and the "visionless... often spiritually empty" tenets of the political left with an even hand. His vision of a country devoid of poverty, homelessness, unemployment and uninsured citizens comes with an actual blueprint, in which Americans rededicate themselves to traditional values of love, kindness, respect and responsibility. Unfortunately, the rays of hope delivered in this impassioned proposal are buried in an often rambling and repetitive dialogue that may alienate those most likely to respond. (Feb.)
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Review

“Just sharing these profound ideas that Lerner presents in such an accessible manner is itself a great contribution you could make to healing our country” (Cornel West, author of Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism )

“Lerner’s needed voice for progressive spirituality will find resonance across many faith traditions. I’m deeply grateful for his work.” (Brian McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christian )

“An enormously important book…practical steps we can take to launch a spiritual revolution and save this beautiful planet.” (Robert Thurman )

“Lerner’s proposal is a visionary response to this urgent need …” (Richard Gere )

“A provocative invitation to the broad dialogue we need…” (Christian Century )

“Part social critique, part save-the-world primer, The Left Hand of God brims with hopeful proposals.” (Houston Chronicle )

“Spiritual commitment requires political action, or amounts to nothing. That is the fundamental truth of The Left Hand of God.” (George Lakoff, author of Don't Think of An Elephant )

“Rabbi Lerner makes sense, finds meaning and sees hope in an America many feel is spiraling downward into destructive divisions.” (Harvey Cox )

“Lerner articulates … a vision of hope that taps into the spiritual needs of all people.” (Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, Chair of the Progressive Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives )

“THE LEFT HAND OF GOD reclaims the common ground of peace and social justice which gird all authentic spiritualities….” (Reverend John Dear )

“A renewed politics far more profound than either the Republicans or the Democrats have been able to muster….” (Richard Upford-Chase, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA )

“The blueprint for the next stage in the spiritual development of our planet.” (Deepak Chopra )

“For those who dare to imagine a country where peace, freedom, and justice prevail....” (Spirituality and Health magazine )

“The Left Hand of God serves the vital purpose of articulating a progressive religious alternative.” (Washington Post Book World )

“A rallying cry and a theoretical and scholarly analysis of the appeal of the religious right.” (Boston Globe )

“Many will find Lerner’s 8-point “Spiritual Covenant with America” revitalizing grist for discussion....” (Providence Journal )

“A book that sends a clear call to everyone who cares about the future of America.” (Los Angeles Times Book Review )

“The Left Hand of God is essential reading for everyone concerned about the future of this country.” (Fritjof Capra )

“[A] practical, compelling vision of a politics of generosity.” (Walter Bruggemann )

“Lerner is a rare voice of sanity and intelligence in a nation where our moral values have been corrupted ….” (Howard Zinn )

“An insightful, inspiring book by Rabbi Lerner that can put America back on track.” (Arun Gandhi, president, M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence )

“[T]he blueprint for transforming the conscious heart of a nation ….” (Michael Franti, Musician )

“A highly decent and challenging critique.” (Kirkus Reviews )

“In this important book, Lerner shows us how we can reclaim truths that we are in danger of losing. ” (Karen Armstrong )

“A serious critique of how both the religious right and liberals have used and abused the influence of religion ….” (America Magazine )

“A brilliant and penetrating analysis of the way religion is now used politically …. ” (John Shelby Spong )

“[T]his book pulsates with life and spirit and the passion of the prophets of old. Bravo! ” (Matthew Fox )

“Lerner’s spiritually based politics is just what this country needs.” (Tony Campolo )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne (February 7, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060842474
• ISBN-13: 978-0060842475
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #339,635 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

158 of 175 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Slams Left for Unilaterally Disarming and Fearing its Compassionate Side, March 29, 2006

By 

Robert D. Steele (Oakton, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country from the Religious Right (Hardcover)

I have little patience for one and two line reviews that praise (or condemn) a book without any substantive evidence that the book was actually read. My reviews are summative and evaluative, and this is a book that merits careful reading and carefully articulated reviews.

The author provides an absolutely top-notch discussion of how the extreme religious right was able to align with the corporate and media right to seize power and sideline the much larger middle class population. At one point the author notes that the wealthy can afford to be sanctimonious, they can afford to get their abortions in other countries. The book subtitle could be modified to say "from the Religious Right and the Immoral Politicians and Corporate Magnates that Bribed Them."

The book is most valuable for providing a common sense indictment of the Democratic leadership, labeling them corrupt and ignorant for thinking that they can only win by being "Right Lite" and failing to distinguish the Loving Left from the Rich and Religious Right.

Especially helpful to me was the author's detailed discussion of how the Left went "secular" after the 1960's, that brief moment when a critical mass of America believed that "love not war" was in fact the right guiding principle. He points out how the elite intellectual left estranged itself from the labor left while also being secularly scornful of the religious left.

He praises Martin Luther King and the original civil rights movement that welcomed white support as embodying all that was good about spiritually-bonded social activism.

He goes on to note that in later years, as black activists excluded whites, feminists excluded men and alienated normal moms, and anti-war and environmental activists became angry and critical rather than loving and embracive, it all went down hill. The Left disintegrated as a socially and politically relevant force.

Among his strongest points is his assertion that the Left has "unilaterally disarmed" and given up its most powerful weapon, a spiritual vision of a world in which the Golden Rule prevails, and America stands for morality, generosity, and non-intrusive nurturing.

He lambastes the Left for being afraid of its softer feminine side, fearing to appear weak when that strong feminism or the generous side is precisely what is required to confront the radical "rational" right (rational in this case means de-humanizing, for people are treated as "trade goods" not as humans with spiritual and minimal mandatory quality of life needs). Indeed, the author cites Kant's statement that true rationality must be universalized, i.e. American "exceptionalism" is NOT rational, simply imposed.

Other books have talked about the need to add environmental and social bottom lines to the economic bottom line; this author integrates those ideas here.

His bottom line is that love and kindness and championing both a spiritual vision and the primacy of human rights and dignity are an intangible value that should not be restricted to church or family, but should characterize all aspects of the economy and the political decision process.

He demands--and I buy into this completely--that the Left, armed with faith (not nutty faith, but community-oriented faith) must refuse to accept the "collateral damage" that comes from predatory immoral capitalism or unilateral imperialist militarism.

He touches on the difference between science and scientism; the latter devoid of any sense of the humanities or faith (see my review of E. O. Wilson's Consilience for that great author's discussion of why the sciences need the humanities).

A few unique observations from the author before summarizing his public policy goals:

1) Bill Clinton got it, Hillary Clinton tried it as a spouse and abandoned it as a Senator (why she will not win as a Presidential or Vice Presidential candidate), and Al Gore, ubber secularist, never got it at all. Left unsaid, but clear to me, is that Senator John Edwards does get it, and his current focus on poverty is perfectly matched to this book's vision for a caring new left that is embrasive of the bottom and the center.

2) Marx had more spiritual wisdom in his early writings than most people realize, and was originally founded in a moral revulsion against the costs of capitalism on the commoditization of humans (see my review of Lionel Tiger, Manufacture of Evil: Ethics, Evolution, and the Industrial System). Where Marx went wrong, and where the post World War II Left went wrong, was in secularizing itself and failing to use religious faith as a catalyst and sustaining element for activism.

The author ends with some very specific prescriptions that I consider to be sensible, implantable, affordable, essential, and-and-contrary to those reviewers who demean the author-to be a absolutely vital to those seeking to restore balance and sanity to this country in the 2006 and 2008 elections. Any candidate who fails to integrate this book and its vision into their campaign is going to be fighting blind in one eye, with at least one arm tied behind their back. The varied covenants, the separation of church, state, and science (see my review of the The Republican War on Science), the Global Marshall Plan, the Nonviolent Peace Force, these are all ideas that are validated by just about every one of the 600+ books on national security that I have reviewed for Amazon these past six years.

The author ends on a reflective note, stating that no candidate, no elected President, can achieve the needed change on their own. There must be a considerable body of public opinion that stands up and demands the change, that holds the Wall Street and Enrons and Exxons of the world accountable, that holds Congress accountable for bribery and holds Dick Cheney accountable for lying and for no-bid multi-billion awards to Halliburton.

See Conspiracy of Fools: A True Story and Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency

While there are other books that are meaning to me with respect to the future of this country, this is the one single book that I do not believe can be ignored by any candidate hoping to restore democracy and morality to America.

On the failure of fundamentalist religion, see
American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America
American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21stCentury

113 of 126 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Commendable, February 19, 2006

By 

Susan Fong (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country from the Religious Right (Hardcover)

One does not need to be a "religious" person to commend and endorse Rabbi Lerner's message of love, tolerance, and respect for one another regardless of our religious, ethnic, and/or political affiliations. And Rabbi Lerner is right when he suggests that we need to be less selfish and more concerned about taking care of our planet and all those who inhabit it.

Too often we have become a self-indulgent, wasteful, or even destructive society. We drain our limited natural resources for our own pleasure instead of preserving and replenishing those resources. We should protect the quality of life and the health of our planet so that future generations will benefit as well as ourselves.

As a society it is deeply troubling that one segment of our population, namely the extreme religious right, attempts to control our politics, culture, and behavior. These extremists condemn ANYONE who does not conform to their mold. Isn't that contrary to tolerance and forgiveness as the Bible teaches?

I admire Rabbi Lerner's stand against the extreme religious right's bigotry towards non-Christians, intellectuals, homosexuals, or anyone else whom they consider "objectionable". Rabbi Lerner seeks to comfort and bring people together based on our shared humanity. The extreme religious right choses to ostracize and demonize those who are different from them. They are not true Christians. They are bullies.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, substantive, inspiring, February 15, 2006

By 

Robert D. Niederman (U.S.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country from the Religious Right (Hardcover)

People in this country hunger for a politics of meaning. We don't want to distrust our leaders. We don't want to distrust the political process. We want a politics that really stands up for the values we share. These are the fundamental values of our country and of all religions. We want our leaders to truly value life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all people everywhere. We want an ethical society- not a selfish one. We don't want leaders to talk about compassionate conservatism and then set up prisons to torture people who are randomly collected off streets and are never convicted of any crime. This book addresses issues of value. It helps guide us toward a politics of compassion and a way for all of us, conservatives, liberals, religious, and non-religious to come together to demand responsible leadership at a time of great peril to our country and to the world. This is a great voice of hope, passion, vision, and sanity. I invite every person who has deep concerns for the future of our democracy and for the deepening of spirit throughout the world to buy this book and read it. Then set up a book club and read it with your friends, neighbors, and community. This is a book to be treasured, internalized, and discussed at all levels of society. It has in it the capacity to shift our way of thinking about our world, and therefore, to change the way we operate. This book could enable us to turn the page of overbearing domanence and create a world based on equality and justice.