Customer Reviews

Polydoxy: Explorations in a Philosophy of Liberal Religion

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The author using a series of logical assumption, takes a philosophical journey from G-d based Liberal Religions to a new category of "polydoxy" in which the Central Tenant is freedom of belief. The author then tries to redefine religion as a mechanism to help man reconcile his finite powers with his need need for immortality and infinite powers. The book is very challenging and may threaten some readers belief system. The initial focus of the book seemed to be on Reform Judaism but quickly moved to a discussion covering all religions. I did disagree with the authors` assumption that since Liberal Religions did not believe in exact Revelation that they could not claim Theistic authority for their doctrines. His science is also suspect when he tries to correlate man`s religious tensions with diseases such as psychosis. In most cases his arguments were tight and were difficult to refute if you stayed within the box. This book is thought provoking and may offer the reader a new way to categorize and think about religion. Although I disagreed with much in this book, I did buy additional copies to send to friends. I consider this to be a must for the serious reader and it may become a classic.

Although I agree with the Mississippi reviewer that Dr. Reines' book is well worth reading and buying, I think he suffers from a serious handicap in that he lives in the South, and therefore has an antiquated view of the entire world, including religion. Were he from another place, say, New York, or had a Middle-Eastern or Oriental heritage, I would have been more inclined to support his views without qualification.