Customer Reviews

Spiritual Warfare: The Politics of the Christian Right

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Diamond traces the history of the extreme Religious Right and its forays into international military actions and domestic suppression. The documentation in this book is thorough and reputable. Make no mistake, this book is not for everyone: she's writing for academians and is not aiming for entertainment. However, the book, at times, is riveting in its portrayal of how extreme Right Wing organizations (CBN, Moral Majority, Christian Coalition being examples) are set up with a facade of humanitarian aid while behind the exterior, they funnel massive amounts of money to foces not entirely aligned with Christianity (like the Contras). Admittedly, there are a few times when her opinion squeaks through the content but for the most part, the facts speak for themselves. I found it a great read.

This pioneering book of investigative reporting and political analysis sits on the shelves of everyone who aspires to a baseline knowledge of the Christian Right and its history.

More contemporary books by Rob Boston, Jean Hardisty and certainly Frederick Clarkson's Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy will get you into the subject in a more digestable form. Once having aquired a grasp of the subject, Spiritual Warfare will make alot more sense.

An exhaustively researched and wittily written expose of the American fundamentalism and televangelism. Diamond exposes the crimes and follies of almost every major "Christian" leader, from Pat Robertson to Oral Roberts. Incredible journalism, and a shockingly entertaining read to boot.

As a PhD student in the UK studying religion and American foreign policy, I was hoping to find in Diamond's book a thoughtful and well-researched account of the religious right in America. What I have just read is a piece of shock journalism. Diamond's intent throughout is to paint the religious right (which she defines so ambiguously that it is meaningless) as a monolith whose unified intention is to support murderous dictators and greedy multinationals - whenever and wherever possible. This book is an excellent example of how "good" research - when it is driven by intellectually dishonest aims - produces "bad" (distorted/unbalanced) ends.

This book is one of many that sought to document and perpetuate the theory of the "vast right wing conspiracy" that Hillary used to believe in. Now even Hillary knows better: the vast left-wing conspiracty is FAR more organized and dangerous. The reality is that the Leftists are much more scary than Christians ever were. I will take Christain tolerance over atheist fascism any day.

I sought history, facts, etc. However, this book is written with such female-type hysteria that getting beyond the first chapter is a chore. I am extremely disappointed. The author obviously picked apart her research to slant the information with little or no care for common knowledge that disputes her claims. Trash. A definite loss of money here.

This is a very angrily written book. It is hard to take it too seriously even when there are some segments of truth. Author has an axe to grind.