Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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136 of 150 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just means are necessary for just ends, April 13, 2003
This is a magnificent book. There are some typos and minor errors, such as the repeated misspelling of Hal Lindsey's name, but that is understandable for a first edition. There is quite a lot to ponder and savor within its relatively brief length (213 mid-sized pages) and it makes its points and justifies them while remaining easy-to-read. It explains the core tendencies that corrupt religion and provides a clarion call for more inclusive, honest, and dynamic religion in this new century.
A valid criticism that was raised by another reader is Dr. Kimball's use of the term "authentic" (which means genuine, real, true, undoubted, unquestionable, factual, verifiable) for his sort of religion. That assumes that all religious expression that he disagrees with is "inauthentic." One may argue that one type of religion is better than another in certain specific ways, as the author has, but that does not mean that bad religion is inauthentic. Bad religion is as real as good religion, just as bad politics are as real as good politics. Using the term authentic provides a temptation to use it as a copout. When someone criticizes the bad use of religion, an apologist could reply, "Well, that is not 'authentic' religion. Only good religion is true religion," thus making criticism of religion impossible, because any ills will be brushed aside as "inauthentic" and not due to religion at all. I prefer Dr. Kimball's other adjectives for good religion: healthy, dynamic, honest, etc.
A second valid criticism that was raised is, that while it is true that Jews, Christians, and Muslims all stem from the same root, Kimball goes overboard when he says on page 50 that "There is simply no ambiguity here. Jews, Christians, and Muslims are talking about the same deity." That is an oversimplification. While clerics in these religions are fond of saying they worship the same Abrahamic God, their conceptions of that God are different.
A third criticism that has been raised is that Kimball does not address the issue of the possibility that a religion's "authentic sources" themselves may contain moral and theological errors that encourage evils. I think this ommission is understandable given the focus of the book. Kimball's book is not a comprehensive discussion of religion, but rather a discussion of the corruptions of mainline religion.
My only other wish is that Kimball had accompanied his five warning signs of "evil" religion with their counterparts that indicate more positive religion, which I attempt below...
Charles Kimball's five warning signs of corruption in religion:
1. Absolute truth claims
2. Blind obedience
3. Establishing the "ideal" time
4. The end justifies any means
5. Declaring holy war
My five signs of integrity and dynamism in religion:
1. Dynamic and relational truth and ongoing learning
2. Critical thinking and honest inquiry
3. Making the best of every time and leaving the determination of the end time to heaven
4. Both means and end are important and linked
5. Declaring holy peace
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36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The seeds of hope within . . ., November 16, 2002
I received this book in proof edition from one of my Religion Editor friends. She has done me a great service. I found the thought process and information provided by Kimball to be most compelling. The book is well laid out and well written with concise expression of ideas. I have long believed that religion as we know it today has become corrupted by men (and I do mean men since the religions are mostly controlled by men, not women). But Kimball puts into eloquent words those ideas and concepts which I found I could only hold in my mind and not express.Like so many books in this genre, When Religion Becomes Evil was scheduled for publication on the one year anniversary of the 9/11/01 tragedies. It could not have been timed better or be more relevant and important. For it not only points out the five basic corruptions that manifest themselves in each of the major religious traditions, but it holds out hope that each of those religions has within it the wherewithal to root out and correct those flaws. Yet we must be willing to hold ourselves and our faith institutions accountable for the intolerance we practice. Kimball states that religion is arguably the most powerful and persuasive force on earth and that yes, it is the problem. It is the problem because each seems to hold that it alone has the absolute truth, demands blind obedience, and justifies the means used by the end goal (presumably salvation or "right living.") Somehow, Kimball has reinvigorated the often used argument that the basic teaching of the world faith traditions (Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and Buddhist) have been used for corrupt ends, yet are in themselves the seeds for healing. "The complicity of religious persuasions in global conflicts today is undeniable, but understanding this complicity requires that we clearly grasp the difference between what we have called corrupt forms of religious commitment and the authentic forms that offer hope." The message of this book, so eloquently and convincingly written, is one that all lay people should embrace. We must hold ourselves and our faith institutions accountable for our actions in the world. For "a segregated group in which the thinking and critical decisions reside with one or a few people, particularly where there is apocalyptic teaching involved, is a disaster waiting to happen."
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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Literalism as the Enemy, July 3, 2004
When the first airliner slammed into the World Trade Tower on that fateful September day in 2001 and I heard the news over the radio as I drove to work my first thought was not Saddam Hussein (as was the apparent first thought of at least one major world leader), but Osama bin Laden. Why did I think this? Because there had been an earlier attack on the towers by Islamic extremists and religious fanaticism is more likely to produce self-sacrificing violent deeds than simple greed and power hunger. Religious extremism allows a person to destroy themselves on the promise that they will wake up in paradise. None of the people around Saddam Hussein were that devoted to the admittedly evil dictator to sacrifice themselves in such a violent act.Charles Kimball's book, "When Religion Becomes Evil" addresses the problem of corrupted religion and how to recognize it. He uses five warning signs to define such corruption- claims of absolute truth, demands of blind obedience, establishment of the "ideal" time, justification of means by the end, and declaration of holy war. We certainly have enough examples, from the Branch Davidians of David Koresh, to Heaven's Gate and Jim Jones, on through to Osama bin Ladin. All of these were or are demonstrably pathological. They all led to death and destruction for their followers and often innocent bystanders. Others, while not so extreme, are dangerous enough to warrant observation. These include several organizations of the so-called religious right in this country who often advocate violence indirectly by condemning certain groups that are deemed unworthy or under the control of Satan. As Kimball (who is a Baptist academic) notes exclusionary literal religions can indeed be a danger to democracy and to the general welfare of the society. Is religion the problem? Kimball correctly, I think, answers yes and no. Religion is always going to be with us and there will always probably be those who take it to extremes or use it cynically for their own gain, often at the expense of the lives of others. However, religion may be a human need. This is not necessarily a seeking for God as some would have it, but a need for meaning in life. An atheist can be just as ethically good as the best believer and a devote believer can easily be as evil in their actions as the most evil non-believer. We have Schindlers and Gandhis, Communist dictators and inquisitors. People who saved Jews in Nazi- overrun Europe came from all sorts of belief systems, including atheists, but all had some sort of faith in a moral system. On the other hand, some people who considered themselves truly religious turned in Jews to their destroyers. It is belief in a basic morality, not in a specific doctrine, which makes life bearable. As Kimball points out religion at its best can be very good, while at its worst it reaches depths of depravity seldom seen in simple non-religious disputes. The current hatred between Palestinians and Israelis is a case in point. Both sides have lost moral authority and I find it difficult at present to have as much sympathy for either side as I would like. While I cannot exactly share Kimball's Christian faith I am impressed with his honest attempt to examine the evils of religious literalism and bigotry. I might add that I do not embrace atheism, but prefer a more ecumenical approach that includes all major religions and non-believers as well. However, whatever your beliefs, if you want to learn more about the problems of religious exclusivity and literalism associated with hatred and violence, you cannot go wrong by reading "When Religion Becomes Evil." Whether you agree with Kimball or not, it will expand your understanding of the difficulties involved in too literal a belief system.
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