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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A strong start, but ultimately disappointing., February 21, 1998
By A Customer
Bawer's book starts out brilliantly and had me tentatively recommending it to people by the end of the first chapter. He makes some very insightful points, and he has the enviable ability to create a sound bite that actually has deep meaning; there were several points in the book where he sums up complex spiritual issues in one terrific sentence. Unfortunately, the book does not live up to the promise shown at the beginning. The points Bawer brings up about Fundamentalist Christianity are all valid, but his support for many of them is rather weak. He does not use footnotes, his references are incomplete, and the bibliography adheres to no style I've ever seen. This wouldn't matter if I wanted to accept his work as truth in and of itself, but I prefer to check sources. Bawer also tends to express opinion as fact. He twice makes the claim that legalist Christians (his term for Fundamentalist Christians) know their doctrines are untrue, although they will never admit it to themselves. To make such a claim is arrogant and uninformed-Bawer does not know the true feelings of individual legalist Christians. I know several people who fit Bawer's definition of legalists, and they hold their beliefs more dear than anything else, including things most people cherish such as family and career. If scientific or empirical evidence refutes these beliefs, the evidence is wrong, and the people who bring this evidence against Christianity are deceived. One could easily and truthfully say legalists are just putting their heads in the sand, but that doesn't mean they do not believe their doctrine. Bawer also rails against Pat Robertson, his editors, and his readers for not checking facts or having any knowledge about the subjects of his writing. The one incident Bawer uses as an example is a reference to Marie-Henri Beyle in Robertson's book "The New Millennium." Robertson states that Beyle is the birth name of Voltaire, but Bawer points out that it's actually the birth name of Stendhal. Robertson is therefore a distorter of history, and since no one caught the mistake four years later when the book was reprinted, his readers are unlearned and manipulable. I showed this Beyle error to three of my friends. Between us we have five graduate degrees, including three Ph.D.s. None of us knew Voltaire's birth name. It seems unlikely that this one sentence in Robertson's book (which is very badly written and full of bizarre claims) implies malleability or a lack of education. If it does, Bawer should check page 112 of "Stealing Jesus" where he confuses Lao-Tse, the founder of Taoism, with Confucius. Overall this is a disappointing book, perhaps because I expected more actual research and less opinion, especially when discussing leaders of the Religious Right. The sketchy, sometimes incomplete supporting evidence for Bawer's statements coupled with the lack of references make me question the overall accuracy of the book. A far better look at the evil aspects of Fundamentalist Christianity is Tom Sine's "Cease Fire," though he tends to get preachy near the end.
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