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

~ (Author) "Before I became a rabbi, I was a social change activist and a psychotherapist..." (more)
Key Phrases: progressive spiritual politics, spiritual progressives, nonviolent peace force, United States, Left Hand of God, Right Hand of God (more...)

4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (45 customer reviews)

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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.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From The Washington Post

Two years ago, Thomas Frank's blockbuster What's the Matter with Kansas? posed a question: Why do so many blue- collar conservatives vote for Republicans at the expense of their own economic interests? Liberals everywhere immediately responded with vigorous head-nodding. Although Frank made a few stabs at answering his question -- Democrats haven't taken seriously parental concerns about our garish popular culture, and some conservatives favor cultural issues over economic well-being -- his frequent references to these Americans as "deranged" (eight times in the first chapter alone) implied that the real solution was to cure their irrational behavior. Fortunately, Michael Lerner has weighed in with another take on the question in The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country From the Religious Right (HarperSanFrancisco). A social thinker with impeccable liberal credentials -- he's a Berkeley-based rabbi, sometime Hillary Rodham Clinton guru and the editor of Tikkun magazine -- Lerner has studied this question for three decades while conducting psychotherapy research. He's concluded that America is in the midst of a "real spiritual crisis," one that has been recognized and exploited -- but not solved -- by the Republican Party. For the first half of the book, Lerner diagnoses the symptoms and causes of this crisis and argues that "the search for meaning in a despiritualized world ... leads many people to right-wing religious communities" and politics. Among the thousands of people Lerner and his colleagues have interviewed, some common concerns surfaced time and again: eroding societal values, America's troubling emphasis on money and greed, unstable families, the attempt to place monetary value on everyone and everything, and spiritual isolation. Right-wing religious institutions appeal to these concerns by providing communities of comfort and instructions on how to change this status quo; right-wing politicians promise to fix the problem by imposing their own solutions. No wonder voters of modest means are attracted. But as Lerner expertly details, the proffered solutions don't eliminate the concerns so much as they trade on their political value. Concerned about unstable families? Just outlaw gay marriage. Worried about popular culture? Impeach those activist judges. And it's there, he argues, that liberals have the opportunity to craft a progressive "Spiritual Covenant with America," a blueprint that composes the second half of the book. From economic to family to national security issues, Lerner outlines a politics of meaning that connects traditional liberal values to what have been inaccurately defined as conservative concerns. The Left Hand of God is ambitious, sprawling and sometimes rambling, but it serves the vital purpose of articulating a progressive religious alternative to the conservative flavor of religion that has dominated American politics and society for the past 30 years. -- Amy Sullivan

The Politics of Meaning
Copyright 2006, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.

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Product Details

Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: HarperOne; Third Printing edition (February 7, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060842474
ISBN-13: 978-0060842475
Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds

Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (45 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #466,754 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
Before I became a rabbi, I was a social change activist and a psychotherapist. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
progressive spiritual politics, spiritual progressives, nonviolent peace force, new bottom line, scientistic worldview, social change activists, cynical realism, old bottom line, social change movements, cynical realists, national health insurance plan

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Left Hand of God, Right Hand of God, Hillary Clinton, Global Marshall Plan, Spiritual Covenant, World War, Social Security, New Left, New York Times, Soviet Union, New Orleans, Saddam Hussein, United Nations, President Bush, White House, Bill Clinton, John Kerry, New Republic, West Bank, Abraham Joshua Heschel, George Bush, Social Responsibility Amendment, Ethical Impact Report, New Age

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 100 books:

Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth's Last Days (Left Behind, Book 1) by Tim LaHaye in Front Matter, and page 95
Jewish Renewal: Path to Healing and Transformation, A by Michael Lerner in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
The Spiritual Life of Children by Robert Coles on page 294, and Back Matter
Speaking My Mind: The Radical Evangelical Prophet Tackles the Tough Issues Christians Are Afraid to Face by Tony Campolo on page 95, and Back Matter
The Spiritual Life (Ecco Companions) by Albert Schweitzer on page 294, and Back Matter

See all 100 books this book cites

1 book cites this book:

Whose Freedom?: The Battle Over America's Most Important Idea by George Lakoff in Back Matter

Books on Related Topics (learn more)

Spirit Matters by Michael Lerner

Discusses:

Hurricane Katrina by John Brown Childs (Editor)

Discusses:

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	79% buy the item featured on this page: The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country from the Religious Right 4.2 out of 5 stars (45)
	7% buy Spirit Matters 4.4 out of 5 stars (14) $13.46
	4% buy Saving Jesus from the Church: How to Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus 4.5 out of 5 stars (11) $10.00
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Customer Reviews

45 Reviews

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3 star:		(5)
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Average Customer Review

4.2 out of 5 stars (45 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

148 of 164 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 (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

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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

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110 of 122 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)

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.

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28 of 30 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)

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.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Challenges our way of life and social interactions to be more compassionate and caring;
This book is an important read for anyone willing to examine their life, social interactions, work motivations and core values. Read more

Published 9 months ago by Mary Ellen

2.0 out of 5 stars Answer is not for atheists to believe in a God
I'm going to use a lot of quotation marks here, because it just seems appropriate in discussions like this which focus on issues in a relatively naive, simplistic, and pop... Read more

Published 13 months ago by John Sawyer

4.0 out of 5 stars empty secular society and overly absolute religious attitudes are shared problems
What do the Left and the Right have in common? A sense of meaninglessness in what is called the "real world"--work--unites us all. Read more

Published on October 7, 2007 by J Kragt

3.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing
Repetitive. The whole thing could have been condensed to one chapter. After a certain point, I couldn't read anymore. Nevertheless, the concept is inspiring.

Published on July 9, 2007 by M. Tiner

5.0 out of 5 stars Mercy to balance Severity
in flipping thru television channels last night
i arrived at one of those strange stations with the
very high numbers that is not standard viewing. Read more

Published on May 4, 2007 by Thomas E. Ragland

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read Book
Every couple of pages I found myself enlightened. "Oh, that makes sense" or "Yeah, I can see that." This book answers questions about our lives in America, what went wrong, and... Read more

Published on April 2, 2007 by Michael Grello

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely insightful book
This is a really well-written book that very accurately portrays the "values" crisis (I prefer Lerner's term meaning needs) that is growing increasingly chronic in the United... Read more

Published on November 22, 2006 by J. Andrijeski

5.0 out of 5 stars Lessons for the Left
Rabbi Lerner makes a strong case as to why progressive people can not leave issues of faith to the religious right, and why as in the past people with both secular and religious... Read more

Published on November 10, 2006 by Alan S. Carroll

4.0 out of 5 stars it's a good gift for a political junky
Person receiving the book was excited to receive it and went off to read most of it in one sitting.

Published on November 9, 2006 by C. Crittenden

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, someone who understands
Being a Liberal (sometimes called "progressive") Christian, I have often found myself being looked down on by my liberal friends who are not religious. Read more

Published on October 21, 2006 by David Link

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