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The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country from the Religious Right Hardcover – Bargain Price, February 1, 2006

by Michael Lerner (Author)
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 58 ratings
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The unholy alliance of the Political Right and the Religious Right threatens to destroy the America we love. It also threatens to generate a popular aversion to God and religion by identifying religious values with a pro-war, pro-business, pro-rich, anti-science, and anti-environmental stance. Over the past few decades, the Republicans have achieved political dominance by forging a union with the Religious Right. This marriage has provided a sanctimonious veneer for policies that have helped the rich get richer while ignoring the needs of the middle class and the poor, dismantling environmental and civil liberties protections, and seeking global domination. The Right champions the materialism and ruthless selfishness promoted by unrestrained capitalism and then laments the moral crises of family instability and loneliness experienced by people who bring these commercial values into their homes and personal lives. In response, the Religious Right offers insular communities for the faithful and a culture that blames liberals, activist judges, homosexuals, independent women, and all secular people for the moral and spiritual emptiness so many Americans experience. Yet, however distorted both the Right's analysis and its solutions to America's spiritual crisis may be, it wins allegiance by addressing the human hunger for a life with some higher purpose. The Left, by contrast, remains largely tone-deaf to the spiritual needs of the American people. It is the yearning for meaning in life, not just the desire for money or power, that lies at the core of American politics. Addressing the central mystery of contemporary politics -- why so many Americans vote against their own economic interests -- The Left Hand of God provides an invaluable, timely, and blunt critique of the current state of faith in government. Lerner challenges the Left to give up its deeply held fear of religion and to distinguish between a domination-oriented, Right-Hand-of-God tradition and a more compassionate and hope-oriented Left-Hand-of-God worldview. Further, Lerner describes the ways that Democrats have misunderstood and alienated significant parts of their potential constituency. To succeed again, Lerner argues, the Democratic Party must rethink its relationship to God, champion a progressive spiritual vision, reject the old bottom line that promotes the globalization of selfishness, and deal head-on with the very real spiritual crisis that many Americans experience every day. Lerner presents a vision that incorporates and then goes far beyond contemporary liberal and progressive politics. He argues for a new bottom line in our economy, schools, and government. This is a fundamentally fresh approach, one that takes spiritual needs seriously in our economic and political lives. Presenting an eight-point progressive spiritual covenant with America, Lerner provides a blueprint for how the Democratic Party can effectively challenge the Right and position itself to win the White House and Congress. By appealing to religious, secular, and spiritual but not necessarily religious people, The Left Hand of God blazes a trail that could change our world and reclaim America from the Religious Right.
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  1. Print length
    416 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    HarperSanFrancisco
  4. Publication date
    February 1, 2006
  5. Dimensions
    9.4 x 6.38 x 1.31 inches
  6. See all details
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Customers find the book easy to read and engaging. They say it's a good start for dialogue and an important read for anyone wanting to examine their life.

"...Great book...and a good start on this dialogue...." Read more

"...There is a goodness and sincerity to his writing that we all would do well to adopt and emulate." Read more

"This book is an important read for anyone willing to examine their life, social interactions, work motivations and core values...." Read more

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Customers find the book insightful and valuable. They say it provides analysis, synthesis, and suggestions for overcoming challenges.

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Syrimne1
    5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely insightful book
    Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2006
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    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 States. I actually found myself looking at how I categorize and appraise others differently after reading this book, in terms of where and when I view people with utilitarian lenses...where I parcel people into lists of attributes and even beliefs without seeing the total person. It's appalling how often I do this out of reflex and training. This book is also a reminder that to understand political currents you really need to understand individuals and the goggles through which they view the world.

    Further, I feel that Lerner clearly addresses some of the biggest frustrations I've had with the Left in this country, in terms of their own materialist dogmatism. I absolutely agree with Lerner's assessment that the Left has been deaf and dumb to the meaning needs of Americans, thus opening the way to the Republicans filling this gap in extremely hurtful ways. Through these currents, the extreme Right have consistently bred and fed the flames of intolerance, fear and bigotry in an already reactionary populace following 9/11.

    I hope that those in the Democratic party read this book with an open mind, and choose their leaders with an eye to finding those who actually stand for something besides winning elections. Because frankly, people aren't stupid and the Democratic Party's consistent waffling on their ideals and/or reactionary stance changes in response to attacks by the Right Wing are an embarrassment. If you don't believe the values you espouse or don't have the strength to stand behind them (or only "develop" them in response to polling data) then you're not going to fool anyone into thinking you're sincere. I don't think the problem is a lack of values in the Democrats so much as a lack of faith in the American people. They need to find someone who's willing to stand up there and take hits...not crumple every time someone on the Right reacts to what they're saying and bludgeons them with the same old language of fear.

    Great book...and a good start on this dialogue. The biggest message of this book is hope, and a call for people to pull together and not be misled by the most vocal extremists of both sides.
    11 people found this helpful
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  • Susan Fong
    5.0 out of 5 stars Commendable
    Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2006
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    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.
    116 people found this helpful
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  • Edward Siemon
    4.0 out of 5 stars A new prospective on the Religious Right
    Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2013
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    I have been seeing the ever increasing influence of the single issure Religiout Right on our government. Learner brought out some new prospective from one who is not directly connected with the Christian religion.
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  • Marvin Fretwell
    1.0 out of 5 stars Starts strong and the falls apart.
    Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2013
    Rabbi Lerner, also a psychotherapist, gives a good analysis of the failures of America's liberals to create a vision for the people to embrace. That is the strong point of the book. But his analysis of what that vision should be is downright loopy.

    The failure of many such ideas is the failure to acknowledge that power corrupts. We humans are fallible, and we corrupt all too easily. He can gather people together and get them to affirm to his higher principles, but much of their commitment will last until they leave the meeting hall. Good governance cannot rely solely on convincing the good to be better. It must include checks to prevent the bad from taking control. You can't run a country on a feel-good psychotherapy session! Lerner's solutions are very long on "feel-good" and very short on what could possibly gain serious political traction.

    After struggling and struggling to finish the book, I finally gave up. I read the first 242 pages, then skimmed the rest to see if it might improve. It didn't. Of the last 270 books I have read, this is only the second I couldn't bring myself to finish. It should have been about 80 pages long, and should have been critiqued by experienced political consensus builders. It isn't well-reasoned strategy, it is fantasy.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Gregory Olinyk
    5.0 out of 5 stars Writing with The Left Hand of God
    Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2006
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    As a somewhat hard-nosed venture capitalist and Christian, I surprised myself two years ago when I started reading Tikkun, a bimonthly Jewish newsletter that critiques politics, culture and society, and is edited by Rabbi Michael Lerner. Then, while researching material for my forthcoming book on transforming the U.S. government into one that serves its people rather than Big Money and the selfish element of certain special interest groups, I found The Left Hand of God to be a beautifully written, even-handed, description of what is going on in American and international society. "Left Hand" is an invaluable resource for understanding how we all fit together and can achieve the destiny that God wants us to attain. There is a goodness and sincerity to his writing that we all would do well to adopt and emulate.
    24 people found this helpful
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