God-botherers and Other True Believers: Gandhi, Hitler, and the Religious RightBerghahn Books, 2008 - 229 pages When reason fails to guide us in our everyday lives, we turn to faith, to religion; we close our minds; we reject austere reasoning. This rejection, which is a faith-based social and intellectual malignancy, has two unfortunate consequences: it blocks the way to knowledge that might enhance the quality of life and it opens the way to charlatans who exploit the faith of others. Examining two unquestionable malignancies of "the Christian Right" in present-day politics in the United States and the "secular religion" of Hitler's National Socialism, as well as the third, more complex case of Gandhi, the author asserts that we need religion, but we also need to make sure it does no harm. |
Table des matières
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS | 1 |
FAITH REASON AND CONSEQUENCES | 15 |
Oneness | 26 |
3 | 71 |
THE NEED FOR ENEMIES | 116 |
THE FREEDOM FIGHT | 149 |
GANDHIS CHARISMA | 160 |
GANDHIS RELIGION AND POLITICAL Reality | 178 |
THE FIRST CAUSE and the LastT WORD | 199 |
Diseducation | 207 |
221 | |
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Expressions et termes fréquents
accept action become believe better British called Catholic cause certainly Christian Church civil claim clear clerics common concern conduct consequences course decisions definition discipline divine effective emotions evidence evil example existence fact faith feel force Fundamentalist Gandhi give given God's Godly hand Hindu Hitler human idea India individual institutional intellectual Kampf kind knowledge later leaders least less live look masses matters means Mein Kampf mind moral movement natural Nehru never nonviolence occasion organizations perhaps person persuasion political politicians possible practice present question rational reality reason religion religious responsibility revealed rules secular seems sense short situation social sometimes soul spiritual stand sure Talk things tion true True-believers Truth understand universal values violence writing wrong