The Battle for God: A History of FundamentalismIn the late twentieth century, fundamentalism has emerged as one of the most powerful forces at work in the world, contesting the dominance of modern secular values and threatening peace and harmony around the globe. Yet it remains incomprehensible to a large number of people. In The Battle for God, Karen Armstrong brilliantly and sympathetically shows us how and why fundamentalist groups came into existence and what they yearn to accomplish. We see the West in the sixteenth century beginning to create an entirely new kind of civilization, which brought in its wake change in every aspect of life -- often painful and violent, even if liberating. Armstrong argues that one of the things that changed most was religion. People could no longer think about or experience the divine in the same way; they had to develop new forms of faith to fit their new circumstances. Armstrong characterizes fundamentalism as one of these new ways of being religious that have emerged in every major faith tradition. Focusing on Protestant fundamentalism in the United States, Jewish fundamentalism in Israel, and Muslim fundamentalism in Egypt and Iran, she examines the ways in which these movements, while not monolithic, have each sprung from a dread of modernity -- often in response to assault (sometimes unwitting, sometimes intentional) by the mainstream society. Armstrong sees fundamentalist groups as complex, innovative, and modern -- rather than as throwbacks to the past -- but contends that they have failed in religious terms. Maintaining that fundamentalism often exists in symbiotic relationship with an aggressive modernity, each impelling the other on to greater excess, she suggests compassion as a way to defuse what is now an intensifying conflict. BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Karen Armstrong's Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life. |
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Page 188
... politics were corrupt and cruel . Kook was " disgusted with the terrible iniquities of ruling during the evil age . " Fortunately , Jews had not been able to take an active political role since they had lost the Holy Land in 70 CE and ...
... politics were corrupt and cruel . Kook was " disgusted with the terrible iniquities of ruling during the evil age . " Fortunately , Jews had not been able to take an active political role since they had lost the Holy Land in 70 CE and ...
Page 189
... political life in a democratic state ? How could they square this with the absolute demands of the Torah ? By making deals with gentiles and getting involved in their political institutions , Jews would bring the profane world into the ...
... political life in a democratic state ? How could they square this with the absolute demands of the Torah ? By making deals with gentiles and getting involved in their political institutions , Jews would bring the profane world into the ...
Page 422
... Political Treatise . Trans . R. H. M. Elwes . New York , 1951 . Sprinzak , Ehud . The Ascendance of Israel's Radical Right . Oxford and New York , 1991 . " The Politics , Institutions and Culture of Gush Emunim . " In Laurence J ...
... Political Treatise . Trans . R. H. M. Elwes . New York , 1951 . Sprinzak , Ehud . The Ascendance of Israel's Radical Right . Oxford and New York , 1991 . " The Politics , Institutions and Culture of Gush Emunim . " In Laurence J ...
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