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Confronting Religious Violence
Schocken
October 2015
On Sale: October 13, 2015
320 pages
ISBN: 0805243348
EAN: 9780805243345
Kindle: B00S3RILKI
Hardcover / e-Book
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Non-Fiction Religion
In this powerful and timely book, one of the most admired
and authoritative religious leaders of our time tackles the
phenomenon of religious extremism and violence committed in
the name of God. If religion is perceived as being part of
the problem, Rabbi Sacks argues, then it must also form part
of the solution. When religion becomes a zero-sum
conceit—that is, my religion is the only right path to God,
therefore your religion is by definition wrong—and
individuals are motivated by what Rabbi Sacks calls
“altruistic evil,” violence between peoples of different
beliefs appears to be the only natural outcome.
But through an exploration of the roots of
violence and its relationship to religion, and employing
groundbreaking biblical analysis and interpretation, Rabbi
Sacks shows that religiously inspired violence has as its
source misreadings of biblical texts at the heart of all
three Abrahamic faiths. By looking anew at the book of
Genesis, with its foundational stories of Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam, Rabbi Sacks offers a radical
rereading of many of the Bible’s seminal stories of sibling
rivalry: Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau,
Joseph and his brothers, Rachel and Leah.
“Abraham himself,” writes Rabbi Sacks, “sought to be a
blessing to others regardless of their faith. That idea,
ignored for many of the intervening centuries, remains the
simplest definition of Abrahamic faith. It is not our task
to conquer or convert the world or enforce uniformity of
belief. It is our task to be a blessing to the world. The
use of religion for political ends is not righteousness but
idolatry . . . To invoke God to justify violence against the
innocent is not an act of sanctity but of sacrilege.” Here
is an eloquent call for people of goodwill from all faiths
and none to stand together, confront the religious extremism
that threatens to destroy us, and declare: Not in God’s Name.
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