audiobook The Revenge of God: The Resurgence of Islam; Christianity; and Judaism in the Modern World by Gilles Kepel in History

Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. God Shows UpBy John HudsonAnyone wishing to know some of the source of the rise of "religion" as a player in the contemporary political world will find good material here. The author describes the emergence of movements that gave rise to the active roles in the name of religion by Muslims; Christians; and Jews. He documents the beginning of the resurgence of forceful religion based engagement by the end of the 20th century. The book was written in the 1990s so does not provide a picture of the present situation but the material in critical to understand and appreciate the present forces at play. .11 of 11 people found the following review helpful. Extremely Useful for Understanding Vital Matters of our TimeBy Roger Buck; author of THE GENTLE TRADITIONALISTThis book was originally published in France in 1991 and remains incredibly topical. It illustrates better than any book I know; the resurgence of religion the author calls `re-Christianization'; `re-Islamicization' and `re-Judaicization'. It powerfully points out that the views of those who still feel secure in - or dismayed by - the apparent triumph of secular modernity; may be thirty years out of date.For although by the early 1970's it seemed that a modern liberal secularity was becoming everywhere more dominant; by the late 1970's; the tide began to turn.Kepel locates his account of this turning in four streams: Protestant and Catholic Christianity; Judaism and Islam. He begins with the late 70's founding of Falwell's Moral Majority; the 1978 election of Pope John Paul II; Begin's 1977 victory over nearly thirty years of secular Zionism and Khomeini's 1979 revolution in Iran; and goes on to marshal; an amazing amount of facts and insights from the following years illustrating a continued activity in all of these domains to establish cultures that break from secularism in decisive ways and mount challenges to the secularist state.I give this book high praise on numerous accounts. Its subject is incredibly important and still so overlooked in many attempts to understand our contemporary world. Kepel's marshalling of evidence is prodigious. It is very well written and accessible. Its tone is balanced; fair and non-polemical. It cries out to read and absorbed - deeply - by anyone seeking to understand our times. I can hardly recommend it highly enough.Thus; I am not prepared to dock this book a single star. Yet; as far as I am concerned; it has serious faults. As a point of disclosure; I will say I am a Catholic traditionalist of the kind that arouses Kepel's concern. From my perspective; the book misrepresents aspects of Christianity and no doubt; it also misrepresents Judaism and Islam. As I am not qualified to comment on these latter; however; I will mostly restrict myself to the field of Christianity.Thus; I will say that my main critique of Kepel's account of religious resurgence; is that it is too monolithic; too homogeneous. He seems to assume that the return to religion; is a more or less single phenomenon in response to secularism's failures; though varying from culture to culture. However such variations in culture are not sufficient to explain the fact that there is a world of difference between the Ayatollah ordering the execution of Rushdie and John Paul II proclaiming - with deep sincerity; I believe - that `the Church must propose; it must not impose'.There is a world of difference between John Paul II declaring that other religions constitute the `normal' way of salvation for those involved in them; and being unsure `whether' any one is in hell and Protestant fundamentalism. There is a world of difference between a kind of Christianity - and I believe Judaism and Islam; as well - that weeps for the entire way secularism degrades humanity and that which focusses on a few limited issues; such as; say; abortion. Certainly John Paul was concerned with abortion too - but his critique of modernity was hardly limited to a few `flash-points'. It extended to include the entire way capitalism and communism debases the human being as a means; not an end; the way our culture of arid commercialism manipulates the desires of millions and the cultural deserts that results from utilitarianism and functionalism. You will not hear Jerry Falwell taking about these things ...My point is that resurgent religion may encompass at least two distinct types of phenomena. On the one hand; a simplistic fundamentalist backlash. On the other hand; a profound meditative seeking for a higher order of values than secularism permits - an order of values that does not permit the tragedies of either laissez faire capitalism or communism. Moreover; although Kepel is understandably concerned with the way resurgent religion can compromise freedom; he does not consider nearly enough the way secularist ideology may do exactly the same - except perhaps unconsciously; as when he notes how the new religious resurgence is `an attempt to loosen the grip of secularism'. Yes; secularism has a powerful `grip' ... all the more effective and insidious; because it manages to disguise itself as `value-neutral'.Whatever my qualms; I repeat: five stars. This book is incredibly useful for understanding matters of fundamental import to our times.31 of 35 people found the following review helpful. A thorough study of the rise of modern religious militantsBy A CustomerIslamic fundamentalists murdered nuns in Algeria; Menachem Goldstein opened fire on praying Muslims at the Tomb of the Patriarch; physicians and patients were gunned down at family planning clinics for performing legal abortions. The list of terror acts in the name of God is growing. What is the origin of this violence; and is there a common denominator between these different religious fundamentalists? Dr. Kepel describes in this very well written book how the three major Abrahamitic religions (Judaism; Christianity and Islam - four; if you like Dr. Kepel in this study; separate Protestantism and Catholicism) have gone through a notable transformation since the seventies; from adapting their doctrines to the surrounding secular world; to demanding that the secular world adapt to their doctrines. He shows how; as a consequence of this shift; the tolerance towards other religions as well as to secular society has been dramatically reduced. In turn; this has caused an increased willingness amongst religious extremists to use violence to ensure that the surrounding world follows and obeys the demands and customs of the religious communities. One of the central theses; and maybe the most interesting; in Kepel's book is how these tendencies are common to all four religions and how their origins also are similar. Partly because of his viewpoint - Kepel is a islamist at the French research agency CNRS - the book very effectively shows how also modern Christianity and Judaism show tendencies that many probably associate with only militant Islam. Kepel shows how for all three religions the transformation is a more or less explicit rebellion against the enlightenment and rationalism; mostly founded in a desperation about the social end economic conditions in the wake of the recession of the 70:ties. In all cases the "grass roots" movement that arouse around that time has since risen to power and it's in its fringes that the violence flourishes. There is a tendency to accept a certain amount of extremism in the name of cultural and religious freedom; but the question arises: how much do we accept that the freedom of expression and choice is limited in order to meet religious standards and norms? "The Revenge of God" won't answer these questions; but it's an excellent introduction to the background and the context in which they must be answered.