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| The Religious Case Against Belief | 
 enlarge | Author: James P. Carse
Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 40722
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 5.8 x 1.1
ISBN: 1594201692
Dewey Decimal Number: 200
EAN: 9781594201691
ASIN: 1594201692
Publication Date: May 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New. 100% money back guarantee. All books shipped from Strand Bookstore, New York City, USA.
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Product Description
A provocative, insightful explanation for why it is that beliefnot religionkeeps us in a perilous state of willful ignorance
In The Religious Case Against Belief, James Carse identifies the twenty-first centurys most forbidding villain: belief. In distinguishing religions from belief systems, Carse works to reveal how beliefwith its restriction on thought and encouragement of hostilityhas corrupted religion and spawned violence the world over.
Galileo, Martin Luther, Abraham Lincoln, and Jesus Christusing their stories Carse creates his own brand of parable and establishes a new vocabulary with which to study conflict in the modern world. The Religious Case Against Belief introduces three kinds of ignorance: ordinary ignorance (a mundane lack of knowledge, such as ignorance of tomorrows weather or the reason why your stove is malfunctioning), willful ignorance (an intentional avoidance of accessible knowledge), and finally higher ignorance (a learned understanding that no matter how many truths we may accumulate, our knowledge falls infinitely short of the truth).
While ordinary ignorance is common to all people, Carse associates the strongest manifestation of willful ignorance with the most fervent (and dangerous) of believers. He points to the historic conflict between Martin Luther and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V both to reveal this seemingly religious collision as a clash of belief and to identify belief s inherently destructive characteristics. From Luther to the contemporary Christian right, we learn that believers construct identity by erecting boundaries and by fostering aggression between the believer and the other. This is why belief systems chooseat great costto remain locked in bloody conflict rather than to engage in dialogue, recognizing the great deal they have in common. This is willful ignorance.
In fierce contrast to willful ignorance, higher ignorance is an acquired state enhanced by religion. Those traveling the path to higher ignorance recognize faith teachings (such as the Bible) as poetry intended to promote contemplation, interpretation, and a sense of wonder. For evidence of religions deeply embedded rejection of singular truth and its acceptance of diverse dialogue, Carse looks to the many faces of Jesus presented in the books of the Bible and elsewhere. Uncontaminated by belief systems, religion rejects the imagined boundaries that falsely divide people and ideas, working to expand horizons.
The Religious Case Against Belief exposes a world in which religion and belief have become erroneously (and terrifyingly) conflated. In strengthening their association with powerful belief systems, religions have departed from their essential purpose as agencies of higher ignorance. Carse uses his wideranging understanding of religion to find a viable and vital path away from what he calls the Age of Faith II and toward open-ended global dialogue. Far from abstract philosophical musing, The Religious Case Against Belief is required reading for our age.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Bravo! This thoughtful book hits the bull's-eye! June 1, 2008
43 out of 45 found this review helpful
Whereas many, perhaps most, books on "spirituality" make the case that "faith," "belief," and "convictions" are positive, laudable, and commendable, they cast suspicion on "religion" as being misguided and mistaken. The present book reverses such a judgment and asserts, in short: "belief" bad; "religion" good.
James Carse, professor emeritus of religion at New York University, has written a reflective and religiously literate critique of belief and its distorted understanding of the nature of religion.
According to Carse, the "blind ignorance" of belief systems, locked in literalism and absolutism, leads to violence of "the other"; the "higher ignorance" at the core of authentic religion, exemplified in imaginative "musicality," is the beginning of wisdom.
"What belief systems conspicuously lack is music," writes Carse. "They are monotonal. One voice speaks for all others." On the other hand, "religion in its purest form is a vast work of poetry. As such, its vitality comes in the form of communitas [a community of authentic dialogue], fully independent of any civitas [political or secular establishment]. Belief is very often a sign that whatever counts for religion has been pushed aside."
Carse points out that to be human at all is to live in an ill-lit zone of imponderables: Why am I alive at all? Where did I come from and where am I going? What happens at death? How should I conduct myself in a world as confused as this? Why must so much of the world live in misery and violence? Why such collective self-destruction? Why do the evil prosper? Why is there something rather than nothing?
Whereas belief systems fairly bristle with (alleged) definitive answers, leaving no ambiguity in their arrogant declarations of truth, religion, in the best sense of the word, seeks to peer beyond the boundaries and catch a vision of life beyond the horizon. Like a magnificent symphony, with an orchestration of mystery, awe, wonder, and a "higher ignorance," it is open to the future rather than locked in a closed and stifling world.
Belief systems are actually pseudo-religions. Imprisoned within the confining boundaries of dogmatic "certainties," "true believers" lack the vision of poetic imagination that opens new horizons of possibility.
In seeking to show the contrast between religion and faith, Carse provides intriguing "takes" on such widely divergent figures as Plato, Galileo, Luther, Lincoln, Jesus, and Emily Dickinson. An intriguing study in the philosophy of religion, The Religious Case Against Belief provides excellent food for thought.
Although the author does not mention the following quotation from the German philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900), the quotation might well be chosen as an excellent and fitting epigraph to Carse's book: "'Faith' means not wanting to know what is true. . . . A very popular error: having the courage of one's convictions; rather it is a matter of having the courage for an attack on one's convictions."
About the author: James P. Carse is professor emeritus of religion at New York University, where for thirty years he directed the Religious Studies Program. His previous books include The Silence of God, Finite and Infinite Games, and Breakfast at the Victory. He lives in New York City.
Separating Dogma and Spirit Gives Insight and Hope! June 24, 2008
16 out of 19 found this review helpful
This book invites the reader to explore the differences between belief (dogma, doctrine, etc) and religion (living faith, spirit, connection with God/Spirit). I find it fascinating and very very accessible -- thought provoking AND fluid, not heavy as some theology books can be. Whatever a person's faith or spiritual journey, this book can be a valuable asset in looking at one's own journey and, most important, at the ways in which we (historically, collectively) tend to deal with differences in belief/tradition. Also looks at political and social belief structures.....fascinating and liberating!
A necessary perspective July 2, 2008
14 out of 16 found this review helpful
I'm already a fan of Prof. Carse from "Finite and Infinite Games," and this new book adds to my respect for his careful way of seeing. In this new work, Carse offers a reasoned and useful distinction between religious thought and belief systems. The basis of his distinction is the comparative openness to wonder. Belief "systems" are not religions, by Carse's reasoning, but closed sets of dogma which thrive in opposition to other such systems. His basis for true religion is longevity. This book will reward rereading!
 Solidly good and provocative, but not great July 15, 2008
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
I truly appreciate Prof. Carse's slim volume, here, but it definitely falls short of a full five stars. The other reviews have already hit the strengths of his work--such as his soundly and thoughtfully provocative separation of belief from religion. My criticism (which leads me to a somewhat generous downgrade of four stars) stems from my view that the book could've benefited from (a) a bit more refinement and (b) tighter editing. It reads as if it grew from a paper presentation he made at a conference which was then roughly expanded into book treatment so it could go to press, with several somewhat sloppy editorial problems (e.g., redundancies, dropped lines of reasoning, etc.).
But more basically, I wish Prof. Carse more carefully developed his descriptive structure of "religion." Frankly, I think he copped out, summing it up as (a) no one can agree on what a "religion" is but (b) we can agree on longevity and cultural coherence as the two defining characteristics. I was left both unconvinced and a bit puzzled as to what he actually meant. His discussion of "religion" certainly was less thought through than his descriptive structure for "belief."
That said, I see the book as an excellent conversation starter/book club selection/course assignment. That is, reading it as a stand alone tome? It's fine, with a basic thesis that is timely and well received (at least by the reviewers here). But it is lacking. Reading it as part of a larger (and actual, face-to-face discussion)? That's where I expect it would shine. I'd love to hear the arguments that can be made on the various points he raises, not in a self-congratulatory circle of agreers but among those who agree and those who may be offended. The Coda seems to call for that sort of use of the book.
Fundamentally (which may be an ironic choice of words!), the book provokes thought and reflection, of which there is far too little in this day and age, and I whole heartedly and strongly applaud Prof. Carse for his contribution toward nudging us back in that direction. But the bun could have stayed in the oven a bit longer, and this would have been a truly excellent book, not merely a compelling thesis.
Good ideas, confusing presentation July 16, 2008
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
The main argument James P Carse makes in "The Religious Case Against Belief" is that it's not necessary to believe something to be religious. But Carse himself can't really figure this out. He admits that this itself is a belief. And he says that the danger of this thinking is that it may lead to relativism, which of course is an evil word these days, but then says a lot of things that sound an awful lot like relativism, but then says we need to have boundaries. It's all a bit convoluted and a bit confusing.
Still, Carse has an important point that, if not completely original, is nonetheless significant to public dialogue today. Too many people think religion is about knowing certain specific things and don't understand how it is and can be more about an encounter with an unknown force. Carse doesn't really present this well. In addition to his contradictions mentioned above, he also uses very odd examples and a repetitive and truly boring prose style. But he can be resonating at times. And the fact that he is making the point, that there is a book called "The Religious Case Against Belief" and it is being read is an accomplishment enough.
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