2015 National Jewish Book Award Winner
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.
