Religion
Related: About this forumThe Dark Side of Christian History
Whether you're a believer or non-believer, I think you will find some things to ponder in Helen Ellerbe's The Dark Side of Christian History. Perhaps believers need to read this more than atheists and agnostics.
Excerpts from the review:
I think many members on this forum will take issue with her ideas about science and the enlightenment, and, as the review states, there are more scholarly works on this subject available; but, I think she has done a good job of summarizing "The Dark Side" for a popular audience.
struggle4progress
(118,379 posts)The author's credentials appear to include her time as a stockbroker
cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)struggle4progress
(118,379 posts)skepticscott
(13,029 posts)on the actual content of the book, or just vague smears of the author and publisher?
struggle4progress
(118,379 posts)skepticscott
(13,029 posts)on the actual content of the book? Or any reason other than a smear why the fact that the author spent time as a stockbroker is relevant to the substance of the book?
struggle4progress
(118,379 posts)a stockbroker, a sculptor of mythological figures" does not suggest any particular ability to work with primary historical sources not any particular familiarity with the academic literature on the topics she wants to address
The vast majority of her bibliography consists of secondary sources and popular texts, such as The Dancing Wu Li Masters; all texts cited are English; thus, again, one ought to suspect her ability to work with primary historical sources and her familiarity with the academic literature
She makes the usual amateurish mistake of mishmashing materials together, without regard for continuity of time or place, in her pursuit of her thesis. One short paragraph (pp 6-7) in her first chapter quotes from the Apocryphon of John (found in Coptic versions in Egypt), Theodotus in Asia Minor (known in Greek), and Irenaeus in Gaul (known in Latin)
Her interpretations are driven entirely by her agenda -- "The theories of scientists and philosophers such as Isaac Newton, Rene Descartes, and Charles Darwin reinforced orthodox Christian beliefs ..." (for example), though it is rather doubtful that the views of any of these three could properly be described as "orthodox Christian" in their time
Her agenda is frankly bizarre at times: "As orthodox Christians understood God to be detached from the physical world, so Western medicine understood the workings of the human body to be disconnected from a person's mind or consciousness. Illness was seen simply as a malfunction of mechanical parts ... Western physicians attempted to prevail over the body rather than work with it ... An example .. is the treatment of non-life-threatening illnesses with antibiotics. Antibiotics subdue the body's immune system"
Overall, the book is riddled with errors and suffers from constant ax-grinding
skepticscott
(13,029 posts)All within a few hours. Well done.
struggle4progress
(118,379 posts)skepticscott
(13,029 posts)and write a review of your own, all in the interval between your post #5 and post #8.
Impressive.
struggle4progress
(118,379 posts)skepticscott
(13,029 posts)and concoct a book review, that's all. Less than two hours from start to finish. Almost inconceivable. Your parents must be very proud.