Hmmm... It depends what the author means by "Take Religion Seriously". If he means that the objective of the work is to ram religious belief, as it currently stands, down the readers throat, then this book is a non-starter from page one.
If, however, it is intended to put religious belief and practice into the 21st Century and make a case for relevance in the modern world, then it would certainly be worth reading.
All too often, religion is derided because it is anachronistic..... it belongs to an age when people believed in demonic possession because they didn't know what epilepsy, or schizophrenia was.... or that the earth was flat because nobody had circumnavigated the globe yet.... Current religious belief is a doctrine of ignorance and superstition.
If the author can give convince non-believers that, not only does God exist, but that he / she is relevant today and spirtual belief can modernise, then this work might just have an effect.
The more difficult task would be to convince current believers that God actually moves with the times..!! Hardcore conservatives, who like to believe in a Bronze Age religion and want things to stay exactly as they are would fear this work.... would probably call it Heresy.
A church that moves with the times..?? Preposterous..!! The next thing you know, you'll be telling us to stop stoning homosexuals..!! Heresy...!! Burn the witch...!!
In my opinion, in order to take religion seriously, I must first be convinced that God is moving with the times.... God is a developing deity... one who understands that his / her people need to grow and develop, not be held back in the Dark Ages. If that could be done, then a lot of non-believers might just have a re-think.
The really hard part will be to convince those who already believe.
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Apr 03, 2011 @ 17:58:27
