Dangerous Religious Ideas

The Deep Roots of Self-Critical Faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

By: Rachel S. Mikva

Narrated by: Sybil Johnson

Reveals how faith traditions have always passed down tools for self-examination and debate, because all religious ideas - not just extremist ones - can cause harm, even as they also embody important moral teachings.

Scripture's abiding relevance can inspire great goodness, such as welcoming the stranger and extending compassion for the poor. But its authority has also been wielded to defend slavery, marginalize LGBTQ individuals, ignore science, and justify violence. Grounded in close readings of scripture and tradition in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, religious scholar Rachel Mikva shows us that the Abrahamic religions have always been aware of their tremendous power both to harm and to heal. And so they have transmitted their sacred stories along with built-in tools - interpretive traditions - to do the necessary work of taking on dangerous religious ideas and fostering self-critical faith.

By exploring the themes of Scripture, election, reward, and punishment, Mikva examines how the interpretive methodologies of these religions have identified and grappled with their perilous power and positive potential. Many audiences presume that their understanding of Scripture's meaning is absolute, forgetting how these sacred texts and the history of interpretation have valued multiple perspectives and recognized ongoing rhythms of change. It's not a modern phenomenon to debate the nature of truth, hold space open for doubt, value humility, and question our capacity to know things - especially about God and God's will - with certainty. In fact, none of the traditions could remain vital or thrive together without a sustained practice of self-critique.

Dangerous Religious Ideas reframes the way we talk about faith to create a space where public discussion of religion is more constructive, nuanced, and socially engaged.

©2020 Rachel S. Mikva (P)2020 Beacon Press

Critic reviews

“This cogent work provides a promising platform for interreligious engagement, particularly for interfaith academics.” —Publishers Weekly

“A generous and thought-provoking book about the power and uses of religious faith.” —Booklist

“The book’s most radical gesture is its enactment of the change it wants to see in the world. In binding often antagonistic faiths between the covers of a single volume, Mikva shows how pleas from spiritual leaders for restraint, flexibility and self-critique unite the traditions of all three—and, in her view, offer the greatest hope for goodness, healing and justice.” —The New York Times

Love content, didn’t like performance

What a fascinating book! I listened to Rachel Mikva discuss it on the Judaism Unbound podcast, which led me to purchase this book. While the book is fantastic, I did not care for the sing-songy, computer-generated performance by the narrator. It made it difficult to grapple with the content. Didn’t match up for me. I ended up purchasing the paperback too, and highly recommend reading the book. I wish Mikva had narrated herself because I loved listening to her speak on the podcast.