Unwitting Fundamentalist

Andrew Norman

Description

How and why religious fundamentalism has come to exist is an important issue, rarely explored in detail without an underlying agenda. In this discursive and absorbing investigation, Andrew Norman has addressed this complex question in an intellectual, yet thoroughly comprehensible manner. Each aspect of religion is covered; not just fundamentalism itself, but why some religions have prophets and some don't; why some have one deity and others several; and how science has shed new light on many aspects of the religious experience. Whether you are interested in fundamentalism or simply how man has become such a religious animal, and remains so, The Unwitting Fundamentalist is an absorbing read.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Fundamentalism

Informations

• Publié par: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Date de parution: 31 juillet 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781785542176
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Unwitting Fundamentalist
Andrew Norman
Austin Macauley Publishers
2018-07-31
The Unwitting Fundamentalist About the Author Copyright Information © By the same author Author’s Note Preface 1. Some Questions Relating To Religion 2. What Is Religion? 3. Some Ancient Religions 4. Some Religions Where Prophets Are Involved 5. Some Religions Where Prophets Are Not Involved 6. Religion’s Founders And Religious Texts: Authorship And Authenticity 7. Human Sacrifice In The Name Of Religion 8. Persecution In The Name Of Religion 9. Witch-Hunting In The Name Of Religion 10. Genocide In The Name Of Religion 11. Religion: Its Allure And Consolation 12. Intimidation: Indoctrination, Ignorance: Intolerance 13. Miracles And Miracle Makers 14. Exorcism 15. The Spread And Evolution Of Religions: Rifts And Schisms 16. State Sponsored Religion: Totalitarianism 17. The Erosion of Religious Belief 18. Blind Faith: Illogicality: Ignorance: Denial 19. Scriptural Contradictions 20. Is the Concept of Religion Plausible? 21. The Puzzling Persistence Of Religious Belief 22. How Would Prophets Or Self-Proclaimed ‘Messiahs’ Be Greeted If They Appeared Today? A Modern Day Religion 23. ‘Prophets’ And The Alleged ‘Revelatory Experience’ 24. Is Religion A Good Thing? 25. The Freedom To Believe, Or Not To Believe 26. Life Without Religion: The Alternatives 27. A Likely Scientific Explanation For Revelation 28. A Likely Scientific Explanation For Other Aspects of Religion 29. Indoctrination: Why It Is So Effective: The Radicalized Robot 30. Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index
About the Author
Andrew Norman was born in Newbury, Berkshire, UK in 1943. Having been educated at Thornhill High School, Gwelo, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Midsomer Norton Grammar School, and St Edmund Hall, Oxford, he qualified in medicine at the Radcliffe Infirmary. He has two children, Bridget and Thomas, by his first wife.
From 1972-83, Andrew worked as a general practitioner in Poole, Dorset, before a spinal injury cut short his medical career. He is now an established writer whose published works include biographies of Charles Darwin, Winston Churchill, Thomas Hardy, T. E. Lawrence, Adolf Hitler, Agatha Christie, Enid Blyton, Beatrix Potter, Marilyn Monroe, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Andrew married his second wife Rachel in 2005.
Author’s website: http://www.andrew-norman.com
Copyright Information ©
Andrew Norman (2018)
The right of Andrew Norman to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781787106598 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781787106604 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781787106611 (E-Book)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published (2018)
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd.
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By the same author
By Swords Divided: Corfe Castle in the Civil War . Halsgrove, 2003.
Thomas Hardy: Christmas Carollings . Halsgrove, 2005.
Enid Blyton and her Enchantment with Dorset . Halsgrove, 2005.
Agatha Christie: The Finished Portrait . Tempus, 2007.
Tyneham: A Tribute. Halsgrove, 2007.
Mugabe: Teacher, Revolutionary, Tyrant . The History Press, 2008.
T. E. Lawrence: The Enigma Explained. The History Press, 2008.
The Story of George Loveless and the Tolpuddle Martyrs . Halsgrove, 2008.
Father of the Blind: A Portrait of Sir Arthur Pearson . The History Press, 2009.
Agatha Christie: The Finished Portrait. Tempus, 2006.
Agatha Christie: The Pitkin Guide . Pitkin Publishing, 2009.
Jane Austen: An Unrequited Love. The History Press, 2009.
Arthur Conan Doyle: The Man behind Sherlock Holmes . The History Press, 2009.
HMS Hood: Pride of the Royal Navy. The History Press, 2009.
Purbeck Personalities . Halsgrove, 2009.
Bournemouth’s Founders and Famous Visitors . The History Press, 2010.
Jane Austen: An Unrequited Love. The History Press, 2009.
Thomas Hardy: Behind the Mask. The History Press, 2011.
Hitler: Dictator or Puppet . Pen & Sword Books, 2011.
A Brummie Boy goes to War . Halsgrove, 2011.
Winston Churchill: Portrait of an Unquiet Mind . Pen & Sword Books, 2012.
Charles Darwin: Destroyer of Myths . Pen & Sword Books, 2013.
Beatrix Potter: Her Inner World. Pen & Sword Books, 2013.
T.E. Lawrence: Tormented Hero. Fonthill, 2014.
Agatha Christie: The Disappearing Novelist. Fonthill, 2014.
Lawrence of Arabia’s Clouds Hill . Halsgrove, 2014.
Kindly Light: The Story of Blind Veterans UK. Fonthill, 2015.
Jane Austen: Love is Like a Rose. Fonthill, 2015.
Thomas Hardy at Max Gate: The Latter Years . Halsgrove, 2016.
Corfe Remembered . Halsgrove, 2017.
Thomas Hardy: Bockhampton and Beyond . Halsgrove, 2017.
Mugabe: Monarch of Blood and Tears . Austin Macauley, 2017.
Hitler’s Insanity: A Conspiracy of Silence . Fonthill, 2018.
Making Sense of Marilyn . Fonthill, 2018.
Author’s Note
A Buddhist, a Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim, or even a confirmed atheist is not the ideal person to undertake research into the subject of religion, for the obvious reason that such work would lack credibility on account of the pre-existing bias of the researcher. The only way to approach this subject is with the mindset of one who, on the one hand, is an agnostic (a person who believes that nothing is known, or can be known, of the existence or nature of God or anything beyond material phenomena 1 ), and, on the other, operates like a lawyer (one who examines the evidence, asks questions, probes, and finally presents his case to the jury).
The purpose of this book is not to criticize religion, nor is it to denigrate those who believe in a particular deity or follow a particular spiritual path (Spiritual - relating to or affecting the human spirit as opposed to material or spiritual things. Spirit - the non-physical part of a person which is the seat of emotions and character. 2 ) The author was himself brought up in a household where religious texts festooned the walls (including ‘Thou God seest me’ and ‘God be in my Head and in my Understanding’ etc.); his three uncles sang in the church choir (one subsequently serving as church organist for over fifty years). The Sabbath Day was regarded as sacred, and hymns were rattled out with great gusto by his great-grandmother on her pedal organ, that she kept in the front room, and which was only to be used on Sundays. He is, therefore, aware of the comfort that religion gave to his own family members over many generations in their times of crisis and need.
Finally, although the work of US neuroscientist Dr David Eagleman is quoted in this volume, this is in no way to imply that the conclusions reached by the author in respect of religion are shared by him.
(In the following account, Common Era years will be written as such (e.g. 1987); Before Common Era years will be followed by BCE (e.g. 55 BCE.)
Preface
Today’s world is blighted by inter-religious strife, and its peoples subjected to a global outbreak of terror, perpetrated by religious fundamentalists who have been radicalized – radicalization being a process by which an individual or group comes to adopt extreme religious ideals and aspirations. But no one is born a religious fanatic/terrorist. So how can it be that an innocent, newborn baby can grow up to be a violent religious extremist, whether Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, Sikh, etcetera; indulge in acts of terror; cause widespread carnage and devastation – viz., 9/11; the downing of Russian Metrojet Flight 9268 in October 2015, with the loss of 224 lives; the Nice lorry massacre of July 2016; and yet fail to show the slightest remorse for the pain and suffering for which he or she is responsible? What would happen if a fanatic were to acquire a nuclear weapon, we ask ourselves?
It was Spanish missionary, St Francis Xavier (1506-1552) himself who provided a clue as to the origin of religious fundamentalism when he declared, ‘Give me a child until he is [aged] seven and I will give you the man’. What he realized was that children are particularly susceptible to religious indoctrination and radicalization.
It has now been shown scientifically that religious indoctrination from an early age (or indoctrination of any kind, for that matter) induces measurable, anatomical changes in the structure of the brain, and in the way that its electrical circuitry is configured. Not only that, but these changes are all but irreversible. Once someone has been successfully indoctrinated, and therefore radicalized, it is virtually impossible, henceforth, for that person to change his or her mind and think objectively.
Clearly, the religious indoctrinator wields enormous power. He (or she) may choose to instil not only religious dogma but also humility and tolerance into his subject, or at the other extreme, he may emphasize the most violent and extreme aspects of his particular religion, and as a result, produce a radicalized, hateful, and potentially homicidal terrorist (a terrorist, in this context, being one who uses terrorism in pursuit of religious aims). A century ago, the notion that a human being could be programmed to behave like a robot would have been greeted with incredulity, amusement, derision; science fiction; something that might have been lifted straight off the pages of a novel by writer H. G. Wells (1866-1946). Not any longer.
At the present time, Europe is faced with immigration on a massive scale, from people from Africa and the Middle East who are mainly Mus