November 11, 2002

Scholar finds themes in 'bad' religion
___WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.--"More wars have been raged, more people killed, and these days more evil perpetrated in the name of religion than by any other institutional force in human history," according to Charles Kimball, a Baptist minister and chairman of the religion department at Wake Forest University.
___In his new book, "When Religion Becomes Evil," the respected expert on Islam and the Middle East calls for a thorough examination of how religious expression can be corrupted for evil purposes. However, he warns that religion itself is not inherently evil and that corruption is not limited to any one religious pers uasion.
___"Corrupt religious truth claims always lack the liberating awareness that humans are limited as they search for and articulate religious truth," he explained. Religious zealots "open a door to the possibility that their religion will become evil" when they elevate their faith claims to an absolute level.
___What often follows such inflexibility, he adds, is that those "armed with absolute truth claims are closely linked with violent extremism, charismatic leaders and various justifications for acts otherwise understood to be unacceptable."
___ Therefore, "claims of absolute truth" is the first of five warning signs that Kimball suggests observers look for in identifying corrupted faith. He identifies four others as well:
___ Blind obedience, often to a charismatic figure like Jim Jones or David Koresh.
___ Establishing the "ideal time," disguising a political agenda as an urgent divine mandate.
___ Believing the end justifies any means, endorsing behavior that violates the group's own teachings.
___ Declaring holy war, "a sure sign of corrupt religion."
___Kimball equally rejects the notions that religion is the cause of evil or that evil is the sole property of one religious tradition.
___ "To say that religion is the problem may capture part of the truth, but it is ultimately an unhelpful response to a host of urgent and troublesome issues," he writes.
___ Kimball references the Islamic militants who attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, as an obvious example of how religious faith can be corrupted. However, he also points to several other examples of religiously based acts of evil from a variety of religious traditions.
___In addition to the Islamic militants affiliated with Al-Qaeda, Kimball applies his "warning signs" to fanatical Christians and Jewish extremists, as well as some adherents of Buddhism and Hinduism, who perpetuate evil in the name of religious faith.

The Baptist Standard



News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

---

Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook