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A review by kevin_shepherd
All in the Mind: A Farewell to God by Ludovic Kennedy
4.0
For me, one of the great things about reading is that it brings obscure and interesting people into my field of view. Before All in the Mind I had no idea who Ludovic Kennedy was. His credentials as a writer, broadcaster, and journalist are impressive but it seems his celebrity tapers off beyond the signal strength of the BBC. That is our loss.
THEN AND NOW
Kennedy begins with an autobiographical accounting of his own gradual transition from Christian believer to free-thinking apostate. For those of us who have unyoked ourselves from oppressive theologies, this is familiar ground.
“…no master, tutor or chaplain considered it part of my education to be told that many, if not most, of the claims made for Christianity were either based on speculation or were contrary to the laws of nature.” (pg 6)
THE MIND GAMES OF MYTHOLOGIES
Taking direct aim at scripture, Kennedy calls out many instances of violence and inhumanity. The execution of disobedient children (Deut. 21:18-21), the stoning of brides found not to be virginal (Deut. 22:21), and Jephthah setting fire to his own daughter (Judges 11:30-39) are but a few examples of atrocious acts carried out either at God’s direction or with his approval. A kind and loving deity? I think not.
“…my quarrel with some books of the Old Testament is less with their brutalities than their irrelevance. I and many of my generation were taught that these books were history . . . If by history is meant accurate accounts of past events supported by evidence, they are certainly not that. They are mythological folk tales.” (pg 48)
Not content with shredding the Old Testament, Kennedy has plenty to say about the New Testament as well. In his crosshairs are the purported utterances of Christ—those words biblically highlighted in red that were copied and then re-copied and then translated and then re-translated and then edited and then re-edited—from unknown writers who themselves wrote decades after the Messiah was crucified and gone.
“Jesus himself left no record of his ministry, so that all the words he is reported as uttering have been put into his mouth by gospel writers . . . however powerfully these stories may affect us, it is important to remember that they are not history, not based on undisputed facts, but are for the most part stories masquerading as fact…” (pg 54)
THE KILLING FIELDS
All in the Mind is a well researched register of the atrocities and barbarities of faith. From Pope Constantine ordering the eyes gouged out of Archbishop Ravenna (710 c.e.) to the bloody French Crusades (1096) to the dreaded Papal Inquisition (1231) to the much feared Spanish Inquisition (1484) to the burning at the stake of Giordano Bruno (1600) to the hanging of the Paisley Seven (1697) to the gruesome dismemberment of Chevalier de la Barre (1766)… Need I continue?
Kennedy’s analysis of religion is unflinchingly honest and boldly heretical. It is reminiscent of Christopher Hitchens but just a bit more literal and just a bit less persuasive.
__________________________________
“It is an absurdity to believe that the Deity has human passions and one of the lowest of human passions, a restless appetite for applause.” -David Hume
“Operationally, God is beginning to resemble not a ruler but the last fading smile of a cosmic Cheshire cat.” -Sir Julian Huxley
THEN AND NOW
Kennedy begins with an autobiographical accounting of his own gradual transition from Christian believer to free-thinking apostate. For those of us who have unyoked ourselves from oppressive theologies, this is familiar ground.
“…no master, tutor or chaplain considered it part of my education to be told that many, if not most, of the claims made for Christianity were either based on speculation or were contrary to the laws of nature.” (pg 6)
THE MIND GAMES OF MYTHOLOGIES
Taking direct aim at scripture, Kennedy calls out many instances of violence and inhumanity. The execution of disobedient children (Deut. 21:18-21), the stoning of brides found not to be virginal (Deut. 22:21), and Jephthah setting fire to his own daughter (Judges 11:30-39) are but a few examples of atrocious acts carried out either at God’s direction or with his approval. A kind and loving deity? I think not.
“…my quarrel with some books of the Old Testament is less with their brutalities than their irrelevance. I and many of my generation were taught that these books were history . . . If by history is meant accurate accounts of past events supported by evidence, they are certainly not that. They are mythological folk tales.” (pg 48)
Not content with shredding the Old Testament, Kennedy has plenty to say about the New Testament as well. In his crosshairs are the purported utterances of Christ—those words biblically highlighted in red that were copied and then re-copied and then translated and then re-translated and then edited and then re-edited—from unknown writers who themselves wrote decades after the Messiah was crucified and gone.
“Jesus himself left no record of his ministry, so that all the words he is reported as uttering have been put into his mouth by gospel writers . . . however powerfully these stories may affect us, it is important to remember that they are not history, not based on undisputed facts, but are for the most part stories masquerading as fact…” (pg 54)
THE KILLING FIELDS
All in the Mind is a well researched register of the atrocities and barbarities of faith. From Pope Constantine ordering the eyes gouged out of Archbishop Ravenna (710 c.e.) to the bloody French Crusades (1096) to the dreaded Papal Inquisition (1231) to the much feared Spanish Inquisition (1484) to the burning at the stake of Giordano Bruno (1600) to the hanging of the Paisley Seven (1697) to the gruesome dismemberment of Chevalier de la Barre (1766)… Need I continue?
Kennedy’s analysis of religion is unflinchingly honest and boldly heretical. It is reminiscent of Christopher Hitchens but just a bit more literal and just a bit less persuasive.
__________________________________
“It is an absurdity to believe that the Deity has human passions and one of the lowest of human passions, a restless appetite for applause.” -David Hume
“Operationally, God is beginning to resemble not a ruler but the last fading smile of a cosmic Cheshire cat.” -Sir Julian Huxley