Dangerous Religious Ideas

Reveals how faith traditions have always passed down tools for self-examination and debate, because all religious ideasnot just extremist onescan 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 toolsinterpretive traditionsto do the necessary work of taking on dangerous religious ideas and fostering self-critical faith.By exploring the themes of Scripture, Election, Reward...