Reviewed Book: Wentz, Richard E. Why Do People Do Bad Things in the Name of Religion. Macon, Ga: Mercer Univ Press, 1987

Eriksson, Paul C. E.

English

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 13Issue 2 Canadian Lutheranism, Yesterday andTomorrowArticle 1511-1-1987Why Do People Do Bad Things in the Name ofReligionPaul C. E. ErikssonFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationEriksson, Paul C. E. (1987) "Why Do People Do Bad Things in the Name of Religion," Consensus: Vol. 13 : Iss. 2 , Article 15.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol13/iss2/15Book Reviews 101Why Do People Do Bad Things in the Name of Reli-gion?Richard E. WentzMacon, Georgia: Mercer University Press, 1987$14.00 U.S.Richard Wentz, a historian of religion, skillfully weaves together storieswhich show the reality of which he speaks and illustrate the points he ismaking. The question he deals with is one which I have often asked myself,and discussed with my people as I serve as their pastor. I see this bookas a resource in helping people deal with the question from a sociologicalperspective.“How is it possible for people to be so convinced of the righteousnessof their causes that they justify murder and the burning and destructionof home and temple.” Buddhists, Sikhs, Muslims, Hopis, Christians andothers are engaged in religious strife. It is not all bloody but there is plentyof it.Many people reject religion as such, but Wentz contends that it is notreligion that is at fault. We are all religious in one way or another as weseek ideas that give order and meaning to life, engage in ritual action toexpress those ideas, and find belongingness that gives a sense of identity.“To be human is to be religious.”Some people in their “religious transcendence of their biological nature,are willing to live with moving horizons, knowing truth without certainty”.Others cannot live with uncertainty, and this often leads them to defensiveand hostile attitudes, even violence.Wentz contends that religions exist because people do bad things. Thereis a gap between what is and what ought to be and a good religion enrichesthe lives of people who do bad things. People do not immediately ceasedoing bad things because they have become religious. Those who know theworld is not as it should be tend to take their religion seriously.Wentz distinguishes between the way of the masses and the way ofdiscipleship. In India there have been riots between religious groups withresulting death, injury and starvation in the name of religion. The way ofthe mcLSses led many Hindus into violent action.In the Hindu tradition there is also a way of discipleship. MahatmaGhandi was a Hindu who believed that God is the only reality, the only realtruth. He had examined the literature and traditions of India’s religions.He had investigated the way of the masses and found deep within it a way ofdiscipleship. Following the way of discipleship opened up the possibility ofa transformed existence. Ghandi discovered that he ceased to hate anyoneand would do violence to no one. The inner violence that leads to violentaction was gone.The Demon of the Absolute sits on the shoulder of people who becomefanatic crusaders or fundamentalists. He makes them nervous, so that they102 Consensussometimes do very bad things as a testimony to the absolute. They act asprotectors of the absolute. The one absolute is that no one’s understandingof the truth is the whole truth. The Demon is not willing to acknowledgethat it is possible to know truth without calling into question the possibilitythat someone else may know it differently.Every religion is both a way of the masses and a way of discipleship.The way of discipleship generally leads to transformed living that avoidsviolence. But the way of the masses is also essential because no people canexist outside a world of ultimate order and meaning.Discovering the power of the Christian story may lead the disciple intothe way of the transformed mind, wherein the disciple becomes involved inmaking things whole. Hence the disciple overcomes the natural inclinationto do violence. Many bad things may be done in the name of religion eventhough the pilgrim is not a violent person. Gautama does not do bad thingsin the name of religion (he is a pilgrim), but some Buddhists do. Jesus doesnot do bad things in the name of religion, but some Christians do. Only thepilgrim knows what Martin Luther proclaimed, that we are simultaneouslysaints and sinners.Wentz maintains that the way of the disciple is the way out of violence.As a pilgrim I become a person who has been touched by the truth of myown story, and am drawn to search for a more complete vision of that truth.As preachers we need to help people to see the significance of everydayevents as part of the need to find order and meaning. If this does not happenit will do little good to recite words about salvation and reconciliation. Thenpeople will be content with the order and meaning that their culture alreadyshares with them, the way of the masses. The possibility of discipleship isopened up for those who, in coming to terms with their own stories, beginto see the relevance of the stories which are called religions.Paul ErikssonLutheran Theological SeminaryLiberation, The Jesus Mode: Reflections on theGospels for the B-CycleJoseph G. BondersMaryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1987275 + xi pp., n.p.These “reflections on Gospels” flow from the heart of a Catholic priest(ordained 1957) who was and remains a missionary. A member of the So-ciety of Missionaries of Africa, he was for 15 years Professor in Philosophy

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