Rating: 
Summary: God is Red? I don't think so.
Review: I really did not care for this book. The Author uses quotes to push his anti-"christian" agenda. I too have a bias against "christianity" because of the way I was treated by *some* "christians". I will never take the "christian" path; but I have no right to influence other people to take a path I follow, or to try to persuade you NOT to take a specific path because I have a strong dislike for it. If "christianity" works for you; Fine. I suggest for people to explore different paths and follow the one that answers more of your spiritual questions. The entire reason for a spiritual practise is to get in touch with the creative force whether you call it God, the Great Spirit, Jehovah, Sugmad, the Source, Universe, etc. Two Bears Wah doh Ogedoda (We give thanks Great Spirit)
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Summary: Rattles the Cages of the religiously smug...
Review: In a clearly biased manner DeLoria sets down the absolute truths according to the majority of Indians alive today. Their "religion" is NOT a religion, in the Western sense of the word. It is not one governed by time, but flows across all time. It is not centered in a single Saviour, but in ALL of life. This book points a finger at the Western / White man's outrage at finding a People he has not yet been able to fully "convert", at the extent the Newcomers have gone to and continue to go to in order to completely eradicate the Indians' idea of a Creator and Creation. It also exposes the fact of continued disillusionment among the Western invaders, tries to show why and how especially Christian religions have failed their followers. Even the leaders of the Christian faith complain of the failings DeLoria lists. What we actually have here is a book which tries earnestly to explain why Indians can never see eye-to-eye with Western religion, why it is so important for Westerners to recognize these differences, and why every Indian who is an Indian will forever demand religious freedom and access to his "church"... which is all of nature,all Creation, every inch, everywhere. A fine read if you want to know the truth about how Indians think and feel about their right to worship as they see fit.
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Summary: Deloria is a racist fool.
Review: In Chapter Nine, Deloria argues that white people were created by space aliens from the planet Nibiru, to work as slaves in the aliens' gold mines on Earth. If you can read such nonsense without guffawing, then this is the book for you.
Most thinking people will reject Deloria's simplistic division of the world into "red people" and "white people". Deloria's Manichean conception of Indian religion and Christianity is equally simplistic.
Fundamentally, Deloria wants to argue that Indians are racially superior to whites. Since he is afraid to come right out and express his racism openly, he hides it behind absurd spaceman theories, and behind claims that his stereotyped conception of Indian religion is superior to his stereotyped conception of Christianity.
Deloria presents his theory of space and time as if it were an original insight. He is simply warming over ideas that he half remembers from seminary, and inverting them to place Indian religion in the superior position over Christianity. The only thing original about Deloria's thesis is that he is using religion to argue for Indian superiority, whereas religion has historically been used to argue for white superiority. Inverting the bias does not make it any more acceptable. Racism is racism, no matter who is doing the hating.
White people created by space aliens, indeed! How did this racist nut job get to be the dean of Indian Studies in the American academy? Deloria's stature doesn't speak well for the discipline, much less the academy.
Rating: 
Summary: A classic, thought-provoking work on Native religion
Review: In this powerful book, Vine Deloria tells us about religious life that is not dependent on Christianity but rather reveres the interconnectedness of all things in nature. Deloria reminds us to learn that "we are a part of nature, not a transcendent species with no responsibility to the natural world," and asks new questions about our species and our ultimate fate as we move into a new century. "The flagship book on Native American spirituality remains Vine Deloria's God Is Red. He does an outstanding job of translating complex spiritual issues into very simple truths." --Wilma P. Mankiller, Principal Chief, Cherokee Nation
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Summary: An eye-opening comparison of Tribal Religions & Christianity
Review: Raised Christian in the white culture, I rejected that philosophy 40 years ago when I began to think for myself. I've never been able to explain my disbelief, only that Cristianity didn't make sense to me. Deloria explains in "God Is Red" the differing views of time, space and history the two religions have. "The one who tells the stories rules the world." (Hopi proverb)
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Summary: God Is Red : A Native View of Religion
Review: The writings of Vine Deloria are exceptional. The Book "God Is Red" out does all he has ever written.Personally I score it a ten star not five.Give credit where credit is due.Mr. Deloria does not cut corners in the aspect of Spirituality he says it like it is. This book is not for the Narrow Minded.
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Summary: Deloria poses as an intellectual....
Review: This book is written by a man that is so radical many Natives disagree with him. His comments are biased and often wild accustaions. He doesn't promote "religious freedom" and tolerance... but rather STATES BLUNTLY that Christianity is INFERIOR to the religion of the Natives. I get the feeling he doesn't truly comprehend Christianity. THe "examples" of Christianity that he gives are taken from the minority, small percentage of the worst christian population (of course). After reading the book I learned all the reasons he dislikes Christianity and none of Native religion. I support Native actions to be recognized and I condemn breaches of treaties by the USA government...... however, Mr. Deloria is a bit out of reality. As he writes: "Future explorers from other planets will walk this early wasteland and marvel at our stupidity and wonder why we could not accept the reality of our own finitude."
Rating: 
Summary: Biting Critique of Modern Popular Christianity
Review: This is a fascinating book. The critique of many of modern Christianity's shortcomings is accurate and relevant, though I think Mr. Deloria has a little too much fun ridiculing Christianity's efforts to make itself more relevant to modern life. Any religious thought system should be allowed to advance, and some of the things he brings up are not things to be ridiculed, but advancements to be commended. His case for the Native American point of view, however, is very compelling. It is a philosophy that I find myself being drawn to very strongly. I have recently discovered that I have Native American blood in my veins, and have become very interested in finding out more about this part of my heritage. The biggest two problems with this book, at least for me, are thus: 1) Mr. Delaria fails to provide those of us living in the city with any way to honor the ways of Native religion, tying it so strongly to place that those of us that can't get there are left pretty much on our own. Perhaps this is missing the point, and what he is saying is that a Native viewpoint is not compatable at all with modern city life. But if this is the point, then what hope is there of a more compassionate, earth-centered point of view taking hold? And 2), amid all of the statements that ring with truth, there are wild stories about "space astronauts" creating humans to be their slaves, and other such seeming nonsense. Delaria has many fine, valid points to make in this book, and these diversions into wild, unprobable speculation only serve to weaken his otherwise unassailable thesis.
Rating:
Summary: God is Red: YES, she certainly is!
Review: This is the best book I have ever read. The only reason someone whould criticize this book is because it makes them take a look at the absurdity of their own beleifs and forces them to face up to the legacy of racism, oppression, bigotry and hatred that go hand in hand with the Christian religion. No non-native person has the right to critisize Deloria, because he is simply stating truths that he has come to know from his experience as a Native American. Basically, this book encompases virtually everything that I, and others with my naturalistic mindset embrace, and everything that the conservative, fundamentalist, religious right types hate and fear. This book is freedom. And it is freedom for all people, of any color or culture;freedom to live in a world full of beauty and warmth, freedom to let one's spirit soar without fear of oppression. I suppose you can try to knock Deloria for extremely minute innacuracies, but to do so is to completely miss the point of what he is trying to say. Actually, NOTHING in this book is innacurate, because Deloria is speaking about his people's and his personal experiences. Lastly, this book represents a complete revolution in the Western world. We finally have a non-white person from a native, earth based culture who is applying the very same methods of critisizm to western culture that western culture has used in the past. The only difference is that Deloria does not need to rely on rasicm or myths to get his message across, the way westerners do. The reason for this is that Deloria speaks the truth, and forces us to see western culture for what it truly is.
Rating: 
Summary: Misleading and Disappointing
Review: We should all have a huge amount of respect for Vine Deloria, as he is one of the finest modern Native American activists, and has contributed greatly to our understanding of his people. Unfortunately, here Deloria attempts to present Native beliefs in an "us vs. them" comparison with major religions (mostly Christianity), but this book does not succeed as a comparative religion study. .... Throughout the book Deloria attempts to describe Christian beliefs while comparing them to Native beliefs, but only highlights the gaps in his own knowledge of Christianity. This is evident throughout, but here is one mind-boggling example from page 59 of the paperback, in a discussion of the political leanings of the church - "...the fundamentalists having been disappointed in the recent Gulf War which many of them felt forecast Armageddon and consequently supported vigorously." One has to wonder how Deloria reached this conclusion. Christians liked the Gulf War because they couldn't wait for the end of the world? On page 232 he proclaims that the Presbyterian, Methodist, Roman Catholic, and Greek Orthodox churches are all exclusively left wing, and "for such denominations the mention of Jesus is both an embarrassment and a disappointment." This is an example of a generalization for which there is surely little evidence. This would be similar to a fundamentalist Christian writing about the entire pantheon of Muslim beliefs after seeing a news report about a few terrorists in the Middle East. On the good side, Deloria does drive home the point that Native religions are the only ones with a strong sense of "place" and a healthy respect for the Earth and the environment. He also deserves a vast amount of respect for drawing our attention to the current concerns of modern Indians. Most of us who call ourselves "concerned" about Indian culture and issues have the stereotypical view of valiant warriors in the 19th century, or pre-1492 noble savages. These images have about as much in common with modern Indians as George Washington's powdered wig has on America's sense of fashion. But once again, don't let Deloria's excellent other works cloud your judgment of the weaknesses of this book. If you are looking for either a straight description of Native American beliefs, or a comparison to other religions, you will be much better served elsewhere.
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