Rating: Summary: Frightening but timely Review: A book you can't put down. Very timely in this day and age of religious fundamentalism growing world wide...People think it can't happen here?? Think again.
Rating: Summary: Great book - shame about the amateurish production Review: An excellent, timely and necessary study somewhat let down by idiosyncratic copyediting and sloppy typesetting. Books like this need to be more professionally put together to be taken seriously by their opponents. But don't let that put you off - it's a highly valuable resource, authoritatively and for the most part sensibly written, which deserves a much larger audience than it's likely to find.
Rating: Summary: Important and Timely Review: Every day in the news, one can hear about the efforts of the Christian Right to impose their rigid faith and values on all Americans. Aided by the Bush administration, with their agenda for financially supporting "faith based" programs, new church construction and more, the wall between church and state is being chipped away relentlessly. Read this book and keep it in mind during the next election.
Rating: Summary: Buy two,one for you and a friend Review: I have bought dozens of books from Amazon and this is the first that inspired me to write a review.Much of Blakers content is easy to witness for youself if you only open your eyes to the religious rights assault on our constitution and the American way of life.What Blaker does so well is clearly points out the tactics of fundamentalist without attacking religion or mainstream Christians.If you are a Christian that loves the freedom America has always stood for this book should scare you.As an Atheist,with a Christian wife of 20 years it horrified me.
Rating: Summary: A chilling expose Review: I thought I knew about fundamentalism, but I knew only the half of it. The facts Blaker reveals are chilling. The values we Americans hold most dear are under attack. Fundamentalists malign our public schools and cut off as much financial support as they can so public schools can't function well. They deny women the basic right to control their own bodies. They promote racism. They separate themselves from the rest of society because they don't approve of a pluralistic society. They are driving relentlessly to change our democracy into a theological dictatorship. Blaker's book gives details about the most serious attack on our democratic society in the last couple of centuries. You need to know what's happening to defend yourself -- and our democratic society.
Rating: Summary: surprised Review: I was surprised to see that my grandmother, who has never spoken ill of anyone under any circumstance, who saw only the good in everyone she met and would give the shirt off her back when she had nothing to give, was completely villified by this book... because she is a christian. I dont think i have ever been more pushed towards christianity than by reading this book.
Rating: Summary: Fundamentalist Radicals Could be Living Right Next Door Review: Just what exactly do religious extremists in the Christian community want to do with the U.S. government? What would fundamentalists do to the Bill of Rights, if given the chance? How would America function under the rule of theocratic extremists?These questions and others are examined in this book by a whole host of different authors. Kimberly Blaker contributes the most, and she is joined by other concerned authors, like John Suarez, Herb Silverman, Edward Buckner, and others. Each one of the authors contributes to their specific area of expertise, touching on such hot issues as racism, education, homophobia, church/state relations, and government in general. Some of the quotes from prominent Christian fundamentalists, like Pat Robertson, Gary Bauer, and others, will alarm some readers so don't be surprised if you come away from this book with a feeling of shock and concern. Fundamentalist leaders are very well organized and they have a mission to convert the United States into a theocracy and eliminate the separation of church and state. They have already achieved success with the Republican Party, which has adopted many Fundamentalist doctrines into its platform. Before anyone gets too scared, though, it should be noted that the vast majority of Christians do not share these radical views. These extremist positions are held by a very small fraction of Christian adherents and while they come across as very anti- American in nature, they are still not as frightening as they seem. The reason is because most Americans believe in the Constitution and would never accept or allow these types of changes to take place. Like the authors point out, this won't stop the fundamentalists from trying to force their agenda on the nation, but there is only so far they can go with the present system of checks and balances. I enjoyed most of this book, but I didn't like the writing style or the contents of chapter 3 (covering education), written by Bobbie Kirkhart. Not only is the writing itself inferior to Kimberly Blaker and the others, it also presents some very weak arguments in defense of the public schools. I can agree that an educational system run exclusively by religious organizations with no room for other choices or opinions would be a bad thing. But I cannot go along with some of Kirkhart's assertions, like her claim that private schools are not really any better than public ones. I think she goes way too far in her unyielding support of public education. This is an interesting book that explains the extremist views of radical Christian forces in America and how they would like to eliminate most of the freedoms and civil rights that we all take for granted. Their ideas are too outrageous to ever become reality. But they need to be paid attention to and monitored nonetheless, to make sure that they do not succeed any further than they already have in implementing their anti- American agenda.
Rating: Summary: Disturbing but eye opening .. Review: Kimberley Blaker's collection of contributions is as disturbing as it is eye opening. In this single book you are walked through a virtual maze of the many facets of religious fundamentalism and how it is seeping in to every pore of our society unnoticed ... almost. The book is not an attack on Fundamentalists as one might fear, but is a very thought provoking examination of the threat fundamentalism, as a practice, poses to the future of our democracy. As the line of separation between Church and State becomes even more muddied, it is imperative that we each look around us and identify the factors which are contributing so heavily to this attempted erosion of our freedom. As Blaker, et al, point out so clearly - one of these factors is fundamentalism.
Rating: Summary: Eye-opening Review: Kimberly Blaker and her co-authors have presented a well-researched, informative, and eye-opening account of the not-so-obvious ways Christian fundamentalists are seeking to overhaul our society, its government, and the educational system. The authors address the serious impact that these radicals have on children's welfare, women's rights, and separation of church and state issues. Anyone interested in preserving our constitutional and religious freedoms, from athiests to conservative believers, will benefit from understanding the epidemic of extreme beliefs in our country. This book has made me realize that it is not safe to sit by passively. The fundamentalists count on that. Instead, we must pay closer attention to the Christian fundamentalist movement and use our voting rights, at local, state, and federal levels, to take action against this very active minority emerging in the United States.
Rating: Summary: Buy Four, Send Three to Your Friends - Review: Kimberly Blaker has edited a collection of several excellent contributors who have compassionatly examined the growing fundamentalism in America and throughout the world. It should be required reading for every American. I thought that I had a fairly clear understanding of the fundamentalist, but I clearly had a lot to learn from this book. As the separation of Church and State continue to erode in America, everyone must understand the possible consequences of a religious government. This book clearly outlines the causes and possible solutions to "the creeping darkness that seems to be enveloping America, and the rest of the World". It is a book that I will read several times, and refer to frequently. One amazing feature of the book is the list of 900 total references for the eight chapters. I can not think of a more significant book that I would recommend to someone.
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