Polydoxy: Explorations in a Philosophy of Liberal Religion

By Alvin J. Reines

In Polydoxy, Dr. Alvin J. Reines has developed a wonderfully unique and new point of view in the philosophy of liberal religion. Polydoxy explores the reasons for personal religious freedom, the limits of this freedom, and the rich possibilities it offers to intelligent, thoughtful human beings.Expanding on the nature of polydoxy, the author analyzes the "liberal" religions, drawing a distinction between orthodox liberal religions and polydox liberal religions. Dr. Reines' development of the concept of polydox religion is regarded by many as the most important theoretical advance in contemporary religious thought. It has come to exercise a profound influence upon many of the present generation of liberal religionists. This influence has produced new forms of religion: Polydox Reform Judaism, Polydox Christianity, and the Polydox fellowship (which brings together in one community adherents from all historical religions).Reines describes the intriguing anatomy of liberal religions, analyzes their institutions, and critiques their doctrines. He has found that the vocabulary that has been used to express this new religious understanding is still tangled in a thicket of traditional concepts and shows how to make such language both clear and contemporary. He offers new definitions of "religion" and "theology."

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0879753994
• ISBN13: 9780879753993
• Release Date: May 1987
• Publisher: Prometheus Books
• Length: 219 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Southerners don't know what they're talking about

Although I agree with the Mississippi reviewer that Dr. Reines' book is well worth reading and buying, I think he suffers from a serious handicap in that he lives in the South, and therefore has an antiquated view of the entire world, including religion. Were he from another place, say, New York, or had a Middle-Eastern or Oriental heritage, I would have been more inclined to support his views without qualification.

Thought provoking

The author using a series of logical assumption, takes a philosophical journey from G-d based Liberal Religions to a new category of "polydoxy" in which the Central Tenant is freedom of belief. The author then tries to redefine religion as a mechanism to help man reconcile his finite powers with his need need for immortality and infinite powers. The book is very challenging and may threaten some readers belief system. The initial focus of the book seemed to be on Reform Judaism but quickly moved to a discussion covering all religions. I did disagree with the authors` assumption that since Liberal Religions did not believe in exact Revelation that they could not claim Theistic authority for their doctrines. His science is also suspect when he tries to correlate man`s religious tensions with diseases such as psychosis. In most cases his arguments were tight and were difficult to refute if you stayed within the box. This book is thought provoking and may offer the reader a new way to categorize and think about religion. Although I disagreed with much in this book, I did buy additional copies to send to friends. I consider this to be a must for the serious reader and it may become a classic.