The Mind of the Bible Believer

By Edmund D. Cohen

Book Overview

Bemusedly observing many kinds of religious expression from an erudite, skeptical distance, psychology professor and attorney Edmund D. Cohen thought himself advanced beyond such illusions. But a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0879754958
• ISBN13: 9780879754952
• Release Date: September 1988
• Publisher: Prometheus
• Length: 428 Pages
• Weight: 1.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.9" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

This book's observations matched my experiences

I have read cohen's book twice, once twenty years ago when it first came out and once again recently (2005). The first time I read it, I recall that the accumulated force of the author's observations caused me to weep. Because I was an evangelical throughout much of my teens, the book's observations about the mind-games that fundamentalists play with themselves hit very close to home. I reread the book recently because I wanted to see if the book read as well as I remembered it to have. What I discovered is that the book is as well written and thoughtful as I remembered. A portion of the book that I find especially interesting (but that I did not remember from the first time I had read it) is the section in which the author reflects on Kafka's novel "The Trial" in relation to some of the Kafkaesque psychological aspects of being a religious literalist. This section comes toward the end of the book, and is sort of the climactic observation of the entire study. Perhaps I missed being impacted by this part of the book because I was young at the time of my first reading of it, and hadn't yet read Kafka.

Truly Brilliant

Excellent Reading for those ready to move forward from the mind control devices of Christianity. Don't believe the false reviews written by fundies in disguise, this book touches aspects which really get you thinking, and leave you with that "ah ha!" feeling.

Read Carefully, Ye Who Enter Here

This book makes a very positive contribution to any dialogue about how the bible itself influences the human nature of dedicated biblicists. Cohen, who, in presenting a psychological thesis, of course, uses psychological terminology, states clearly what he finds useful in Freud and Jung's work and where he differs from them and other contemporary schools of psychological thought.Whether the New Testament was "constructed" as a mind control device, or just turned out that way because of the vested interests and intent of the authors and assemblers, Cohen, in fact, leads one through its labyrinthine inconsistencies, without installing a nose ring to do it. I found his review of psychological theory robust, and one does not have to accept his particular model for operation of the subconscious mind in order to benefit from his analysis based on that model.Cohen's inferences and conclusions, like those of any author, must be weighed in your own hopper. Don't be put off or on by mention of psychobabble. A useful term when it was coined, psychobabble becomes almost meaningless as a designation unless you really know what specifically is being referred to. Psychological terminology is not inherently psychobable; it becomes so in the hands of incautious users. Thus, the term psychobabble has become little more than an expletive.Whatever you ultimately decide about Cohen's various answers to the questions he raises, you will benefit from having considered them and the evidence he presents. By all means be alert for holes in the arguments and variations of interpretation of some of the patterns, but the book serves its purpose: to have us think "out of the traditional rut" about how mindless fundamentalists get that way and are kept that way. And please note, I use the term mindless very deliberately, because that above all is the characteristic I have observed, an observation that matches much of what Cohen brings out. Being mindless or functioning in a limited, mind-controlled way thwarts the very thoughts we must pursue to mature in life. Cohen is right about that. No one's infantile ranting should dissuade any interested reader from examining and profiting from the book.

Scary, scary, scary stuff

I had been an exchristian for a couple of months before readingthis. Even so, while reading it I felt like something bad was behind me - I had to turn around in my chair and look to reassure myself that there wasn't. I was shocked to find the imaginary boogeymen of Christianity rooted so deeply in my own mind.We all know that there are Christian cults out there that practise mind control and brainwashing. This book exposes the fact that this is the norm for NT christianity, not the exception. The new testament is mind-control propaganda, propaganda that held all the minds of Europe in its grip for a millennium and a half.It exposes the newspeak of christianity. The doublethink, the blackwhite, the slippery concepts and words. It explains why, as a christian, it's possible to read a passage of scripture over and over and still feel like you don't that makes it so difficult for a christian to reason about their faith. The dreadful fear at the bottom of christianity.It exposes the poverty of Christian "love", and "joy". It demonstrates the equivocal definitions of 'truth' and 'freedom' that make a lie of "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make in faith, and how it is that faith is the opposite of sin. And in so doing, suddenly makes sense of every bible verse, every book, and every sermon on the topic that I have ever read or heard.Get this, and get George Orwell's "1984" if you don't already have it. But if you are a recent exchristian, don't read it late at night like I did.

Most incredible book about the dangers of Fundamentalism

Cohen's book was so powerful, I had to read it more than once. Cohen uses his skills as a psychologist to critically examine the Scriptures, as well as the behaviors exhibited by Fundamentalist adherents. Finally, because of this book, I realized that I had indeed been emotionally damaged because of Fundamentalist Christianity. Everyone should read this book!