Christian subversion and missionary activities -2

[acharya]

The Dark Side: How Evangelical Teachings Corrupt Love and Truth

by Valerie Tarico


Most Evangelical Christians earnestly strive to worship the God of Love and Truth. But a belief that the Bible is literally perfect puts them in the odd position of defending falsehood, bigotry and even violence.
What do Evangelicals teach? How are these teachings distorted? How do they contradict humanity's shared moral core, including the highest values of Christianity itself?

Psychologist Valerie Tarico is an ex-fundamentalist and a graduate of Wheaton College, bastion of Evangelical education. As a young adult, secure in the confidence that "all truth is God's truth," Dr. Tarico committed to follow her questions wherever they might lead. Ultimately they led her out of Evangelicalism.
Tarico's book, The Dark Side, examines the moral and rational contradictions that caused her to abandon those beliefs that once structured her life. In their place it offers perspectives that are compatible with love, logic, and the quest for truth.
Product Details:
Printed: 284 pages, 6" x 9", perfect binding, black and white interior ink
ISBN: 978-1-4116-9125-4
Publisher: Lulu.com
Rights Owner: Valerie Tarico
Copyright: © 2006 by Valerie Tarico Standard Copyright License
Language: English
Country: United States
Lulu Sales Rank: 211

Very Enlightening [ No Rating ] 15 Jan 2007
by Michael Murphy
As an M.A. in theology and having grown up in much of the same way that Valerie describes, I find this book very enlightening. I have often wondered about the very things that she brings up regarding, the existence of many of the traditions and stories prior to the Biblical accounts being penned. And of course, the complete contradiction with the hate filled, angry/mean spirit of modern Evangelicalism. Even though raised as, trained as and served as a modern Evangelical (was a well respected pastor for several years, television ministry and all), I find her book a breath of fresh air. She has a definite mission which I don't share, however, my choice is to understand the brighter side of the scriptures and try to live out the love, grace, peace, goodness of what they reveal. Along with the great psychologist, Carl Jung, I do believe in mankind's need to acknowledge deity and its role in human history. Nonetheless, the hatred, dogma, tunnel vision blindness that is purported in modern Evangelicalism is dangerous and sets those who adhere to it (and much of the world) back to a depraved, primitive and very base of thinking. Thanks for the provocation to thought Valerie.
Highly recommended

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1 Nov 2006
by stewartbob
This author describes her personal story of evolving from a devout Evangelical Christian to a free-thinking, rational adult, and she uses her expertise as a psychologist to evaluate the distortions, errors, and emotional harm inherent in fundamentalist ideology. Dr. Tarico has a clear, concise writing style that is incisive, well researched and well documented. I'm certainly not a bible scholar, but I was very impressed with her theological and psychological knowledge and analysis. I liked the combination of personal experience and scholarly critique.
[ No Rating ] 31 Oct 2006
by Joe Shmoe
Roberta Flack wrote and sang "Killing me Softly", not Aretha Franklin.
The Dark Side by Valerie Tarico, Ph.D. [ No Rating ] 13 Oct 2006
by Lynn Little
The Dark Side – a Review

By Lynn Little

If I say The Dark Side by Valerie Tarico, Ph.D., has brilliance I do not mean by any stretch of the imagination it is perfect; but some of the brilliance lies in part because it challenges “free” thinkers to look beyond our well-earned prejudices against Christian images and language, to hear the truth of what she has to say. And she has a great deal to say that is worth listening to.

Valerie Tarico grew up as an Evangelical, but as the doubts came and she lost her fight “to believe,” she eventually was able to use her fine mind to pursue her Ph.D. in psychology and counseling and bring higher education to her understanding of why people believe and behave the way they do, why the Bible came to be accepted as the source of moral behavior when it so often exemplifies and justifies the exact opposite.

In addition to being very well written, her book includes poignant episodes from her life, her hard won struggle to leave, then challenge, her Evangelical upbringing. In addition to “[examining] the cruelties and contradictions that ultimately caused her fundamentalist worldview to crumble,” Valerie provides an excellent if brief history of all religions, beginning with the one page outline, “The Development of Western Christianity,” which alone is worth the price of admission. One glance down the timeline says it all: how perfect, how unchanging, how loving and true, all religions are. Not.

She also credits and admires Richard Dawkins’ concept of the “meme” to further explain how and why otherwise untenable ideas take hold and spread.

What is frustrating, yet I would not ask her to change who she is nor how she expresses herself: I’m afraid that even though she clearly states belief in a deity is not necessary for—in fact often ensures less—moral behavior—her reliance on many Christian quotes and images will reduce the number of people who will read her book. For instance, she quotes Paul, and it’s hard for some of us to look past the fact that he was a misogynist who created a religion that hurt a lot of us, badly. That might get in the way of us hearing what she’s trying to say even if that particular quote said by someone else might actually be something we’d agree with. (As my brother often says, “Even a broken clock is right twice a day.”) And at one point she quotes Bishop Spong. I used to think him a liberal sort of guy, but not too long ago, I read his quite angry response to a self-described atheist calling him arrogant (some are, yes, but this poor fellow was not), and I thought, oh dear. (As I understand it, Bishop Spong calls himself a non-theist, putting down those that still, immaturely, believe in an actual Being type God, but God help you—small attempt at humor—if you are non theist but call yourself an a-theist… How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? Anyone?)

Which actually makes an important point in support of Valerie’s use of “Christian” and “religious” language. It’s part of who she is, what she grew up with. But we who don’t believe anything related to that language still use it, to a lesser degree, of course, why? Because it gets the job done. Now, how much is too much? Any, for many of us. And this book certainly uses more than most who read Free Inquiry might be comfortable with—at first. But I believe if readers will persevere past the language that triggers unpleasant memories, and anger, and can accept that someone who has spiritual longings, even as they/we absolutely disagree with the notion (let alone her optimism about human nature!), they will find this book a very worthwhile and fascinating read.




Well Researched and Presented [ No Rating ] 25 Sep 2006 (updated 25 Sep 2006)
by Jay Harbison
I enjoyed Dr. Tarico's book, as it presented an insightful and easy to read look into the history and current state of the evangelical Christian movement through a nice blend of research, science and personal experience. She did a good job of disecting, analysing and presenting the issues that have always made me uncomfortable with the exclusionary and condemning nature of evangelical/fundamentalist Christianity.

I believe this book would be a good read for anyone, including moderate Christians, looking to better understand how religious fundamentalism rises and the potential dangers it poses with followers who are taught to unquestioningly follow a narrow scope of dogma with no application of individual experience or reason. We hear a lot in the news recently about the growth of fundamentalism in the Muslim community and Dr. Tarico's book brings to our attention the rapid and less reported expansion of fundamentalism in the Christian community.
The Dark Side is Illuminating

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21 Aug 2006
by apatim
As I read this remarkable book, the words of Aretha Franklin's song kept running through my mind:

I felt he found my letter
and read each one out loud

He sang as if he knew me
In all my darkness fair

Struming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
killing me softly with his song
killing me softly with his song
telling my whole life
with his words
killing me softly with his song

This carefully crafted book is a must read for anyone who has made the journey (or knows someone who has made the journey) from a life of "faith" and "evangelicalism" to a world view that can no longer hold to those belief systems.

As an ex-christian believer and Baptist preacher, who through extensive Bible study and self examination came to a place of unbelief, I appreciate Valerie's succinct explanations of how many of us made this difficult journey. She does so without malice or judgemental harshness towards those who still believe - something many ex-christians understandably have trouble doing.

I downloaded the online book but will be purchasing several of the bound copies to share with my still-believing family and friends as the book illuminates my own experience in a far better way than I can myself.

Thank you for writing this book, Valerie. My spirit bears witness with yours. (wink)

An excellent book [ No Rating ] 27 Jul 2006 (updated 29 Jul 2006)
by Kevin whittemore
I am surprised that I am the first reviewer of this fine book brought forth by Dr. Valerie Tarico. I must say that I was wary of reading a personal expose from a psychiatrist. Impressive but intimidating! So what the hell- (no pun intended), I took the chance on the $5.00 charge and downloaded the ebook that was recommended by a website called losingmyreligion. I was very pleased and amazed at the candor of her personal journey and the lucid examples she gives of the very reasons I have questioned the major tenants of Evangelicalism. I also had the
‘Born Again’ experience, went to church regularly and tithed. I studied and associated most with other believers. It is terrifying and lonely to stop. I found solace in reading her heart-felt struggle to believe and understand.
Although I had numerous unanswered questions about Evangelical Christianity, I was not too long ago, devout. Assuming I could edify my faith by reading other people’s question and answers about the faith, I ventured forth and found sites online that offered those ideas.
Unfortunately, they raised many more questions than they answered. Horrible Church executions?
The pious gall the church had in justifying all this became apparent in today’s church even on a much subtler level. Dr. Tarico touches on numerous examples of this shadowy church history.
Dr. Valerie succinctly expresses the very ideas that were forming in my mind although they had not yet come out as a coherent intellectual thought. Given time, I suppose they would have, but this book brought them to the front.
I have different areas of strength and weakness than Dr. Tarico does , as you do, and even that changes with time. Your faith/ logic and understanding of the universe is dynamic and is constantly changing.
This fits into the main problem with Fundamental Evangelicalism: They do not accept the premise that faith can and is dynamic and changing-only the a priori belief that if you change too much , it must be because of SIN in your life or at the very least a blatant disregard for the “Truth” that is suppose to be in the ‘written word of God’.
Dr. Valerie gives excellent reasons for the disconnect of the mainstream church to accepting the history of the Christian religion, and by proxy the blind refusal to accept the possibility that because it is written that the “Spirit of God resides in true believers”, that “True Believers” could be wrong about ‘faith’. Ever wrong.
One fact that the Evangelical Movement, with a call written in scripture to preach the Gospel to all ends of the Earth has made millions for corporate church infrastructures as well as made millionaires out of common “preachers”. It has risen to a militant Christian ‘jihad’ over-shadowing the OTHER major tenants of Jesus’ sayings of Peace, Charity and Love.
This cognitive aspect of believing first and asking questions later is paramount before and after all else. Believing in what one might ask? In keeping them from Hell?
Anyone not believing is already lost and ‘less valuable’. This further diminishes the human value of anyone not allied to that one particular belief-even if they call themselves Christian, let alone if they live in some far off country and call themselves something else. The ‘they-probably-deserved-it' attitude transcends the reality of today in the Christian church. This indifference and myopic thinking is the modern day ‘Holy Crusades’ that is evident in this current post 911 world.
Since believing is paramount, then actions are secondary.

‘DON’T TELL ME WHAT YOU BELIEVE. TELL ME WHAT YOU DO, THEN I’LL TELL YOU WHAT YOU BELIEVE.’