Dan Keck reviewed Bad Theology by Leah E. Robinson
Brief, compelling history and analysis of people doing bad things in Jesus's name
5 stars
The author takes four historical cases—apartheid in South Africa, the American Puritans, the Ku Klux Klan, and Jonestown—and studies the perpetrators' religious motives. She demonstrates how each is a case of "bad" theology using a rubric of "good" vs. "bad" theology. This rubric is admittedly subjective, but is based on the work of several theologians and philosophers, and it sounded good to me.
In particular, the author stresses that "bad theology" does not mean "non-Christian" but rather that Christian theology can be applied by humans in bad ways.
The book is academic and at times a little over my head, but I enjoyed it and finished feeling more acquainted with the idea of practical theology, and how people can use this theology to help people but also seriously hurt people.
The author takes four historical cases—apartheid in South Africa, the American Puritans, the Ku Klux Klan, and Jonestown—and studies the perpetrators' religious motives. She demonstrates how each is a case of "bad" theology using a rubric of "good" vs. "bad" theology. This rubric is admittedly subjective, but is based on the work of several theologians and philosophers, and it sounded good to me.
In particular, the author stresses that "bad theology" does not mean "non-Christian" but rather that Christian theology can be applied by humans in bad ways.
The book is academic and at times a little over my head, but I enjoyed it and finished feeling more acquainted with the idea of practical theology, and how people can use this theology to help people but also seriously hurt people.