Unspeakable: Facing Up to Evil in an Age of Genocide and Terror($20.66Value)

Description

Addressing both individuals and a traumatized culture, sociologist and popular Christian author Os Guinness confronts our inability to understand—let alone effectively respond to—evil, providing both a grammar and a strategy for a way forward. Guinness feels the world has lost touch with evil, and thereby forsaken the ability to define and deal with it. He takes issue with critics of President Bush for pronouncing the 9/11 attacks as evil, and he disparages those who mistake suffering for evil. He eloquently draws the distinction between evil and suffering, then exhorts us to recognize that evil lies within our hearts and to avoid perpetrating it, or turning a blind eye to its perpetration by others. Guinness cites numerous authorities to support his points--for instance, memorably quoting Alexander Solzhenitsyn's Nobel address, "Let the lie come into the world and even dominate the world--'but not through me.'" Pointing out many recent events that reprise shameful evils from the past, Guinness notes not only world leaders who denounce the Holocaust yet ignore atrocities in Bosnia and Rwanda but also all those who turn away from such horrors. Coping with evil will take more than a truce in the blame game between secularism and religion, he says; only true collaboration will work. Donna Chavez Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved “This book makes a compelling case for faith, and courage, in the face of evil’s dark reality.” - Publishers Weekly “Guinness eloquently draws the distinction between evil and suffering, then exhorts us to recognize that evil lies within our hearts.” - Booklist “A ‘must read’ for anyone who wishes to explore the most fundamental questions confronting us all.” - Baroness Caroline Cox, Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords, president of Christian Solidarity Worldwide and a celebrated human rights activist “Both a personal and a political book … It will stimulate discussion and reflection and is worth reading…” - Library Journal “A brutally honest inquiry into the darkest realities of human history...a journey that leads back to ourselves.” - James Davison Hunter, Labrosse-Levinson Distinguished Professor of Religion, Culture and Social Theory, University of Virginia “...[Guinness] leaves the readers with a sense of hope, highlighting the importance of individual calling.” - Christian Retailing “[L]aced with compelling, heart-wrenching and illuminating stories...” - Presbyterians Today “Guinness offers a brilliant ‘map’ to help us navigate and confront the difficult landscape of modern life, and modern evil.” - Rome J. Hartman, producer, CBS News "60 Minutes" “An important book for anyone who doubts the existence of human evil or who has lost faith because of it.” - Peggy Wehmeyer, former religion reporter for ABC News, and host and managing editor, The World Vision Report “Guinness’s incisive analyses gives us hope of being able to deal with evil. A great accomplishment!” - Dallas Willard, Professor of Philosophy, University of Southern California and author of The Divine Conspiracy When it comes to evil, our culture is surprisingly illiterate. From the American President downward, many of those who speak unabashedly of evil are dismissed as simplistic, old-fashioned, and having a view of life shaped more by fairy tales and old westerns than by science. This moral confusion became overwhelmingly apparent in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 9-11. Yet 9-11 simply reopened our eyes to the devastating history of tragic evil that haunts humankind. Guinness faces this history with courageous honesty, seeking to illuminate the nagging questions of the inhumanity of humanity as well as the place of God in human suffering. While much discussion in the past two years has focused on religion’s role in history’s inhuman acts, Guinness attests that the worst atrocities of human history were perpetrated by secularist regimes and in the name of secularist beliefs. Religion can no longer be the scapegoat: we must learn to name and judge evil in order to handle it effectively. Having spent time living on 3 different continents, Guinness is able to illuminate the deeply different ways we have of understanding evil, and the decisive differences they make in a fresh and unbiased manner. He then provides a framework for learning to deal with this evil, outlining seven steps that can help us make sense of life in times of evil and suffering: 1. Recognize the sources 2. Listen to the questions 3. Acknowledge the modern transformations 4. Assess the different explanations 5. Act on the practical demands 6. Say no to false accountings 7. Appreciate the silver linings The problem of evil is not something that can be ignored; it is the most serious problem in human life, the most serious problem in contemporary history, and the most serious problem for the deepest resort of humans in life—our trust in God or in the universe. Os Guinness is an author and sp