A remarkably hard-nosed and often profound inquiry into the way
Judaism in particular has constructed its concept of false or
deviant worship...The authors' discussion consistently illumines
familiar texts and ideas with fresh questions and insights drawn
from a variety of contemporary philosophical traditions...[This
book] will stimulate discussion. -- Martin Jaffe "Religious Studies
Review"
A wonderful book, brilliant and important... It has a kind of
straightforward wisdom, a solid, common sense approach that is both
charming and entirely persuasive. It is a book about pluralism and
intolerance, about the logic and illogic of the arguments that
religions make against one another. This is a fascinating and
critical topic in these dark days of religious warfare. -- Wendy
Doniger "The Divinity School, University of Chicago"
The discussion throughout is of a very high order... The
outstanding contribution of the book is that it both defines and
helps to solve the difficulties surrounding the notion of idolatry
on one hand, while using this discussion to shed light on the
multiple developments of the notion throughout our history on the
other. Philosophical analysis is being used here to good effect to
illuminate an important thread of our religious and cultural
tradition... One great value of the book is thus that it brings
philosophical analysis to bear on the issues of idolatry. Another
important contribution is that it draws on a deep knowledge of the
Talmudic literature and discussions. This makes for a double bonus.
Christian theologians have tended to ignore the Talmud, and so have
those Jewish writers conversant with modern philosophy. -- Charles
Taylor "McGill University"
This is a book of a very high quality, which contributes
substantially to our understanding of a crucial topic in Western
religion, filling thereby a gap in modern scholarship... The
conceptual approach is fostered by detailed textual analyses,
excellent in themselves, which contribute not only to the
understanding of the topic of idolatry, but also to a better
understanding of these texts in themselves, especially those
related to the thought of Maimonides... An outstanding contribution
to the analysis of religion in general, original and audacious. --
Moshe Idel "Hebrew University"
This is a very important book, supplying substantially to a crucial
but unrecognized void in scholarship. It is a rare book, joining
philosophic analysis with a mastery of rabbinic texts. -- Jerome
Eckstein "International Studies in Philosophy"
If hatred were affected by logic, Idolatry would put an end to holy
wars...Together Halbertal and Margalit have created a remarkable
book, which tells us, more thoroughly and persuasively than anyone
has done so far, why and in what ways religions hate one
another...In view of the mass slaughter taking place in the name of
religion, far to much of it glibly and falsely explained by
arguments about 'fundamentalism, ' this is a very important
book.
An absorbing and ingenious book. -- Frank Cioffi "Times Literary
Supplement"
If hatred were affected by logic, "Idolatry" would put an end to
holy wars...Together Halbertal and Margalit have created a
remarkable book, which tells us, more thoroughly and persuasively
than anyone has done so far, why and in what ways religions hate
one another...In view of the mass slaughter taking place in the
name of religion, far to much of it glibly and falsely explained by
arguments about 'fundamentalism, ' this is a very important book.
-- Wendy Doniger "New York Review of Books"
If hatred were affected by logic, "Idolatry would put an end to
holy wars...Together Halbertal and Margalit have created a
remarkable book, which tells us, more thoroughly and persuasively
than anyone has done so far, why and in what ways religions hate
one another...In view of the mass slaughter taking place in the
name of religion, far to much of it glibly and falsely explained by
arguments about 'fundamentalism, ' this is a very important book.
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