The Dark Side of God: A Quest for the Lost Heart of Christianity

Lockhart follows up his first book, Jesus the Heretic, with another masterful display. What a refreshing thing it is to see modern scholars beginning to shed light on the origin, nature and development of Christianity from a responible, scientific, and balanced viewpoint. Christianity, and religion itself, is a complex topic. Any proper analysis of Christianity must attempt to explain the good, the bad and the ugly of its history. It must attempt to explain why groups of sectarians in a small, oppressed nation had such a profound effect on subsequent western history. It must attempt to explain the why, when and how variation and departures occurred in its development, and why there is such a spectrum of behaviour in its expression. Lockharts' analysis is a good overview of modern argument and discoveries concerning these matters, far better and more insightful than most. He intergrates a range of ideas on the subject, from ancient "heretics", to modern interpretations of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Don't expect an biased appraisal of Christianity, Lockhart traces many of the evils that the "herd" simply refuses to see, and why. The Dark Side of God is very much the journey of western society itself, and very much a reflection of what is within all of us. His book is an attempt to find the lost and distorted virtues that exist in the "original heart" of Christian experience. I'm not sure if he achieves what he sets out to find, but he does awaken the heart and mind to what we are all capable of achieving.For the courageous and the hopeful.