Doubts and Loves: What is Left of Christianity

When it first appeared in the U.K. in 1999, Richard Holloway's Godless Morality struck a chord with readers and generated extraordinary media coverage. His new book is guaranteed to cause similar debate. Doubts and Loves argues that it is better to use Christianity as good poetry than as bad science, and although the author sets out to deconstruct its doctrines, he says, "My intention is positive; it is to craft from the Christian past a usable ethic for our own time." Holloway's radical book is a rescue attempt, a heartfelt and passionately argued case for salvaging the challenge of Jesus by revealing the essence of his teachings and showing why they remain revolutionary, humane, and of massive spiritual importance. Holloway has produced a compassionate and accessible work of scholarship, a blueprint for belief that debunks traditional ways of understanding the Bible and Jesus. He revels in pluralism, making cultural, political, sociological, and philosophical connections, and offering spiritual hope to the millions in this country who feel that the Church has lost its way. Doubts and Loves is a timely, important, and relevant book. ."..a sensitive, brave, and inspiring book that responds honestly and with great intelligence to the religious dilemma of our times." --Karen Armstrong