Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84Plough Quarterly • Spring 2016 71 a complexity matching the world’s, they can be healthy. The problem arises, Sacks argues, when they become pathologically dualistic – when the evil in the world is monochromati- cally attributed to “them.” This kind of dualism dehumanizes opponents and allows believers to see them- selves always as victims, irrespective of evidence to the contrary. What is it that makes dualism pathological? Here Sacks borrows from the French theorist René Girard (1923–2015), who argued that societies begin with murder and violence between two figures or groups. The most effective way to resolve that violence, according to Girard, is to blame it on a third, the scape­ goat. Sacrificing the outsider allows both sides to feel that justice has been done, but not at the expense of either group. Religion performs the important task of casting out and ending the violence that would otherwise rend society asunder. But Girard’s theory has a second part. The violence comes in the first place from mimetic desire: desire that imitates the desire of another (think of Cain and Abel). Sibling rivalry – the desire to have what your brother has and be what he is – lies at the heart of our conflicts. Sacks sees this sibling rivalry at the heart of the relations between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Believers of each faith feel that within humanity God has a favored son or chosen people, and they fight other claimants who would rob them of God’s paternal love. Paul claims that faith in Jesus, not Jewish ancestry, makes one a child of God’s promise. Islam incorporates both Judaism and Chris- tianity into its understanding of salvation. Meanwhile the Hebrew Scriptures’ view of sibling rivalry seems straightforward: Ishmael is sent away, and Isaac is blessed; Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Below the surface, however, a deeper and different interpretation lies hidden. In order to overcome this sibling rivalry, Sacks argues, we need to look at these texts anew and read them as we have not read them before. Or, to be more precise, we need to read them as the great rabbis and Talmudists did. Accordingly, in the book’s remaining pages, Sacks offers rabbinic commentary on Genesis and suggests ways of applying it to conflicts in our own time. Before getting into further detail, it is necessary to step back and see what Sacks has done. First, he has accepted contemporary accounts of how human evolu- tion gave rise to our ethical and philosophical frameworks. But, unlike many scientists and philosophers, Sacks does not see religion, traditional morality, and the particular bonds of family and nation as evolutionary stages to outgrow. Instead, he sees them as the solution to our fundamental problems. He knows that we need meaning, identity, and purpose – the very things that secularism would undo. Likewise, Sacks shows that the solution to bad theology is not to secularize it. He does not call for an acid bath of historical criticism for the Quran or for an unmasking of the power dynamics behind the Bible, but rather for reading scripture within an ongoing tradition. We do not need more demythologizing; we need true myths. Sacks then walks through the stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph to show that God does choose some for his covenant, but never rejects those not chosen. Many biblical scholars see these stories as the justification for Israel’s conquest of the land of their neighbors. Not in God’s Name: Confronting Religious Violence, Jonathan Sacks (Schocken Books)