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Sarah Masters reviews the audio series

The Battle for God

“One of the most startling developments of the late twentieth century has been the emergence in every major religious tradition of a militant piety,” Karen Armstrong says in her introduction to this 6-hour audio series.

In The Battle for God, Armstrong, a theologian and former nun and author of the best-selling A History of God, describes in a vivid and empathetic way the conditions that give rise to fundamentalism. She also takes an in-depth look at how fundamentalism in Christianity, Judaism and Islam conforms to the same basic pattern of “embattled religiosity against western secular modernity,” an excellent reminder to US chaplains ministering to a pluralistic culture.

Armstrong focuses on Protestant fundamentalism in the United States, Jewish fundamentalism in Israel, and Muslim fundamentalism in both Egypt and Iran, so that she can delineate the major differences between the Sunni and Shiite divisions in Islam. Armstrong also notes the existence of fundamentalist factions in Buddhism and Hinduism, among others.

An illustration of fundamentalism as this “dread of modernity brought on by a … religious fear of annihilation,” comes to life in Armstrong’s description of the fundamentalism that arose as the result of the exile of Jews and Moors from Spain in 1492. This series is particularly interesting because the author speaks not only to the spiritual factors but also to the geographical, culture and economic factors attributable to the rise of fundamentalism over the centuries.

She contends that “fundamentalist movements are complex, innovative and modern rather than throwbacks to the past,” and calls on all individuals to defuse an escalating conflict in this world by trying to “understand the pain and perception of the other side.”

Completed: 2000
Running Time: 6 Hours / 5-CD set
Publisher: HarperAudio, Harper Collins Publishers

If you are interested in purchasing this 5-CD set, you can do so at www.hartleyfoundation.org. Just click on “Masterworks” on the homepage for more information. The cost of the film series is $29.95 for a 5-CD set.

Sarah Masters is the Managing Director of the Hartley Film Foundation, a non-profit foundation dedicated to cultivation, support, production and distribution of the best documentaries and audio meditations on world religions, spirituality, ethics and well-being.

Book Review

Nancy Berlinger, Ph.D., M.Div., reviews

Ethics of Health Care: An Introductory Textbook

Professional chaplains working in health care organizations need a strong working knowledge of several branches of ethics: clinical ethics at the bedside; organizational ethics within an institution or network; social ethics reflecting the organization’s relationship to its community; and professional ethics describing the duties of chaplains as professional caregivers. Chaplains who serve on ethics committees or IRB's have a further obligation to explore the issues these entities are responsible for, addressing on behalf of individual patients and the system in general, and to understand the relevant guidelines, laws, regulations, and other rules that may apply to specific situations, such research on human subjects or the termination of life-sustaining treatment.

One in five hospitals in the United States are “Catholic,” in that they are sponsored by Roman Catholic religious orders or are part of networks affiliated with Catholic institutions. In these hospitals, ethical decision making – whether at the bedside; in determining organizational, social, and professional priorities; or with respect to the language and tools used – is typically conducted with some reference to the Catholic moral theological tradition, and to guidelines such as the “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services,” published by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Chaplains who work in hospitals that are part of Catholic health care systems may or may not be Catholic themselves, and, even if Catholic, may not be familiar with their own tradition’s scholarship on health care ethics. Ashley and O’Rourke’s Ethics of Health Care may be useful to chaplains working in Catholic hospitals who want a basic, “textbook” understanding of Catholic teachings relevant to the care of the sick and the ethical dilemmas that arise in this context.

This is not the book for the reader seeking a critical perspective on these teachings, and there is an unfortunate tendency on the part of the authors to use straw-man arguments against “secular” groups or positions, and to make assertions without citing sources. (Some assertions, such as the claim that condoms should be considered “questionable” as a method of contraception “because they are often found ineffective,” with no data cited, are especially troubling in terms of the responsible handling of scientific data in a textbook.)

With these caveats in mind, the professional chaplain who wishes to grasp the basics of Catholic health care ethics, and, in particular, the theological reference points for clinical ethicists and ethics committees in Catholic hospitals, may find this book a helpful primer. The authors’ attention to the profession of chaplaincy and the spiritual care of Catholic (and non-Catholic) patients is engrossing: this brief section at the beginning of the book’s last chapter would be an excellent discussion piece for a pastoral care department, CPE program, or ethics committee in a Catholic hospital.

Ashley, Benedict M., O.P., and Kevin D. O’Rourke, O.P., Ethics of Health Care: An Introductory Textbook, 3rd Edition (Georgetown, 2002), pp 260.

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