The Mind of the Bible-Believer

by Edmund D. Cohen

Bemusedly observing many kinds of religious expression from an erudite, skeptical distance, psychology professor and attorney Edmund D. Cohen thought himself advanced beyond such illusions. But a decade ago, when he found himself among the militant "born-again" Christians, he fell under the influence of powerful factors against which his extensive academic knowledge about religions and all his intellectual arguments were no defense. The "born-again's" religious experience seemed so real and salutary to Cohen that, for several years, he was a dedicated "born-again" believer. Eventually, Cohen broke free of the psychological stranglehold of Christian fundamentalism. In so doing, he gained the insights necessary to write this book. In his investigations into the phenomenon of Bible belief, he realized that New Testament Christianity is history's most successful psychological manipulation. Unraveling the psychological devices around which the New Testament was built, Cohen's book illustrates in great detail how these ploys function. Cohen sees much harm arising from the huge explosion of the Christian Right during the last two decades. He demonstrates how the indoctrination received in these churches undermines the mental health of individuals, causing widespread suffering due to the victims' reluctance to speak out. He also shows how this indoctrination makes bible-believers into unwitting supporters of far-right political causes they would otherwise reject. Beginning in 1984, Cohen conducted a videotape monitoring of Pat Robertson. In 1987, he joined forces with Gerard Thomas Straub (a former producer of the 700 Club and author of Salvation for Sale) to expose Robertson's extremist tendencies. Cohen made important behind-the-scenes contributions to stories about Robertson aired on NBC News with Tom Brokaw and West 57th Street, and to two front-page stories in the New York Times. In the course of his investigation, Cohen made numerous radio and television appearances. The final chapter in The Mind of the Bible-Believer chronicles that effort.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction

428 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 1988

Reviews

[Daniel Rickenbach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely a must read for those born and raised in fundamentalist Bible-Believing churches. It would be helpful those who have experimented with fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christianity of the 21st century as well.

Many moderns and even modern liberal Christians may wonder "how" that in the 21st century people still believe in the Bible to the detriment of their own careers, family, and personal well-being. It is not because of stupidity, rather as Cohen outlines, the matter is one of calculated mind control mechanisms inherent in the Bible itself and the messages of it's interpreters.

The Mind of the Bible-Believer is an "insider's" experience on the whole phenomenon. Cohen's credentials in Psychology and his criminal law background are very unique. His arguments and observations in this work are timeless as regarding "Bible-Believers" in the Western world.

[Michael P.]

I don’t need to be convinced that 90% of Evangelicals are messed up: petty smug simpletons who don’t understand the bible they venerate. The enforcement of conformist behavior is alarming, but one should make a distinction between fundamentalists and Mormon/Jehovah’s Witness like cults. Sociologists have developed criteria to distinguish them, but Cohen does not really. This and the undisciplined writing of this book is why I gave up on it. He spends a lot of words on background, but does not make clear how each part of the background will contribute to his argument. The polemical tone grows tiresome, and the writing is so dull it stopped seeming worth making myself read it in the hope of finding something worthwhile. No stars because I did not finish the book.

[Richard Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was difficult to get through as it was on the stodgy side. I read it three times before coming to terms with Cohen's verbosity. Still, I got much from the read, especially on the subject of predestination, a biblical subject that has always fascinated me.

I grew up among the fundamentalists. They used to call the Calvinists heretics for believing in predestination, since no god could be so cruel. That's exactly what Jacobus Arminius claimed. But he was only to produce 23 or so passages that seemed to support his free will doctrine. Calvin, on the other hand, produced more than 120 passages supporting his views. While Arminius couldn't reconcile Calvin's verses to his own, Calvin did quite fine with reconciling the Arminian verses.

I recommend this book, in spite of the stodginess.

[Ross Creuswell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little-known, landmark work that is as bold and prescient as it is flawed and idiosyncratic. Cohen's hefty tome, published toward the close of the Reagan era and during the steady ascent of the Christian Right, is packed with brilliant insight into the psychological perils of Christian fundamentalism, but would have benefited from the services of a firm-handed editor. If you can hack your way through the dense jungle of run-on sentences, conceptual rabbit-trails, and exhaustive footnotes, you may very well find profound treasures within.

When this book was published, there was no Internet, and there were very few books available written in the latter part of the twentieth century that took critical aim at literal Bible belief and its dangers. Those few books were also published by Prometheus Books. Therefore, people trying to find their way out of what Cohen calls "the semantic labyrinth" of conservative Christian culture were hard-pressed to find helpful or sympathetic voices in the world of books, without going way back in time to Bertrand Russell, Robert Ingersoll or even Thomas Paine.

Cohen's book, even with all its quirkiness and its labored (and at times tedious) writing style, was the primary catalyst that helped spring me from the mental trap of literal Bible belief. I owe Dr. Cohen a huge debt for this reason alone.

[Ancient Weaver · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weird book.

Some of Cohen's particular insights about the psychology of the fundamentalist Christian are right on. At the same time, he seems to have the idea that the Bible was written as a psychological mind control device for brainwashing. Which is...um, out there. All I can say is that Cohen's a psychologist, and he has a firmer grasp on the psychology of fundamentalist Christians than he does on Biblical studies.

The book would have been much improved by a great deal more editing. The Mind of the Bible Believer is a huge mass of material on a whole range of topics all just sort of thrown together. It makes the book difficult to read as Cohen shifts from one thing right into another without a more logical structure to help the reader see where it is all going.

Still, it can be an interesting book with gems of insight to discover if you have the patience to slog on through.

[Brennon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book became my new "Bible" after leaving fundamentalism.