Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith | Jon Krakauer

Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith | Jon Krakauer | Enlightening and a great read!

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Under the Banner o...

	Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith Jon Krakauer Anchor, 2004 - 432 pages average customer review:based on 724 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Religion Gone Too Far

Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith

I read this book in shock and awe BEFORE the news of the raid on the YFZ ranch in Texas. At times it was tough reading because I found myself being heartsick and angry that such atrocities are condoned in the United States today.

Jon Krakauer has turned from extreme adventure to extreme religion in this inside look at a fundamentalist Mormon cult, now about 40,000 strong and worth hundreds of millions of dollars, operating in Canada, Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Texas.

While he details the lives of many of it's members and their practice of middle-aged men marrying multiple, often underage girls, to produce as many children as possible, the main focus of this story is the 1984 slaying of a mother/wife and her daughter. Brothers Dan and Ron Lafferty claiming direct orders from God, brutally murdered their brother Allen's wife and infant daughter.

Jailhouse interviews with Dan Lafferty are chillingly horrific when one is told by a seemingly coherent man that he had direct inspiration from God and he believes he was justified in perpetrating the murders.

Krakauer gives a history of Mormonism, the decision to renounce polygamy to gain statehood and the splitting off by various fundamentalist sects that felt this move amounted to apostasy. Is is also a history of denial - of mainstream Mormonism's denial to acknowledge the damage done to young women forced into marriage to men old enough to be their fathers and grandfathers, of this country's denial to believe that a cult as dangerous as the Taliban exists right here on American soil and their brushing aside the fact that in Arizona and Utah, hundreds of women and children, the offspring of these non-legal "spiritual marriages", are supported at the taxpayers' expense.

Read this book and be prepared to be outraged.

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Enlightening and a great read!

I am of Mormon heritage and no longer belong to that church. This book was extremely enlightening, well-written, and answered a lot of questions I have had.

An enthralling narrative that non-fiction seldom offers

Although I have to admit that I haven't finished the book yet (at page 240), I would highly recommend this to anyone who has the slightest interest in history or religion. Although this book tells a very engaging story about the history of the Mormon religion and some of the low lights that were present through its founding and the violence which fundamentalist Mormons have practice as there is a view that it is divinely required to 'spill the blood' of the guilty... this is a very telling view of general religion and fundamentalism. I believe that we see this same type of fanatacism in the violence of Muslim fundamentalism and we also saw the same thing centuries ago in the purges of non-Catholics by the Inquisition.

In short, this is a very well written book that draws you in and casts a not-so-flattering light on the history of the LDS church. It is not a biased hack job, but a peek behind the covers at the history of the fastest growing religion in North America. It is a good read and very highly recommended!

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An Exciting but Ultimately Disappointing Read

This book was thrilling and engrossing to read, but at the same time I didn't like it.

Let me explain. It was a fascinating book, but there's a strong undercurrent of condescension in Krakauer's tone -- there are little asides that imply (or state right out) that religious people are just plain crazy, and that this (the murders that are the focal point of the book) was just the natural course that religion -- all religion -- takes.

He's an outsider, yes, and that fact alone doesn't mean he can't write about the FLDS, but he scrutinizes his subjects in a way he fails to scrutinize himself, and in sensationalizing the FLDS he treats them as not quite human. It's like he's an old-school British explorer venturing into the quaint little village of some savage tribe.

It's not that I don't have problems myself with the FLDS, but Krakauer can't seem to separate the people he writes about -- several of whom are deeply disturbed -- from the concept of religious faith.

Ultimately, it's an interesting and indulgent read, but just remember to take Krakauer's slant and commentary with a grain of salt.

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Good, but beware the political and anti-religious agenda

Full disclosure up front: I'm a conservative Christian. Krakauer, on the other hand, does not disclose that he's an agnostic until the very end of the book. It seems likely that he is a liberal as well, but he does not disclose that at all.

Conservative Christians have reason to be upset with some of Krakauer's narrative. In an early section where he's describing Mormons, he points out that the overwhelming majority are "obviously" Republican, and he continues mentioning it throughout the book. This is analogous to writing a book about African Americans living on welfare in Baltimore's crack houses and noting that they are "obviously" mostly Democrats. Both statements are "obviously" true, but Krakauer's use of this non sequitur reveals something about his agenda. Dr. Bruce Ivins, the anthrax killer, was a registered Democrat, but does that really help explain the mindset that motivated him to mail those poisoned letters?

Krakauer also repeatedly makes the point that belief in God is irrational. On this I would strenuously disagree, as would the likes of respected physicist Dr. John Polkinghorne and DNA scientist Dr. Francis Collins. Unlike Krakauer, whose degree is in environmental studies from a liberal arts college, I have a very extensive education and background in science and engineering. I find it difficult to believe that the vast complexity of the universe (see "anthropic fine-tuning"), and the complexity of life itself, could happen by random chance, fighting the second law of thermodynamics (entropy) the entire way. For many other engineers and scientists I know, believing in a creator seems statistically more likely than believing in the arguments supporting creation through random events. In fact, a recent study showed that two-thirds of scientists believe in God and seventy six percent of doctors believe in God.

Krakauer rightfully points out that all religions have spilled blood. What he doesn't point out is that some religions, historically, have spilled much more than others. He also fails to point out that, in the past century, fervent belief in non-religious ideologies has led to the killing of far more people. (See Fascism/Nazism with its ties to Darwinism/Eugenics, as well as Communism.)

Near the end of the book, Krakauer takes a moment to connect the Christian beliefs of George W. Bush and John Ashcroft to the insanity defense. I see no reason to do this other than to score a cheap political point. He could have just as easily drawn the parallel with any famous scientist who believes in God, or even a well-respected evangelist such as Billy Graham.

With all of these caveats, I would still highly recommend the book. Conservative Christians are accustomed to being bashed by the news and entertainment industries anyway - far worse than what Krakauer deals out.

This is the fourth book I've read by Krakauer. Like the others, it was well-researched and fascinating. It should be a cautionary tale for anyone who dives too deeply into any belief, religious or otherwise, without maintaining a critical eye.

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