Jesus Christ Superstition

Summary

While Christian faith cannot be reduced to mere superstition, few would deny that Christianity is too easily plagued by superstition. Indeed, many Christian theologians have tried to purify Christianity of magical thinking in favor of genuine piety.

In Jesus Christ Superstition, Robert M. Price examines this confusing intersection of Christianity and superstition. Is "practicing the presence of God" actually a variety of paranoia? Is having a "personal relationship with Jesus Christ" really akin to a child playing with an imaginary friend? At what point does a religious belief or practice become an obsessive neurosis? These are searching questions from someone who himself spent many years as an Evangelical Christian.

Price finds that the source of superstition in Christianity is the objectification of the transcendent. As a result, he argues, many of the most destructive superstitions within Christianity are unfortunate accretions to the faith and by no means essential to it. In that regard, many of the beliefs and practices that interfere with a life-transforming piety could in principle be purged from Christianity to the glad benefit of its adherents. Christians who believe that an unexamined faith is not worth having will profit from struggling with Jesus Christ Superstition.