Fight Against Idols This page intentionally left blank Svante Lundgren F i g h t Against I d o l s Erich Fromm on Religion, Judaism and the Bible £ PETER LANG Frankfurt am Main · Berlin · Bern · New York · Paris · Wien Die Deutsche Bibliothek-CIP-Einheitsaufnahme Lundgren, Svante: Fight against idols : Erich Fromm on religion, judaism and the bible I Svante Lundgren. -Frankfurt am Main ; Berlin ; Bern ; New York; Paris; Wien: Lang, 1998 ISBN 3-631-32757-9 ISBN 3-631-32757-9 US-ISBN 0-8204-3557-0 © Peter Lang GmbH Europaischer Verlag der Wissenschaften Frankfurt am Main 1998 All rights reserved. All parts of this publication are protected by copyright. Any utilisation outside the strict limits of the copyright law, without the permission of the publisher, is forbidden and liable to prosecution. This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming, and storage and processing in electronic retrieval systems. Printed in Germany 1 2 4 5 6 7 To Frank and Jolanta Be brave, and let us be brave together. The Talmud This page intentionally left blank Author's Foreword Living with Erich Fromm for one year has been an interesting and rewarding experience. I feel sorry for not ever having met him when he was alive. Two persons have been of extreme importance for the writing of this book. My Doktorvater Professor Karl-Johan Illman suggested that I should do research on Fromm. It was an excellent suggestion which I did not hesitate to follow. Professor Illman has always been ready to discuss my work with me and to help me with useful advice. Dr. Rainer Funk at the Erich Fromm Archives in Tiibingen guided me to the essential material and always answered my many questions. I wish to express my gratitude to these two men, who both are not only eminent scholars but also true gentlemen. I also want to thank other persons who have helped me. Susan Sinisalo has corrected my English manuscript. Many friends have encouraged me during my work. I dare not name any of these because of the risk that someone will be forgotten. They, and not least my wife and my children, have demonstrated to me the truth of Erich Fromm's claim that the only solution to man's existential dilemma is love. Pargas, September 1997 Svante Lundgren 7 This page intentionally left blank Contents 1. Introduction 11 1.1. The aim and structure of the study 12 1.2. Material and method 13 1.3. Review of research 14 2. View of Religion 17 2.1. What is religion? 17 2.1.1. Progressive and regressive religions 19 2.1.2. Authoritarian and humanistic religions 21 2 .1.3. The reality beyond the religions 24 2 .1.4. Religion in contemporary society 26 2.2. The religious experience 28 2.3. Buddhism 30 2.4. Transcendental Meditation 38 2.5. Scientology 40 2. 6. Christianity 41 2. 6 .1. Early Christianity 41 2.6.2. Thomas Aquinas 47 2.6.3. The Reformation 49 2.6.4. Contemporary Christianity 57 2.7. Mysticism 64 2.7.1. What is mysticism? 64 2.7.2. Islamic mysticism 65 2.7.3. Meister Eckhart 67 2. 7. 4. Thomas Merton 71 2.8. Conclusions 73 3. Fromm and Judaism 77 3 .1. Biographical background 77 3.2. The Jewish Law: dissertation of 1922 82 3.2.1. The Karaites 84 3.2.2. Reform Judaism 85 3.2.3. Hasidism 88 3.3. The Torah and the Talmud 92 3.4. Fromm's Jewish mentors 95 3.4 .1. Maimonides 95 3.4.2. Spinoza 98 3.4.3. Hermann Cohen 101 9