Reviews of the book "The Struggle for Utopia":

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"I found "The Struggle for Utopia" to be a comprehensive, fact-filled, well-organized and very readable explanation of messianic beliefs along the continuum of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. As the author points out, understanding these beliefs within the three different religious contexts isn't some empty academic exercise but a fascinating, enlightening (and at times equally glorious and frightening) picture of the forces driving geopolitics and global conflict. By tracing the three messianic traditions through historical and textual sources regarding the primary individuals responsible for shaping and spreading these eschatological concepts, Dr. Slyper unpacks the complexity of one of the most powerful philosophies guiding much of the world's past, present, and future for better or for worse. Highly recommended reading."

Abigail Leichman, Associate Editor of ISRAEL21c

 

"This book is a must-read for anyone interested in one of the potentially most explosive issues in the world today—messianism in the Middle East. It presents the stories and views of some of the most influential figures in history: Abraham, Moses, the Biblical prophets, Jesus, the Apostles, and Muhammad among others, and charts their influences on both historical and current events.  The book is meticulously documented and contains a wealth of sources. At the same time, it is written in clear and straightforward language, and therefore is accessible to both scholars and laypeople. People of all faiths will gain a richer understanding of their own religion and, more importantly, of others' beliefs. I recommend this book to those interested in history, religion, philosophy, and –most important—the future of the world."

Rose Pack Pilzer, Senior Lecturer at the Hebrew University and professional editor.

 

"Erudite and well-written. This is an impressive survey that covers a great deal of material and puts diverse texts into conversation with one another."

Review on Amazon (5 stars) by Dr. Malka Z. Simkovich, Crown-Ryan Chair of Jewish Studies, Director of Catholic-Jewish Studies, Catholic Theological Union

 

"This book, in seventeen chapters, tells the stories of the individuals who were most involved in developing utopian and messianic concepts for the three main religions. There is much of interest in this wide-ranging book for everyone, regarding both ancient history and understanding contemporary events. It is well-organized and very readable. You will all learn much!"

Review on Amazon (5 stars) by Mitchell First, attorney, author of five books on Jewish history, liturgy and etymology and numerous articles in scholarly publications including Biblical Archaeology Review.

 

"It is a very comprehensive and well written book on a fascinating topic. Messianism has certainly propelled many movements and historical events forward, both in our history as well as in others. One of the positive elements about much of Jewish history is that while we do believe in a messianic future, we are more concerned in perfecting the present. This history helps us to see the beauty as well as the perils of an approach that focuses on the future."

Shulie Mishkin, well-known tourist guide
 

Full review in the Jerusalem Post Magazine on July 15, 2023, "Without fear of damnation. The messianic forces driving global conflict" by Jordana Benami. Click on this link or read below:

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'The Struggle for Utopia': How messianic forces drive global conflict - review

 

While the book provides an equally glorious and frightening picture of the messianic forces driving geopolitics and global conflict, it’s much more than a treatise on messianism.

By JORDANA BENAMI

 

Published: JULY 15, 2023 16:43

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“Why would anyone want to read a book about messianism? After all, the subject is abstruse and irrelevant to most people’s concerns,” Arnold Slyper asks in his prologue to The Struggle for Utopia.

 

“This book will attempt to show that the very opposite is true,” he continues. “Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are messianic religions and their messianic goals have profoundly shaped, and continue to shape, the lives of individuals and the direction of the world we live in.”

 

It is fair to say that the author has achieved his goal with this comprehensive, well-organized, and highly readable explanation of the three messianic traditions, which Slyper defines as “belief that a utopian existence will be created by miraculous or nonmiraculous means under the sovereignty of God, with or without the involvement of a messianic-like figure.”

 

He shows how the concept of a utopian society was developed by the Torah and evolved into a messianic ideal that was later adopted and adapted by Christianity and Islam. 

 

How had messianism evolved throughout history?

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Messianism in its various permutations was driven by personalities whom today we might call “influencers.” Among those singled out by Slyper are Abraham, Moses, several prophets, Rabbi Akiva, Maimonides, Nachmanides, the Vilna Gaon, and Rav A.Y. Kook (in Judaism); John the Baptist, Jesus of Nazareth, and Paul of Tarsus (in Christianity); and Muhammad and Jerusalem Mufti Amin al-Husseini (in Islam).

 

Slyper argues cogently that much of the world’s historic and current attitude toward Jews and Israel – love us or hate us – has been affected by messianic beliefs, which he explains in depth.

 

The prophet Isaiah “had the most influence on the Jewish concept of messianism and, via Judaism, on that of Christianity and Islam,” writes Slyper.

 

“He prophesied that a time will come when the omnipotence of God will be fully revealed to all mankind, and a utopian existence will be created on earth. This period will subsequently be called the messianic age. He wrote that in this messianic age, the righteousness and justice of the Jewish people will become a light unto the nations.”

 

Regarding Christianity, Slyper writes that Paul “developed doctrines more appealing to the gentile world. To do this, he directed the messianism of his new religion towards a spiritual, rather than earthly World to Come and dispensed with most of the laws of Judaism.” He points out that the Book of Revelation gave rise to varying approaches to eschatology and messianism that continue to influence Christian attitudes toward Jews and Israel.

 

As for Muslims, Slyper writes, “Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas hold apocalyptic beliefs and regard the murder of Jews and elimination of Israel as a prelude to the Day of Judgment and World to Come. ISIS and al-Qaeda believe in creating an Islamic caliphate at the expense of global stability. Neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority is able to make an end of the conflict agreement with Israel because of its messianic beliefs.”

 

The last of the 17 chapters, “The Messianic Struggle for the Temple Mount,” predicts that “Muslims will never agree voluntarily to share the Temple Mount. The eschatological aims of Judaism and Islam on the Temple Mount are in total conflict with each other.”

 

While the book provides an equally glorious and frightening picture of the messianic forces driving geopolitics and global conflict, it’s much more than a treatise on messianism.

 

The Struggle for Utopia is also a thorough primer for Jews and non-Jews seeking to understand the foundational stories and core theologies underpinning Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

 

For the most part, these sections serve to explicate the book’s central theme, although one chapter in particular (“The Exodus from Egypt and Canaanite Conquest – Facts or Fiction?”), while fascinating, seemed to me like an unnecessary detour.

 

In the course of presenting the roots of the three monotheistic faiths, Slyper examines the complicated relationship among their followers in antiquity and today and delves into messianism-related topics such as redemption, death, resurrection, jihad, apocalypse, and even Zionism. Theodor Herzl’s Altneuland was, after all, a novel about a Jewish utopia; and Rav Kook “equated Zionism allegorically with the Messiah ben Joseph.”

 

Kook, he notes, “believed that humanity would be redeemed through the spiritual heights the Jewish people would achieve, and through the harmony they would create in the human and cosmic planes.”

 

A retired physician and active hiker and history buff, Slyper is not waiting passively for this ideal to happen; he has started a Facebook forum, “Jewish, Christian and Islamic Messianism Scholarship,” with the ambitious vision of “a utopian world of peace where people of all faiths can coexist without fear of damnation in hell, conversion or annihilation.”

 

It’s safe to assume that we all yearn for a better future free of conflict and hatred; therefore, The Struggle for Utopia is a worthy reference to have on hand in any home or academic library. <

 

The Struggle for Utopia: A History of Jewish, Christian and Islamic Messianism. By Dr. Arnold Slyper Kochav Press368 pages; $30 hardback, $20 paperback. 

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Full review in the Jerusalem Report, September 23 2023 by Judy Goldstein

 

A People Surrounded by Messianism 

  

Messianism could well be considered an abstruse topic that is irrelevant to most people’s concerns. In this well-organized and highly readable book, Arnold Slyper explains that the very opposite is the case and that the messianic goals of Judaism, Christianity and Islam have profoundly shaped and continue to shape the lives of individuals and the direction of the world we live in. He also proposes that many of the external threats for Jews and Israel can only be understood from an appreciation of their messianic basis.

 

Slyper defines messianism as “belief that a utopian existence will be created by miraculous or non-miraculous means under the sovereignty of God, with or without the involvement of a messianic-like figure.”

 

His book takes the form of biographies of the individuals most influential in developing utopian and messianic concepts for Judaism, Christianity and Islam. He elaborates on their basic theologies, how their messianic beliefs were developed from Judaism, the historic context in which these beliefs were developed, and how these faiths would eventually turn against Judaism because of them.

 

He describes how almost 4,000 years ago Abraham received the mission from God to bring blessing to humanity by promoting a universal monotheistic moral code. Abraham was also promised a nation and a land from which this mission would be accomplished. About five hundred years later the prophet Moses received a masterplan at Mount Sinai for creating an egalitarian, caring and holy society under the sovereignty of God.

 

Isaiah is regarded by Slyper as the most influential prophet in terms of messianism. Isaiah comforted the Jewish people that although they had been unable to create the ideal society promoted by the Torah, a golden age could yet be realized here on earth when “they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nations shall not lift the sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” But what did he mean by this? Was he talking allegorically about a more perfect age following an imminent redemption or a messianic era at the End of Time? Slyper discusses this issue and also compares the utopian visions of other prophets such as Jeremiah, Micah, Haggai and Zechariah.

 

He describes the differing approaches of Maimonides and Nachmanides to the messianic age. By way of contrast, there is a chapter on Theodor Herzl and a discussion of his book “Altneuland” as a secular alternative to a utopian Jewish state. The messianic ideas of Rav Avraham Isaac Kook are discussed and also the influence of his son Rav Zvi Yehuda Kook on the Gush Emunim movement, a messianic movement that promotes Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria. In the last chapter, he discusses the relevance of messianic ideas to the Temple Mount and the messianic conflict between Judaism and Islam for its control.

 

With respect to Christianity, Slyper elaborates on how Paul developed original doctrines that were appealing to the gentile world and how he directed the messianism of his new religion towards a spiritual rather than earthly World to Come that would be achieved through a mystical union with Jesus. Within the supersession ideas of early Christianity for this world and the next and its need to define itself in relation to Judaism were created the seeds of Christian hatred towards Jews.

 

He also elaborates on the creation of Islam by Muhammad and the development of his eschatological beliefs. He proposes that hatred towards Jews to the point of advocating genocide is a recent phenomenon and he focuses on Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Mufti of Jerusalem and a founding member of the Muslim Brotherhood, who mobilized the Muslim world against Israel and Jews. He writes that like al-Husseini, “Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas hold apocalyptic beliefs and regard the murder of Jews and elimination of Israel as a prelude to the Day of Judgment and World to Come”. Moreover “Neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority is able to make an end of the conflict agreement with Israel because of its messianic beliefs”.

 

The book also includes a chapter on the archeological evidence for the exodus from Egypt and conquest of Canaan. While interesting, these seem tangential to the theme of the book and could easily have been omitted.

 

Far from being an irrelevancy, Slyper has shown convincingly that messianism is highly relevant to the Jewish world today. This is an original and thought-provoking book that covers many important topics. It can be a valuable addition for any home and academic library.

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Full review in the JewishLink, March 28, 2024 by Judy Goldstein (click here for link) 

 

A Perspective on Utopia That Is Germane to the Modern Day

 

Highlighting “The Struggle for Utopia. A History of Jewish, Christian and Islamic Messianism” by Dr. Arnold Slyper. Kochav Press 2023. 368 pages. Paperback. ISBN: 979-8-9865478-0-0. Hardback 979-8-9865478-1-7.

 

Dr. Arnold Slyper wrote his book—“The Struggle for Utopia. A History of Jewish, Christian and Islamic Messianism”—because he thought that the topic was germane to the forces affecting the Jewish world. Little did he imagine that so many of its pages would act themselves out on October 7 of last year. Slyper now lives in Israel.

The book consists of the stories of the individuals most influential in developing utopian and messianic concepts for Judaism, Christianity and Islam, beginning with Abraham and ending with the messianic genocidal program of Haj Amin al-Husseini, the mufti of Jerusalem. As a founding member of the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Husseini set the religious tone for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that continues to this day. He also promoted genocide within Palestine as mufti of Jerusalem and later as a spokesman for the Nazis in Berlin.

The book is written from an Orthodox Jewish perspective, but it is not about selling messianism to its readers. Rather, it is an exploration of how the messianic ideas of the three major monotheistic religions developed. Slyper explains how the Torah set out to create a utopian society, how the messianic concept was formulated by the prophets of Israel, and he discusses Isaiah, Micha, Jeremiah, Haggai and Zacharia, and how their words were interpreted by later Jewish tradition. He devotes an entire chapter to a comparison of the very different approaches of Maimonides and Nachmanides to the messianic era and the World to Come.

Dr. Arnold Slyper

The book continues with the ideas and influence of Lurianic Kabbala, and Theodor Herzl’s secular alternative of the utopian vision described in his book “Altneuland,” (which happens to be extremely close to current reality). Finally, he describes the highly influential messianic ideas of Rav Abraham Isaac Kook. Without an appreciation of the ideas of Rav Kook and his son Rav Zvi Yehuda Kook, it is difficult to understand the messianic trends within Israeli politics today that are promoted by some religious Zionist politicians.

The final chapter of the book is about the messianic struggle for the Temple Mount. Slyper writes that “The eschatological (end of time) ideas of Judaism and Islam on the Temple Mount are in total conflict with each other.” Thus, “Muslims will never agree voluntarily to share the Temple Mount.”

Another aim of this book is to show how Christianity and Islam borrowed their End of Time ideas from Judaism but eventually turned against Judaism.

The chapters on Islam begin with the ideas of Muhammad. Slyper explains the difference in Jewish and Islamic ethics is that “the basis of Islamic ethics is the Qur’an and the words and actions of Muhammad as reported in the hadiths” while that of Judaism is the imitation of God. In the chapter on Amin al-Husseini, Slyper elaborates on the evolution of Fundamental Islam, and the apocalyptic, messianic belief of Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas of eliminating the State of Israel and killing the Jewish people as a prelude to the End of Days.

His chapters on Christianity start with the messianic ideas of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth and then their reinterpretation by Paul of Tarsus. All these influential figures were, of course, Jewish. He states that “within Paul’s supersession ideas and the need for Christianity to define itself in relation to Judaism were born unintentionally the seeds of Christian hatred of Jews.” There is also a section on how Christian interpretations of the book of Revelations influence Democratic and Republican policies in the United State in relation to Israel.

This book is a thorough primer for both Jews and non-Jews seeking to understand the foundational stories and core theologies underpinning Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It also provides a comprehensive, well-organized and highly readable explanation of their messianic traditions. All this is highly relevant to what is happening around us today. In a skillful way, he puts each of the chapters in conversation with one another and in this way tracks the progression of the messianic concept throughout history. This book is a fascinating read.

 

About the author:

Dr. Arnold Slyper is a retired physician, a pediatric endocrinologist. He was a full professor of pediatrics at several US medical schools and published 46 scientific papers, most as a first author. He currently lives in Israel and writes and speaks on Jewish history, comparative religion and Jewish philosophy. He is the author of three books - “Family Friendly Mediterranean-style Cooking: With a Groundbreaking Guide to Weight Loss, Weight Control and Cardiovascular Health,” “In and Around Jerusalem for Everyone. The Best Walks, Hikes and Outdoor Swimming” “and “The Struggle for Utopia. A History of Jewish, Christian and Islamic Messianism.” All these books are available on Amazon. These books have been reviewed extremely favorably and his tour guide on Jerusalem is a best-seller. About this book, the Jerusalem Post wrote: “The Struggle for Utopia is a worthy reference to have on hand in any home or academic library” and the Jerusalem Report wrote: “Slyper has shown convincingly that messianism is highly relevant to the Jewish world today. This is an original and thought-provoking book that covers many important topics.” He is also the author of a number of magazine and newspaper articles, including “What are the roots of Islamic hatred in Gaza, West Bank? published in the Jerusalem Post and recently "Israel's war against Islamic messianism" published by the Jewish News Syndicate. He manages several popular websites including Bible-pedia.org, which is designed to bridge the divide between modern Biblical scholarship and traditional Judaism. He is the administrator for two Facebook groups – “In and Around Jerusalem” and “Jewish, Christian and Islamic Messianism Scholarship.”