Nonfiction Book Reviews Religion
Book Reviews: Religion
© Copyright 1999-2005, Skylar Hamilton Burris
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and other topics
The Bhagavad-Gita * * * * * * * (7)
Translated by Barbara Stoler Miller
This is the most famous portion of the long Hindu epic the Mahabharata.
In this tale, Krishna, the incarnate god, is charioteer of Arjuna. Arjuna is a great
warrior, but he is torn because it is his own kinsmen and teachers who have become his
enemies in battle. He hesitates, and so Krishna must goad him to action. The work takes
the form of a philosophical dialogue.
When we learn about epics in school, we read The Iliad, The Odyssey,
and Paradise Lost. We are the lesser, I believe, for not also reading The
Bahagavad-Gita. It may not be as eventful as Homer's works, or as sublime as
Milton's, but it is nonetheless superb poetry and worthy of contemplation. India has
perhaps not influenced western culture to the degree that Greece and England have, but it
has influenced literature, including T.S. Eliot, who was familiar with the Bhagavad-Gita.
The philosophy is a little hard to follow, and it often seems contradictory. As
a Christian, I also disagree with large portions of it. But I can still enjoy this epic as
a literary work, because it contains much beautiful poetry.
Quote: It is better in this world
to beg for scraps of food
than to eat meals
smeared with the blood
of elders I killed
at the height of their power
while their goals
were still desires.
We don't know which weight
is worse to bear--
our conquering them
or their conquering us.
The Bible * * * * * * * * * * (10)
The greatest book ever compiled, the most important story ever told. Considering
that it consists of so many different types of literature (history, poetry, prophecy,
parable, proverb, short story, epic, etc.) written by so many different authors (Moses,
Jeremiah, Matthew, Luke, etc.) over a period of thousands of years, The Bible is amazingly
unified. I prefer the King James Version for its beauty, poetry, and majesty, but if
you have considerable trouble understanding Elizabethan English, try the NIV. Avoid
the Living Bible, because it paraphrases the life out of the text. If you
are reading for the first time, I recommend first reading the Gospel of John, then
Genesis, the beginning of Exodus, Job, Ecclesiastes, Esther, the remaining three gospels,
and then the remaining Old and New Testaments. For study aids, see my bible study section.
 The
Bible Code * * * * * (5)
by Michael Drosnin
The topic is fascinating, but the writing is rather banal. The chapter notes
(which are written as block paragraphs and not referenced by number in the text) are as
long as the book's primary content. The author can seem a bit repetitive at
times. Having said that, the work is worth reading simply because of its interesting
subject matter.
What is the code? The Torah (particularly Genesis) is examined in the original
Hebrew. All spaces are removed between words. Interested parties then use a
computer program to search for words that are formed from letters an equal distance apart,
and, as best as I can understand, these words can run forward, backward, horizontally,
vertically, or diagonally. (I suppose the text is arranged in grids, but how the row
length is determined is a mystery to me.) Drosnin, having been alerted to a
statistical peculiarity in the Hebrew Torah by a Jewish mathematician, has turned the
so-called "Bible Code" into a kind of hunt and peck game. He has written
this book (and a sequel that also offers predictions of a great comet hitting the earth in
the near future) in order to reveal the existence of the code to the world and to issue a
warning about a potential worldwide atomic holocaust.
Of course, searching for hidden codes can become a kind of word game. Drosnin
seems to spend a lot of time plugging things into his computer program just to see what
will come up. He can find quite a bit after the fact, but then, he is no doubt
looking for words that fit historical events and excluding words that do not fit, so the
code seems more accurate than it really is. He did, however, find "Yitzach
Rabin" and "assassin" using the same Equal Letter Sequence, before Rabin
was assassinated. And he did try to warn Rabin. But even Drosnin would not
claim the code predicts the future, because you can play the same number game and find
false information as well. (Indeed, he spent some time warning the Israeli
government of a possible 1996 atomic attack that never materialized.) He claims only
that the code predicts the possible future, and it is our choices that ultimately
determine the actual future.
Is the Bible code real? Well, according to the mathematicians who first studied
and reported on the code, the odds against finding the significant linkages that have been
discovered in the Torah in any block of text this size range from 1 in 100 to as low
as 1 in 5 million. If this is true, then the discovery of hidden codes is certainly
statistically significant. Yet using this peculiarity the way Drosnin does, as a
kind of tarot deck for predicting the potential future, isn't much different than trying
to apply the words of Revelation to modern day events in an attempt to predict the
Apocalypse. There may be truth to Revelation, but people in every generation have
applied the prophecies to their own times, and falsely perceived their ultimate
fulfillment there. Those who perceived the End Times were coming during the Cold
War said Magog represented Russia; now that Russia has crumbled and fallen, it represents
Islamic fanatics. Likewise, Drosnin foresees an atomic attack in 1996, but when it
doesn't materialize, he searches the code again and finds the word
"delayed." The words are there, hidden in the code, but he selects only
those that seem significant to him at the time. One wonders, if Rabin wasn't killed,
would he be able to search the code and find a word like "delayed" that
explained away the false prediction?
From a literary perspective, Drosnin's presentation seems fantastic. He is a
journalist, not a scholar, and he writes like a modern journalist--a lot of spin and only
a little substance. He doesn't spend much time explaining the details of the
experiments that mathematicians have used to test the Bible code, nor does he divulge how
far apart the ELS's are that he uses to find his significant words. He addresses
some objections to the validity of the Bible code, but he does not do a thorough job.
He does include in his appendix a scholarly article about the code, but it would
have been nice to receive the same degree of detailed information in layman's terms.
What little he tells us of the process of "decoding" the Torah leaves many
unanswered questions.
One of the most amusing aspects of this book is Drosnin's attempt to explain how the
code--assuming it is real and is predictive--can possibly exist without God. For
Drosnin is a secularist, and though he admits that the Bible could not have been encoded
by a human intelligence, he will not call the intelligence that encoded it God. At
one point, Drosnin seems to imply that alien beings with an advanced technology encoded
the Bible for our benefit some 3,000 years ago, and that the Torah is itself a kind of
super computer, a technology we do not yet have the power to comprehend and unlock
fully. This alien-theology is becoming increasingly popular these days, and I find
it a little disturbing. But for many atheists, it has become the only way to explain
what otherwise must appear as proofs of God's existence. (Since the odds against
everything falling into place just so to allow a human being to evolve from a single cell
organism into a Beethoven or a Michelangelo are astronomical, some now argue that aliens
are directing our evolution. Never mind where the aliens came from.) It
is ironic that Drosnin believes the Bible code to be the "sealed book"
prophesied in the Bible, but he does not believe in the God who is the core subject of
that same Bible.
 Death on a Friday Afternoon * * * * * * * * * (8)
Meditations on the Last Words of Jesus From the Cross
by Richard John Neuhaus
(Review added March 2003)
Death on a Friday Afternoon
explores Christ’s final words form the cross, as they are recorded varyingly in
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It reveals,
also, our need for a savior and expresses the beauty of the redemption of man.
Having read a great many of Neuhaus's penetrating, satirical blurbs
in the “While We’re At It” section of First
Things, I had anticipated that Death on a Friday
Afternoon would contain a considerable amount of depth.
At first, I was disappointed in this expectation. As I began to read, I felt the book was only
somewhat less repetitive and simplistic than the great mass of devotional literature. As I pressed on, however, the insights grew more
penetrating, and what had appeared as repetition soon seemed almost poetic. (At
times, however, I still felt there was bit too much circumlocution.) Some of the
passages in this book are downright moving. The author explores many serious
questions, delivering, among other things, new insight into the true nature of the
missionary imperative.
Neuhaus has a wealth of information at his mind’s edge, and he
draws on literature, history, and theology regularly, but these allusions are never
presented in a “see how smart I am” manner; they are always natural. His prose is not complicated, but nor is it
dumbed-down; he does not speak to us as though we were mentally children. Those who believe Christ died only for the elect
will have much to object to in the theology of this book, but I think even they will find
the writing affecting and at times convincing.
Quotes:
"The Christian life is about living to the glory of God.
It is not a driven, frenetic, sweated, interminable quest for saving souls. It is
doing for his glory what God has given us to do. . . Souls are saved by saved souls who
live out their salvation by thinking and living differently, with a martyr's resolve, in a
world marked by falsehood, baseness, injustice, impurity, ugliness, and
mediocrity."
". . . nobody, absolutely nobody, is alone in the heart of
darkness. Christ has been there; Christ is there. From the cross point of
history the word goes out that those who think they are abandoned by God are in fact not
abandoned . . . There is absolutely nobody seated on the long mourner's bench of the
eternal pity who is in a place where Jesus has not been before, where he is not now.
This is what it means to find ourselves at the foot of the cross, which is the
alternative to the muzzle of the gun and every other act of despair."
Dismissing God * * * * * * * (7)
by D. Bruce Lockerbie
This book chronicles the modern writer's struggle against religion, particularly
Christianity. It traces the abdication of belief from "reluctant
agnosticism" and "uncomfortable unbelief" (Matthew Arnold, Emily Dickinson,
Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville) to "the absorption of Christian doctrine into a
melange of pagan shamanism" (the Romantics), to "cold contempt for any
suggestion that religion or religious concerns merit serious reflection" (The
Nihilists).
Lockerbie's categories and definitions are too narrowly drawn. In which cubby hole, for
instance, does one place a complex author such as Stephen Crane, who produced both
harangues against God and poems like "In heaven. . . "? In the author's
chapter on Stephen Crane, "Nature's Abominable Injustice and Indifference," he
does not delve deeply enough into this enigma of Crane's literature. The chapters in
and of themselves are quite interesting, but the author's attempt to tie them together
through some overarching progression, structure, or theme falls short of clarity and
consistency.
Although the book is not well tied together, it is an excellent overview of the
treatment of religion in the major literature of the last two centuries. It is well
written and easy to read--there is no unintelligible academic rant to be found here.
Anyone with a basic knowledge of literature can approach this book without fear, and even
a long-time student of literature is likely to find something new and stimulating in its
pages.
Quote: This is the final challenge in a world shriveled
by "the abdication of belief," atrophied by contempt beyond disbelief--the
challenge to embrace and weep with those whose souls are devoid of faith. For while
weakened by stammering tongues and the limits of one's own imagination, we who claim to
believe nonetheless possess two certain gifts: not the power of rhetoric but the Word, not
an ignis fatuus but the Light.
The Essential Kabalah * * * * * (5)
Translated by Daniel C. Matt
To my disappointment, this collection of Jewish mysticism seemed to be missing many of
the myths, stories, and legends I have heard were in the Kabalah and was most interested
in reading about. The Kabalah has a theology of Ein Sof and the Ten Sefirot, or emanations
of God. The Kabalists criticize the tendency to anthropomorphisize God, but their
theology seems to be an excess of this very tendency (and if it is not, then it can only
be polytheism). The Kabbalah is a little difficult to follow at times (not nearly as
senseless as The Tibetan Book of the Dead), but it does have some very poetic
passages and interesting insights. I
Quote: The purpose of the marriage of a woman and a man is
union.
The purpose of union is fertilization.
The purpose of fertilization is giving birth.
The purpose of birth is learning.
The purpose of learning is to grasp the divine.
The Essential Rumi
This review may be found in the poetry
section.
Grief Observed, A * * * * * * * * * (9)
by C.S. Lewis
This is an extremely moving journal about Lewis's grief after the death of his wife.
Lewis questions his faith and attempts to rebuild it, and every line written in this
journal is both moving and profound.
Quote: It is hard to have patience with people who say,
"There is no death," or "Death doesn't matter." There is death. And
whatever is matters. And whatever happens has consequences, and it and they are
irrevocable and irreversible. You might as well say that birth doesn't matter. I look up
in the night sky. Is anything more certain than that in all those vast times and spaces,
if I were allowed to search them, I should nowhere find her face, her voice, her touch?
She died. She is dead. Is the word so difficult to learn?
A History of Christianity * * * * * * (6)
 by Paul Johnson
Although I am a Christian--or perhaps because I am a Christian--I did
not find this historical compendium quite as interesting as the author's History of
the Jews. Nevertheless, much of it was fascinating, and Paul Johnson certainly put a
great deal of research into this tome, which spans the period of the New Testament through
20th century America. For a Catholic, Johnson does not seem the least bit ashamed of
depicting all of the dark, sinful actions of the institutional church. He approaches
Christianity as a historian, and as a Christian he pursues the truth, unafraid of where it
will lead him. His opinions infiltrate the work, but I always find them interesting
and worthy of respect, even when I disagree with them. Any party-Christian will find
something to be offended by when he or she reads this book, as all aspects of the lives of
religious founders and the works of Christian institutions are discussed, both the good
and the bad. I wish that the author had delved more into the historical origin of
the many American sects; he focuses primarily on Catholicism (which, granted, was the
history of Christianity for many centuries), but his book seems to speed up when it
reaches Protestantism.
The History of the Devil and The Idea of Evil* * * * * *
(6)
by Paul Carus
The author of this history is an avid proponent of what he regards to be "true
religion": in this case, "the religion of science," in which the devil and
his legions are regarded as mere symbols and in which belief in literal demons is labeled
a base superstition, a sort of primitive dualism, and the springboard for all manner of
evil (witch hunts, inquisitions, etc.). The author seems to regard himself as the
herald of a new age of scientific objectivism. The book outlines the history
of man's perception of evil, presenting it as a sort of progressive evolution from
superstition to reason, assisted by the "divine light of science." (The book was
written in 1869; I cannot imagine how its hopeful affirmations might be revised in these
modern times, where paganism has been reborn in new age forms, in the Wiccan religion, and
in nature worship.)
In deifying science, however, the author seems to forget that science is likely to be
as false as religion (what is held as scientific truth in one generation may be the
laughingstock of the next); it can be as dogmatic as religion (take the modern rigid
stance on evolution, for example); and it can be a source of as great an evil (consider
the Nazi's eugenics program). "True religion" was defined long ago, and so
far no author has offered a better definition than the brother of Jesus: "True
religion, pure and undefiled before God . . . is this . . . to care for widows and orphans
in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."
The author, in the grand tradition of liberal scholarship, often asserts as fact
matters that would more accurately be termed hypothesis. But whether or not one
agrees with his interpretations of religious history, or with his questionable definition
of true religion, The History of the Devil is a fascinating book. It
teaches many interesting--and rarely emphasized--components of Christian history,
introducing to us a large cast of historical figures. These men and women the author
judges according to their degree of enlightenment, that is, according to how literally
they regard the devil. Luther receives much praise, despite his strong belief in a
literal devil, because in his lifetime he ensured that none of his followers ever burned a
human soul for a witch. Calvin, on the other hand, the instigator of numerous
executions, is offered no such kindness.
The book is not solely the story of the Christian view of the devil. It begins
with the most primitive views of good and evil, passing through Ancient Egypt, the early
Semites, Persian Dualism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and other religions. The book is
replete with eye-catching illustrations, and it is spattered with fascinating quotations
from literature and historical and theological sources. Whatever your theological
objections, The History of the Devil is worth reading.
Quote: "Evil and good may be relative, but relativity does
not imply non-existence. Relations are facts too. If mischief is wrought by
good things being out of place, the evil does not become chimerical but is as positive as
any other reality."
How
We Got the Bible * * * * * * * (7)
by Neil R. Lightfoot
This is a well organized, simply written overview of the history of the Bible itself.
The author surveys existing Bible manuscripts, discusses how the books of the Bible
became cannon, and compares the various English translations. It is the clearest,
most complete information I have yet found on this subject. It is also free of
secular prejudice, and the author does not start from non-traditionalists assumptions, as
most modern Biblical scholars do. Indeed, the book seems to be written from an
orthodox perspective. That does not mean the author overlooks uncomfortable
variations in the manuscripts, but it does mean that he does not exaggerate them.
Each chapter comes complete with a summary of primary points and a series of reading
comprehension type questions which can be used for self-review (I wouldn't recommend them
for group study, as they are not likely to spur discussion). The book is not
"entertaining" reading by any stretch of the imagination, but it is highly
informative.
The Jesus Sutras * * * * * * * (7)
Rediscovering the Lost Scrolls of Taoist Christianity
by Martin Palmer
This intriguing work explores the discovery of a Chinese Christian monastery and a
cache of writings that prove Christianity was introduced to China as early as the 5th
century. These works drew upon the vocabulary of Taoism and Buddhism and adopted
cultural idioms in order to communicate the gospel to the Chinese in a way they could
understand. Some of the content of these "Jesus Sutras" is very
noncontroversial; other components, such as references to reincarnation, may cause some
Orthodox Christians to regard the Taoist Christianity as an heretical form of the
religion. The book is fascinating not only for revealing documents produced by early
Christian missionaries, but because it provides a good historical overview of the Eastern
Church, which often receives very little exposure in Christian histories. The work would
have been improved by a better organization of the material, which would also have avoided
redundancy. Overall, however, it is an engaging and highly readable book.
 Literary
Converts * * * * * * * * * (9)
by Joseph Pearce
(Review added January 2003)
This book explores the spiritual lives of converts to one form of Christianity or
another, but primarily to Catholicism, which is increasingly portrayed (if not by the
author himself than by the quotes from the literati) as the one true religion. However,
the book also deals with some famous Anglican converts, such as T.S. Eliot and C.S. Lewis.
Some authors discussed in the book are converting from Protestantism to
Catholicism, others are moving out of the world of atheism and agnosticism into the light
of Christianity for the first time. These conversions, set against the backdrop of the
20th century (an age in which God was declared to be "dead" and in which
man was attempting to make of himself a superhuman), and occurring in such rapid numbers
among the most elite intellectuals of the time, are fascinating. A good portion of
the book also deals with the horrified reactions of literary converts (such as Evelyn
Waugh) to the modernization of the Catholic mass. Though not a Catholic myself, I
found this portion of the book interesting because it sheds (whether intentionally or not)
a penetrating light on the current, largely vapid, state of worship in a great many of the
churches in all of the denominations today.
Upon approaching the book, I had not expected such a focus on Catholicism, but the
author is, after all, dealing with history, and the fact of the mater is that most great
literary figures who wished to escape the overwhelming secular wasteland of their time
were drawn to the Catholic, and not some Protestant, church. The author touches on
the spiritual lives of numerous literary figures - Eliot, Tolkein, Lewis, Waugh, Knox,
Sassoon, Sidwell, Chesterton, Greene, and so on. Even Oscar Wilde makes an
appearance, with a death bed conversion to Catholicism. Literary Converts is at
once historical, biographical, literary, and religious in subject matter, and the variety
enables the book to remain fascinating. So too does the author's liberal use of quotes
from the letters, conversations, and writings of the literary figures themselves, which
proves far better than would have any mere narration.
It is difficult to discern any order to Literary Converts. The books
seems to be a collection of essays more than anything else, and consequently information
from earlier chapters is often repeated and there is no logical development of
theme. Although it might have been better organized, the book is never confusing or
dull to read. I only wish more had been said about certain figures and less about others.
For any Christian interested in literature, this book is absolutely a must read.
Mere Christianity * * * * * * * * * * (10)
by C.S. Lewis
This book, in which Lewis turned a series of radio talks into one long essay, is
perhaps the greatest modern case made in support of Christianity. It address virtually
every doubt and question either an atheist or a Christian may have. It follows an
organized pattern beginning with the existence of morals, moving to the existence of a
God, and eventually arguing that such a God came to earth in the form of a man, was
crucified, and rose again. By using this slow build up, Lewis avoids force-feeding
Christianity to the reader.
Quote: A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things
Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic...or else he
would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was and is the Son
of God: or else a madman or something worse.
The Quest for God * * * * * * (6)
by Paul Johnson
This is a good book if you happened to be a fan of the historian who
wrote it, or if you like to read the reflections of others' on religion. It's
something like reading C.S. Lewis, only it is personal rather than apologetic. (Indeed,
the subtitle is "A Personal Pilgrimage.") It can occasionally be dull in parts,
but his unique opinionated style usually keeps it interesting. It may be of
particular interest to Protestants who can't understand (or are disturbed by) the
historical corruption of the Catholic Church, the required celibacy of the priesthood, the
granting of indulgences, the practice of praying to saints, and belief in the
infallibility of the Pope. I was not convinced by Johnson's explanations on these
points, but it was the first time I had the opportunity of reading any concise Catholic
apologetics on the issues.
Quote: Now I have learned from experience of our
own times what reason and instinct teaches me also--that moral relativism is a great evil,
one of the greatest evils of all evils because it makes possible so many other evils . . .
Moral relativism has been the cardinal sin of the twentieth century, the reason why it has
been such a desperately unhappy and destructive epoch in human history.
The Seven Storey Mountain * * * * * * * (7)
by Thomas Merton
(Review added November 2003)Part literary analysis, part
theological speculation, and largely spiritual autobiography, this 467 page tome is a much
easier read than one might initially expect. There were times when, as a
non-Catholic, I got bogged down in some of the particulars of the tradition, but much of
the book has a universal appeal. The
Seven Storey Mountain tells of Merton's journey from agnosticism to
Catholicism, from self-absorbed young man to contemplative monk. The work is well
enough written to have captured the imagination of countless readers, and it has even been
translated into 20 languages. The Protestant reader may be either annoyed or amused
(depending on his personality) by Merton's jabs at Protestantism. He does, however,
have the magnanimity to frequently compliment Protestants for having "at least that
much of religion."
Quote:
"...the more you try to avoid suffering, the more you suffer, because smaller and
more insignificant things begin to torture you . . . The one who does most to avoid
suffering is, in the end, the one who suffers most and his suffering comes to him from
things so little and so trivial that one can say that it is no longer objective at all.
It is his own existence, his own being, that is at once the subject and the source
of his pain, and his very existence and consciousness is his greatest torture."
Surprised by Joy * * * * * * * (7)
by C.S. Lewis
This is a fascinating autobiography chronicling C.S. Lewis's reluctant conversion from
atheism to Christianity: "In the Trinity term of 1929 I gave in," he writes,
"and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most
dejected and reluctant convert in all of England." The bulk of the autobiography
focuses on Lewis's years as an atheist and shows what thoughts and events led to his
conversion.
Quote: I had approached God, or my idea of God, without
love, without awe, even without fear. He was...neither as Savior nor as Judge, but merely
a magician; and when He had done what was required of Him I supposed He would
simply--well, go away.
The Tao Te Ching * * * * * * * * (8)
by Lao Tzu; Translated by Victor H. Mair
This collection of Ancient Chinese proverbs came to form the basis of a religion,
Taoism. (There is some question as to whether its supposed author, Lao Tzu, ever
actually existed.) However, they can be appreciated outside of their religious context. The
Tao often puts wisdom into a very poetic and memorable form, and much of its teaching
is consistent with the teachings of Christ. The work inspires a great deal of
thought and is conducive to repeat readings.
Quotes: When an inferior man hears the Way,
he laughs at it loudly.
If he did not laugh,
it would not be fit to be the Way.
Heaven's net is vast;
Though its meshes are wide,
nothing escapes.
 The
10 Commandments: * * * * * * * * * (9)
The Significance of God's Laws in Everyday Life
by Dr. Laura Schlessinger and Rabbi Stewart Vogel
Note: Although co-authored, I will refer to the author in the singular and the
feminine throughout the review, since the book is written in first person from Dr. Laura
Schlessinger's perspective.
I was not expecting much from this book. I listen to Dr. Laura's radio show from
time to time, and although I respect the majority of her views, I had never envisioned her
as much of a religious thinker or writer. I was glad to find myself wrong on both
accounts.
The Ten Commandments is a nonfiction work that examines in-depth the decalogue
delivered to Moses on Mt. Sinai and applies these laws to modern-day life. Dr.
Laura Schlessinger writes from a Jewish perspective, although she is careful to also bring
in quotes from Christian clergy as well as the New Testament to back up her points and to
show the similarities between Jewish and Christian values. She addresses difficult
and controversial questions such as "Is killing always wrong?" and "Is it
acceptable to tell a white lie?"
The book is a superb review for the practicing Jew or Christian and a useful
introduction to anyone who is not well acquainted with Judeo-Christian morality. As
a Christian, I found that much of the background explanation the author offered from
Jewish tradition helped me to place Christ's explications of the commandments in
perspective. For example, Christ tells us that the command, "Thou shalt not
murder" also means that you should not hate your brother and that whoever calls his
brother "Raca, fool" is in danger of hell fire. (Dr. Laura does not mention this
interpretation of Christ in her chapter on murder, but she does quote part of it in her
chapter on coveting.) The author points out that rabbinical tradition teaches that the
command "Thou shalt not murder" also prohibits publicly humiliating a person or
destroying his reputation with gossip. Learning about this tradition gave me some
insight into Christ's teaching on this command, and it gave me a more complete idea of
what calling one's brother a "Fool" might entail.
The writing in The Ten Commandments is not at all academic, but neither is the
text dumed-down This latter flaw is often to be found in many modern religious
books, particularly those sold in Christian bookstores. Dr. Laura does not assume
her readers have PHD's, but she does write as though she expects them to have some
intelligence as well as an ability to "connect the dots" (so to speak).
There were a few minor flaws in the book:
1. It could have benefited from some more editing. As far as I know, God
did not mention anything about the "inequities visited upon the
generations" (page 74). He might have said something about iniquities, however.
The author also attributes to Jesus words that were actually spoken by John the
Baptist.
2. Dr. Laura offers an excellent biblical defense of the death penalty, but
she does not directly address the serious arguments of a great many Christian
denominations that the death penalty is wrong. I would like to have seen her reaction to
the specific religious arguments made in opposition to the death
penalty.
On the whole, however, the Ten Commandments is well researched, well
thought-out, and very insightful. I highly recommend the book to anyone who can
approach Judeo-Christian morality with at least an open-mind.
The Tibetan Book of the Dead ** (2)
Or The Great Book of Natural Liberation Through Understanding in the Inbetween
If you want to learn about Buddhism, this is probably not the best way to do it.
The Tibetan Book of the Dead is basically an instruction manual for how to guide
the dying (or dead) through the "inbetween" in order that they might make the
right reincarnation choice. The book is extremely difficult to follow, and the
theology seems to be a mad jumble. Of all the texts sacred to various religions I
have read, this was by far the most senseless. For a religion which is supposedly intent
on losing the self, it sure does focus on the self a lot; one prayer alone contains the
following words: "self-created," "self-freed,"
"self-evident," and "self-illumination."
Quote: Hey, noble one! Listen to me! What are the six lights? The dull
light of the gods will dawn; also the red light of the titans, the blue light of the
humans, the green light of the animals, the yellow light of the preteans, and the dull
smoky light of the hells . . .
This
Is My God * * * * * * * * * * * (9)
by Herman Wouk
This nonfiction work summarizes the Jewish religion, written "for people who have
at least an open mind on God, and who would like to know something about the Jewish way to
him." In it, Wouk reminds me of a Jewish C.S. Lewis, using a clear, conversational
writing style and employing numerous analogies to make his points accessible. He
even engages in a great deal of apology, although he claims that Jews do not seek to
convert anyone. The book is aimed at non-practicing Jews and gentiles who are
"curious about the old Hebrew faith." It is the former group, however, at which
Wouk levels most of his discussion, and he seems deeply concerned about the subtle
pressures of conformity faced by American Jews, pressures which, he argues, have had a
greater affect than persecution.
Nonetheless, the book is also very useful for the gentile who would like
to know more about Judaism. It describes how and why the Jews celebrate the major
holy days: Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, Purim, Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, and
Hanukkah (the elevation of this lesser, later holy day, which happens to fall near
Christmas, Wouk probably views as an act of conformity). He talks about the diet of the
Jews, their marriage customs, the rite of circumcision, and the bar mitzvah, among other
things. He briefly discusses Judaism's perspective on the after-life (which is
considerably vague compared to the more complex doctrines of many Christians and Muslims,
but then again, so is the Bible). He gives an overview of the major religious works: the
Torah, Bible, Talmud, and Mishnah. In addition to summarizing Judaism, Wouk also
undertakes an occasional defense of monotheism, and his well-reasoned assault on atheism
and secular humanism can be appreciated by any theistic gentile. I found his writing easy
and even entertaining to read. I can not imagine a better way to learn about Judaism.
Quote: Religious people tend to encounter, among those who
are not, a cemented certainty that belief in God is a crutch for the weak and the
fearful. It would be just as silly to assert that disbelief in God is a crutch for
the immoral and the ill-read . . . Now the belief in God may turn out at the last trump to
be a mistake. Meantime, let us be quite clear, it is not merely the comfort of the
simple--though it is that too, much to its glory--it is a formidable intellectual position
with which most of the first-class minds of the human race, century in and century out,
have concurred, each in his own way . . . Freud can be a crutch, Marx can be a crutch,
rationalism can be a crutch, and atheism can be two canes and a pair of iron braces. We
none of us have all the answers, nor are we likely to have. But in the country of the
halt, the man who is surest he has no limp may be the worst-crippled.
The Way the World Is * * * * (4)
by John Polkinghorne
John Polkinghorne spent many years as a Professor of Mathematical Physics in the
University of Cambridge, but he eventually resigned to train for the Anglican ministry. In
The Way the World Is, he discusses his reasons for accepting Christianity. If you
have already read C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity when you begin The Way the
World Is, it will be impossible not to compare the two books. For instance,
Polkinhorne's statement: "The quintessence of our moral experience is that what we
recognize that we ought to do, is so often what in fact we do not do," reminds me
immediately of C.S. Lewis's similar point (not to mention Paul's). Yet the only time
Polkinghore mentions C.S. Lewis is to criticize statements he made in Mere
Christianity. Polkinghore, however, seems to repeat a number of things written in Mere
Christianity, only in more convoluted terms. Polkinghorne often use scientific
analogies to explain Christianity, and they can at times appear irrelevant or out of
place. This book, though both insightful and interesting in parts, would not be helpful to
someone searching for a defense of Christianity. It is perhaps only worth reading if you
have a particular interest in science--otherwise it is often difficult to relate to. He
has some excellent passages, however, like the one quoted below.
Quote: We can understand the despair that filled the disciples' hearts when
their leader, in whom all their hope for Israel reposed, suffered this ignominious death.
A crucified Messiah was an impossibility, a bitter black jest. A few weeks later the same
disciples are proclaiming that Jesus is the Christ, his death part of God's plan. To this
they bear steadfast witness in the face of those same authorities who had previously
seemed so terrifying. In due course many of them met, with bravery and conviction, deaths
as violent as their master's. It is an astonishing transformation. Something happened to
bring it about...I believe that it was the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
The Wisdom of the Talmud * * * * * * * * * (9)
Edited by Madison Peters
Dover Thrift Edition
This well-chosen selection of quotations from the Jewish Talmud will introduce
its readers to a wealth of proverbial wisdom. In these pages you will find sayings
that have long since slipped into common English usage ("birds of a feather flock
together"; "actions speak louder than words"; "the ends do not justify
the means"; etc.). The Christian will also be interested to find here teachings
parallel to those of Christ, once again proving the roots of Christianity ("Man sees
the mote in his brother's eye, but knows not of the beam in his own"; "He who
wishes to be forgiven must forgive"; "take out the beam from thine eye...First
correct thyself, then correct others"; etc.).
Quote: "Arrogance is a kingdom without a crown."
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