An enjoyable way for moderate or lapsed Christians to learn the history—and possible absurdities—of their faith.
An attorney offers a highly readable debut treatise on the history and contradictions of Christianity and its Gospels.
In this book, Craig aims to offer his readers ammunition to counter the rhetoric of fundamentalist Christians by pointing out hypocrisy, biblical contradictions and what he deems to be flat-out inaccurate beliefs. Overall, he meets this goal, as when he includes the history of the Gospels’ publication and their content, including the unsourced, later additions of one of Jesus’ most famous moments and the concept of the Holy Trinity. That said, a few moments seem to be mere hair-splitting (such as minute differences in the Gospels regarding what was written on Jesus’ cross) or miss the point entirely, as when the author triumphantly shows that Mary wasn’t a lifelong virgin but fails to disprove the Immaculate Conception before she became sexually active. He also uses extreme examples, such as the highly controversial Westboro Baptist Church, to characterize all fundamentalists everywhere, and the occasionally grating cartoons, illustrated by Christian Mirra, wear thin. Nonetheless, the author makes a good argument against what he sees as fundamentalist greed, self-promotion and intolerance. However, one suspects that he and his readers won’t ever win over fundamentalists’ hearts and minds; after all, Galileo might have been right about Earth revolving around the sun, but the Catholic Church still kept him under house arrest until his death. But even if readers can’t use this book to truly triumph over Craig’s nemeses, it doesn’t make it any less interesting to read. Ironically, the book is at its best when it offers more moderate Christians an entertaining primer of their own religion’s history. Readers who’ve been Christians since childhood but whose knowledge of the Bible is limited to Sunday school lectures and Hollywood epics may find valuable information in this book. Craig delivers his engaging research in a breezy tone throughout, and he remains respectful of Christianity’s core message: Love God and thy neighbor, no matter what.
An enjoyable way for moderate or lapsed Christians to learn the history—and possible absurdities—of their faith.Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2014
ISBN: 978-1499180060
Page Count: 338
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A very welcome instance of philosophy that can help readers live a good life.
A teacher and scholar of Buddhism offers a formally varied account of the available rewards of solitude.
“As Mother Ayahuasca takes me in her arms, I realize that last night I vomited up my attachment to Buddhism. In passing out, I died. In coming to, I was, so to speak, reborn. I no longer have to fight these battles, I repeat to myself. I am no longer a combatant in the dharma wars. It feels as if the course of my life has shifted onto another vector, like a train shunted off its familiar track onto a new trajectory.” Readers of Batchelor’s previous books (Secular Buddhism: Imagining the Dharma in an Uncertain World, 2017, etc.) will recognize in this passage the culmination of his decadeslong shift away from the religious commitments of Buddhism toward an ecumenical and homegrown philosophy of life. Writing in a variety of modes—memoir, history, collage, essay, biography, and meditation instruction—the author doesn’t argue for his approach to solitude as much as offer it for contemplation. Essentially, Batchelor implies that if you read what Buddha said here and what Montaigne said there, and if you consider something the author has noticed, and if you reflect on your own experience, you have the possibility to improve the quality of your life. For introspective readers, it’s easy to hear in this approach a direct response to Pascal’s claim that “all of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” Batchelor wants to relieve us of this inability by offering his example of how to do just that. “Solitude is an art. Mental training is needed to refine and stabilize it,” he writes. “When you practice solitude, you dedicate yourself to the care of the soul.” Whatever a soul is, the author goes a long way toward soothing it.
A very welcome instance of philosophy that can help readers live a good life.Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-300-25093-0
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Yale Univ.
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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