A well-written and convincing rumination on the divine.
A nonfiction work that explores core philosophical questions of faith, life, and spirituality.
“The question of whether God exists” is as old as humanity itself, and has been the driving query asked by philosophers for more than two millennia. A self-described philosophical “hobbyist” who’s read and studied the canon of philosophy’s greatest minds for nearly 30 years, Payne approaches the question of God’s existence in a “logical, rational way.” The book begins with an epistemological survey of “What Can Be Known,” ultimately concluding that “we cannot prove God by experience (direct awareness) or science (a form of empiricism).” Subsequent chapters examine what the author calls the “Big Ten” propositions that philosophers, especially Christian apologists, have used to argue God’s existence. These propositions range from Pascal’s wager (whereby one makes a potentially life-threatening gamble in rejecting God’s existence) to the “prevalence of religious experience” among humans throughout history. Payne’s well-informed yet eclectic religious beliefs are what he labels “Panentheist Christian Absurdist Buddhist.” Thus, while he attends Christian church services and “conceptually” finds beauty and meaning in the faith’s rituals, he is attracted to the philosophy of Buddhism, particularly its emphasis on the absurdity of life and its views on suffering. “Panentheism,” the author contends, is a “metaphysic that goes back thousands of years and has presented itself in myriad ways,” particularly its emphasis on a universal spirit that can be found in all things. This panentheistic notion, Payne effectively demonstrates, has long existed within strains of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, in addition to Eastern spiritualities. Another chapter, “Taking the ‘Fun’ Out of Fundamentalism,” is critical of theologies that are defined by their “exclusionary nature.”
The book also critiques literal interpretations of Scripture, highlighting the similarities between The Epic of Gilgamesh and the biblical book of Genesis, which the author admits “reads a heck of a lot like myth.” A particularly well-crafted chapter on the difficulties of reconciling the existence of God with the prevalence of evil asks probing questions that will force readers to reexamine their definitions of what is “Good.” Backed by a wealth of endnotes that demonstrate a solid command of philosophy, from ancient Greek and medieval Christian thinkers to Enlightenment and postmodern figures, this book is an effective primer on how these sages have historically grappled with the existence of God. “Using the knowledge of the smart guys, but the language of real people,” and coming in under 205 pages, the volume is extraordinarily accessible, given the esoteric nature of its sources. A copywriter and a ghostwriter of dozens of memoirs, Payne is especially skilled at introducing difficult concepts with an engaging, often humorous prose style. A multipage glossary of philosophical jargon complements the book’s successful mission “to not allow ourselves to be intimidated by the big thinkers of history.” While the author expresses his personal opinions in the work, he’s generally fair to philosophers and theologians who have come to differing conclusions, opting to revel in the nuances of spiritual inquiry rather than browbeating readers into accepting his idiosyncratic yet well-argued conclusions. Indeed, the author’s only request of readers is to take a 90-day challenge whereby they become more cognizant of the “larger, universal consciousness” in hopes that their lives will feel “richer, deeper, more connected.” A well-written and convincing rumination on the divine.Pub Date: May 2, 2024
ISBN: 9798989474905
Page Count: 222
Publisher: Five Boroughs Media & Publishing, LLC
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.
The legendary booze-addled metal rocker turned reality-TV star comes clean in his tell-all autobiography.
Although brought up in the bleak British factory town of Aston, John “Ozzy” Osbourne’s tragicomic rags-to-riches tale is somehow quintessentially American. It’s an epic dream/nightmare that takes him from Winson Green prison in 1966 to a presidential dinner with George W. Bush in 2004. Tracing his adult life from petty thief and slaughterhouse worker to rock star, Osbourne’s first-person slang-and-expletive-driven style comes off like he’s casually relating his story while knocking back pints at the pub. “What you read here,” he writes, “is what dribbled out of the jelly I call my brain when I asked it for my life story.” During the late 1960s his transformation from inept shoplifter to notorious Black Sabbath frontman was unlikely enough. In fact, the band got its first paying gigs by waiting outside concert venues hoping the regularly scheduled act wouldn’t show. After a few years, Osbourne and his bandmates were touring America and becoming millionaires from their riff-heavy doom music. As expected, with success came personal excess and inevitable alienation from the other members of the group. But as a solo performer, Osbourne’s predilection for guns, drink, drugs, near-death experiences, cruelty to animals and relieving himself in public soon became the stuff of legend. His most infamous exploits—biting the head off a bat and accidentally urinating on the Alamo—are addressed, but they seem tame compared to other dark moments of his checkered past: nearly killing his wife Sharon during an alcohol-induced blackout, waking up after a bender in the middle of a busy highway, burning down his backyard, etc. Osbourne is confessional to a fault, jeopardizing his demonic-rocker reputation with glib remarks about his love for Paul McCartney and Robin Williams. The most distinguishing feature of the book is the staggering chapter-by-chapter accumulation of drunken mishaps, bodily dysfunctions and drug-induced mayhem over a 40-plus-year career—a résumé of anti-social atrocities comparable to any of rock ’n’ roll’s most reckless outlaws.
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-56989-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2009
IN THE NEWS
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
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