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RANDOM NOTES ON PARADISE

Name: RANDOM NOTES ON PARADISE
Author: John D Vernon
ISBN: 978-1497324961

by John D Vernon ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 12, 2014

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A collection of sayings and observations on the nature of peace and paradise as both a destination and a state of mind.
Vernon’s short nonfiction debut consists of seven “Note books” full of apparently random, koanlike utterances covering various conceptions of inner peace, personal enlightenment and, above all, the nature of paradise, which Vernon only sporadically links with any kind of organized religion or codified afterlife. (Christianity is mentioned more often than any other denomination but never dogmatically.) Rather, he seems to conceive paradise as an internal state of mind, a calmness of the heart, a thing to have rather than a place to go. Several of Vernon’s tips are fairly straightforward New-Age spiritualism: “Have a more humanised culture. Be enchanted. Be easy not attempting control. Aim to become carefree.” His approach is nonjudgmental and stress-free, accentuating serenity over striving: “Paradise doesn’t need a Christ to prepare a place for us,” he writes. The impact of these simple, encouraging messages is significantly blunted, however, by the presence of a great many head-scratchingly impenetrable pronouncements: e.g., “Infinity, if it exists has no end to finiteness,” or “The appropriate description of pleasure is pleasure,” or “An infinite description perhaps goes past infinity in reasonable knowledge.” Beyond such weird utterances, there are many portions of Vernon’s book that slip from being strange to simply garbled: “More pleasure than otherwise is not a larger total, which is infinite, but larger during infinity, which is better”; or “The bible (sic) is not very high. Just good appears better and better,” and so on. A strong edit would eliminate these bizarre malapropisms, but as the text stands, readers may spend as much time striving to understand the text as they do trying to reach enlightenment.
An occasionally insightful but extremely uneven exposition of inner serenity.

Pub Date: March 12, 2014

ISBN: 978-1497324961

Page Count: 136

Publisher: CreateSpace

Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2015

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

PHILOSOPHY & RELIGION

ROSE BOOK OF BIBLE CHARTS, MAPS AND TIME LINES

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ROSE BOOK OF BIBLE CHARTS, MAPS AND TIME LINES

by Timothy Paul Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2005

Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.

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A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.

This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is â€œHow We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.

Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005

ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

PHILOSOPHY & RELIGION

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THE MYTH OF SISYPHUS

AND OTHER ESSAYS

by Albert Camus ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 1955

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This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.