A deeply meditative Bible introduction and a philosophically captivating account of how its wisdom could cure the world’s...
A tour of the Bible proposes an antidote to today’s spiritual crisis.
According to Watt (Saving Lives in Wartime China, 2015), readers live in morally challenged times, and their spiritual despair, accentuated by the experience of war and genocide, cannot be ameliorated by the secular materialism that helped establish it. And yet the “world at the beginning of the 21st century is itself in bondage to materialism.” But a proper response to this loss of moral direction can be found in the teachings of the Bible, specifically its articulation of the covenant that exists between God and humankind that is based on love, mercy, and justice. In order to illuminate the nature of that covenant, the author first provides an overview of the structure of the Bible and, with impressive erudition and lucidity, furnishes guidance regarding its interpretation. Then he examines the character of the covenant as expressed in the Bible, the exemplar of which is God’s promise to Moses and the Israelites, a story that illustrates the manner in which a people came to fully acknowledge the nature of the divine as it expresses itself in mortal life. Finally, Watt astutely applies that theological worldview to the contemporary problems that plague humanity, including the dissolution of marriage, the rise of inequality, and the degradation of the environment. At the heart of the author’s ingeniously original thesis is the notion that the world suffers from “androcentrism,” the unchecked rise of the “obstinacy of male hubris.” This imbalance in the earthly kingdom can be fixed only by a profound “transformation of consciousness,” from a “patriarchal world of phallocentric domination” to loving service to others. Watt’s mastery of the Bible is as remarkable as his explanations are transparent—if nothing else, this is a wonderful primer. And while he acknowledges that the book is primarily written for those who accept the main premises of the Judeo-Christian tradition, its philosophically ambitious diagnosis of modernity should interest even the more secularly minded.
A deeply meditative Bible introduction and a philosophically captivating account of how its wisdom could cure the world’s ailments.Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5462-7397-4
Page Count: 396
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: Aug. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
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 “How 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
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.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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