Christians should find these chapters a tough but invigorating read.
A debut author strives for a clearer picture of the Christian God.
Carney aims his work squarely at his fellow Christians: “This book in no way tries to prove the existence of God; it is assumed that he exists.” Rather, the author intends to help Christians “see through the clutter” and perceive their God with greater clarity and truth. His method of attempting this is to borrow principles from the gestalt conception of visualization, with the hope that his readers will “see things as complete wholes rather than seeing things as individual pieces that are added together to get the whole picture.” He uses this approach to pare what he considers pernicious, wayward views of Christianity—the “legalists” who passive aggressively embrace Christian law over Christian ethos, the “zombies” who claim to love God but don’t obey his commands, and the “runaways” who reject the religion—in favor of a broader and clearer outlook. This tactic is particularly persuasive in the enjoyable book’s strongest sections, when the author applies it to specific passages from Scripture. He cites, for example, the familiar line from the Johannine story of the woman taken in adultery (“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her”), noting how often it’s quoted and referenced at church services—incompletely, in his opinion. It’s usually not accompanied by the crucial line Jesus then speaks to the woman herself: “If someone is preaching to you, and their message does not contain the message, ‘Neither do I condemn you,’ then their message is not the message of Jesus.” Throughout the lively, iconoclastic book, Carney is bracingly stern with his co-religionists. Citing statistics that show a huge drop-off in church attendance for Protestants after graduation from high school, for instance, he asks: “Could it be that they haven’t learned to love God, therefore finding church meaningless, or could it be that they aren’t in church because of you and me” who are?
Christians should find these chapters a tough but invigorating read.Pub Date: May 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5127-8265-3
Page Count: 170
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2017
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
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
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