A sharply written treatise dangerous for the weak of faith.
An atheist in full cry assembles scientific and historical evidence upholding his conviction that a supernatural God is a scientifically baseless human fantasy cynically upheld through the ages by bogus religions.
In this rigorously well-argued philosophic tract, debut author VandenBerghe, a retired senior civil servant in the Belgian Ministry of Finance now in his mid-80s, maintains that the more science discovers, the less educated people will believe in God. One result, he says, will be eventual mass inoculation against the plague of religion. “The Church has always been afraid of humankind’s advancing knowledge, sensing that the falsehood of religion would therewith be brought to light,” he writes. To offer proof of science’s debunking of religion, VandenBerghe reviews scientific theories and discoveries ranging from the Big Bang, Einstein’s theory of relativity, Planck’s quantum theory, and, more recently, string theory and the overreaching M-theory, which, he notes, is, in the opinion of theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking, “the only candidate for a complete theory of the universe.” These portions of the book make for heavy reading. It’s not always clear whether the author commands full understanding of these abstractions or is merely regurgitating what others have said about them. But no matter; he still succeeds in conveying their world-changing views. In chapters composed of numbered paragraphs reminiscent of a legal brief, he also delves in the historical damage to human progress wrought by religion, sparing none of the major faiths. He declares Jesus a myth and Jewish and Christian scriptures fabrications but reserves particular animus for Islam: “Muslims make one think of Ivan the Terrible, the first tsar of Russia, who prayed three hours a day and spent the rest of the day torturing his many prisoners.” And if the existence of a God, much less a personal God, is dubious at best, what gives life meaning? VandenBerghe intrepidly asserts that simple, honest humanism contains all the goodness humanity needs and without the necessity of a fictional supreme being. But he goes beyond, expressing the fervent hope that atheism will spread outward from an increasingly godless Europe to the entire world. In a stupendous understatement, the author does at least concede that “were religion to disappear today, many people would feel a void.”
A sharply written treatise dangerous for the weak of faith.Pub Date: May 27, 2014
ISBN: 978-1496981912
Page Count: 230
Publisher: AuthorHouseUK
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2014
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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