An earnest and thought-provoking reevaluation of traditional religion.
Ward proposes a new religion based on reason in this nonfiction book.
In the 14th century B.C.E., Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep IV challenged his civilization’s prior conception of God by introducing what many scholars believe to be the world’s first documented monotheistic religion. This religion, Atenism (named after the ancient Egyptian word for the sun), represented, per the author, “an extraordinary mutation in the evolution of God ideas.” Drawn to Atenism’s rejection of mythology in favor of a “direct observation of Nature” that recognized the sun’s integral role in sustaining life on Earth, Ward proposes a new version of the ancient faith as a solution to humanity’s current divisions. The book’s 34 chapters are divided into three sections. The early chapters offer a philosophical reframing of what is meant by the term “God,” which Ward posits has never been a fixed concept in any faith. Drawing heavily on Baruch Spinoza’s conception of a supreme being (“Whatever is, is in God, and nothing can be or be conceived without God”), the author argues for a new conceptualization of God as Nature (or, rather, “the totality of reality”), which is best understood through reason. Building on this reconceptualization of God, the book’s second part provides a detailed description of the tenets of Ward’s titular “New Atenism,” which blends Spinoza’s ideas with Atenism’s ancient emphasis on balance and human flourishing (defined not by wealth accumulation but by “knowledge, cooperation, and error correction”). The final section shifts from a philosophical focus to a practical discussion of how New Atenism can be applied to one’s daily life and how the religion can be spread by following the sociological frameworks that have always disseminated new faiths—from the formation of community networks to the propagation of teachings (which, in this case, include not only this book, but also a supplementary podcast). While the work offers intriguing ideas about the nature of God, the text’s timeline of religion—in which the “old team of specialist gods” evolved “by reason” into a monotheistic God—minimizes the histories of polytheistic faiths, from Hinduism to a myriad of Indigenous religions.
An earnest and thought-provoking reevaluation of traditional religion.Pub Date: March 17, 2026
ISBN: 9798234028556
Page Count: 271
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: June 16, 2026
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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