Evenhandedly critiquing left/right political extremes and writing clearly and with unimpeachable good sense, Guinness never...
A prolific author and Christian intellectual calls for a cease-fire in the destructive culture wars.
In 1963, JFK observed that, “If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity.” Today, with pluralism more than ever a fact of American life, Guinness argues, new strategies are required to help us to live together with our deepest differences. Moreover, because the United States has yet to develop the levels of extremism found elsewhere, it retains the best chance for restoring civility and can act as a model for the rest of the world. In this extended essay, Guinness (Unspeakable: Facing Up to Evil in an Age of Genocide and Terror, 2005, etc.) points to the Williamsburg Charter—which he co-authored in 1988 and immodestly dubs “the leading statement of American religious liberty in the twentieth century”—as an appropriate guide for erecting a modern framework within which important disagreements can be negotiated and settled peacefully. Focusing on the First Amendment’s clause regarding the free practice of religion, he cautions against the resolution of cultural differences by resorting to law (“a cudgel rather than scalpel”) and calls for reasoned political debate and a robust popular civility that relies on the forgotten art of persuasion. In the space between the free exercise and the anti-establishment clauses, he argues, the Founders created a society that fosters both strong religious convictions and strong political civility. This principle of separation of church and state, properly understood, holds the key to our uncivil dilemma. It’s folly, Guinness insists, for atheists or progressive universalists to call for a “naked” public square where religion must go begging for recognition, for there is no evidence to believe increasing modernization automatically means secularization. At the same time, believers cannot demand a “sacred” public square, where any one faith assumes preference or privilege. The rights and responsibilities must be the same for all.
Evenhandedly critiquing left/right political extremes and writing clearly and with unimpeachable good sense, Guinness never quite demonstrates how his worthy proposal will play out as it confronts divisive cultural issues like same-sex marriage or abortion.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-06-135343-7
Page Count: 224
Publisher: HarperOne
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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