Vivid travelogue combines with a polemic that Christianity was originally a Gnostic offshoot of Zoroastrianism in this intriguing, but highly partisan, attempt to discover the significance of the mysterious Wise Men. Fascinated by Marco Polo's statement that he saw the tombs of the Magi in the Persian city of Sava, screenwriter and journalist Roberts (A River in the Desert, not reviewed, etc.) traces their footsteps in an adventure that begins in Khamenei's Tehran and ends, after several twists and turns, in Bethlehem. Accompanied by Reza, his scatologically loquacious Iranian guide, our author's first surprise is to discover in Sava ruins that actually correspond with Polo's wondrous description. Roberts balances the narrative of his journey to Bethlehem with uncensored accounts of Reza's vulgarities—he learned English on an American campus in the '60s. En route, Roberts also takes gratuitous swipes at Jesus Christ, the New Testament, and ``the Church of Rome,'' declaring that the Magi at Christ's birth were Zoroastrians and that Roman orthodoxy, based on Paul's replacing gnosis with faith, headed a conspiracy that obliterated all record of gnostic Christianity until the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls. Our author hears of links between Christianity and Zoroastrianism in his encounters in the Islamic holy city of Qom, among Zoroastrians at Yazd, and in Iraq, where he discovers some Mandaeans, a Gnostic sect that he believes was the missing link between Zoroastrianism and true Christianity. We hear of their worship of (a pardoned) Satan and of how Jesus escaped crucifixion to spend his subsequent life with the Magi. Roberts produces no real evidence for his thesis, and even when he speaks of the Dead Sea scrolls, he is offering us simply his interpretation, with very few references, of highly esoteric material. Frequently hilarious, Roberts, as he himself admits, is presenting a history that fits his own needs.
Pub Date: Dec. 5, 1995
ISBN: 1-57322-012-4
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1995
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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