An informative religious educational resource limited by its narrow view of Christianity.
A Christian provides life and theological lessons from Genesis geared toward children in this debut religion book.
As the pastor of a small church and director of a private Christian school, O’Reilly wrote this work to provide Sunday school instructors and parents suggestions on how to teach Genesis to kids, with an emphasis on understanding both “ancient” contexts as well as contemporary “applications” that “will inform their day-to-day lives.” To this end, each chapter concludes with discussion questions and “hints” for adult leaders on how to best guide conversations. The book naturally begins with the Creation story and includes a lengthy analysis of the debate between scientists and creationists. While the author claims a “natural reading of Scriptures leads to the conclusion that the earth is not older than 10,000 years,” he leaves room for debate, noting that there is space for Christians to disagree. As the volume continues to work its way through Genesis, often chapter by chapter, it offers mostly standard conservative interpretations. Many of these readings link accounts in Genesis to other biblical stories and to broader Christian themes. The book ends, for instance, with the death of Abraham in Genesis and the fulfillment of God’s promises to the patriarch in the New Testament. Written in a conversational style, with dozens of kid-friendly illustrations by Long and text-box vignettes, the work is approachable but also does not shy away from difficult theological topics, from the nature of sin to the original Hebrew meanings of specific biblical terms. Not only are children exposed to pantheism and other religious systems (which, from the author’s perspective, do not reflect God’s “truth”), but also different denominational views, such as Calvinism. While well versed in fundamentalist Protestant interpretations of the Bible, the volume too often ignores Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox allegorical readings of Scripture as well as more liberal appraisals found outside the realm of evangelicalism. Many in the liberal camp will be put off by not only the book’s literalist approach, but also its devotion of an entire section to characterizing gay sexuality as “the infamous crime against nature.”
An informative religious educational resource limited by its narrow view of Christianity.Pub Date: June 4, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-40-032471-2
Page Count: 184
Publisher: WestBowPress
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2021
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 incisive, urgently relevant analysis of—and call to action on—America’s foundational ideal.
An examination of how the U.S. can revitalize its commitment to freedom.
In this ambitious study, Snyder, author of On Tyranny, The Road to Unfreedom, and other books, explores how American freedom might be reconceived not simply in negative terms—as freedom from coercion, especially by the state—but positive ones: the freedom to develop our human potential within sustaining communal structures. The author blends extensive personal reflections on his own evolving understanding of liberty with definitions of the concept by a range of philosophers, historians, politicians, and social activists. Americans, he explains, often wrongly assume that freedom simply means the removal of some barrier: “An individual is free, we think, when the government is out of the way. Negative freedom is our common sense.” In his careful and impassioned description of the profound implications of this conceptual limitation, Snyder provides a compelling account of the circumstances necessary for the realization of positive freedom, along with a set of detailed recommendations for specific sociopolitical reforms and policy initiatives. “We have to see freedom as positive, as beginning from virtues, as shared among people, and as built into institutions,” he writes. The author argues that it’s absurd to think of government as the enemy of freedom; instead, we ought to reimagine how a strong government might focus on creating the appropriate conditions for human flourishing and genuine liberty. Another essential and overlooked element of freedom is the fostering of a culture of solidarity, in which an awareness of and concern for the disadvantaged becomes a guiding virtue. Particularly striking and persuasive are the sections devoted to eviscerating the false promises of libertarianism, exposing the brutal injustices of the nation’s penitentiaries, and documenting the wide-ranging pathologies that flow from a tax system favoring the ultrawealthy.
An incisive, urgently relevant analysis of—and call to action on—America’s foundational ideal.Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2024
ISBN: 9780593728727
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: June 25, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
