An unconventional view of biblical prophecies that reveals surprising, albeit not wholly convincing, insights.
A retelling of the events of Genesis with an eye toward Revelation.
Adam, Eve and the Tree of Knowledge; Cain and Abel; Noah and the Great Flood—the names and stories of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, have become embedded in Western mythology. Devillier’s book combines the traditional Genesis account with stories of angels—including Satan, aka Lucifer, an angel who opposed God’s plans for humanity and was thus forcefully cast out of heaven—to provide a perspective on Genesis that overlays the angel myths onto the Genesis account, providing an insider’s view of the arguments that may have taken place in heaven while events in Eden and elsewhere were unfolding. Though the narrative begins in Genesis, it doesn’t end there; instead, Devillier links the accounts of humanity’s origin with predictions given in Revelation about humanity’s eventual end, including the rise of the Antichrist and the second coming of Jesus. While the book’s premise is intriguing and its source material has proven itself to be some of the richest in Western literature, this take suffers from an overabundance of telling rather than showing: “Satan commanded Baal to take a few hundred of the angels to go study Cain and Abel. He told Baal that if anything looked to be intimidating, come back with details.” Elsewhere, the dialogue merely falls flat. Even when the angels take up arms against one another and even against their offspring, there’s little sense of adventure or risk, making the book’s ultimate predictions—as dire as they sound—seem of little consequence. The narrative ends up suspended somewhere between a novel and an essay, draining the central themes of struggle and redemption of most of their power. Though it sheds light on ancient texts, the message behind the story’s focus on the ongoing struggle for the soul of humanity is hindered, not helped, by its unbalanced format.
An unconventional view of biblical prophecies that reveals surprising, albeit not wholly convincing, insights.Pub Date: May 11, 2013
ISBN: 978-1482636123
Page Count: 194
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: June 20, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A proper guide and devotional for the Stations of the Cross.
A concise volume of illuminating selections from the Bible.
This precise and thoughtful prayer book offers itself as an unassuming guidebook to the Stations of the Cross. An introductory contention that the theology and rituals of the Stations have continued to be undervalued and underobserved by many of the faithful gives this unpretentious and carefully constructed book an additional rhetorical and spiritual thrust. Included in this slim volume is an easily grasped how-to section that gives readers interested in observing the Stations clear directions for getting the most out of the book and their time. This book has a very specific market–even among Christians–and so its appeal is limited. However, for those more interested in an easily approachable guide to the subject than in a portable seminary, the well-crafted formula of the book makes for an optimal introduction. The book's chapters are devoted to each particular station and contain an opening prayer, an announcement of the station, the call and response to bless God, a fitting passage from the Bible, a meditation on the particular passage and an optional hymn. The book should be useful for private observance, but it is still presented primarily as a text meant to be used in some form of group religious observance. The passages offered are a powerfully concise version of the New Testament's messianic message, but readers should be advised that there is little theological analysis or ancillary commentary provided by the author. Each station is accompanied by a relevant illustration that distills the essential events of the particular station and should aid in observance and preparation for each station. The book is a markedly utilitarian production, and it is in this capacity that it should serve its users most effectively and movingly.
A proper guide and devotional for the Stations of the Cross.Pub Date: Nov. 6, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4415-8964-4
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A scholarly survey of how the figure of the Antichrist has been understood through the centuries, from Second Temple Judaism to present-day America. McGinn (Historical Theology/Univ. of Chicago Divinity School), editor of the acclaimed 80-volume Classics of Western Spirituality series, argues that the theme of the Antichrist (in its original form, a literal belief in a being of ultimate evil) illuminates much about how people view themselves and evil in society. Beginning with the apocalyptic traditions of Judaism, McGinn moves through early Christianity, Gnosticism, Byzantine apocalypticism, the Western medieval world, the Reformation, and the more subdued references since the Enlightenment. The Antichrist figure can be understood as an external enemy, such as Nero, or, following the thought of Augustine and some modern novelists, as a reality lurking within believers themselves. Another polarity in the theme is that the Antichrist is sometimes seen as inspiring universal dread or, alternatively, as coming under the appearance of good- -hence John Wycliffe's identification of the pope as the Antichrist and the separatist Roger Williams's view that any established Christian society was a form of Antichrist. In modern times, due to the polarities of the Cold War and the specter of nuclear apocalypse, the theme has had a vigorous existence in Russia and the United States; and recent claims, locating evil in apparent sources of power, hold that the Antichrist can be seen at work in the United Nations and in the credit-card system. McGinn notes that, since apocalyptic thought harbors no shades of gray between good and evil, anyone not fully in accord with a given belief may be seen by those who hold that belief as an adherent of absolute evil. An excellent sourcebook for anyone wishing to understand the kind of anxieties that are likely to multiply as we approach the year 2000. (30 b&w photos, not seen).
Pub Date: Dec. 9, 1994
ISBN: 0-06-065543-7
Page Count: 416
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1994
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