A smart, challenging discourse that succeeds despite an annoyingly unapologetic fondness for dry, academic wordplay.
A Jungian psychoanalyst explores the deep human need for concepts of wholeness and completeness and finds that need is the source of many problems.
Cosmic-tuned mandalas and mass murders might seem diametrically opposed—but that’s only at first blush. According to Salman, seemingly peaceful spiritual and social concepts of oneness have a propensity to enslave the collective imagination. What follows is a rigorous academic undertaking that finds danger amid what the author calls “magic circles”—any convention or system purporting to be the tonic for humankind’s nagging fear of dissolution. The author examines varying political systems, religious practices and psychoanalytic thought throughout history and gauges their essential reliance on that phantom notion of totality. The most accessible and relevant example of this is the Internet. Despite the level playing field and enlightened interconnectivity that the Internet promises, the author notes that the Web’s “wholeness” can also be used for sinister aims—such as the spread of terror. For every tweet of free speech, there’s an echo chamber of narrow-minded venom. And, Salman believes, such is the case with all notions of wholeness; the completeness seems beneficial but in fact causes harm and rifts among people. Salman’s command of language is impressive, but many readers may find her prose dense and overly academic: “As he matured, Jung elaborated the goal of totality using the alchemical imagery of the stone (the seed) that begins its journey as a chaotic massa confusa…” and so on. Readers who rack their personal lexicons and still can’t shake out terms like “pharmakon” and “pychopomps” will undoubtedly feel left out. Those with enough fortitude and endurance to digest the “mythopoetic” mind, however, will be rewarded. Understanding the roots of fundamentalism and totalitarianism is challenging, but worth contemplating.
A smart, challenging discourse that succeeds despite an annoyingly unapologetic fondness for dry, academic wordplay.Pub Date: July 12, 2013
ISBN: 978-1935528456
Page Count: 221
Publisher: Spring Journal, Inc.
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2014
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
A remarkably thorough and thoughtful case for the reconciliation between science and faith.
A duo of French mathematicians makes the scientific case for God in this nonfiction book.
Since its 2021 French-language publication in Paris, this work by Bolloré and Bonnassies has sold more than 400,000 copies. Now translated into English for the first time by West and Jones, the book offers a new introduction featuring endorsements from a range of scientists and religious leaders, including Nobel Prize-winning astronomers and Roman Catholic cardinals. This appeal to authority, both religious and scientific, distinguishes this volume from a genre of Christian apologetics that tends to reject, rather than embrace, scientific consensus. Central to the book’s argument is that contemporary scientific advancements have undone past emphases on materialist interpretations of the universe (and their parallel doubts of spirituality). According to the authors’ reasoned arguments, what now forms people’s present understanding of the universe—including quantum mechanics, relativity, and the Big Bang—puts “the question of the existence of a creator God back on the table,” given the underlying implications. Einstein’s theory of relativity, for instance, presupposes that if a cause exists behind the origin of the universe, then it must be atemporal, non-spatial, and immaterial. While the book’s contentions related to Christianity specifically, such as its belief in the “indisputable truths contained in the Bible,” may not be as convincing as its broader argument on how the idea of a creator God fits into contemporary scientific understanding, the volume nevertheless offers a refreshingly nuanced approach to the topic. From the work’s outset, the authors (academically trained in math and engineering) reject fundamentalist interpretations of creationism (such as claims that Earth is only 6,000 years old) as “fanciful beliefs” while challenging the philosophical underpinnings of a purely materialist understanding of the universe that may not fit into recent scientific paradigm shifts. Featuring over 500 pages and more than 600 research notes, this book strikes a balance between its academic foundations and an accessible writing style, complemented by dozens of photographs from various sources, diagrams, and charts.
A remarkably thorough and thoughtful case for the reconciliation between science and faith.Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9789998782402
Page Count: 562
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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