A captivating account of Christianity hampered by dogmatic rhetoric.
A writer seeks to restore a rationally defensible interpretation of Christianity and re-establish its much-needed authority.
According to Shane (The Authentic Life, 2017, etc.), the world has been thrown into disarray by “unprecedented upheavals” and now “seems to be sliding closer and closer to the abyss of some primeval darkness.” Moral turpitude, avarice, war, and the wanton depletion of Earth’s resources engulf people, but the Christian church, the only institution capable of saving humanity from itself, is addled by a loss of authority and purpose. The author sees “muddled views” and “false doctrines” as the primary obstacles to a rejuvenation of the church’s power, and so this book is devoted to debunking them. Shane tackles this daunting task from three angles: confusion regarding the nature of the created world; the strategic plan God has mapped out for humankind; and the meaning of Christian eschatology. In the first section, the author criticizes Christianity for its “disinterest in science,” especially contemptible since God created a rational and therefore knowable universe. He argues that a proper conception of biblical Creation and Darwinian evolution demonstrates their compatibility. In the second part, Shane articulates the fundamental elements of God’s plan for humanity—to enjoy a loving and eternal bond with him, a scheme that was stewarded by Abraham and Jesus after Adam and Eve soiled it with sin. The author carefully explains the roles of both Israel and the United States in the progressive unfolding of God’s divine program. Finally, Shane objects to the passive fatalism that issues from the unbiblical view of a cataclysmic rapture and instead argues that humanity can look forward to a deliverance from sin and godlessness. The author’s interpretation of Christianity boldly advocates for a rational theology that makes its peace with science—he rigorously argues for a détente that presupposes a deeper vision of both. In addition, his version of Christianity is a refreshingly hopeful one, replacing doomsday readings of prophecy that undermine human agency with an optimistic understanding of salvation that empowers and ennobles it. But he never quite makes it clear why this is the worst of times, an argument he should have to make given the popularity of the opposite view, espoused by famous writers and scholars like Steven Pinker. In addition, while Shane acknowledges that not all of the Bible can be read literally, he refuses to concede that this can lead to variant exegetical renderings arrived at by an equal measure of rational good faith. As a result, the tone of the entire work is gratingly peremptory—the author has little patience for dissent: “Darwin did not create the geological column or the fossil record, God did! What scientists call ‘evolution’ is nothing more than the creative economy of God at work in the natural realm. If scientists want to call it ‘evolution’ that’s fine with us.”
A captivating account of Christianity hampered by dogmatic rhetoric.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 225
Publisher: Kurti Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the...
Elie Wiesel spent his early years in a small Transylvanian town as one of four children.
He was the only one of the family to survive what Francois Maurois, in his introduction, calls the "human holocaust" of the persecution of the Jews, which began with the restrictions, the singularization of the yellow star, the enclosure within the ghetto, and went on to the mass deportations to the ovens of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. There are unforgettable and horrifying scenes here in this spare and sombre memoir of this experience of the hanging of a child, of his first farewell with his father who leaves him an inheritance of a knife and a spoon, and of his last goodbye at Buchenwald his father's corpse is already cold let alone the long months of survival under unconscionable conditions.
Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2006
ISBN: 0374500010
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Hill & Wang
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2006
Well-told and admonitory.
Young-rags-to-mature-riches memoir by broker and motivational speaker Gardner.
Born and raised in the Milwaukee ghetto, the author pulled himself up from considerable disadvantage. He was fatherless, and his adored mother wasn’t always around; once, as a child, he spied her at a family funeral accompanied by a prison guard. When beautiful, evanescent Moms was there, Chris also had to deal with Freddie “I ain’t your goddamn daddy!” Triplett, one of the meanest stepfathers in recent literature. Chris did “the dozens” with the homies, boosted a bit and in the course of youthful adventure was raped. His heroes were Miles Davis, James Brown and Muhammad Ali. Meanwhile, at the behest of Moms, he developed a fondness for reading. He joined the Navy and became a medic (preparing badass Marines for proctology), and a proficient lab technician. Moving up in San Francisco, married and then divorced, he sold medical supplies. He was recruited as a trainee at Dean Witter just around the time he became a homeless single father. All his belongings in a shopping cart, Gardner sometimes slept with his young son at the office (apparently undiscovered by the night cleaning crew). The two also frequently bedded down in a public restroom. After Gardner’s talents were finally appreciated by the firm of Bear Stearns, his American Dream became real. He got the cool duds, hot car and fine ladies so coveted from afar back in the day. He even had a meeting with Nelson Mandela. Through it all, he remained a prideful parent. His own no-daddy blues are gone now.
Well-told and admonitory.Pub Date: June 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-06-074486-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Amistad/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2006
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