An often moving defense of the need for religion in modern times.
A Soviet-born doctor reflects on a life devoted to Judaism.
Tsesis (Communist Daze, 2017) writes that his parents grew up in the Jewish faith but were compelled to hide their religious allegiance under authoritarian Soviet rule. As a result, the author observes, their commitment to their Jewish faith atrophied, and their suppressed spirituality eventually became absent. Tsesis grew up as a cultural but not actively religious Jew, for the most part, but even as a young man, he experienced a profound attraction to religion; at one point, he tells of having a dream in which he encountered the “intuitive awareness of Divine Presence.” As he experienced ferocious anti-Semitism in his life, he remained impressed by the irrepressibility of faith and the historical adaptability of the Jewish people. His memoir is more an assemblage of essays than it is a linear, comprehensive autobiography, as he not only records his life of faith, but also furnishes a rational explanation of it. According to Tsesis, only the reality of a monotheistic god could ever adequately account for the “miraculous diversity of our amazing world.” In often poetical and rousing terms, he pits his deep appreciation of the “unfathomable mystery of existence” against communistic ideology and dogmatic atheism. He even provides an anatomy of what he sees as the limitations of Darwin’s theory of evolution, accepting many of its chief principles but denying that it captures the full spectrum of human experience. Tsesis’ life is a memorably eventful one, deeply affected by the modern rise of totalitarianism. He recounts his spiritual awakening with a combination of philosophical wonder and openhanded emotion—which makes for a stirring combination. In particular, his account of living under Soviet rule is extraordinary; while he was a physician in Odessa, he says, he was asked to lead a “scientific atheism study group.” However, he occasionally indulges his own brand of dogmatism, heavy-handedly branding atheism a “false religion,” equating it with “naïve simplicity,” and accusing it of reducing life to “pointless vanity.”
An often moving defense of the need for religion in modern times.Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-89733-732-8
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
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
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
© Copyright 2026 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.
