Philosophy Books

Where would we be without people that actualy take the time to think and analyze the things we think and do. If you're able to put preconcieved ideas out of your head for a bit you'll find this book a very interesting exersize.
What I was dissappointed in:
There seems to be a broad acceptance of much of the liberal teaching in this book. While our earth care as a society does have a dismal record many of the things being preached (global warming in particular) simply have yet to be proved. Our ability to measure has outgrown our knowledge of history and we seem bent on using our recently aquired ability to measure to drum up support for most anything we can make the numbers infer. Second his acceptance that business is just after another customer and and forgets all about the customer they have is another statement without fact. So many take for granted that because 1% of the businesses do something bad that paints all business with the same brush. I find these types of broad generalizations dissappointing.
While Brian spends much time on the "Security" issue and quotes turn the other cheek passages he really doesn't even attempt to reconcile that view with the "I AM" of the old testament who ordered the Israelites to kill every man, woman and child. I would find it most helpful to have the justice of that placed in context of the New Testament. Taking portions of scripture to prove a point without a full discussion of those scriptures that might cloud the issue seems a bit counter productive.
What I liked:
In short this book has caused me to start a complete overhaul of the way I live my life. Politically I would call myself a conservative but now I'm pretty much ready to throw political labels aside and find a another title. Most of the things talked about in this book I really never thought about in terms of christian responsiblity. What happened outside my city, county, state, etc.. just happened and that was just reality. War is just a reality and there's really nothing I can do about it. Now however, I am forced to take a really hard look at my consuption, earth care, care for my neighbor, even if in another country or unborn, and what Jesus would have me do. Working through this will, over time, change my christian walk completely.

Brian McLaren may be the most widely known proponent for the Emerging Church in the twenty-first century. The first book I read by McLaren is A New Kind of Christian, which I felt articulated my own frustration with modern expressions of church and Christianity. McLaren has become a prolific writer articulating the journey out of the modern trappings of the Western Church. McLaren is an associate in the Emergent Village, a group of Emerging Church leaders. Famed for his radical and sometimes threateningly abrasive tone as he describes modern Western Christianity, McLaren is often reviled by critics of the Emerging Church and Emergent Movement. Retired from the pastorate in Maryland, McLaren recently completed the "EMC" (Everything Must Change) Tour. He now travels, speaks, writes, and learns especially from friends in Latin America and Africa, how to change our "inner ecology" (294) and therefore help create a community freed from the dominant framing story through the viral message of Jesus.

This book is framed with McLaren's two important questions: What are the biggest problems in the world today? and What do the life and teachings of Jesus have to say about these global problems? (45) McLaren seeks the answers to those questions with his underlying thesis that we are beholden to a destructive framing story and that in the gospel of Jesus Christ, "a message purporting to be the best news in the world should be doing better than this." (34) The biggest problems in the world, as McLaren puts forth, are as a result of a "Suicide Machine," an invisible killer, feeding off of and destroying all life and corrupting the Earth's ecosystem. The Earth is a complex ecosystem in which human society is a participant. In as much as our societal machine, including prosperity, equity, and security, is not cooperatively and creatively informed by the good news of the kingdom of God, humankind will accept the curriculum and teaching of an alternative framing story, one which blinds our eyes to the increasing demands and abuse our societal "machine" places on the Earth's ecosystem.

This book shows how Christians have accepted a "gospel about Jesus", but we have failed to accept the "better news", the "gospel of Jesus", which is the message of the Kingdom of God. (83) McLaren only touches the problematic implications and interpretations of Protestant Reformation orthodoxy, such as Predestination. It is difficult for those who live consistently with that theological framework to not ask, "Why, if the Titanic is destined to sink, should we rearrange the deck chairs"? (153) The Bible, McLaren asserts, is not simply a book about how the "Elect" go to heaven and therefore will abandon the Earth, but a "story of the partnership between God and humanity to save and transform all of human society and avert global destruction." (94)

This book begins with our two questions, considers the "frame" of the conventional gospel story, and reintroduces us to Jesus. The first chapters introduce us to an alternative voice, a health care worker from South Africa, who pointed out the "nonsense" of the conventional gospel, how pastors are preoccupied with divine healing, being born again, and tithing. (27) McLaren relates how this kind of "dissatisfaction" with the current circumstance, coupled with a "shared imagination and hope, combine to form an emerging consensus that is spreading across the Global South," the new Majority Church, and emerging Christian leaders are realizing that "if their message isn't good news for the poor...it isn't the same message that Jesus proclaimed." (30) By including the voices of the Global South, McLaren broadens the emerging church discussion, showing the "two sided coin," the "postmodern" side, which is a perspective from the West, and "postcolonial" side, which is the perspective of those formerly dominated by the West. (44) The "way out" of the West's ugly, excessively confident, dominating, and exploitative narrative and the non-West's formerly colonized and oppressed people, is face-to-face meeting, dialogue, and community formation around the kingdom message of Jesus.
McLaren points out that the necessary change in our world is not "cosmetic" or merely a matter of being "relevant to culture." (32) Rather, like the South African health care worker, the necessary change is seen in the contrast between thoughtful young educated people, who are asking the difficult questions about larger societal and systemic injustices, and the typical adherents to the Christian religion, whose ultimate concern is most typically for only private and spiritual matters. The call, that "everything must change," is rooted in the dichotomy between spiritual and natural concerns. Just as Jesus warned his disciples to "beware the leaven," the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees, McLaren warns us of the dangers of "Foundationalism" and "destructive framing stories," combined with the lethal injection of "excessive confidence" in Christian religion most notable since the Enlightenment. (44)

The global problems plaguing the world have been reduced to lists by international agencies like the United Nations (Millennial Goals) and well-meaning Evangelical leaders (i.e. Rick Warren's 5-Point PEACE plan), which still imply on the part of the list-makers a confidence that such global issues can be broken down and solved according to the same Modern Western Framing Story that created the problems. Quoting Einstein, "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it", McLaren points out some bigger questions. How do we affect global change? How do we get free from the dominant system? McLaren writes of "liberating our imaginations from captivity;" (254) to whom are we captive? ourselves?, some conspiratorial group?, or is it spiritual forces in heavenly places, as Paul reveals? Who are our teachers? What questions might we ask today, which will affect the greatest transformative change and bring the greatest liberty from captivity for our society, and the world? If the idealist Boomer generation Jesus People became complicit to the dominant system, diseased with an ideology that created independent evangelical churches, what will this generation do? Or will the Emerging Church, those communities emerging from Western Christianity and out of the Western, Southern, and Eastern parts of the globe, be flexible enough in this generation to affect a radical reconciliation effort?

Clearly, we need help and we must ask difficult questions to "discern and articulate the alternative narrative of Jesus." (122) For example, why was Jesus tempted in the wilderness? (139) McLaren points out how even Jesus needed to stand against the "Suicide Machine" of the Roman Empire. We must beware of our teachers, and not just their ideas or systems they establish, but the teachers and "system" enforcers. We must ask where we place our faith and how our framing story of conquest causes us to be "driven" (137), the dehumanizing "Theo-capitalism" drive to go faster and faster, producing more and more. (192) Why do we listen to Jesus explanation of the value of our lives in comparison to a sparrow, which therefore has some value, and yet accept a dualist view of the value of an "immaterial" human soul? (138) Does our understanding of the gospel somehow lead to "derangement" (removed from our natural place in the world) and "decomposition" (divorced from what had previously been joined)? Is our spiritual aim the "disembodiment of soul" (standing outside ourselves), and a kind of spiritual ecstasy, like "a drug-induced euphoria or a hypnotically induced trance...(which therefore leaves us) liberated from all duty as embodied, environmented creatures"? (142)
The second half of this book penetrates deeper, examining and re-framing the systems of Security, Prosperity, and Equity. Chris Hedges, war zone journalist with intimate knowledge of the extent of the Security system and our nation's military investments, points out another kind of derangement saying that nations at war "fall into a collective `autism'...and do not listen to those outside the inner circle." (174) McLaren outlines in graphic detail the ugliness of the Security, Prosperity, and Equity systems in the "Suicide Machine" as if he were recruiting members to join a modern insurgency to overthrow, well...everything. Before you join, or toss aside this crazy notion, consider a few more questions we should be ready to answer: Do I believe that war is "simply a continuation of political intercourse"? (167) While he appears very much like he is presenting an argument for Ideological Pacificism, he steps away from that polarizing position to call for "a new dialogue" (176) replacing our craving for security with a passion for justice through "vibrant, reconciled communities". (182)

McLaren calls for a "New Global Love Economy" in the image of "God's sacred ecosystem." (128-131) He calls us to join the "Divine Peace Insurgency" to rebuild our societal system "as a beloved community." (151) He presents an economic plan of the kingdom of God with sustainable development and fruitfulness as the goal, not consumption. (207-9) Rather than completely abandon organized religion, he calls for "Organizing Religion" to strengthen families and communities through "celebrating virtue and training people to practice it." (264) Rather than call for political involvement, which tends to quickly polarize even the least partisan leaders, he calls for a radical believing, "believing the alternative and transforming framing story." (270) Rather than change the political system (not to mention the business, military, and even religious systems), which tends to attract those who change with the political wind, he repeats what Jim Wallis recommends: "Change the wind." This book is a call to activism with resurrection faith. This "insurgency" will not be defeated, but will "move quietly, at the margins, where all revolutions begin." (272) This is the Emerging Church, the maturing upward spiral of God's people with vision (276), those who are disbelieving a "covert curriculum, a curriculum that must be unlearned." (284) This Emerging Church is creating new lesson plans with a common script and a common faith to move mountains of oppressive systems by faith.


The vision McLaren presents in Everything Must Change is a radical restructuring of society. Jesus was constantly teaching, but only lecturing part of the time. He modeled life, crossed cultural barriers, confronted systems of thinking, and fully surrendered his rights to get his message across. This, it seems to me, is a time to re-examine all my models of ministry. One of the greatest implications of this book to my ministry is a shift in my thinking toward radical community as a transformative witness. In the past I have given myself to integrated, holistic, transformative mission "projects," but I have not formed communities, which share vision for sustainable development, reconciliation, and transformation. I'm turning away from the mission approach of transforming individuals to a radical shift of transforming communities.

The implication of this book for the global Church and for my ministry is an invitation to change personally and corporately, to partner with Christians from the West and the global South and East. I may live consistently within my foundational presuppositions, however because those presuppositions of God's nature and activity are different, I can reach very different conclusions unless I consider how much I am serving and supporting a system that is not the kingdom of God. Humankind spars for territory and resources in a closed environment producing a lot of heat, but little benefit for our global neighbors. McLaren is calling for a new ecosystem that nourishes, blesses, and sustains God's kind of life. For those trapped in the destructive ecosystem of liberalism and conservatism, there is a way out. However, it appears that way is frightfully simple, "BELIEVE." Our faith will carry us into a new environment, out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of His dear Son. Like Paul the apostle, who ruthlessly examined all his presumptions as a Pharisee, about God, right and wrong, and the Messiah, we need to ruthlessly examine those bonds that tie us to the "Suicide Machine". Something needs to change and I believe it begins with me.

McLaren has presented an extremely well-researched and clear overview of the gravest issues in the world today, and what followers of Christ should be doing about them. THis book is eye-opening and hopeful, frightening and empowering. It has changed my life, and I bought 5 more copies to share with others.

When Jesus came to earth, most people either followed Him or decided He had to die. That was the radical nature of His message in their culture. Likewise, you cannot dissect and apply His message to our own culture without inciting similar reactions. I see Brian McLaren as more philosopher than theologian. Theologians answer the important questions; philosophers ask them. The problem with many Christians (or religious people) is they feel they must condemn anything they don't 100% agree with. That's what killed the prophets, both ancient and contemporary. They asked dangerous and status-threatening questions. Thank you Brian, for asking the important questions that most of Chistendom is not asking (i.e. what does our faith have to say about the world's most important crises?)

If Brian McLaren wants to write a book about social ills he should do so, but he should leave Jesus out of it. I started reading this book and never finished it because of his blatant twisting of Jesus' message.

The sad part is that he won't accept the real Jesus in scripture and that is the Jesus that will soften a man's heart and therefore, make a difference in the issues of our day.

Legendary French existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre invites his readers to truly get in touch with what it means to be alive in this world. With the famous phrase "Hell is other people," Sartre is able to encapsulate the vast extent of social anxieties that necessarily exist among all people. Readers beware, if you're not ready to learn about the true depths of human self-perception, then do not open this book.

Estelle, Inez and Garcin expected to face all manner of torture in hell, but never expected hell to be a regular room, where these three extremely different people are bound together for eternity. During the time in which the characters explore the possibility of coexisting together, shocking confessions about the reasons that lead these characters to their death and subsequently to hell are revealed.

Inez, who is a homosexual woman, is the only character that is strong enough to practice her choice even after death. Inez finds her self stuck in an after life with a man she despises, and a woman who doesn't reciprocate her desire.

Estelle, a delusional superficial woman who interestingly can't blink, requires the presence of a man to validate her femininity or existence. Estelle is stuck between a man that she can't have, while Inez is watching, and a woman that she doesn't like.

Garcin, an immoral villain who cheated on his wife and mistreated her, needs his being and mistakes validated. Garcin is stuck between the lying selfish Estell and the honest opinionated Inez who has no interest in him. Garcin is the only character who gets a chance to leave the room but can't make a free choice to do so. He arrives at the famous conclusion:" Hell is other people".

This great story was obviously intended for a live audience. In addition to each character watching the other characters, each being watched by God, every body is being watched by the audience. Sartre cleverly used the awkward feeling of being watched all the time to enhance his story. He probably wanted to create an analogy between this room and the fact of living in Paris under German occupation during Second World War.

Please don't stop at "no exit". "The Flies", and "Dirty Hands" are great material that simply didn't get the same fame as "No Exit".

This book is a wonderful collection of plays written by the brilliant intellect of Sartre. It is an essential reading for the philosopher at heart.

I have read this little collection countless times over the years. I have seen Huit Clos (No Exit) performed several times (generally poorly) but it has never quite lived up to the power that I find in the written version. I realize that this is unusual for a play, and may reflect a fault in Sartre's work rather than a strength.

It is important to remember, however, that Sartre's work is always more about the ideas behind it than it is about the form he is using. Sartre wrote novels, plays, essays, and criticism during his long career. Through it all, he was a philosopher-- struggling with the notion of freedom and indifference.

People (particularly students) tend to stop with No Exit, neglecting its less famous cousins. This is a shame, as both The Flies and Dirty Hands are fascinating pieces. Particularly if you have an interest in the Oresteia then The Flies is a wonderful interpretation.

A must read book.

Sartre is sometimes given a reputation that far precedes him, as with many Nobel recipients. These plays are a testament against the skeptic's mindset.

"No Exit" is a modern-day interpretation of the antiquated "fire and brimstone" hell we are so accustomed to hearing about. Sartre adroitly picks up on the small idiosyncracies of human behavior and capitalizes on them with his version of hell. Three incompatible personalities are locked in a hot, stuffy hotel room for eternity, unable to get along with one another or reconcile their personal differences. The lights are always a bit too bright, the furniture a bit too stiff, and the wonder at "what lies down the hall" eats at the occupants for eternity. This is a far cry from biblical interpretations of hell, where an individual can mentally will themselves against pain. Instead, Sartre focuses on the interpersonal nature of unhappiness, and gives his spirits "one of those days" for eternity.

"Dirty Hands" is perhaps my favorite piece of literature. It plants its focus on a young intellectual revolutionary intent on assassinating a corrupt party leader. As he grows closer to Hoederer, the man he is sent to kill, he comes to realize that pure intellectual theories will always become muddied in the waters of reality.

"The Respectful Prostitute" depicts a young woman, a prostitute, who spends the night with a man who turns out to be a politician. The man completes his sordid mission, but the next morning scorns the woman. An lesson in objectivity and the two-faced nature of those who tend to preach loudly.

"The Flies" is set in Ancient Greece, but possesses Sartre's aptitude for human behavior. Just as good as all the others, though not as indicative of how humans behave.

These are all plays, making them quite easy to read. The characters are not hard to keep straight. The ease of reading doesn't detract from their literary quality. These four plays are elegant simplicity at its finest.

Pema Chrodon's work is, as always is an insightful read about human nature and emotions and how we come to term with those emotions. I found the focus on the bodhichitta and the different sayings fascinating as well as enjoying further revelations about Buddhist beliefs and spirituality. All of what she writes is applicable to living life and facing the fears any of us could face.

The only reason this is a four instead of a five is because you can find a lot of what she writes in here, in her other works. It still makes for good reading, but reading one of her works seems to get to heart of all of her writing.

When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times (Shambhala Classics)

For people who are looking for a practice guide that will help them understand the process of observation with rigorous acceptance, integrity and compassion of all that which is observed. This is about finding peace through that process because the heart opens as a result. The opening and openness of the heart are at the core of that peace which we seek. Our incessant wanting is only satiated by an open heart. It represents a mature emotional and spiritual approach in understanding what we want and how we gain peace. Perhaps a truly fully open heart receives (perhaps even attracts?) what it wants because it cherishes what is.

Pema Chodron is a treasure for the mind and spirit. Her writing is profound, wise, gentle and humorous. "The Places That Scare You" is a book to help guide anyone, of any faith. It helps us understand how to live life in an open, balanced and fearless way. It is written from a solid Buddhist perspective but is relevant to all humans. When I have difficult moments, I pick up this book and it helps ground me. When a friend if going through a rough patch, I send a copy to them.

I highly recommend this book and all of her publications as well.

I am new on those buddhism staff, so I became to realize that you never end reading and learning from this sort of books.

Altough some terms results difficult to understand to me, It became a valuable source of advice.

I don't usually take the time to write reviews, but this book is just the greatest, and I felt obligated to say something. Every sentence has so much meaning, that I hesitate to underline as I usually do. I might have to highlight or underline the entire book! This book gives good descriptions of the big picture (the ideas), but also practical things that I can do to open my mind and life. I look forward to reading more of Chodron's books.

I have lost track of just how many times I have listened to this set of conversations, but they never seem to grow old to me. It might be a year or more between my getting them down from the shelf, but they still completely emgross me. Perhaps that is the best indication that eternal truths are being discussed here.

Mr. Campbell recorded these sessions with Bill Moyers during the last two summers of his life. I find it significant that he didn't dispair, nor did he abandon or radically alter his life's work. No, he continued to draw strength from it and continued to believe that it was worth passing on to others. That is the sort of teacher that I want to listen to.

When I was a boy "myth" seemed to largely be equated with "lie", or at least with primitive ignorance. Joseph Campbell changed that misunderstanding for me. Thanks to these talks, and his other works, I comprehended that myths bring us to a level of consciousness that is spiritual and embedded deeply in our collective unconscious. It speaks to heart and not our brain (which, after all, is a secondary organ.)

As for his philosophy of "finding your bliss", it truly is the influence of a vital person to vitalize the world around them, thereby saving both their self and the world. If you do not eventually find your true center and act from it you are always going to be off balance.

There is a reviewer in here who said that this book wasn't fit to read even for students in philosophy classes or whatever. I strongly disagree. This book is a wonderful introduction to the world's myths. I would have never picked this book up if it weren't for my dad, another avid reader. I've had this book for several months and had to put it down in between readings since it was not grabbing my interest like it should. (It's easy to see why, this book should be read and thoroughly enjoyed and pondered upon, of which I simply did not have the time to do so!)

I wish I had a copy of this book in my world history class in college because it would have made that class so much more interesting. It is a compliation of interviews between Bill Moyer and Joseph Campbell. It sounds boring since it is basically a transcripts of their TV interviews, but it really isn't. It is thoroughly interesting and the passion Campbell has for his education, thoughts, desires and life shines through the written word. And Campbell is a very passionate man, full of life and ideas. Men (or women) like him do not come along that often and this book is a great introduction to a forward thinker on the thoughts and philosophy of the world's myths, religions, history and more.

The basic premise of Campbell's philosophy in this book is to follow your bliss. There is more to life than what meets the eye and he uses examples after examples of old myths to show the idea that mankind has always been on the search for purpose of life, how to live life fully and how religion can hamper that desire. It is very interesting and very thought-provoking and insightful look in the human need to know where he/she belongs.

I know that my dad is a big fan of Campbell's work so I am sure he'll be passing along other books of Campbell's. I have to admit that after reading this one, I am even more intrigued.

7/25/08

For anyone interested in life, history, phychology, culture ...the human experience...this is a "must". Joseph Campbell articulates how the underlying currents of our experience(internal & external)are reflected both individually and in masses through our mythology; where we've come from and where we're going. He does so with the expertise of a teacher who has the ability to reach into everyone from the novice to the expert and inject excitement into the subject.

I spent many years as a person of faith before I encountered the perspective that I now identify with Joseph Campbell. The guiding idea of this book, as well as his work overall, is that of discovering the deep principles that are at work in the myths or stories of all cultures. He has challenged me to think anew about the "myth of Christianity" and how it is, in the words of Gordon Kaufman of Harvard Divinity School, "an imaginative human construct."

The most intriguing discussion of the book is reported as a conversation of Campbell with Bill Moyers. In response to Campbell's assertion that he was seeeking "for a centering in terms of deep pinciples," Moyers said, "You are talking about a search for the meaning of life." But Campbell would have none of that. He responds, "No! I am talking about the experience of being alive! People say that what we're seeking is a meaning in life. I don't think that is what we are really seeking. I think that what we are seeking is the experience of being alive so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances within our own innermost being and reality so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive."

At this point I want to disagree with Campbell, a choice I make with trepidation. What he is saying doesn't seem anything more than the "will to pleasure," with a dash of ecstasy through in as flavoring. Epicurus didn't convince me and Campbell isn't succeeding either.

But because I have such a genuine respect for the thrust of Campbell's work I knew that I had to think again about the question of the source of meaning. Who is right -- Freud or Adler or Frankl or Campbell? I tend to side with Frankl but there is reason to give other perspectives their due. I understand Campbell's assertion to mean that the "will to pleasure" or "the rapture of being allive" is the heart of the human experience. I doubt that he or Freud can defend that view successfully in a world of such misery. It's a view that is more hopeful than realistic. Not convincing. The darker side of human nature is rejected. Or, at minimun, ignored. Yet the fact that I was confronted in such a way that I had to think my perspective through again is a STRONG recommendation of this book! Read it and enjoy it. The fact it was written several years ago as a report of a television program doesn't lessen its value. Along with "the new cosmology" and the "Jesus Seminar," Campbell's notion of myth has had "a revolutionary impact" on me.

It isn't often that one comes across a book that can be referenced again and again. This is probably best described as broad overview of the late Joseph Campbell's best work. For those who are not familiar with the scholar's previous works, including the world renowned "Hero with a Thousand Faces" (which has also been reviewed), this work covers the vast expanse of Campbell's ideas and research over the course of his lifetime. The volumes of his scholarly work may be a bit intimidating to the uninitiated, but for the casual reader who would like a taste of mythology, psychology, art and religion, this work is a great and welcome piece that should belong in every philosopher's library. The conversational style of the writing is very accessable and makes the reader feel as if they are privy to a private talk with the man himself. The breadth of knowledge and humor with which Campbell presents his material is a great way for readers to get the sense of what a lecture from the man was like. This book is the definative work on the subject and has even been condensed down to the bare bones elements by Hollywood screenwriters and playwrights. This work is also available in audio format and on DVD. Overall, a wonderful introduction to Joseph Campbell and his ideas.

We are using this book as a book study group in our elementary school It serves as a great springboard for conversation about teaching strategies and learning. The book provides insights to new teachers as well as seasoned teachers and can serve as a way to share and reflect as a learning and teaching community.

I purchased this book based on a review I read in a popular teacher magazine put out by Scholastic. I was looking for a book I could read quickly and find information that would help me understand how my language affects my students. This book did give me that information, but I had to search for it, something I did not have the time to do. I wonder who the the targeted audience was for this book? Certainly not an overwelmed 2nd year 4th grade teacher with 26 students.

This is an important work for any teacher to read. It helps the teacher focus on how he or she can actively shape a student's identity by helping the student to develop a firm concept of self. Detailed questions and examples are given. I found this work very helpful to think about, although I don't intend to teach reading or become a reading coach. The work has helped guide me into thinking about how to turn students into powerful, confident, human beings.
Wonderful! Love it!

I couldn't put it down--which is often said of a novel, but maybe not so often about a professional book. I truly read the book for six hours, and only took a few breaks. I started out highlighting what I found provocative, but soon realized that that wasn't enough. I got out my post-its, and began to note bits of wisdom I didn't want to forget. I think I must have added 50 post-its!! It's not that the information is so new, but rather that it is such a reminder and "emphasizer" about how we talk to children, and treat them in our classrooms. I thank Mr. Johnston for his thoughtful approach, and love the organization of the book. I've shared bits and pieces of what I've read with the staff at my school, and plan to continue to do so for the rest of the year. I've ordered two more copies of the book to share with colleagues. Thank you for this inspiring book.

This book really changed my thinking about how to speak to children to promote the best learning, and what to say. Our words are powerful tools in the 'teacher's took kit' and must be used with care.

Dr. Sam Harris [to be awarded his doctorate in Cognitive Neuro-Science] has revealed the 40 centuries of duplicity of our quasi-magical religious system. Its purpose is to control our minds, hearts and body by appealing to vulgar ignorance and superstition. Without religion, the human species would not be so ignorant ["not knowing"] and stupid ["put the mind in a daze"]. Its purpose to to inflict misery and poverty on the larger groups in any society so a few can live well off the backs of these many. It is animal deceit that came out of the homosexual priesthood of the ancient world (11% of our species is homosexual)!

What Dr. Harris did not state is how difficult it is to root out this falsity in human nature. In our historical record when one vile religious system must supplant another odious system, one merely chops off the noses, ears and tongue, or "cabbage head" to root out the presumed vile contagion. Why cabbage head? No one wants to have sex with such a hideous creature, hence he dies off; and with his death, the old religion goes. This was how the vile, vulgar superstition of Christianity supplanted the Roman State Religion; Islam supplanted Christianity; and Zoaroastrian Persian State Religion was supplanted by Mazdeism!

So mankind will continue to cling to the filthy robes of religion---it is how she hides her moral and legal crimes, and further deceit in business. All the town theives sit in the front pew on Sunday to hide their petty crimes throughout the week against their fellow man. Is this not obvious?

There has been much lucid insights given about Dr. Harris' treatise, most of it inane and self-patronizing. We twin brothers need not add further dribble to this incompetent mass of third-rate ideas. Dr. Harris requires and demands better. He has written a charming, lucid masterpiece! Presently, our time and age are too confused and ill-educated to appreciate his tutelary genius!

The Age of Belief was the 12th-13th Century in Europe. We are an age of dunces who do not understand what religion was, and what is worse, what it is now! It is merely mental sickness and disease in our culture which renders all of us unsafe and unhealthy!

This virulence will only be with us for two more centuries!

Presently, it is data systems, economic systems and mathematical systems that run things, so the dolts in religion can run their sterile rant and fill out minds with their dry, mental rot!

We were disappointed that Dr. Harris did not reveal that Jeshua [or Jesus] had a twin brother, Judas. Our ancient epigraphic Roman Latin records, Aramaic records, Syriac record, Coptic records, Ethioptic records and even Sanskrit records attest to this obvious attribution. When one twin was killed for Jewish moral violation [Jeshua] around A.D. 29/30 by the 'cross of the beast' of Roman penal technique (Jews would have set him on fire or buried him alive by their penal system), the other twin, ran around the countryside for four more years before he also was killed like his twin in A.D. 34. When you are an identical twin, indeed, you come back from the dead to outsiders who do not know you are a twin! In our manuscript traditions this other twin is called "Didymus Judas Thomas" or a variation thereof. Naturally, 'didymus' is Koine Greek for identical twin and 'thomas' is Palestinian Aramaic for identical twin.

We ancient scholars have been sitting on this vulgar truth since the 1860's. We will not release it to the fools in religion until around A.D. 2030. We remind this readership that very few people read Oriental languages and their scripts. They are essentially brain dead. For that matter, who can even read Classical Latin, Classical Greek and Classical Hebrew? Certainly not the blockheads in religion or those human scum who profess they are Bible students.

If we are severe in these matters, it is because we have forty centuries of historical details in our minds. When great misery, suffering and pain are inflicted on the general population, it is always the scoundrels in religion who either perpetrate the crime or give cover to the crime by others (in military or political-governmental structures)!

Dr. Harris has written a morally good book!


Respectfully,


John E.D.P. Malin,
Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer
James F.D.P. Malin,
Vice Chairman of the Board & Chief Research & Development Officer
Informatica Corporation
Executive Division
P.O. Drawer 460
Cecilia, Louisiana 70521-0460

"Fathers of the Silicon Bayou"

Contact Information: InformaticaMalin@gmail.com

P.S. We would be remiss in our duties here if we did not give correct insight into the 'War on Terror.' This too is ancient dupery! Its correct Latin name is 'pura et pia bella' [Latin, "pure and pious wars"]. It is the purpose of the scoundrels in religion who live off the backs of the people to harness terror in our local communities. The religious crowd is even too stupid to manage this simple task!

--

The message in the book can be best obtained by a clear understanding of the age old and outdated philosophical thoughts and comparing them with the benefits of current knowledge of science and technology. Therefore, a good knowledge of this is essential for a peaceful international living without having to wage wars. But there are many who work against the spread of this knowledge through fear, and are carried away by writings transcribed at various times and declared as holy.

The book analyzes the current conflict between reason, acquired through scientific and technological knowledge, and outright faith in antiquated religious dogmas. It references ideologies as believed and practiced in various places in world. The problems arise when faith in these beliefs are defended and enforced ruthlessly. The reader is provided with ample opportunity with references and lengthy notes to fall back and to improve understanding of the current clashes. This can make it difficult for the reader, who is not well versed in these ideas, to sustain interest in the important message. Consequently it tends to disrupt smooth flow of reading, and can induce loss of interest. A concentrated reading effort is required, and the interested reader should be prepared for this challenge. The flow of text in the book could be improved to make it an interesting piece of composition without using elliptical sentences. That is the writing style of the author. This is not a romantic novel or book of fairy tales.

World problems are not ascribable alone to blind faith. Due to natural genetic makeup of humans, powerful nations want to maintain superiority by inventing smart technologies, by usurpation of raw materials for energy, and control of world economy. This is often supported by resorting to ancient theocratic ideals which so often have clashed with each other. The book conveys a serious and important message to the world of the twenty-first century and beyond. Nobody can stop the dynamic progress and spread of science and technology. The Internet has been a great boon to society. We can "google" as we please, but should also be cautious and wise enough to make the most of the reliable information that we can get from such searches. We might look upon it as the first easy way to look beyond by searching in libraries to establish the credibility of the information obtained. That is fortunate because we do not live in the bygone dark ages when such easy access to knowledge was scanty and forbidden. However, there is enough hatred and bigotry going around. This is depressing. Sam Harris makes a brave effort to enlighten the reader with "The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason (Hardcover)". The future of humanity to aspire and work collectively could be at stake if reason is abandoned.

Thoughtful people are aware that world problems have been largely due to our genetic make up. In the primitive stages of human development, the work horse for sustaining human specie, the brain relied largely on mythological tales, miracles ascribed to pagan gods, and by authoritative and fictional credos. Deities were supposed to control mythically glorious heavens or terrifying hell fires for life after death for reward or punishment. Language development has made it possible to collect thoughts in books and scriptures which have been sanctified by self-anointed theocratic bodies; with the help of contemporary rulers of the times they have succeeded in forcing their views and writings on the defenseless masses deprived of basic necessities of living. Ignorance and fear have been used to propagate, coerce, and enforce theocratic ideas. Dogmatic beliefs are taught to the young when they have not yet reached the age of reason. Delusions of god and devil have been largely due to ideas created and perpetrated through the so called sacred writings sanctified as the unquestionable truth. Opposition has not been encouraged.

Current media, which should be independent, is lacking in its courage of conviction and credibility. Fortunately there are scientist, writers, and thoughtful people who possess good understandings of our genetic structure, science and technology. They have been contributing to understand the need international cooperation for peaceful living. There is much to be done.

This is such an imperative book to read for any human being wishing good for the future of our species. A must for any intelligent person.

Just read it, it will change the way you view our world. It could change the way you vote for leaders and it could change what you do on Sundays.
The path to a future of world peace is inside the covers of this book if you can open your mind and absorb it. Ignore it at the peril of your children and grandchildren.
Thank you, Mr. Harris

I give this book two stars because it is well written and a compelling argument and yet of ignores the enormous harm that leaders who are anti-religion and/or atheist have brought upon humanity in just the last century alone.

FACT: Mao, Stalin, and Hitler, three leaders who are either atheist or anti-religion, within just a few decades, have killed an estimated 100 Million people or more.
FACT: Together, the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the witch burnings killed approximately 200,000 people.
This doesn't even take into account what atheist leaders like Castro, Kim Jong-il, and others have done in more recent times.

Honestly, the only thing driving people to do these horrible things is a lust for power, and anything else they claim to be doing it for is just an excuse as neither atheistic teachings nor any religion I am aware of condones the killing of innocent people in the name of itself.

It is also true that not one single scientific fact can disprove God's existence, and scientific discoveries and theories such as the big bang seem more and more to support a theistic ideology than an atheistic one. In fact, a significantly large number of atheist scientists have actually been trying fruitlessly to come up with an alternative to the big bang because of this very reason, despite the fact that the evidence supports it enormously.

I am furthermore kind of shocked at the title he chose, when it is clear to any scientist that it requires just as much faith to be an atheist as it does to be a theist.

This is a respectable translation, but don't expect fluid reading as Sanskrit has more modality than English does.

This is a fairly good translation. At the end is an interesting essay Why did Henry David Thoreau take the Bhagavad Gita to Walden Pond? Then there is a useful glossary. One thing lacking is an index. I would recommend buying instead a translation with an index, like Schweig's or Easwaran's. One strange thing about Miller's translation is all the sexism, like 'learned men', 'undiscerning men', 'wise men' etc., which is surprising for a woman translator. It is true that Sanskrit there has masculine nouns, but both sexes are meant. The reason is that in Sanskrit every noun has to be assigned a gender, and masculine is the default even when both sexes are meant, like in Spanish, German etc.

This is a rather good translation for the Gita, it's not as beautiful as the translation by Srila Prabhupada, but it's still pretty good, especially for someone just learning about Sanatana Dharma.
Jai Radhe-Madhava!

I got my hands on this 'pocket-'book by chance about 14 years ago and what a disappointment it was then! There is no Sanskrit, yoga is translated as !discipline!.. Did Ms. Miller have a clue about what she was doing other than make some money? Now that I have read translations by Sri Yogananda and Prabhupada, I have the ability to comment on it further.
The Bhagavad Gita is not a simple set of words to be translated, this is a philosophy of life in sutra form-absolutely condensed so it could be passed down by guru to disciple by word of mouth. The guru transfers the knowledge not only by recitation but by showing actual practise.
So, Ms. Miller has no qualification to translate other than knowledge of a language which can be picked up by a 10 year old. Even a 10 year old would do a better job at translating 'yoga'.

Salaam to all,

I can not claim to speak authoritatively regarding the accuracy and fidelity of the translator's work, but it speaks to me and I am *quite* fond of this translation of the Gita.

I would like to address a few points raised by other reviewers.

Lets start with the sub-title: The "war" is between the illusory world of senses (and delusional 'imagination') and The-Eternal-Absolute, aka Al-Samad to Muslims, and YHVY to Israelites. This book is an 'exposition' on the Greater Jihad (Greater Struggle) spoken of by The Prophet (ALLAH's Salaam and Blessings Be upon him, his house, his progeny, his companions, and his Umma.)

The second item that needed to be addressed was implicitly addressed above. Is this 'book' congruent with the Religion of Abraham (ALLAH's Salaam and Blessings Be upon him and his progeny) and his Chosen Israel (ALLAH' Salaam and Blessing Be upon Israel) and HIS Anointed King of Israel, the Word made flesh (And ALLAH's Salaam Is Ever upon him) and *finally* with the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (ALLAH's Salaam and Blessings Be upon him, his house, his progeny, his companions, and his Umma)? In my 'reading' of The Book -- The Torah, The Pslams, The Gospels, and The Qur'an -- the answer is a resounding 'Yes'.

Who is this book addressed to? This book is an 'exposition' of matters Divine by Al-Samad to HIS Friends, HIS Friends being those Sentient that wish to find an 'eternal abode' with HIM, The Un-Changing. (In The Qur'an, these Friends of ALLAH are called 'Those Who are Granted *Nearness to HIM*'.) Thus, in this manual of the Greater Jihad -- which is the Inner Striving to strip away that which is 'not' -- we have The-GOD manifesting HIM-Self to Arjuna as his "Friend", "Teacher", and "Pilot".

Gandhi read this book every day. It certainly has a place in the daily reading list of any Friend of The-GOD, Who IS our Source and our Destiny.

This book will help with the task of 'choosing' the manner in which you, my fellow Sentient, shall 'Return' unto HIM.

"Simply put, [this] is the most important book ever written on American foreign policy." Thus writes Andrew Bacevich in his introduction to the newly reissued book written by Reinhold Niebuhr in 1952. Bacevich is a Niebuhr scholar and author of the just published book, "The Limits of Power". He was largely responsible for getting "Irony" reissued.

The timing of this book becoming available, as well as of Bacevich's own book, couldn't be better. Niebuhr was a pastor, teacher, activist, moral theologian and prolific author. He was a towering presence in American intellectual life from the 1930's through the 1960's. He was, at various points in his career, a Christian Socialist, a pacifist, an advocate of U.S. intervention in World War II, a staunch anti-communist, an architect of Cold War liberalism, and a sharp critic of the Vietnam War.

The Irony of American History traces the course of American idealism and exceptionalism from its very beginnings in the providential thinking of the Pilgrims who settled Massachusetts. Written early in the Cold War, Niebuhr devotes much of his analysis to comparing and contrasting Marxian communism and the "bourgeois" liberalism, or liberal democracy of America. While he clearly argues that the liberal project of democracy offers more to the "common good" of the community than does Marxism, both have the seeds of their destruction in the illusions they hold. So-called "Niebuhrian realism" is the ability to see through such illusions as a condition for avoiding the worst pitfalls they carry.

Alas, one of the greatest of these pitfalls is the American tendency to suppose that we can manage history. As Niebuhr writes: "The illusions about the possibility of managing historical destiny from any particular standpoint in history, always involves, as already noted, miscalculations about both the power and the wisdom of the managers and of the weakness and the manageability of the historical 'stuff' which is to be managed." He goes on to point out that "In the liberal versions of the dream of managing history, the problem of power is never fully elaborated. ...On the whole, [American government] is expected to gain its ends by moral attraction and limitation. Only occasionally does an hysterical statesman suggest that we must increase our power and use it in order to gain the ideal ends, of which providence has made us the trustees."

Is it not painfully evident that we reached one of those "occasional moments" after 9/11 when "hysterical statesmen" - Bush and Cheney, et al - argued for a profound increase in the power to gain the "ideal ends" of bringing "freedom" to Iraq and the Middle East since we are the obvious "trustees" of this freedom?

Herein lies the element of "irony", the philosophical and spiritual core of Niebuhr's arguments. The first element of irony, Niebuhr points out, "is the fact that our nation has, without particularly seeking it, acquired a greater degree of power than any other nation of history" and we "have created a 'global' political situation in which the responsible use of this power has become a condition of survival of the free world."

He continues: "But the second element of irony lies in the fact that a strong America is less completely master of its own destiny than was a comparatively weak America, rocking in the cradle of its continental security and serene in its infant innocence. The same strength which has extended our power beyond a continent has also interwoven our destiny with the destiny of many peoples and brought us into a vast web of history in which other wills, running in oblique or contrasting directions to our own, inevitably hinder or contradict what we most fervently desire. We cannot simply have our way, not even when we believe our way to have the 'happiness of mankind' as its promise."

In Iraq we have met the enemy and "it is us". Not enough of us understood that "we cannot simply have our way" in the exercise of American power, which is thought to be essentially military power, to head off the folly in which we are buried and the prospect of a war without end.

Writing all this in 1952 with the cataclysmic dangers of the Cold War becoming a hot war, Niebuhr foresaw the increasing globalization of the world and the danger of not recognizing and accepting the limits of our power to bring freedom and happiness to the rest of the world, especially through military means.

This slender book of 173 pages is loaded with these prescient observations warning us clearly of the catastrophic dangers that can follow from a failure to understand the limits of our power of our exceptionalism and of the illusion that we can manage all this history to accomplish our supposedly moral and "good" ends for other nations.

When you finish reading this book you will then want to read Bacevich's book, "The Limits of Power", in which he essentially channels Niebuhr's understanding and traces the history of the last 60 years in which the Bush-Cheney foreign policy has become simply an extension of the direction American foreign policy has taken, primarily from the Reagan administration onward.

Being a fan of the author, I appreciated the condition of this book. Thank you.

In The Irony of American History, Reinhold Niebuhr reviews the competing ideologies of communism and liberal democracy and finds that they both express an overly optimistic view of human nature. In the liberal view, the defects in human nature are curable through education or changes to social and political institutions. In communist ideology, the proletariat is a repository of virtue that will create a perfect society when the corrupting influence of the institution of private property is abolished. History, of course, shows that these views are dangerously inaccurate. Against them, Niebuhr offers the Christian view that man must struggle to create justice in this world while realizing that ultimate solutions lie beyond his grasp: "every sensitive individual has a relation to a structure of meaning which is never fulfilled in the vicissitudes of actual history."

This book was written more than 50 years ago, during the hottest part of the cold war. Much of the book focuses on America's new (at that time) responsibilities as a superpower, and on the struggle between communism and democracy. Still, a modern reader will be surprised by the book's relevance to the current position of the United States in the world.

Niebuhr takes it as self-evident that, if there is one center of power and authority, "preponderant and unchallenged, ... its world rule would almost certainly violate basic standards of justice." He outlines the attempts made in the U.S. constitution to diffuse power among different institutions and create a system of checks and balances. He cites James Bryce's assessment: "The aim of the constitution seems to be not so much to attain great common ends by securing a good government as to avert the evils which will flow not merely from a bad government but from any government strong enough to threaten the pre-existing communities and individual citizens." This works well enough in the United States, but how can the dangers associated with hegemonic power be averted in an international context? Niebuhr, a realist, notes that "no world government could possibly possess, for generations to come, the moral and political authority to redistribute power between nations in the degree in which highly cohesive national communities have accomplished this end in recent centuries." However, he expresses optimism that the United Nations might serve as a forum in which national policies are subjected to the scrutiny of world opinion. He also suggests that a sense of community with others might serve as some kind of internal check on power. Establishing such a sense of community requires recognition of our own fallibility and of the valid elements in what are to us foreign cultures, outlooks, and systems of government.

Niebuhr sees that the strength of the United States after World War II has brought us into contact with very different societies, and "... neither their conceptions of the good, nor their interests, which are always compounded with ideals, are identical with our own." Lacking a deep understanding of the complexities of national aspirations and cultural differences, U.S. foreign policy often lunges between two extremes of offering economic advantage to secure cooperation or overcoming intransigence through military force.

Moreover, the United States has always considered itself an example for others to follow: "except in moments of aberration, we do not think of ourselves as the masters, but as tutors of mankind in its pilgrimage to perfection." People in the United States do not lust for world power, although we feel the pride that accompanies power. Because we see our motives as idealistic, the anger that others feel toward us is hard for us to understand or accept. The great danger for the United States is an excess of hubris. "Our moral perils are not those of conscious malice or the explicit lust for power. They are the perils which can be understood only if we realize the ironic tendency of virtues to turn into vices when too complacently relied upon; and of power to become vexatious of the wisdom which directs it is trusted too confidently. The ironic elements in American history can be overcome, in short, only if American idealism comes to terms with the limits of all human striving, the fragmentariness of all human wisdom, the precariousness of all historical configurations of power, and the mixture of good and evil in all human virtue."