Religion Books

I agree with all those who gave it 5 stars. I'm writing to address the comment made by a Western male regarding the homoeroticism between the guru and his devotee and the misogynistic slant of the book. You're having difficulty because you are reading this book trapped in the perspective of your homophobia and expectation. That is exactly why you should read this book, so it can make you get out of your limitations and call to your soul, which has no gender. God has no gender, though of course God can appeal to you as a Mother God or Father God, depending on your need for it. Paramahansa Yogananda cannot possibly write for the current trend of political correctness of American society to assuage your criticism for not putting more women in his book; he is obviously way beyond the trappings of human identifications of the gross material body and gender. Spend some time meditating and detaching from all that, including the fact that you're a heterosexual male, so your soul can be awakened by the words of this giant of a man. Don't worry, you won't turn gay!

Reading this book at the age of forty-two was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. From the beginning chapter, I felt like I had finally come home. This was the life I had always wished was possible but never dreamed it could be!

I just now finished listening to Chapter 23 as I was driving to a restaurant. I've listened to the audiobook version, read by Ben Kingsley, a few times now and it never fails to thrill me. Everything in this book resonates in harmony with who I am and who I wish to be. I was already teaching classes on spirituality by the time I encountered this inspiring book and was amazed at how much deeper it took me in my knowledge and practice.

Yogananda teaches that direct contact with God is possible through the application of scientific yoga principles. After practicing his techniques, which have been handed down for thousands of years by Indian sages, I have reached ever higher levels of peace, happiness and alignment with what Yogananda's beloved guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar, calls "that supreme intelligence which governs everything."

May this magnificent book enrich your spiritual life as it has mine!

I rememeber this book in 1970 when I worked in a bookstore in Greenwich Village.It was popular then and it seems to be my karma to obtain a cloth version upon recommendation from a new friend in a local ashram.
Besides have a great impact on my own spiritual life as it attempts to reconcile Christianity with Hinduism, it is startling to read the poetic and crafted wording used by the author to describe the world from his own spiritual state of mind.There are many miracoulous events that occur and it is fifficult to be cynical when they are described in such a simple and beautiful way with self effacement.The events have a profound effect upon the reader and the scientific part of the mind, generating cause and effect, is overcome.It is incredibly footnoted and as Herman Melville describes the history of whaling in Moby Dick, this yogi provides ample background of the spiritual and scientific paradigm is his life and the world around the time of the First World War.
I recommend exposing your mind to the peaceful and poetic journey that awaits the reader describing this remarkable life.

Several years ago, I was introduced to Yogananda and Self Realization Fellowship by my wife, who had been a member for a number of years prior. I'd read Yogananda's book from cover to cover several times - I have it on my PDA to read before bed or when waiting in line, etc. These CD's take his message to the next level. Expertly narrated by Ben Kingsley, they are the perfect companion while driving, working on the computer, walking, or whenever one needs an uplifting and thought-provoking interlude to a hectic life.

For those that aren't familiar with Yogananda and SRF, and for those who are, I would highly recommend this set. 5 stars!

This is one of the most important books I have ever read. It changed my life and is as current today as the day I read it many years ago. This is definitely a book for a spiritual seeker and will take you many steps along your path.

Great book to inspire yourself to be a better person and to open up to those in need. I would recommend this to every religions organization out there or anyone looking to become a better person.

This is an easy read with practical applications for anyone who wants to communicate a personal witness to others with sensitivity. Directions for how to write your God story is simple and easy. The church I attend is reading it for summer reading and I think applying it will make a big impact on being God's messengers in our community.

This book is excellent! It is easily readable, yet compelling. It draws you in with personal stories and then gives you practical suggestions for building relationships with others.

I believe the danger of Hybels work is that it will produce false converts. Like some other reviews have stated Hybel only shares half the Gospel. The Law is a tutor that brings us to Christ (galations 3:24). Psalm 19:7 "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul:" This book shows none of that. Save you time and money. If you want to learn true Biblical evangelism, the way Jesus did it, buy The Way of the Master

This is a great book for Christians who want to share the message of Jesus but are hesitant to get into evangelism. This book contains many practical, yet inspirational ideas to help guide you as you take the message of Jesus to your friends, relatives, associates and neighbors.

Punctuated with a thin veil of lyricism and argued from a Christian perspective, C. S. Lewis does not only explore the psychological ramifications of experiencing pain (suffering) but also provides an intellectual discussion geared at reconciling theological tenets about the relationship between God as the essence of love and individuals stricken by sorrow. His views are very theoretical since the book was written many years before his beloved wife died. However, the book raises interesting questions relevant to the role of pain in our lives and misconceptions of what happiness and love are. During his compelling analysis of the Christian dilemma, Lewis journeys from atheism to Christianity with masterful clarity and empathizing inquiry into the Christian doctrine of a loving God in a world plagued by suffering.

Lewis believed we should try to enter into the meaning, the intent of the authors we read, instead of bringing our own biases and immediately subjecting them to our own categories of thought. We cannot help but enrich our minds if "in reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself." Therefore, if you've stumbled upon this book for whatever reason and feel inclined to read it then I'd urge -- pay no attention to the humbug critics, at least until after you've read what could be a life enriching book, as this was for me.

Ten years ago I began reading Lewis; the Problem of Pain was one of the first of his works, after Mere Christianity, I picked up. It wasn't long after I read PoP that I was watching Schindler's List. Scene by scene, the dilemma of evil in the face of a good God assaulted me till I was overcome with intense and sickening violence. I ended up falling to the ground, in anguish, crying "how"? I received no blinding insight, I'm sorry to say, into the mystery of evil; but Lewis' logic had infected me, and suddenly an argument took hold of my mind, checked my despair, and gave me something to hold onto (incidentally, those critics who, in reading Lewis have immediately subjected him to their atheist framework have a-priori cut themselves off from understanding the ultimate logic of their own position - or they just don't care, which is far worse).

The argument, in so many words, ran something like this: the proposition that God doesn't exist amounts, at the same time, to the proposition that all this anguish at the injustice unfolding before me on my TV screen is not rooted in reality, that it's all a purely subjective illusion, which reflects no eternal value, goodness or justice, and, logically, could just as well be delight and approval. In other words, the extent I thought evil truly evil and wrong - that was the extent to which I had to believe in a good God; to deny Him would be, at the same time, a denial of the reality of evil, which was driving me to deny Him in the first place. I simply refused to concede that the Nazis, slaughtering Jews, were no more morally culpable than if they were involuntarily swatting mosquitoes.

Many people are keen to respond something along these lines, "well, I personally feel this or that is wrong," and seriously think they've resolved the matter. However, this "line" has a shocking corollary, which runs thusly: "...but it is not really wrong". In it's blunt, down to earth form, and applied to my experience above, it looks like this: "I feel the Nazi's were wrong, but I cannot speak for them and say they were wrong, because they were not REALLY wrong." When the mind reflects objective reality it has truth; if my mind isn't reflecting the eternal reality of value, goodness, and justice, then my gut reactions and intense emotions are a response to nothing in reality, to no quality innate to human beings, which categorically warrants such a reaction - they're a fictional response, a response to a pretended reality. We all know, deep down inside, that this cannot be true, and that evil really exists because there's an eternal standard of goodness (God) by which to identify evil as evil...

Read this book - make your own judgments...

Lewis deals with a timeless issue in this book: why is there suffering and pain? In the UK, this issue has come centre stage in moral debates. Should a being being permitted to exist if its life is destined to be one of "useless" suffering.

There was an article in the paper about a year ago about a couple who had a child with cystic fibrosis and wanted through IVF to conceive a child free of this nasty disease. Through the "miracle" of science, they were enabled to screen out any embryos with the disease so that they could have a "perfect" child. The logic for this was, so they said: "why would anyone want anyone to suffer" (aside: what would their existing child with CF be now thinking: it would have been better that I had not existed?) as if all who suffer, would wish not to be rather than to be. This kind of thinking is becoming indemic. It is a rejection of the truth which shines forth luminously from every human being, a truth which causes the beholder to say: "It is indeed wonderful that you exist"

And, this is where Lewis comes in with an attempt at answering the question of: "why is there suffering"?:

"The problem of reconciling human suffering with the existence of a God who loves, is only insoluble so long as we attach a trivial meaning to the word "love", and look on things as if man were the centre of them. Man is not the centre, God does not exist for the sake of man. Man does not exist for his own sake".

Thus, love has become associated with a soft type of sentimentality in our culture; but it is much greater than that: it actively seeks for the good of the person loved - love may thus permit suffering to enable the person loved to become a person, who is himself capable of self emptying love. Lewis notes: "We are not merely imperfect creatures who must be improved; we are, as Newman said, rebels who must lay down our arms".

Lewis does not shrink from giving suffering its due: "No doubt pain as God's megaphone is a terrible instrument; it may lead to final and unrepented rebellion. But it gives the only opportunity the bad man can have for amendment. It removes the view; it plants the flag of truh within the fortress of a rebel soul"

In a word, suffering destroys our self delusion that we are in control, that we are demi-gods: when we suffer, we know where we are and its not at the centre of the universe.

Thus, whilst suffering (be it physical, natural or emotional), is an effect of evil, being a privation of the good, it can lead us to a recognition of our creaturely place in the universe and hence to find out true "orientation".

On hell, Lewis states; "I willingly believe that the damned are, in one sense, successful rebels to the end; that the doors of hell are locked on the inside"

Lewis is very good indeed in this book; he synthesises brillianty key christian doctrines coherently and intelligibly.

Brilliant!

This book is a theological and logical argument why God can be all loving and yet there can be such awful pain in the world. The initial argument that "If God is loving and there is evil in the world implies that something is wrong with God", is methodically and logically taken apart. There are arguments for the Christian about how they should live given this logical argument, but the non believer or searcher can take the arguments and come to a very balanced view of God Almighty.

The question or 'problem' that C.S. Lewis sets out to answer in "The Problem of Pain" is one that has confounded believers and non-believers alike: if God is good and loves his creation, why does he allow such pain and suffering to exist? How can that be good and exist within his creation? While Lewis' ponderings may not seem like straightforward answers to those questions, he paints a picture of a God revealed through his creation where even pain and evil can exist.

C.S. Lewis is perhaps the best person to examine this topic: a former atheist, he commences the book by speaking of what his former answer to that question would've been. It is only through his eventual conversion to a belief in Christ that he is able to see the order behind the seeming chaos. Lewis examines an array of issues, covering commonalities between religions but what sets Christianity apart, the Fall of Man, and why Heaven and Hell must exist. Moreover, he examines the distinct individuality that plays a role in our relation to our Creator.

Lewis' prose has the contradiction of being both dense and enlightening. His examinations are not necessarily for the ordinary reader, nor are they too lofty either, but they require a great deal of thoght and reflection. Therefore, "The Problem of Pain" is best read perhaps a chapter at a time, allowing the reader to meditate on what has been presented. The ultimate irony of human suffering might be that as believers, we have had every opportunity to not experience suffering, since Christ has already suffered supreme - but because of how God created us, we have the will to choose, no matter what that choice might be.

I first discovered John O'Donohue in Sacred Poetry from Around the World, in which his poems are so relevant to today's concerns. As a mystic and philosopher, he summons up in Anam Cara (soul friend) ancient Celtic wisdom written in the bones of Western culture. A new voice has emerged to take its place beside that of Deepak Chopra. I recommend this book of essays to those who seek wisdom and inspiration in today's fast-paced world.

I love this book! I would love to give it as a gift to every one of my friends. It has a calming effect and gives much detail to what Anam Cara is.

This is such a gem. O'donohue has the velvet touch and the wisdom of countless ages. If you have any Celtic blood, this must be read. Actually, if you have any blood you should read this. Everybody has a job and the Celts do very well. The writer is at the top of the profession. Must have been hard work.

The writing is exquisite. It feeds the part of me that responds to poetic language. I take time with this book as a gift to myself when my Spirit is feeling parched. Thank you, John, for sharing your word mastery.

Anam Cara, is a wonderful spiritual book. I would strongly recommend it to any readers who want to go deeper in their spiritual journney. The author uses Theology, philosophy, and poetry to capture the essence of what Celtic spirituality means in a modern context. If you want to be grounded and taken on a wonderful journey this is the book to achieve it in. You do not read this book like a novel, but rather you will keep it by your bed side and re-read it many times. John O' Donohue is one of the finest Irish writers of this generation. I have read three of his book and I intend to read more.
Anam Cara means soul friend, the anam cara was the person you could reveal the hidden intimacies of your life. This friendship was an act of recognition and belonging. When you had an Anam Cara , your friendship cut across convention and category. You were joined in an ancient way with the friend of your soul.

This earns nearly a hundred positive reviews already on Amazon; it's been out fifteen years, and remains highly acclaimed. I read it when it came out, and remember being moved. Re-reading it (and this eloquent, accessible volume rewards such repetition) after tackling the rarified expansion of its message in the psychologically and religiously advanced study "Luminous Emptiness" by Francesca Fremantle, the richly contextual edition by Robert Thurman of the so-called "Tibetan Book of the Dead," and the pithy primer by Stephen Hodge & Martin Boord, "The Illustrated TBoD," I felt ready to return to Sogyal's earlier study. (These three texts have been recently reviewed by me.) TBLD predates the rest of these books, and it pioneered the presentation of the after-life instructions of the bardo teachings in light-- literally-- of how we can integrate its teachings into this life as well as preparing us to assist those who are dying through its advice.

Sogyal writes with winning clarity. Edited by Patrick Gaffney and Andrew Harvey, this book shows what intelligent inspiration can accomplish. So much of what crowds the shelves of a religion section in a bookstore fritters away wisdom with platitudes. Sogyal, by welcome contrast, strives to encourage us with what can be a rather discouraging central lesson from the bardo. We have failed many times before in previous existences to break free of illusion. Each time we die, we must have whirred past the Grand Luminosity, without recognizing Rigpa, the primordial "nature of mind." This gets complicated, as you can imagine, but Sogyal has set up a cogent presentation of the fundamentals of meditation, Buddhist conceptions of true reality, and the danger of "active laziness."

Pages 18-20 sum up powerfully this last tendency we have to be consumed by our petty lives, and the need to wrench ourselves free of "false hopes, dreams, and ambitions." These lure us on like salty water in a desert towards a mirage, he warns. Instead, taking on the power of the bardo instructions, for those who have died and for our own preparation for death, becomes the ultimate imperative.

I confess after a second time reading this I remain rather uncertain about how, practically, we can find masters to assist us in spiritual practice. This is the missing link in many Buddhist works for newcomers, but this may impel those so changed by their encounter with the learning here interpreted to seek such spiritual direction themselves. After all, Buddhism demands that we take action to begin to liberate ourselves now, rather than wait for revelations or intermediaries. We are cautioned not to do certain practices without guidance; others, however, as with mantras or simpler visualizations, can be attained more easily. Also, the ecumenical applicability of these Buddhist lessons to those of other faiths-- or perhaps none that they can readily adhere to?-- widens the impact and usefulness of this guide.

Many of the methods that Tibetans follow will elude Westerners outside of a few contacts in a few places with gurus or lamas, of course. Therefore, one can become discouraged: how can an everyday person attain the discipline that will enable him or her after death to resist the illusion to be drawn back into existence? The TBoD constantly insists that recognition of Rigpa will bring about freedom, yet it also shows how easy it will be to remain trapped in fear, attachment, confusion, or oblivion as we pass through an unimaginable array of sights and sounds after our death.

Therefore, Sogyal and the TBoD, naturally, are absolutely correct. The utter necessity of struggling to come at least closer to these daunting visions and yearning prayers colors poignantly the stories, legends, and parallels he finds from Tibetan wise people he has known, near-death experiences, quantum physics, and meditation techniques. You sense Sogyal's grounded in profound respect for those from whom he has learned his teachings, and there's a genuine humility and open-hearted compassion that infuses the wisdom in these pages. The revised and expanded edition, by the way, does change the pages internally but I could not find, on spot-checking with the original printing, much change except for addresses of Rigpa hospices at the end and a brief introduction that places the enthusiastic reception of the 1993-4 printing in perspective.

It is great book, loving it. good condition and good postage time. Extremely happy with it

This is an outstanding book for everybody who is a serious follower of Buddhist philosophy and possibly has also read books by His Holiness The Dalai Lama. Very much recommended as a gift also for younger people.

Stepping Off the Edge: Learning & Living Spiritual Practice
Stunning book presenting Tibetan Buddhist philosophy in an easily understood and moving way. I bought this to help myself as I grieved for my mother. I couldn't put it down. Buddhists say you can know only two things for sure in life: 1. You will die. and 2. You don't know when. Makes the time you have on earth very poignant.

When I first read this book I found it "very" hard going. As I recognised fairly early on the path, the more difficult something is, the more you have to gain by facing it head on. This book was really the first book that taught me true compassion. Persevere with this book, read it again and again, and you may just find that your whole view of the universe and reality has shifted to something far, far better.

I got this book as part of premarriage counseling, and overall it was a good book. Good information for people of various sex knowledge levels. However, the book was comical at points and seemed a bit old fashioned/impractical. For example, a wife should have dinner on the table and look her best when her husband comes home from work. It also said that couples should not own a TV for the first year of their marriage. Already broke that rule.

The Wheat's really know what they are talking about...and it was fun to read with my new husband. I would recommend this book to everyone, not just Christians, who are about to make the jump to wedded bliss. Probably better to read a month before the wedding...otherwise that first night can be like fumbling around in the dark. Highly recommended.

This book is wonderful! I bought it just prior to my wedding. It is a bit like going back to middle school sex-ed, but it proved invaluable for the honeymoon. The authors deal expertly, honestly, and sensitively about the subject.

I didn't like this book. It's well written, but really makes some statements that can't be backed up with the Bible. Everything is cut/dry. This is this way because we think it should be this way. I would go to some other book.

The many reviews I read before purchasing this book are correct: This is a very clinical and sometimes dry book. It's also a fantastic resource. But honestly, if you are interested in learning the basics, you shouldn't have a hard time getting through it.

I really enjoyed this book and the emphasis on the clinical explanations of how things work. Ed Wheat is a doctor and that comes out in his technical explanations, which are especially helpful if you are having some problems in your sex life.

I would have given it 5-stars (it really is a great book) except I purchased another book as well, Getting your Sex Life Off to a Great start, and I found the other book a bit better in its explanation of the first sexual experience as well as its advice for the honeymoon.

If you are preparing for your first experience I recommend buying both books. Each book offers something that the other lacks. If you can only purchase one, I recommend the other, but both are really great resources. We are also reading through Love Life for Every Married Couple and it is important to work on all aspects of your relationship - not just the sexual aspect.

I can sum this book up in one sentance for you. All the Gods of old, Greek, Roman, Sumarian, and UFO's are Demons out to get you. 200 plus pages of the same thing over and over. It was a chore to finish this book. The author quotes Biblical text every other page in support of his idea. Not once mentioning the fact that Christianity has spent the last 1500 years demoizing every other religon in its quest for dominance. If you are intrested in alternative history I highly recomend works by JP Farell and Grahm Hancock.

I can't imagine a better time for this book to be released. Skeptics beware! Tom's findings are extremely well-founded and researched. I was skeptical at first, and being the kind of independant person who thinks for myself and bases my own theories on my OWN researching, I often find most sholarly approaches to the paranormal activity on our planet a thin and opinionated reference at best, almost always twisting scripture to prove THEIR point. Tom has not only approached issues of Nephilim, UFOs, demon dieties and the year 2012 from an unbiased and Biblical Christian's perspective, he was also bold enough to address that there have been more recordings of this strange activity in our history than from JUST the Bible, and those other references are important. So regardless of your personal convictions, religious or otherwise, hear what Tom has to say.

Be warned. Don't be unprepared.

It was good read... interesting Theory, Shares the same ideology as Patrick Heron. SO I really like the book. I like both writers and I recommend them both

The book has a lot of interesting and good information. My problem with the book is that it badly needs an editor. The author wrote much of it as though it were a long term paper. There are tons of quotes in the book from other authors. I would have perferred to here independent thoughts rather than referencing insights from other books and papers.

My other complaint is the author devoted far too much time sighting his fiction book he has written that is based on some of the information here. To me,the two do not mix. You can't reference and devote 30+ pages to siting your ficitionilization in a book where you are trying to prove a point. The fiction book does sound good and seems to be better written from the excerpts. I just find it frustrating to continually site your own work.

The book begins very well, the first part of Chapter one where the author mention what happened to the astronauts of the Apollo XI mission in 1969 during the landing at the moon is very good. This same incident, by the way, it is also mentioned in the book "Alternative 3" which is a fascinating book dealing with UFO abductions, secret space missions and hidden alien agenda.

Unfortunately, the interesting material in the book "Nephilim Stargates: The year 2012 and the Return of the Watchers" ends after the introduction. The rest of the book is full of citations about other books of the author, kind of self promotion by the author.

There is almost anything regarding the year 2012 and the end of times, the invasion of Iraq and Iran connected with the year 2012.
In short, is not worth the money, you would be better off getting the book Alternative 3

Years ago, I was assigned this book in one of my university classes. I number it in my most memorable and personally influential works that I have ever read. At the time, I had just begun to study archaeology and had very little understanding of the concept of ethnocentricism. My personal way of thinking was very black and white. The only real experience that I had with the dichotomies of the sacred versus the profane at that point was my own experiences.

The Sacred and the Profane gave me an entirely different perspective. I began seeing how others saw religion, spirituality, ritual, and symbolism in slightly different ways. How certain experiences could be interpreted in a variety of ways to become personal and cultural beliefs. I also noticed how these beliefs permeated into everyday life. So began my interests in spirituality, symbolic dichotomies, and the varied beliefs of others.

Yes, the sacred and the profane is discussed here. And guess what? They make sense. It's no secret, just sociology. Good sociology, too, none of your Discovery-Channel, sixth-tier, make every middle class viewer look down on those that are different from a Durkheim-style-deviance-arrogance and pray that they can forget just how screwed up they are kind of stuff. The good stuff. The meat, the bone and the marrow. Unapologetic, yet refined and in no way obscene. Great read. Well written, and, I can only assume, well-translated.

Be warned: The cover image on Amazon is not the one that comes on the book!!! The book you get from Amazon is a new-age style cover photograph of some half-photographed "natives" playing with a circle of candles. The nifty little negative portrait of the Triune God should have stayed. It was much more appropriate to the content.

I read this book with a great excitement. It tells people about essence of our religion. In my opinion, this book is quite good companion for religious comparison study.

Eliade's book is by nature limited to making general statements without extensive illustration and qualification. But the general statements he makes are fascinating. He makes the birth of the "world" and the birth of religion identical, since the "world" is by definition a meaningful and ordered space, and only a divine "hierophany" can establish a reference point for meaningful (& chaotic) space. Pre-religious man lives in a meaningless, homogeneous space, and therefore has no concept of the world.

This view sheds light on the association between religion and violence. The collision of two religions also represents the collision of two worlds, and the nothing is more terrifying that the destruction of the world. Of course religion is only the first source (on Eliade's account) of the "world"; today we have many non-religion sources of value from which a world-sense can emerge. Or perhaps "religion" has just taken on many new guises, even "non-religious" ones.

Eliade also discusses the recurrence of sacred time vs. the linear movement of profane time.

There are valuable reflections in the book on the hidden religiosity of modern, profane man. For all human beings without exception, meaningful existence is only possible when we respect some version of sacred space and sacred time.

Rich ideas for such a short book. Highly recommended, even if it does get a little repetitive.

I decided to read this book for a religion-course I'm taking, and I must say I'm happy I did! Mircea Eliade was a Rumanian historian of religions, philosopher and author, in addition to being a vaguely religious man himself. This book was written to serve as an introduction to the study of religion for new students and the interested layman, and it does so excellently. Eliade was interestingly enough a member of the Legion of the Archangel Michael, back home in Rumania, the organization of Corneliu Codreanu. In addition to this wonderful fact, he was also acquainted with Baron Julius Evola, so this is certainly one of "our own boys".

The book itself is, as the title implies, an attempt to show the difference between the archaic mans sacred conception of the cosmos, and the profane view of the world of today's "modern man". The first part of the book details the sacred space and the sacralisation of the world. What he means by this is the fact that so-to-speak all religions and the various races have traditions of themselves living near the centre of the world, axis mundi. This world pillar, known as Irminsûl to my own Germanic ancestors, was the place (mountain, tree, building, pillar etc.) where the world traditionally was highest and hence the underworld, the human world and the higher realm of heaven was connected the closest. The various races and peoples then thought that this was where Creation had begun, where the cosmos has flowed out from, and hence the most sacred space on Earth. Eliade then delves into some depth about this subject.

The second chapter is about holy time and myths. He shows how the archaic peoples thought of time as always recurring, going in cycles. The first break with this line of thought was with Judaism and later Christianity, who thought of history as a unique happening, centred on Christ and his coming. The archaic peoples did their rites and their religious cultism so that they could transform themselves back into the sacred eternal present time when the Gods performed the actions the myths mirror today.

The third chapter is about the holiness of nature and the comical view of ancient religion. He shows how ancient man conceived of their own role in the cosmos, and how their actions were supposed to mirror the actions of the creation of the cosmos. It's a very wide chapter that is difficult to summarize, but as everywhere else in the book he fills it up with example upon example from all over the world.

The final chapter is about the existence of humans and the holiness of life. He tells us how many traditions thought of the human body as its own cosmos. The opening at the top of the scull was the place where the soul would leap from at death, and hence some Indians have the tradition of crushing the scull of a recently deceased priest to ensure his soul's easy transcendence. He also mentions männerbunde and various initiations that served to give birth to man anew, after the initiation was complete, and the new sacred man arose. This chapter is also very wide and difficult to summarize, but the richness of the examples is splendid.

All in all, a book that is hard to characterize, but I've read it twice in two weeks now, so I guess that says it all. An excellent book that nearly is enough to make the most profane person catch a glimpse of the holy. Highly recommended!

(I read a different edition)

The author knows his subject. He also knows how to reply to the silly statements and beliefs of creationists and those who believe in fairy tales. But I found his writing in some places a bit dry and tiresome compared to other writers on this subject. Of course, he takes a different route and his book is not meant to compete with the other books. He takes a very educated and scientific view of all things and generally disproves creationism among other things. He takes no prisoners in his view of his opposition --- or those who believe in god and specifically fundamentalists. If you want to know how to answer the beliefs of those folks, you need this book. Although the burden of proof is with them, not the atheist.

Whether your are an atheist or not, this is a very intriguing book. The subject of evolution is gone into in some detail and the discussion quite interesting and eye-opening.

The author did have a time line problem. He said he surfed the Web in the 1980s. In early 1991 Berners-Lee wrote the first web browser. Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau's official proposal for the World Wide Web is dated November 12th, 1990. This is the first document that actually uses the term.

That makes you wonder how deeply documented the work really is. It's not that the Internet didn't exist in the 1980's. But it didn't exist in the form we know today and there were no Web sites such as he describes in the book.

Fortunately, these mistakes in documentation were not related directly to the topic.

- Susanna K. Hutcheson

Be sure to order this book with a plain brown wrapper so your believer friends won't report you to the Inquisition! Believers won't buy this book, but those seeking a popularist justification for atheism will be pleased.

David Mills' greatest asset is a clear writing style. I read his book after finishing Susan Jacoby's "Age of American Unreason" and found his style refreshingly simple. Part of the fun of Mills' book is his willingness to excoriate persons on the other side of the church aisle. He is especially hostile when it comes to those espousing "intelligent design."

While Mills adds some logical support for atheism (is there a faith-based way to do it?), you probably already believe what he says -- you just want more reasons or added explanation. He'll give it to you. However, Mills seems to take for granted the "scientific" evidence he provides in a basic form. While much of what he says would probably count as generally accepted science, there isn't much rigor in backing it up -- you'll need to take it on faith. It is a telling omission that Mills' biography inside the back of the book mentions nothing about having a PhD in philosophy or logic, or a degree of any kind (not on his web site either). As a result, you get a "pop science" perspective on atheism -- more entertaining than erudite. Read some of the 1 star ratings to get more on this perspective.

The nutshell of the book is the logical problem of an irreducible first cause. Religion gives it a masculine anthropomorphic character in Christianity and Judaism, while atheism leaves it in its raw form as the infinitely distant unknown.

Unless you believe works like Mills are the work of the devil, you should enjoy this book, although he never answers the question as to whether good atheists go to heaven.

I ordered David Mill's 'Atheist Universe' with expectations that it would be written with scientific knowledge that I haven't already been exposed to. Knowledge that furthers my already strong conviction that, indeed, religion has proved itself to be one of the strongest 'memes' pervading all societies. I had an interest in seeing how this former born-again individual who had been raised in a Christian home, but now a professing atheist for the past 30 years, would address these different scientific questions and he didn't dissappoint me. There were some well written relevant chapters.

My negatives concerning this book and I'll state them are.

His introduction began with a 'ranting and railing' diatribe against all conservatives as though people who are currently talk show hosts and Fox News are out there doing nothing but crusading to crush anyone desiring to be a free thinker. Although I don't agree with many 'ultra right' conservative issues neither do I adhere to many 'ultra left' ideologies either. I'm able to sort this all out for myself without being subjected to David Mills strong political beliefs which did nothing for the book IMO. I found this to be a turn off and almost put the book down. However, he redeemed himself in the chapters that followed and reafirmed many of my own findings as to why I've become an atheist.

Then I reached Chapter 9 where he seemed to crusade for the right of pornography purveyers on the Internet to remain uncensored (except for those who use children in pornography). I would think everyone would agree with the latter.

But he went on to pretty much assert that it's every man's right to view pornography and even moreso the right of every boy having reached puberty to do so as well. His contention in Chapter 9 was that pornography on the Internet is really nobody's business, expecially those rascally conservatives who have the gall to introduce ways and means to block it from being seen by children. His contention was and I quote him here that there is "no problem and we should not strive to 'child proof' the Internet". He asserted as though it's a scientifically proven idea "that it's fact that children have no libido" and further stated that, "unless spoon-fed these fantasies by an incompetent psychotherapist or social worker, sexual imagery and desire are totally absent within children until puberty begins.

I would like to differ greatly with David Mills expertise in this area. I am a female and I was sexually abused as a child from the age of 5. I can state as fact that my libido was awakened by these experiences and remained awakened through my childhood where I did act out many fantasies. So as far as I am concerned, David Mills,
in Chapter 9, demonstrates that doesn't know what he is talking about and should have left this out of his book completely as it has no relevency whatsoever to the rest of his book.

Furthermore, because he believes that viewing pornography is the inherit right of every boy reaching puberty as well as every man as if it is an innocent 'victimless' activity which doesn't hurt anyone. Atheists should be about the consideration of others because it's the right thing to do and not because some God said so. It is in many ways totally inconsiderate and in some cases harmful.

I contend that many wives are deeply hurt when their husbands sit in front of the Internet mastubating and fantasizing instead of working on their real life relationships and I also wonder how David Mills would feel about his own daughter growing up to be one of these 'porn actresses' being ogled by teen boys and men alike while they masturbate themselves?

Could the contents of Chapter 9 lend themselves to why people might perceive atheists as 'amoral'?

When I read this email I was sure that you had somehow made a mistake, because I did not (knowingly) purchase the book, "Atheist Universe" and was fairly certain that I had never even seen it. Then, this morning, I was going through a pile of stuff on my desk and there was the book in question, apparently never opened by me. Am I going nuts? Did some supernatural force put the book there? Does God exist and He wants me to read this book?

I have been researching the absurd idea that the Christian God's book, the Bible, could somehow be in conflict with the very nature that He created. I do believe in God, but see very clear problems with today's Christianity, fundamentalism, and young earth malarkey, and have a completed book on the subject. I say, "completed" with resevations. There isn't a day goes by that I don't come acoss something that should or could be added. There seems to be no end to how far off course a religion can go when left up to the tinkering of man. At the moment, I am searching for a Literary Agent with an interest in promoting a book about a subject that needs to be heard by the very people who don't want to hear it. If you have any ideas that might help, I'd be quite open to them.

Anyway, here I am with another book that was evidently given to me without any solicitation on my part whatsoever. I now have eight books that were just given to me out of the blue about various aspect of the subject I am researching. The other seven do come from known sources. Since you are asking for a review, I suspect that you might know, at least in part, just how this book got on my desk. Could you please help solve this mystery for me? I would be happy to read the book, do a review, and could have it back to you in a few weeks. Would there be any time constraints? Should I do this?



Curious Ray



Ray Moody

firemanmoody@yahoo.com

I've been questioning relgion for quite some time, but never really labeled myself as an atheist. This book is intended as a specific rebuttal to the creative design 'science' promoted by religiously influenced schools. Not only does it wonderfully refute creative design with solid scientific arguements, it also points out many contradictions within the bible on various topics.

This is an excellent overview of the OT, with helpful chapters on each book. But, it's a 1994 and somewhat dated. The book now has a second edition, which Amazon curiously does not list. The newer version is a year or two old, published by Zondervan, with Tremper Longman III listed as the first author - e.g., "Longman and Dillard."

Weak on defense of Conservaive views of Authorship. Some books not clear as to view authors prefer. Organization of key intrepretative problems (i.e. Date of Exodus) wordy in some places and weak in others. Up to date information is very good. Need larger section on Mimimalist verses Maximalist issues.

Professor's Dillard and Longman's Introduction to the Old Testament is an outstanding resource for understanding the literary, theological, and historical background of every Old Testament book. It is evangelical in its perspective, yet interacts with historical - cricial methods of interpretation that have been prominent over the past 100 + years or so.

A typical overview of each Old Testament book will start with an overview, useful commentaries and articles for each book, the historical background (date, author, and purpose), a literary analysis of the structure of the book, its theological message and how it applies to the New Testament.

The reader of the book will find an outstanding reference book for understanding and studying the individual books of the Old Testament. A real strength of this book is its description of the literary style of a book and what that means for the reader. Yet, the authors warn wisely that while it is important to take into account the book's literary context for the reader, the importance of understanding a particular Old Testament book, the importance of placing literary context within the historical context is paramount.

The authors make solid use of previous scholarship in their introductions for each book, even wisely dividing what is useful from the neo-orthodox and critical scholars and what is not.

This reference book will be of great use to ministers, lay teachers and the general student of the Bible.

This is an excellent book for those who are studying the Old Testament.

This volume should be in every serious student of the OT library. Pastors especially should delve into this concise yet reasonable volume.

I highly recommend this volume.