Book Review of "Good Book" by David Plotz

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Good Book: The Bizarre, Hilarious, Disturbing, Marvelous, and Inspiring Things I Learned When I Read Every Single Word of the Bible. [Soft cover]

by David Plotz

352 pages, $14.99

ISBN-13: 978-0061374258

Nonfiction

In a world that is awash with religious literature weekly, it seems that some authors go out of their way to make readers angry. Such is the case when David Plotz, a self-styled agnostic Jew, sits down with the Hebrew Bible and reads it with introspection. His original intention is sound: what happens when an average guy reads the good book and tries to understand it?

For one thing, irreverence happens...a lot. For instance, in Exodus 33, the Bible shares a wonderful story of Moses requesting to see God's glory. Moses is entreating God (Yahweh) to show all of his majesty to him to "prove" that God held him in highest favor. God responds in effect, "I do hold you in high esteem but no one can see my face and live. Go stand in the cleft of this rock and I will cover you with my hand. Then I will allow my glory to pass by and you can see my back." Instead of Plotz being overwhelmed by God's accommodation of Moses, he makes a very crass analysis. He says, "...Or, to put it another way, God moons Moses."

Perhaps Plotz could have exclaimed how he did not understand the theological significance of why Moses would want to see God in his fullest glory instead of resorting to what could be construed as tactless language. Such investigation might have provided ample fodder for a few books.

Nonetheless, the reader will discover that tact will be in short order throughout the rest of the book. Plotz makes no apologies for this - in fact, his defense is an age-old false maxim that the Old Testament (what is the Hebrew Bible) demonstrates a God that is vengeful, capricious, and bent on ?ber judgment. In this way, Plotz feels somewhat vindicated in his irreverence since his reading of the Hebrew Bible does not bring him any closer to God.

Who should read this book? All Christians!

While the language is downright disrespectful, Plotz does provide decent plot summaries of each book of the Hebrew Bible. If you can overlook his banal insensitivity, you will learn a lot about the Old Testament. But remember, some of his insights will not be appropriate for, let's say, your Junior High Sunday School class.

Review by Steven King, MBA, MEd

Was Jesus A Creationist?

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(Mark 10:6) "But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female."

This week, one of the hot news stories out of the United Kingdom was about Richard Dawkins' statement that he was an agnostic. Richard Dawkins the author, lecturer and hero of those who think God is a silly concept sat in a moderated discussion (some say a debate) with Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. If you remember, Dr. Rowan Williams was the clergyman who presided at the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.

In the aftermath of this "debate" the media fixated on whether Richard Dawkins really is the "World's Most Famous Atheist." During this televised event, Dawkins classified himself as an "agnostic" rather than an "atheist." But just to make sure everyone understood his position, he mentioned that he was almost certain God does not exist.

Does it really matter whether Dawkins is an agnostic or an atheist? Although the media thinks this is big news, they completely overlooked the one item that should have been newsworthy for the Christian audience. According to the article in The Telegraph, the Archbishop "said that he believed that human beings had evolved from non-human ancestors but were nevertheless 'in the image of God.' " This stems from the other statements in which the Archbishop denied the literal account of creation in Genesis. If you read the sentence carefully, he really believes we ascended in an evolutionary process. In other words, we evolved into the image of God. Unfortunately, once you throw out the literalness of the Genesis account, you also have to throw out the words of Jesus Christ.

In a 2006 interview, we find Dr. Williams believes creationism is a "category mistake" and should not be taught. In Mark 10:6, Jesus makes a profound statement proving He believes in the literal creation account found in Genesis. In fact, if you combine this with the other places where Jesus references Genesis you discover that He did not believe the Biblical account was an allegory at all, unlike the current Archbishop of Canterbury. There are many today who are " theistic evolutionists." But it is an impossible position to maintain while believing in the teachings of Jesus. If we allow for Jesus to make a "category mistake" here, where else does He teach in error? If Jesus made any errors in His viewpoint of the Scriptures, not only does it call into question all of His teachings, it also makes Him less than God. He becomes just another rabbi with some radical opinions. It is extremely important that Jesus believed and taught in a literal creation account from Genesis.

It doesn't really matter whether Richard Dawkins is an agnostic or atheist. At the end of the day, it all ends up in the same place: unbelief. But we do need to recognize and distinguish ourselves from churchmen who cloak themselves in the logic of scientific theory. The media had no problem with the Archbishop because it really wasn't news that he held this position on creation. But those who want Christianity represented to the world and believe in a literal Biblical interpretation better take heed who is taking their side in the public arena. And we all better beware whether the pulpit is filled with someone who believes the teachings of Jesus.

The Renewed Mind - http://www.mychangedmind.com/

Live a different life by thinking differently about life!

Letters From the Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr Reviewed

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In MLK Jr. letters he paints a picture for me with words of the time that was before me. The time where my ancestors would frown upon if they saw the young people of today and the way they take education for granted. I can only imagine the strength it took to live in era where you are considered less than human.

In MLK Jr.'s letters from the Birmingham jail time was mentioned, some will probably agree that he was before his time but I believe he was right on time. A man should not be considered less than a man because of the color of his skin. But a man's true worth should be measured by the life that he leads. I can only imagine how God frowned upon the ignorance people walked in during this time.

For a time when a black man should consider education a privilege not a right, his writing style and ability to express himself literally was amazing. I'm not sure I live in the time where I could only enter a business through the back, where I actually accepted being less another person because of the color of my skin. I don't know many people willing to die for what they believe in, but this man laid down his life.

Many people can learn the skill of writing but only a few people or actually talented enough to change lives with their words. This review involves an important part of history and man of great courage and character. These letters provide a personable form of education that goes beyond the classroom, they were relevant then, they are relevant now, and will be relevant in the future.

The civil rights movement was not just about racism, it was so much more than that. The movement represented change and spirituality that never been experience before, you proclaimed what God intended for all people. When I think of Martin Luther King Jr., I don't think of just a doctor of religion... I think of a spiritual healer and leader a truly fulfilled his calling in life.

In conclusion I can't help but think of Maya Angelou's "I know why the caged Bird sings". Behind caged walls of great man of God cried out that although his prayers were answered immediately, they were answered just in time, our time. We still have a way to travel but we owe a huge part of where we are to this man.

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Finding peace in a turbulent world

Prevention of the Ego to achieve control over all (peace). I'll bet that you never thought of the reality of the meaning of peace. This illusory than anyone who in humanity research or hungry thing. Why peace is difficult to achieve? Perhaps because we have more than exaggerate things rather than keep the simplistic things, we more complicated things for us to do is look better, more competent or to feed the Ego. However, the peace is nothing more than a choice and its up to you to choose peace or not.

Why would you stay in the energy of anger or .resentment? Why waste your precious time in life, feeding the relentless negativity that you cause yourself. Everything in life begins with a choice, you can choose what you eat or what you want to do in the day-to turn left or right or indeed what to wear. Therefore if these choices is quite simplistic and result in a form of contentment during this short period, why not choose to be peaceful. It is certainly preferable to live in an aura of happiness, rather than this negative cloud around you it's raining constantly negativity on you.

When bad things happen to you in your life, ask you that if they are really bad or is it just the perception they are bad, which is a perception in the support of your environment or circumstances resulting from your choice. All you have in life is lessons that make you stronger, help you spiritually to advance and become the best you can be, but only if embrace you these tests openly and know that mistakes are simply miss opportunities for you to grow spiritually.

There are those that are the product of an environment which was not their choice and so the perception is they are persecuted for someone bad choice. However, in the dark is always a blessing. Look at the life of a person who has experienced this kind of negative thoughts because of the choice of someone else. Oprah Winfrey, Joyce Mayer and others who have experienced great sorrow and sadness in their lives, have used the lessons they have learned to touch many hearts and souls throughout the world. Then it was perhaps inevitable that they should live the agitation that they had because their work was to save the lives of countless souls. They found their peace, they followed the divine plan that God had for them. Even in a tumultuous world, can we find peace, starting with a simple simple choice of peace and not to refuse peace.

Perhaps insignificant and answer the next time that you find yourself speaking in anger, you could become more aware of how it feels to allow peace to give the answer. However, how do you find that peace? It is easier than you think; I have a good friend who sets an alarm on his phone to remind himself to make with God during the day, it is a person who learned all his negative choices passed but graciously accepted as lessons. He got up and now found the beginning of peace. I myself use everything that I see the beauty of a flower, an animal, a child and then I take a deep breath and allow you to breathe peace within me. If I am in a situation that involves the choice in a negative way to react or to respond positively, I breathe deeply and peace to make the choice to host. I guess what I am saying, is to allow peace become you and make you peace, the choice becomes much easier to understand. Even when you are being attacked by others, you must go into account that you are part of the divine energy of creation, you are also peace and therefore you can become the peace and the word of the great John Lennon "Give Peace a chance."

Jock Brocas is a professional Psychic Medium-natural birth and developed later in life. Jock spent his last years in his own spiritual development and professional development of its psychic gifts and its media. Be a professional of the medium is very rewarding but also has its problems. Nevertheless, Jock believes in the sanctity of spiritualism and takes her work as a medium seriously.

A Prophetic and Inspirational View of the Future

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I'm not in general a big fan of "inspirational" sorts of novels. The Angels' Footpath (subtitled: Let's Take This Walk Together) by Ronald R. Cooke goes beyond the usual definition of what an "Inspirational" novel is, and like LeHayne's Left Behind series, it crosses over into the science fiction genre with its vivid depictions of a future filled with turmoil where revolution is in the air. As is often the case, where political strife is prevalent, there is also religious strife, and people of religious faith feel as if their faith is being challenged. With the End Times upon us, there is born an infant with a special gift to a Hispanic couple whose names (Josue and Mari) are derivations of Joseph and Mary from the Bible. Will their child, like Jesus, prove to be "the Light of the World"? Is their infant, whom they name Ricardo Juan Sanchez Vasquez," the Second Coming of Christ; or, is he someone entirely different, either an important Prophet or perhaps even the Antichrist?

Cooke's compelling and impressive writing style makes you want to continue reading late into the night, to discover the answers to the questions he brings up and to learn more about the early life and transformation of Ricardo into a religious leader of the Christian faithful. We read in the very first chapter about Ricardo's long-anticipated birth to his loving parents, and also that a mysterious "old man with a weathered face" in the fields hears the newborn's cries, and says: "It is done."

Rick (as Ricardo comes to be called) grows up with his best friend, Phillip. They ride horses together and go to school together and play football and eventually go on to college and even working together.

He and Phillip have their own quite prosperous computer ISP business, but it gets hacked. Just when the two friends think they have the problem settled, the economy takes a steep downturn and America falls into a deep recession. Health care becomes run totally by the government, unemployment is at its highest level ever, and there is a drastic shortage of fuel. The scenario that Ronald writes about seems to sadly be the way the country is currently headed. This eerie prescience adds a further element of realism to The Angels' Footpath similar to the also prophetic novel by George Orwell, 1984.

Rick's and Phillip's business is targeted to be taken over by the government. The government is taking over ISP businesses and are intent on destroying Rick's and Phillip's company. Goons are sent to intimidate them and come close to beating some of their employees to death. It's around this time that Rick is awoken to who he really is and he decides to bring a new sort of gospel, a message of hope, peace, and love to everyone.

The Angels' Footpath is a moving and captivating novel that seems to prophetically evoke what is happening in America and around the world today. Ronald R. Cooke brings his characters to life for his readers with his vivid and descriptive writing style. There are both very kind and good characters, and some who are downright mean and nasty in Cooke's novel, just as there are in real life. If you like reading novels about spiritual journeys that are also sure to increase your faith, I'd highly recommend that you check out The Angels' Footpath and see for yourself what a fantastic author Ronald R. Cooke is. Read it, and perhaps get a glimpse into America's future!

Reviewed by Douglas R. Cobb for http://www.bestsellersworld.com/

Book Review of "The Jew in the Lotus" by Rodger Kamenetz

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The Jew in the Lotus [Softcover]

by Rodger Kamenetz

304 pages

ISBN-13: 978-0060645748

Nonfiction

Review by Steven King, MBA, MEd

Religious faith without conviction seems to be antithetical to the very essence of conviction. Perhaps blind adherence to religious principles is the most restrictive philosophy adopted by a particular religion's devotees. As a Christian, this writer feels compelled to make a disclaimer - adherence to Christianity requires exclusivist thinking. To follow Jesus implies that the devotee has accepted the scriptural tenet which Christ spoke, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father but through me." [John 14:6]

Does such faithful adherence imply that no truth can be found in other religious expression? Of course not, but truth seldom intrudes where a locked mind exists. In the words of J.L. Borges: Truth never penetrates an unwilling mind.

The Jew in the Lotus is a fascinating discovery of what occurs when a diversified group of Jewish rabbis travel to India to have an exclusive meeting with the Dalai Lama, the religious and political leader of Tibetan Buddhism. Although this pilgrimage to Dharamsala, the seat of the Tibetan political administration in exile, occurred in 1990, the discoveries unfolded serve as a type of road map for pluralistic religious discussion.

At the heart of the book, Judaism meets Buddhism. What could these religious expressions have in common at all? Without trying to exhaustively detail the tenets of either religion, the first asserts that the pathway to God is accomplished by knowing and following his will as revealed in the Tanakh, a slightly altered derivation of the Christian Old Testament. The latter believes that life is marked by suffering and its purpose, in this life or another, is to follow the Eightfold Path to ameliorate suffering and to help all attain enlightenment, or Nirvana. From the outset, most would believe that there were very little points of convergence. As you read the story of this classic meeting, you see a different characterization unfolding.

The greatest convergence of these two diametrically opposed religious expressions is the reality of surviving in exile. For many centuries, Jewish people have been scattered worldwide via the Diaspora and have maintained their religious and cultural identity. Such survival expertise intrigued the Dalai Lama as he sought a way to keep his people inclined to their religious expression while in exile.

Another point of convergence surrounds their common belief that a type of exoteric enlightenment occurs via meditation, where both groups are attempting to quantify truth via ritualistic means. It is instructive that the term Jubu, which characterizes a Jew who practices Buddhism, was made famous by the narrative of this book.

Perhaps due to his proclivity for poetry, Kamenetz's prose seems unnecessarily lengthy in places. The reader should give him a wide berth as this tome reflects his rediscovery of his Jewish identity through Buddhism. Fortunately, for Kamenetz this trip helps him to veer away from a progressive atheism toward his religious heritage.

Kamenetz goes to great lengths to preserve many quotes from the liaison between the travelling Jews and the Dalai Lama. Many of these quotes will cause you to ponder: how is my religious expression practically working out in my life?

Larry Taunton - The Grace Effect - Book Review

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Many non-fiction books present their case and successfully persuade through intellectual reasoning. Fewer effectively wield the weapon of emotional appeal. Larry Taunton, Founder of Fixed Point Foundation, CNN columnist, and adoptive father, has managed to blend both strategies to create a very stimulating case for the power of Christian influence in society.

Taunton's book, The Grace Effect, begins with a conversation between two unlikely friends-Taunton himself, an apologetic and defender of Christianity, and the late Christopher Hitchens, prominent journalist and author of God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. As both parties present intellectual and historical evidence to promote their individual cases, the question arises, are atheists correct in their hypothesis that religion, such as Christianity, offers more societal destruction than good (demonstrated by events such as the Crusades), or, can religion, particularly Christianity, be the life breath of civility within a nation? At this point, the intellectual discussion takes a back seat to Taunton's deeply emotional story detailing his adoption of a little Ukrainian orphan, Sasha.

Ukraine, unlike the United States, has little to no Christian heritage. Rather, its foundation rests on the humanistic ideology of secularism, spawned by the Communist revolutions that plagued the eastern block of Europe in the last century. So when Taunton, his wife, and two sons flew to Ukraine to begin what should have been the happy process of adding an additional member to their family, they instead meet a seemingly unending series of obstacles deposited by Ukraine's secular bureaucracy. As we get to know Sasha, and are drawn into the story of her adoption, each road block motivates a frustration within the reader that forces one to reflect on the notion-does the influence of Christianity truly shape a culture for the better, as seen in the contrast between America and Ukraine?

Here's where Taunton presents what he calls inherited grace, or, the grace effect. Essentially, a society dominated by Christianity, even deep in its past, benefits as a whole from the ideology of love and forgiveness as proclaimed by Jesus. Naturally, even those who are not living the Christian faith benefit from those who are. Selfishness, greed, slander, and deceit take a backseat to generosity, encouragement, truth, and hope of purpose. These attributes become a societal norm, and filter all the way to the highest levels of government. Taunton proposes that America has benefited deeply from thisgrace effect, and demonstrates how Ukraine suffers from the lack thereof.

Ultimately, after weeks and weeks of arduous struggles with the corrupt Ukrainian orphanage and judicial systems, little Sasha finally gets to fly home with her new parents, and family. Here the reader realizes that the grace effect truly begins in the family, and that families are the cells that make the greater organism of society. Experiencing Sasha's delight with her new family and home as she learns she's no longer an orphan, but a daughter, offers a powerful closing argument for Taunton's grace effect theory. I highly recommend The Grace Effect to any reader wishing for a broader understanding of how Christian ideology can shape society through inherited grace.

I was provided a free copy of this book through the Pinkston Group and was not required to provide a positive review.

Peter Dudek is a writer/blogger at http://www.christian-fantasy.com/.