Average customer rating:
- Graphic SF Reader
- Logical loopholes spoil an otherwise good story
- Don't piss-off Batman!
- Batman vs. the JLA
- Batman thinks like a machine. That can be good. It can also be VERY BAD
|
JLA Vol. 7: Tower of Babel
Mark Waid
Manufacturer: DC Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Drawing
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Comics & Graphic Novels
| Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Graphic Novels
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
Superheroes
| Graphic Novels
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
DC Comics
| Publishers
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
Waid, Mark
| ( W )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Teens
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Foreign Languages
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
JLA Vol. 8: Divided We Fall
-
JLA Vol. 6: World War III
-
JLA Vol. 5: Justice for All
-
JLA: Terror Incognita (Book 9)
-
JLA Vol. 4: Strength in Numbers
ASIN: 156389727X |
Customer Reviews:
Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03
Batman's ex-lover Talia rips his heart out, by infiltrating the Justice League Watchtower. She knows him better than his friends, as what she is after is his secret files on how to defeat his own teammates if it becomes necessary.
Of course, she uses them against the League, and this forms a rift that is the very long beginning of the end for the JLA.
Logical loopholes spoil an otherwise good story.......2007-07-30
If you've read any of the other reviews, you already know the premise of the story. The idea is that Ra's al Ghul has stolen Batman's handiwork, and used his secret plans to demolish the JLA expeditiously. However, the problem with the story is that Batman's plans range from ludicrous to heartless, and the League of Assassins fails to make some very basic changes to the plans that would have made them much, much more effective.
SPOILER ALERT
I'm going to give a quick run-down on each character, so if you want the plans to be a surprise, don't read this section.
Martian Manhunter: Hit him with thousands of nanites that are composed of magnesium, so, when exposed to oxygen, he bursts into flames. Nasty, nasty. Apparently Batman is willing to murder J'onn, even though he goes well out of his way to avoid killing people like Two-Face and the Joker.
Aquaman: Dose him with Scarecrow's fear gas to give him a terrible phobia of water, which Aquaman needs to survive. The problem, of course, is that he can still whomp on you while you wait for him to dry out.
Plastic Man: Freeze him with liquid nitrogen, then shatter him with a hammer. The only problem is that the JLA manages to bring him back to life, so he's still around.
Wonder Woman: Send a tiny machine into her inner ear that causes her to hallucinate and believe she's in a never-ending battle, eventually leading to cardiac arrest. Not a bad idea, but again, Batman seems to be all too willing to kill Leaguers.
Flash: Use a "vibro-bullet," fired into Flash's spine, to cause light-speed seizures. Somehow the Flash isn't maimed or killed by this, but this seems almost more like a method of torture than a manner of simply immobilizing him. Also, I'm pretty sure twenty minutes of super-siezures would probably kill him.
Green Lantern: The biggest logical problem is the plan to stop Green Lantern. It is as follows: Sneak into his apartment at night, put the Power Ring on his finger, then implant a post-hypnotic suggestion that causes him to subconsciously use the ring to blind himself. Complicated, weird, and ignores the fact that as long as you're there, why not just STEAL THE FREAKING POWER RING?
Superman: Of all the Leaguers, Superman should have been the easiest to kill. Just hand him a chunk of kryptonite and be done with it. Instead, Batman goes to the trouble of creating a non-lethal form of kryptonite, and the League of Assassins goes to the extra trouble of making a duplicate of it. Why? Why is Ra's al Ghul so concerned about not killing Superman?
It all boils down to this: Most of Batman's secret plans don't make any sense. He's extremely willing to kill most of the Justice League, but goes to tremendous lengths to avoid killing others. Then, when the League of Assassins get their hands on the few non-lethal plans, they don't change them at all. Basically, if their plans had worked, they'd be left with a lot of dead Justice Leaguers and one MAJORLY mad Superman. And Batman, too, because after luring Bats away from his team, they really didn't have a plan to stop him other than "send a bunch of nameless thugs after him." Because that always works. Finally, something that was not addressed in the story: what's to stop the League of Assassins from re-using these plans? Sure, the JLA would be ready for them, but setting the Martian manhunter on fire would kill him just as effectively.
I like Mark Waid, but this whole storyline needs a serious re-write. The characters are written just fine, in fact they're written quite well, but the premise has some tremendous problems that spoiled the story for me.
Don't piss-off Batman!.......2007-02-16
After a long run by Grant Morrison on JLA (too long), it was good to see a new writer take over and make the series their own, and he did it with a bang! Tower of Babel is easily my favorite JLA story to date. No mystery here, just an old fashioned "we are coming to get you" story. Ra's Al Ghoul has stolen Batman's secret files on the JLA's weaknesses, and uses them to rain destruction upon the League. When all is said and done and Ra's is defeated, it's interesting to see how the League as well as the Titans and Young Justice handle Batman and his wards (everyone thinks all of them are keeping secret files on their respective team mates as well). Solid story (although a lot like the Batman Beyond episode "Babel" as far as Ra's plot, not sure which came first), great dialogue, wonderful art, this book has it all. Wasn't too thrilled with the intro story with the Atom (didn't really seem to fit in anywhere and a bit rehashed), but criticism aside, it's a great book and a good look inside Batman's paranoia.
Batman vs. the JLA.......2007-01-02
These were originally published as JLA #42-#46, JLA Secret Files #3 and JLA 80 page Giant #1.
Similar to how J'onn the Martian Manhunter kept files on all of the JLAers in the beginning, Batman has investigated each of them. But apparently Bats has gone further, developing methods to defeat each of the JLAers, ostensibly if someone or something takes over their minds or bodies.
One of Batman's arch enemies, Ra' al Ghul, uses his daughter to get into Bruce Wayne/Batman's life, and steal these files, using them to defeat each one of the JLAers. And uses what he thinks is Batman's own weakness (i.e., his parents) against him.
JLA wins again, as they always do, through teamwork. But they then kick Batman out of the JLA for his actions, as they can no longer feel they can trust him.
This is why the JLA is one of the best graphic series around. The interaction of the heroes, each with their own strengths and flaws, shines through. Batman has long stood on his own, aloof from the rest of the League, and now he is out...at least until the next story.
Fav panel: page 67, Superman and the Red Kyptonite. Now that's gotta hurt.
Batman thinks like a machine. That can be good. It can also be VERY BAD.......2006-02-03
Batman is cool. Yes, we all know this. In this issue his enemy Raz has gotten hold on information he had on his fellow league members. Info on how to take them down{in case they switch sides,turn evil exe}. Raz used the info and literally #%$ed them all up, leaving only Batman left to make things right again. In the end they voted him out. I don't blame them. I know EXACTLY where Batman was coming from {his colleages are extremely powerful} but anyone who could do that behind their friends backs doesn't belong in a group.{Keep in mind, the info was how to KILL the other league members ! Meaning Bruce actually took time to sit in his cave and devise a way to to kill every last one of them. {It was some crucial stuff too} You don't just forget about that. Clark knew the business but everyone else was totally shocked and hurt by Batman's secret. I like Batman fine {as an individual} What he did doesn't make Batman look bad. But it makes Bruce look HORRIBLE. Its Bat MAN, not Batmachine ! The JLA is a TEAM. Bruce needs to get with it or get out.
Book Description
A Crown in the Stars follows the growing rebellion of mankind as the tribes of the earth continue building the great tower begun by Nimr-Rada (commonly known as Nimrod). After the Most High Himself thwarts their plans by confounding human speech, He comforts His followers by revealing to them the identity of Avram, father of the tribe that will bring forth their savior, the Promised One.
Customer Reviews:
The Cycle Is Complete.......2007-02-02
A CROWN IN THE STARS is the final chapter in the beautifully written Genesis Trilogy. The book takes place just a few years after the previous book, HE WHO LIFTS THE SKIES, left off. The younger generations are aging faster and Karen and Zekaryah's youngest daughter, Shoshannah has grown into a young women full of beauty. She looks much like her mother and shares her faith in the Most High. However, her parents have sheltered her from much of their past troubles in the Great City. Shoshannah knows that her parents have enemies, but she cannot comprehend the depths they will go to seek revenge. While visiting relatives, Shoshannah is taken to the Great City. Mistaken for her mother she is captured and brought before the Queen, Sharah, her aunt. Sharah and the rest of the city's ruling class learn that Shoshannah isn't who they believed her to be, but decide to use her in their own scheming and conniving plots. Meanwhile, Shoshannah's betrothed, Kaleb, discovers what has happened to her and enters the Great City with his brother to enlist as guards so that they can watch over her. The people of the Great City haven't forgotten Nimr-Rada. His death has turned him into a martyr and the building of the Tower continues. Things look bleak for Shoshannah, but the Earth is stirring with winds of change. The Most High has not forgotten his people and he will respond to their rebellion.
Like the previous two books in the trilogy, A CROWN IN THE STARS is eloquently written. It is full of vivid images and wonderful characters. The story that Kacy Barnett-Gramckow began in THE HEAVENS BEFORE reaches its conclusion here. She holds nothing back. A person could read this book without having read the previous two books of the trilogy, but it helps to have read those books before reading this. Also, whereas the first book was more of a straight romance and the second was more suspenseful, A CROWN IN THE STARS finds balance between the two. Any Christian who likes a good story could enjoy reading A CROWN IN THE STARS.
interesting reading.......2006-07-24
This whole trilogy was well-written and interesting. It's neat to think about how the story worked in between the parts the Bible reports. They are a fast read, but the names are somewhat difficult.
Wonderful, but not as much as the other two books.......2005-08-03
Once again, Barnett-Gramckow gives us an excellect narrative of the origins of the Hebrew nation. This book finishes the story of the Tower of Babel and it's results.
But I'm sorry to say it's not quite as interesting as the first book of the three. I felt like I didn't get to know Shoshannah very well, nor did she really do anything terribly interesting or exciting during her captivity in the Great City. But considering how we know little about the customs or people of the time, the author did a lovely job. But the ending is exciting, though! It ends the trilogy on a great note with the events of, the confusion of languages the scattering of nations, and the 'passing the torch' on to Abram.
I only wish I knew 2 things---where Ra-Anan's tribe ended up, and what those mysterious sunstones were! lol
A fascinating telling of the Tower of Babel.......2005-07-01
A Crown in the Stars picks up where He Who Lifts the Sky left off. Shoshannah, the daughter of Karen and Zekaryah, has grown up with belief of her parents in the Most High God and loves to hear the stories I'ma-Annah tells her of before and during the Great Flood. However, she was unaware of the enemies her mother made years earlier when Karen was involved in the death of Great King Nimr-Rada.
When Shoshannah goes to visit relatives, leaving behind Kaleb, the man she plans to be betrothed to, Karen finally warns her daughter of the danger of going to the Great City. Both Karen's sister, Sharah, and brother, Ra-Anan, would like nothing better than to kill Karen. Nevertheless, events force Shoshannah to go through the Great City and her cruel relatives take her captive.
A Crown in the Stars is a bittersweet finish to an excellent trilogy. It was very sad to see the falls of mankind, first with the Flood and then the Tower of Babel, through the eyes of the three women: Annah, Karen, and Shoshannah. Each of their stories were beautifully written and seemed so realistic.
FABULOUS.......2005-05-23
What can I say? This series made me cry, laugh, and get involved with my "friends" in history! I learned some valuable lessons, and learned some culture and history too. All while being driven to the next page. I couldn't put this series down and anticipated this last book. It didn't let me down, it was a beautiful and wonderful as the first two in the series! EXCELLENT READ!
Customer Reviews:
Squeezing modern myth into biblical frames.......2006-04-21
I read both of the earlier reviews, and was not fazed by the concerns raised. Historic Christianity, whether Orthodox, Catholic, or even Lutheran, Anglican, or Reformed, acknowledge the concept of a 'free will,' so that was a minor point raised; if Man cannot choose God, then he is an automaton, and thus, is not fully human. Granted (theologically) that the Almighty predisposes those who DO choose first, but that was not the point of this book.
Also, the character of Nimrod is both present in biblical OT scenarios, as well as in much of the culture of the West; one thinks of Christopher Smart's "Nimrod the Mighty Hunter" as set by Britten in his church music.
What bothered me, and what made me say 'no' to this age-range/pre-history text, was the puerile way in which the author presumes current 'multicultural dogma' has ANY merit at all (or continuing legitimacy) in discussing issues of race, division of the nations and the confounding of tongues, as per the Biblical data, for even children as young as this text is geared toward! What is this current malaise/mentality- indoctrinate them when they are babes, so that they will be compliant multiculti drones when they hit the streets?
Clanin's preaching in this small book ("Why, that would make us bigots!"- she wirtes) is of an ilk, just like the ICR crowd's dictum that three Noahic sons'(and the attendant genetic impossibility of) fathering the entire human race after the Flood; both authors indulge in both bad genetics and bad science. So too does this author seek to preach the doctrine of racial equanimity in re-telling the story of Babel- the definitive squashing of any human attempts at 'multiculturalism' by God in the first place!
That Clanin can continue to say this in a book for children, in the face of recent research; (Herrnstein and Murray's "The Bell Curve," Vanhanan's (sp?) "IQ and the Wealth of Nations") recent history (Lest we EVER forget how racial 'harmony' fell apart so quickly in the Dome, during/after Katrina?) or Taylor's "The Color of Crime"; or even the fact that the Scriptural record is NOT a book of science, but a book of faith, chronicling the call of YHWH to one group of people alone, both in the OT, as well as in the NT: ["I am come only to call the lost sheep of Israel to repentance"- Christ] indicates that Master books, (the publisher) is being 'squeezed by the world's mold,' rather than what St. Paul said Christians were to do, which was to squeeze the world to the Church's mold! The only crowd this book will appeal to is the dying liberal protestant congregations, who preach the gospel of racial egalitarianism, feminist clergy legtimacy, and 'head-in-the-sand-we-are-the-world' claptrap. And perhaps that was all the author was aiming for- a 'niche' market, rather than being true to either scripture, or anthropological and historical realities.
Tower of Babel.......2006-04-06
You people have got to lighten up!! These are real stories in novel form. There is so much historical fiction out there that no one seems to object to. Just read anything about Ancient Rome or Greece that is in novel form or the movie "Titanic". No one seemed to object to the Jack and Rose thing. This is a book written with a little artistic license. Just fair thought it may be, the characters are real and so are the events.
Disappointing read.......2004-09-10
I had also purchased this book for my lower grammer aged kids in order to supplement the account of the tower of Babel in Genesis. I was so diappointed because of exactly the same issues raised by the previous reviewer. Like Tiffany, we aslo read and enjoyed The True Story of Noah's Ark and enjoyed it very much. Unfortunately, Ms. Clanin's book is 99% speculation. I also found it irritating that she presents it as fact. I looked in vain for even one sentence that had words such as "maybe, perhaps, it is thought, some think.
While I also took issue with her statement on p. 21 "God has given us a free will to love and obey Him or to sin and disobey.." (Oh really? Try telling that to Baalam who wanted to curse the Jews for money but was not permitted to by the Lord.) the last straw was the text of page 13 which states that "before people had the bible, God used the stars to tell the story of Jesus." I understand that some well respected evangelical leaders promote this idea, but it's a fable. Hebrews 1:1 states "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the PHROPHETS,(not the stars?) has in these last days spoken to us by His Son.....(or the stars if you are part of a people without the bible in your own language?)"
For a better analysis on the shortcomings of this fable, check out this site (...)
So! I don't have another recommendation ,except to perhaps read the account from a children's bible. But definitly pass on this one.
Decent, but too many questionable assumptions.......2004-05-11
I'm very frustrated with this book. While I do admit it is a good read for a child, I must take issue with a few items. First, if you're going to throw some fiction into the Bible's account, I certainly wish that would be specified at the beginning of the story. (much the same way "The True Story of Noah's Ark" does by the same publisher, stating at the beginning that this account is based on the Bible, but we've thrown in many speculative thoughts...)
For example, when I went back and read the account in Genesis about the tower being built, I found no reference to Nimrod actually starting the whole idea. I found no reference to Nimrod wanting to build it as a temple to turn people away from God. And I certainly have never seen a reference in the Bible that indicates that "before people had the Bible, God used the stars to tell the story of Jesus." Or that each of the 12 constellations told a part of God's story. Especially since other places in the Bible tell us NOT to look to the stars for answers!
I take issue with adding to or taking away from the Bible, although I'll be the first to admit that I don't know if there are more references to this story elsewhere in the Bible that actually state these things that I've got a problem with. But in all my years of studying, I've never come across these things.
And I take even more issue with throwing in a "free will" agenda into a children's book that has been recommended to me to use in our homeschooling class to teach my child more about how languages came to be.
As a Reformed household that stands firmly on what the Bible actually says, my husband and I have a real problem, well, better make that problemS with this book.
Again, decent read, but depending on your view of the Bible, you may want to think twice before sitting down with your kids on this one.
Still unsure if I will keep it. There's just too much to have to skip over at such a young age as my children are. When they are older and more grounded in their faith and understanding of what the Bible ACTUALLY says, then sure, no problem. Good book when that time comes.
Amazon.com
The face of creationism has been through some major plastic surgery in the past decade or so. The leading proponents of "intelligent design theory" have left the ranting flat-earth types behind and found respected positions in the academic world from which to launch attacks on mainstream science. Philosopher of science Robert T. Pennock has explored all sides of the ongoing debate, which remains (despite the protestations of many creationists) more about biblical inerrancy than scientific evidence. His book Tower of Babel examines the new directions antievolutionists have taken lately, but goes beyond a mere recounting of recent history by proposing a new avenue of counterattack: linguistics.
The parallels are striking once we look closely: Genesis proclaims that God created all human languages at one stroke, while modern scientific thought proposes linguistic evolution similar in form to genetics. Best of all for scientists, though, linguistic change is much more rapid than biological change, and we have actually observed what might be called "speciation events" to have occurred historically in languages. While not meant to supplant traditional arguments against creationism, Pennock's ideas certainly supplement them and will be useful to educators and researchers alike. His sense of urgency is compelling; he sees the future of scientific education and freedom at stake and argues strongly for a separation between private beliefs and public knowledge. --Rob Lightner
Book Description
In Tower of Babel, philosopher Robert Pennock compares the views of the new creationists with those of the old and reveals the insubstantiality of their arguments. One of Pennock's major innovations is to turn from biological evolution to the less-charged subject of linguistic evolution, which has strong theoretical parallels with biological evolution both in content and in the sort of evidence scientists use to draw conclusions about origins.
Several chapters deal with the work of Phillip Johnson, a highly influential leader of the new creationists. Pennock explains how science uses naturalism and discusses the relationship between factual and moral issues in the creationism-evolution controversy. The book also includes a discussion of Darwin's own shift from creationist to evolutionist and an extended argument for keeping private religious beliefs separate from public scientific knowledge.
Customer Reviews:
Digging through the Dirt.......2007-09-03
The sheer visceral emotion invested into the Darwin-design debate is truly staggering. We can already witness this vitriol directly on the Amazon discussion boards. Thus, I can credit Robert Pennock for a mild tone in "Tower of Babel: Evidence against the New Creationism", but this does not mean he is exempt from throwing the usual sneering sludge that permeates both sides of the debate (with Richard Dawkins and Phillip Johnson being the North/South polar extremes). Along with the toxic rhetoric, while the bigwigs of the debate are cruising 90-MPH in massive SUVs on a bare freeway that is accelerating towards a metropolis of truth, poor Pennock and his book are left to pick up odd-looking pinecones on an obscure dirt road, deep within the woods, away from the action. This is meant to say that his book is a sideshow, and a rather poor one at that, blocking the real clashing of swords by such muskateers as Dawkins, Johnson, Michael Behe, Sam Harris, William Dembski and Daniel Dennett. This is not to say that there are not worthwhile insights in "Tower of Babel", but that you as a critical reader of this discussion would benefit more from works by the authors mentioned above.
Pennock's refutations of the YEC (young-earth creationism) camp consumes a lot of attention in the book, which is what makes this work such more verbose and less cogent than it should`ve been. The author exaggerates the influence and notable academic attention that are given to these people, which is to say it is virtually very little attention. There have been other works demonstrating the false science and lame inferences derived from groups like "Answers in Genesis" and the Institution of Creation Research. These books and articles can be found online and in popular literature from both intelligent design advocates and secular humanists like Dawkins. Why beat a dead horse? Also given too much time is the debate about the political forces regarding creationism in the classroom. Again, it has been done.
Chapter 4, entitled "Of Naturalism and Negativity", is generally a decent one, and the author distinguishes well the concepts of methodological naturalism and ontological naturalism. Methodological naturalism, of course, is a path of inquiry that is no way antithetical to Christian theism. We certainly do not posit a supernatural explanation for every observable natural phenomenon, nor even for most phenomena. I think Pennock makes an error here by claiming that because Christian scientists allow for the possibility of a supernatural explanation, then they necessarily will abuse the concept, or try to discover a supernatural cause for everything we cannot explain. This is the heart of hype about the "God of the Gaps" stuff. I do not think ID advocates like Behe and William Dembski introduce their theories about intelligent design into biology because of some pernicious God-of-the-Gaps strategy or for undermining Darwin's proposal of common descent with a certain religion's view, but because methodological naturalism has been exhausted time and again since the publication of "Origin of the Species". This, of course, does not mean that methodological naturalism should be discarded or will not discover an answer in light of new evidence sometime in the future. But for now, we do not have this new evidence, and who knows how long we will wait out for it. I hardly think this constitutes "burning science at the stake" or even as a provocation to end funding for new naturalistic research. Funding nowadays, of course, is always terminated for ID research, not for naturalistic research.
Pennock also takes some good hits against Phillip Johnson, some that work, some that do not. However, Pennock, in an attempt to discredit Johnson on his main point about ontological naturalism being intrinsic to evolutionary biology, states,
"Johnson claims that evolutionary biologists assume this sort of positivistic philosophy, but certainly evolutionary biology as a science does not have to do so, and it is hard to believe even that any scientist who has kept abreast of developments in philosophy of science would affirm this support of ontological naturalism." (Page 193)
Of course, evolutionary biology as a science does not have to assume the charge of naturalism that Johnson so criticizes, but I think Pennock misses the point in believing that "any scientist" keeping up the philosophy in science would grant ontological naturalism any adherence. Richard Dawkins, I think, would say different. So too would Daniel Dennett. In fact, Dawkins expressed in "God Delusion" that those who do not give in to ontological naturalism are severely mistaken as practicing scientists. How would Pennock not realize this? He cites Dawkins quite often in "Tower of Babel". Pennock, of course, IS a professor of philosophy of science, who would presume to know more about the subject than Dawkins, a zoologist. Pennock instead says on the same page that G.G. Simpson and Stephen Jay Gould are methodological naturalists, not ontological naturalists, which is why he thinks Johnson raises that objection unfairly against them. I do not know enough about Simpson and Gould's personal philosophies, but perhaps they are not ontological naturalists, and yet Pennock as a philosopher of science believes it incredulous that any scientist would support such a belief, but Dawkins and Dennett certainly do.
Although the book is generally lukewarm in its rhetoric, it does occasionally take its angry swipes at Christian theists, as most agnostics and atheists tend to do, decrying them as believing in something that faces strong countervailing evidence (Dawkins and his books make this severe error also). As an ex-atheist myself, I understand the euphoric feelings that accompany a fun and furious rhetorical punch against "fundamentalist freaks" and "right-wing crack jobs." I enjoyed doing it, too. However, there comes a time where you must educate yourself in reality and all the things that you did not think were there but are. Read David Marshall's reviews here on Amazon, or go to his website, to discover that this description of Christian faith is false and grossly misleading.
"Tower of Babel" has some decent nuggets piled below mounds of dirt, which is ultimately why I decided on two stars than three.
This is one tower that's not coming down........2007-02-13
Very well written and easy to read.
A Must Read!.......2007-01-07
Not as quick and clean as Abusing Science (Philip Kitcher, ISBN 026261037X) but still necessary intellectual self defense against those zealots who prey on ignorance and rely on misinformation. In a world that seems to be slipping into darkness this book is a beacon of intellectual light! The same is true for The Blind Watchmaker (Richard Dawkins, ISBN-10: 0393304485).
Required reading for all science teachers!
Tower of Babel: Refuting Creationist Babble.......2006-11-03
"Tower of Babel: The Evidence against the New Creationism" is a cogent history of creationism and its sophistic spawn "creation science" - and a devastating refutation of the inane bibliolatrous arguments utilized by anti-Darwinists as the gaps available for polemics become increasingly circumscribed by the explanatory power of science. Pennock refutes creationist babble through a novel discussion of linguistic evolution and pays special attention to Paleyesque fallacies embedded in the "Intelligent Design" movement.
Pennock's bestiary classifies all anti-evolution Christians as creationists - kinds include Young Earth Creationists, Old Earth Creationists, Evolutionary Creationists, Progressive Creationists, and Intelligent Design Creationists - squabbling schisms whose theologically impelled supernaturalism places all variants well outside a scientific mainstream united in support of methodological naturalism.
Internecine creationist spats receive a useful historical, theological, and social context treatment, and the preponderance of crank creationist websites is ruefully noted - along with their intellectual and ethical squalor. Pennock debunks the most egregious examples, including the infamous "Lady Hope" hoax (Darwin's fraudulent deathbed conversion and recantation).
After lampooning creationist comedy websites (Google AiG for a slick but sick example), Pennock discusses the Genesis myth meme echoed in the title - the Tower of Babel. Scholars realized that languages were shaped by evolutionary processes and common descent before Darwin burst on the scene. Biological and linguistic evolution contradicts special revelation hallucination, and both have been obdurately attacked by bloviating biblical literalists. Like species and higher biological taxa, languages blur at boundaries and form sub-taxon variants known as dialects. Pennock utilizes these facts to illustrate creationist misinformation about evolution, including the spurious missing link objection, and epistemological issues encountered when science deals with past events - particularly the lack of direct observation and the status of evolution as both factual and theoretical.
Utilizing language illustrates evolutionary taxonomy (classification) and phylogeny (development) and "descent over time with modification" as spoken languages developed from precursors (e.g. Romance languages from Indo-European and Proto-Indo European). This approach exhibits the same quirks as biological evolution including loss through extinction, incomplete preservation, convergence, and horizontal transfer.
Neo-medieval creationists crib from postmodernist rivals by asserting that Darwinism is "a secular religion." Both also deny that human cognitive enterprises can approach the truth. Pennock skewers figures such as Alvin Plantinga, Paul Nelson, William Dembski, Michael Behe, and Philip Johnson who proffer ostensibly 'scientific' lines of reasoning that devolve into theological hand waving and philosophical special pleading upon close examination. Johnson's implicit conflation of ontological naturalism (materialism) with methodological naturalism is artfully deconstructed and Pennock shows that if science were to embrace miracles it would become useless as a way of knowing; an omnipotent and capricious deity would pull seemingly empirical strings. Pennock's characterization of Intelligent Design as a 'science of the gaps' that hamstrings what science could in principle explain is devastating - and portends rampant intellectual sloth "God said/did it, that settles it" - along with endemic theological or political meddling.
Pennock utilizes one of Behe's own examples to shred 'irreducibly complex' systems. Behe lays out the probability that a groundhog could mate across an eight-lane freeway to rebut speciation and adaptation. Pennock's version substitutes a population of groundhogs with survivors who make it to the center divider and reproduce before tackling the next lane, succinctly illustrating Darwinian processes. Behe's claims are then related to Dembski's opaque notion of 'complex specified information' (CSI) an arcane reimagining of Aquinas's argument from design and a mathematically absurd attempt to turn information theory against Darwin. Pennock lucidly explains what is wrong with CSI without overwhelming the reader with mathematical equations or technical terms - unlike Dembski who deliberately uses both to camouflage vacuous arguments.
Creationism and politics go together in America like bibles and thumping. The tortuous maneuvers creationists use to cross-dress theologically motivated political and educational agendas as science are exposed in detail. Creationists incessantly beaver away at court rulings prohibiting state funded public schools from promoting a religious viewpoint with bunko biblical hermeneutics and revelation repackaged as research. Pennock's defense of reason and science in the face of rampant superstition and magical thinking is passionate and compelling - and should be read into the minutes of every local school board or curriculum standards committee meeting.
Highly recommended on all counts - this is an erudite and necessary book.
The Evolution of Creationism.......2006-11-03
This is a rich and textured work. Pennock weaves together evolution, intelligent design, and literal creationism into an unexpectedly coherent tapestry.
I think some descriptions of this book do it a disservice, claiming that the point of the book is comparing language evolution with biological evolution. It is true, Pennock has that rather novel idea, which helps the reader better grasp the certainty of evolution. A literal reading of the Bible indicates that God directly creates both animals and languages- yet the scientific evidence indicates a process for both. But the changes in languages happen at a much more rapid and visible rate, making it more difficult for the Literal Creationist to deny them. And if one developmental process is accepted, the other is not too remote in logic. Yet this is not really the main point of the book, but rather a very helpful recurring analogy.
Pennock's brilliance is in another area. He very clearly stating what evolution is, and is not, for the lay reader. And for stating what the many brands of creationism are, including Theistic Evolution, Young Earth and Old Earth Literal Creationism, and Intelligent Design. He discusses with great frankness and equanimity the various groups, being fair yet not withholding all of the positive evidence for evolution. He doesn't deny where he stands, but tries to point out the myriad of different stances others hold. Through this he shows his true brilliance- describing the evolution of creationism. Applying (by analogy) principles of natural selection and biological evolution to languages, he extends that to the development of various creationist doctrines, thereby pointing out the danger in attempting to teach creationism in schools- for there are thousands of forms of this belief.
Like Pennock, I was once a Literal Creationist, and like Pennock, discovered the Light as a Quaker. I can relate to much of what he shares. Pennock helps the die-hard evolutionist understand better where creationists are coming from, and what ideas are important to them. He shows how clearly those in Intelligent Design are rejecting the foundations of Christianity in order to embrace Post-Modernist philosophies. He shows how clearly the evidence for evolution stands, and after everything, still stands. And dare I say it? As a former Literal Creationist, I'd say he comes quite close to being convincing to the open-minded Literal Creationist that evolution just might, after all, have some truth to it. And that's a hard path to create.
Book Description
What are the origins of Adam and Eve, the world's best-known creation story' There is a strong concordance with the Genesis story of two Egyptian historical figures, Akhenaton and Nefertiti. The early chapters of Genesis are a perfect retelling of Pharaoh Akhenaton's Hymn to Aton. Aton was a god who later became the Jewish god Adjon, and later Adam. Ellis posits, with much compelling evidence, that Adam and Eve were actually Pharaoh Akhenaton and his famous wife, Queen Nefertiti. The downfall of Adam and Eve is also a reflection of the downfall of this Egyptian royal couple, as Akhenaton and Nefertiti were cruelly deposed. The river of Eden is described as having four branches, and only the Nile fits this description. That means Egypt was actually the Garden of Eden, and the true crucible for the Genesis story.
Customer Reviews:
Title Misleading.......2007-07-30
This book was a disappointment. After reading Tempest & Exodus I expected to find at least as much plausible evidence in Eden in Egypt. Only half the book contains material germane to Adam & Eve. The rest is peripheral and incidental. That portion is highly speculative, stretching linguistic associations even for his own usual style. Ralph went over the top with his conclusion that little gray aliens are the Grand Secret behind the Masons. While the roots of Masonry in Egyptian history is informative, Ralph finds a rabbit in every hole coming up with insubstantiable conclusions based solely on stretches of linguistic patterns. Tying his language roots to other known references is weak or non-existent in this volume.
The book is largely a compilation of notes on various topics, written in Ralph's characteristic rambling style of story telling. It fits neither in scientific investigation nor non-fictional literature categories. Useful tidbits of information and wonderful color plates, but in the end, it didn't reveal much about early Egyptian culture surrounding Adam & Eve, aka Akhenaton and Nefertiti.
Adam and Eve.......2006-03-13
One of the primary suggestions the author makes, is that Adam and Eve were actually Pharaoh Akhenaton and Queen Nefertiti. There is not enough evidence to prove this, but the argument is certainly compelling.
I liked the item on the Egyptian roots of Masonry too, most entertaining and thought-provoking. Plus there is an Egyptian-Hebrew dictionary, which is interesting as I had not thought there to be any similarities here. Evidently, there are!
In summary - thought-provoking.
very different, original.......2005-03-23
This is the only book I have encountered that talked about the scriptures are based on the ancient egyptian langauge.
Most scholars today are trying to decipher the bible in its hebrew roots.
Ellis takes the bible a step further by saying the bible should be interepreted by the egptian language.
I think the book makes people think and has some "ah hah" sentences where the reader would be able to make new connections regarding the bible.
The book is very detail and is not something to read overnight with a wealth of new information to assimilate. Though the proofs go only so far like many new age books.
Defintiely, anyone not satisfied with current modern day bible itnerpretations this book is a must read.
Amazon.com
Babel Tower follows The Virgin in the Garden and Still Life in tracing Frederica Potter, a lover of books who reflects the author's life and times. It centers around two lawsuits: in one, Frederica -- a young intellectual who has married outside her social set -- is challenging her wealthy and violent husband for custody of their child; in the other, an unkempt but charismatic rebel is charged with having written an obscene book, a novel-within-a-novel about a small band of revolutionaries who attempt to set up an ideal community. And in the background, rebellion gains a major toehold in the London of the Sixties, and society will never be the same.
Book Description
At the heart of
Babel Tower are two law cases, twin strands of the Establishment's web, that shape the story: a painful divorce and custody suit and the prosecution of an "obscene" book. Frederica, the independent young heroine, is involved in both. She startled her intellectual circle of friends by marrying a young country squire, whose violent streak has now been turned against her. Fleeing to London with their young son, she gets a teaching job in an art school, where she is thrown into the thick of the new decade. Poets and painters are denying the value of the past, fostering dreams of rebellion, which focus around a strange, charismatic figure -- the near-naked, unkempt and smelly Jude Mason, with his flowing gray hair, a hippie before his time.
We feel the growing unease, the undertones of sex and cruelty. The tension erupts over his novel
Babbletower, set in a past revolutionary era, where a band of people retire to a castle to found an ideal community. In this book, as in the courtrooms, as in the art school's haphazard classes and on the committee set up to study "the teaching of language," people function increasingly in groups. Many are obsessed with protecting the young, but the fashionable notion of children as innocent and free slowly comes to seem wishful, and perilous.
Babel Tower is the third, following
The Virgin in the Garden and
Still Life, of a planned quartet of novels set in different mid-century time frames. The personal and legal crises of Frederica mirror those of the age. This is the decade of the Beatles, the Death of God, the birth of computer languages. In Byatt's vision, the presiding genius of the 1960s seems to be a blend of the Marquis de Sade and
The Hobbit. The resulting confusion, charted with a brilliant imaginative sympathy, is as comic as it is threatening and bizarre.
Customer Reviews:
Worth wading for.......2007-04-06
The first (and still, in my opinion best) novel I read by Byatt was "Possession", which is a true masterpiece. Like that book, it took some patience to get into "Babel Tower", but once, one gets past the first 50+ pages, one is rewarded with an enthralling tale. After reading "Possession," I went back to read Byatt's earlier work, starting with "The Game," "The Virgin in the Garden" and "Still Life". It is fascinating to see how sibling rivalry plays out from different points of view (Byatt is the sister of Margaret Drabble, also a novelist, who I think enjoyed an excellent reputation but has been overshadowed by Byatt), especially when Frederica ends up in a sisterly relationship as a grown-up.
Breathtaking and yet mildly pretentious........2005-07-08
In my opinion, A.S Byatt is a master of language; as well as of the observations of both human nature and society. I was first introduced to her work with Possession, and have since then read everything I can.
Overall, Babel Tower is an amazing work of literature. As always, the prose flows together in perfect cadence; along with observations of a new revolution of traditional values versus new ideas of free thought, the change of language, and how one must suffer so greatly to be accepted by society and it's stiffling expectations.
Frederica; I continued to adore and be plagued by at the same time. However, one of my small problems with this book is that the character development did not seem to be as strong as Virgin in the Garden or Still Life. I also really missed and wanted to see more of Marcus, Jacqueline, Ruth, Daniel, and the old crowd of the previous two novels--I wanted to know more about how Daniel's children coped with their mother's death and simply more about one of my favorite literary families instead of the whole novel being almost all Frederica.
My only other small complaints are that sometimes the excerpts from Babbletower detracted from the book as well as some of Frederica's lamentations or reviews. My advice is to skim these parts--they don't really do much for the overall plot so you can get by with just a basic idea. Finally, there are parts in the novel that seem as if the prose and all the literary references are forced if not slightly pretentious, while the other two novels had a very natural flow while the intellectual ideas were not pretentious or showoffish. It seems as if Byatt was slightly stuck at these "humps", but she gets over it quickly enough.
But despite a few mild flaws, this is a very good novel. Perhaps not as polished as the others, but a gorgeously told story with brilliant social commentary and satire to top it off.
A great novel to read with any group of friends or a book club as there is so much to discuss with so many different takes. It does take awhile to get through, as is the case with all of Byatt's novels, but you will feel content with the overall book in the end-- even with the pretentious bits and an often tearjerking storyline.
Vast - overrated - dull - affected and utterly boring.......2005-06-08
This book is a bore. Middle class English in the 60s. Everything that needs to be said has been said. Why bring this subject back up in the 1990s. Another English writer who writes beautifully but unfortunately, has nothing to say.
It gets better every time!.......2005-01-18
I read and loved The Virgin in the Garden and Still Life and I couldn't wait to read more of Frederica Potter and her eccentric, intellectual family. Babel Tower centers on Frederica's struggles to free herself from her rich, abusive husband. She is now in a custody battle that could well end in disaster. As she regains her independence and begins to work as a teacher in London, Frederica ponders on the reasons she married someone with a different social and intellectual background. There is another legal fight in the story. Jude Mason, a rebellious man who is described as a hippie before his time, is sued for writing an "obscene book." What transpires is a story centered on the laws and prejudices in sixties London.
Babel Tower is my favorite part of this literary series. A.S. Byatt focuses on Frederica and her plights here more than on the previous novels. And the references to art and literature in this offering are especially engaging and insightful. I did miss the other members of the Potter family, but I loved reading about Frederica one more time. This is one beautiful novel and I so look forward to reading The Whistling Woman with utmost anticipation.
Great Book.......2004-08-05
Great characters and a love for language and the life of the mind. There is nothing desiccated about Byatt's imagination. I couldn't get through *The Satanic Verses* by Rushdie, Roth's *Operation Shylock* was narrative torture. Byatt doesn't do that to us. She has weird surprises for us but is never self-indulgent. Confusion for confusion sake ain't her favorite means of showing how "profound" she is. This is how Dickens and George Eliot would write if they were fused into one person and brought by time machine into the present. Think of an Atwood without the nostalgia for Fellow Travelers or all the feminist paranoia.
Average customer rating:
|
On Language: Descent from the Tower of Babel
Rod Mengham
Manufacturer: Little Brown & Co (T)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Linguistics
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Automotive
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Words & Language
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Semantics
| Words & Language
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0316566713 |
Books:
- Life Studies: Stories
- Little Blue and Little Yellow
- LL Cool J's Platinum Workout: Sculpt Your Best Body Ever with Hollywood's Fittest Star
- Lonely Planet One People: Many Journeys (Pictorials)
- Looking Out, Looking In (with CD-ROM and InfoTrac) (Wadsworth Series in Communication Studies)
- Making Polymer Clay Beads: Step-by-Step Techniques for Creating Beautiful Ornamental Beads
- Man Corn: Cannibalism and Violence in the Prehistoric American Southwest
- Map Use & Analysis
- Marc Chagall (Jewish Encounters)
- Mardi Gras New Orleans
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
- Wild Cards
- Schaum's Easy Outline Beginning Chemistry
- The Rapture of Canaan
- Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
- Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century
- Weller Pottery
- Conceptual Art: A Critical Anthology
- The Art Dealers, Revised & Expanded: The Powers Behind the Scene Tell How the Art World Really W
- Compendium of soil fungi
