History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Bearing An Hourglass (Incarnations of Immortality, Book 2)

Average customer rating:

Not Free SF Reader
Some good ideas, but terrible writing
Not as good the second time around, and not as interesting as On a Pale Horse
Take some notes or read slowly!
Time is tough [no spoilers]

Bearing An Hourglass (Incarnations of Immortality, Book 2)
Piers Anthony
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0345313151
Release Date: 1985-09-12

Book Description

When life seemed pointless to Norton, he accepted the position as the Incarnation of Time, even though it meant living backward from present to past. The other seemingly all-powerful incantations of Immortality--Death, Fate, War, and Nature--made him welcome. Even Satan greeted him with gifts. But he soon discovered that the gifts were cunning traps and he had become enmeshed in a complex scheme of the Evil One to destroy all that was good....

Customer Reviews:

Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03

Surrogate ghost parent stint fails, becomes Lord of Time instead.

This Incarnation gets to do the Merlin thing, and live backwards in time. Being in charge of that he can go forward if he wants to, though.

He hooks up with one of the Fates, and also has Satan try and trick him, one of these stunts includes trying to convince him to stop the event that makes the guy in the first book Thanatos.

Some good ideas, but terrible writing.......2007-05-03

There were some interesting ideas in this book and in the first one, but Piers Anthony is, quite simply, a painfully bad writer. He writes like an early teenager in almost every way - redundant, self-indulgent, and shallow. The sad thing for these books is that, unlike the Xanth series, there is actually a decent story at their core. Even a mildly competent editor could have turned this series into a decent work of fantasy. Instead it's just a monument to a missed opportunity.

Not as good the second time around, and not as interesting as On a Pale Horse.......2007-04-20

What if death, time, fate, war, nature, evil and good were not mere concepts but offices held by actual people, like any other occupation?

Norton is the man who became Time. Grieving for a love lost and spending his time aimlessly wandering, he accepts the opportunity to become the immortal incarnation of Time. This means living his life backwards with respect to the rest of the world, and assisting Fate in navigating and repairing the great tapestry of life. Norton discovers that it also means extricating himself from the devious traps laid by The Father of Lies himself.

I first read Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series in high school and thought they were superb. I'm now reading them again and, while I still find the premise of Death, Time, Fate, War, Nature, Good and Evil being mere offices fascinating, the more experienced reader in me is viewing them with a more critical eye. Entirely too much time is spent on Norton's "visits" to the sci-fi/fantasy realms, and not nearly enough on his experiences while learning his new office. In addition, almost every character in the book is a two-dimensional stereotype, which grows wearisome.

Take some notes or read slowly!.......2007-04-09

I will be the first to admit that I can be a fast reader, so I will sometimes miss things. So this book was not a great one for someone like me to read. It had a complicated story that ran up and back through time. It IS very clever and when my husband read it, he liked it much more than I did. He reads slower than I do, so go figure. I can say that I liked it and would recommend it to others. Worth the read.

Time is tough [no spoilers].......2006-06-12

The "Incarnations of Immortality" series sequel "Bearing An Hourglass" introduces the trekking Norton as he receives a suspicious proposal while camping. Simple character development laced in stereotypical behavior of commonly opinionated male and empty-headed female figures surrounded by subtle environmental friendly messages caters to the young reader. Also, one finds the usual vocabulary and lengthy logical deductions as in most fast-paced Piers Anthony stories. A formidable earnestness to the plot and the masterful potency of Time could have produced a truly profound novel.

Unlike most follow-up novels, a different individual drives the storyline with a courteous acknowledgment to the Incarnation of Death. Sning, a fresh character, definitely captures one's attention and affection, as Satan remains troublesome. Since Chronos interacts with Fate on individual threads of life, expect non-Chronos related dialogue considering she is the next Incarnation to be addresses in the series. The narrative denies descriptions of Heaven or Hell other than the overall plot of the perpetual battle for people's soul.

Since the novel manages the Incarnation of Time, paradox is paramount throughout the execution of such a daunting task. Unfortunately not all of the problems that arise are expressed as clearly as in the prior novel. The powerful hourglass, the symbol of the Incarnation of Time, is conveniently forgotten too often by Chronos as a commanding device.

I recommend this series to any fan of the fantasy genre. However those of a highly inflexible religious background or intolerant attitude towards religion might want to avoid the selection.

Thank you.

Average customer rating:

Lively, but Never Emotionally Satisfying
Mediaeval Knight gets a second chance at life - in the Regency period
Metzger never disappoints!
4 stars
Not a Regency novel

The Hourglass (Signet Eclipse)
Barbara Metzger
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 045122079X

Book Description

Coryn, Earl of Ardeth, has spent an eternity in Hell. Fed up, he gambles with the Devil and wins a second chance: if he can find his heart, his soul, and his hourglass in six months, he can return to life.Then he meets Genie, a disgraced water-girl at the Battle of Waterloo. Now, her only hope is this crazy stranger-and she's half-terrified of and half-in-love with the eccentric earl. Together they have to find his humanity, her social acceptance, and overcome someone bent on destroying their lives.

Customer Reviews:

Lively, but Never Emotionally Satisfying.......2007-08-28

This is the story of a Knight who once lived during the Crusades, who was a brutal warrior fighting for what he wanted. When he dies, he goes straight to Hell and becomes one of Satan's beings, called "Death". These Death warriors come and take the living when their time on earth has expired. Over the course of eons of time, "Ar" as he is called, tricks the Devil into giving him a chance to re-enter life once again, to atone for his past sins. Ar meets Genie, and the story begins.

I've read two of Metzger's novels, "The Hourglass" and "Wedded Bliss",and found creative story lines and lively dialog between the characters - however both books are over-written, and are never emotionally satisfying. They certainly could be, as all of the elements are there, but the writer never takes you to that place.

Mediaeval Knight gets a second chance at life - in the Regency period.......2007-04-26

This book is definitely different to your average Regency romance. Firstly there's an element of fantasy in it - our hero, who meets the heroine at the Battle of Waterloo, is actually a Knight from the Crusades. He's been working as one of the Grim Reapers for Satan for the last 500 years but wants a chance to atone for his sins as a Knight by living on earth again as a human and doing good deeds with all the wealth that he has amassed. He bargains with Satan and wins - he gets six months as a human and if he can find the special hourglass Satan has put on earth, he can live his full life span.

Despite the theoretically rather dark and disturbing initial content (Satan, death, grim reapers) this book is actually funny. It's not laugh-out-loud but it has a lot of amusing one-liners and the characters are great. Our heroine, Genie, a pregnant widow who is shunned by good ladies since her husband's death, is wonderfully pragmatic. She meets Ardeth and knows there's something distinctly odd about him (he seems to have a few magical powers, speaks strangely and doesn't know some basic things, like how to eat with a knife and fork) but she also sees that he is genuine in his attempts to help and care for others and she throws in her lot with him.

Poor Ardeth, however, believes that to be noble and moral he has to allow Genie her full year's mourning for her dead husband, despite the fact that he marries her by chapter four of the book. Genie doesn't have any affection for her late husband and feels that she has no way of repaying Ardeth his kindness except through conjugal rights - which he won't accept. Ardeth knows he only has six months on earth and he wants to set Genie up for a happy future with her son, but equally he knows that will mean he won't get to consummate his marriage because six months isn't long enough. However this element of tension doesn't take over the story - the seduction side of this book is very much left to the reader's imagination without any detailed descriptions of love scenes.

We follow the couple's introduction into the haute ton in England, Ardeth's attempt to bring about a reconciliation between Genie and her sister Lorraine (a historical error by the author - Lorraine was not used as a name until the 1870s) and later with her family. We see attempts made on both Genie's and Ardeth's lives and their establishment of a community at Ardeth Keep. Ardeth's charitable works are an important part of the book and one of the ways in which he tries to atone for his past sins.

The love story part of the book is very gently written. There's no annoying 'Big Misunderstanding' or hatred between the characters, we just follow them as they slowly get to know one another and as Ardeth begins to learn what's important in this new life. Genie is great, with her ability to see beyond the apparent strangeness of her husband to the honourable and kind man, and the crow Olive, really a gremlin, with his intelligence and speech, is an enjoyable side character.

Those who are Regency purists won't like the fantasy element of this book. However the historical detail is well researched and the language is mostly authentic (apart from some modern American phrases that creep in) and for those who are willing to read a little outside the Regency norm this is an enjoyable book.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book. Copyright Helen Hancox 2007

Metzger never disappoints!.......2007-04-10

I am not a big fan of "non-reality" but this book drew me in almost at once and I enjoyed every minute of it. So much depends upon the author's ability to persuade -- and Barbara Metzger has that ability!

4 stars.......2007-04-07

Ar, a member of the Dead Letters, aka, Grim Reapers, gambles with the devil to regain his humanity. After winning, the devil double crosses him and gives Ar six months in which to find the symbol of his office or face damnation. Before Ar can protest, he finds himself alive again, near the battlefields of Waterloo, with a newly liberated gremlin as his companion. Soon, he meets a disgraced, young, pregnant widow and marries her out of kindness. Yet, as the weeks pass, Ar finds himself growing to love Genie, his wife, and though his powers baffle her, she feels something in kind for this strange man who has defended and befriended her so well. However, will death claim its due, or will Ar find happiness is a question that hangs over them every moment.

**** This book reminded me of the classic film, Death Takes a Holiday and of the first, and best book in Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series, Bearing an Hourglass. The premise, though not wholly new, is one seldom explored and is very well executed. Ar's pet gremlin is an added bonus, providing an amusing note to balance out the necessary moodiness. ****

Not a Regency novel.......2007-04-03

Simply put, this is not a Regency novel. There is more to creating a Regency than simply setting the action in the Regency period. The true Regency, essentially defined by the work or Georgette Heyer, contains a lot of sexual tension, but it is never overtly discussed, and certainly not with anatomical details. Similarly, Heyer's books are "naturalistic" in that they never take the occult or magical seriously. This book seems almost entirely concerned with sexual tensions and frustrations, and it's plot foundation is a return from the afterlife, and thus was a major disappointment for me.

I had looked forward to the book (and pre-ordered from Amazon) since Metzger has been one of my favorite contemporary Regency writers. I have particularly enjoyed her humor, her animal characters, and her comedy that sometimes approached the Shakespearean in its complexity. I hope that The Hourglass will turn out to be an abberation, perhaps (?) due to mourning for Metzger's canine companion, Hero.

Power Encounters: Reclaiming Spiritual Warfare (Hourglass Books)

Average customer rating:

good overview
Clear headed thinking
Recommended
OUTSTANDING
Well-researched & challenging though not abrasive.

Power Encounters: Reclaiming Spiritual Warfare (Hourglass Books)
David A. Powlison
Manufacturer: Baker Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0801071380

Customer Reviews:

good overview.......2006-05-22

I remember using this book for a paper, and although I plan on buying and rereading sometime soon, I had a few observations.

First, for his position he is very clear and concise. He also is generally respectful and nuanced towards his opposition, admitting not all are as extreme in their view of possession as some would think. He also does not outright deny power encounters in total, even though his implications would lead that way.

Second, it is unfortunate he only was really addressing one side of his opposition, spending most of the time on the charismatic movement. Although he does mention others who believe in some form of possession/demonization, one gets the impression that he is only seeking to really interact with charismatics more then non-charismatics who would also hold to some form of possession possible for the Christian. This could have been due to current need and brevity however.

Third, perhaps following this only modern interaction, he makes a factual error in his historical theology. One of the main points of his thesis is the "classic mode" of scripture, prayer and sanctification as opposed to the new charsimatic deliverance ministry. He supports this by saying that Christians have always held to the classis mode and that Christians being demon possessed is something "new". This however is wrong. Although the Early Church records are minimal to none of Christians being possessed, we now that very early (100-200AD) there were appointed exorcists. During the middle ages there was plenty of belief that Christians could be possessed (the development of both Roman and Eastern exorcism prayers and rites directed at Christians), and even the reformation saw Lutherans casting out demons from believers. Powlison quotes Theologians to bolster his case and one quickly notices they are almost all puritans .. one hopes he doesn't really believe the church died until the puritans "revived it" or some such... if anything the idea that Christians can't be possessed is "new" even if it may or may not be correct. So it is just plain an error to say any other then actually Christians have for most all of Church history believed believers could be possessed, whither biblical or not this is the fact.

Lastly, he does present some of the stronger more compelling arguments for his view, which makes this a good resource on angelology in general when it comes to spiritual warfare. Some will see some flaws in them, and other will not as much, but for his position they are good.

I rate it a 3: for good, clear arguments presented for various audiences, but lacking in a broader range of interaction with the wider Christian world and faulty historical research.

Clear headed thinking.......2005-05-24

Powlison may not be the master of prose--but his pellucid argument persuades and compels. Powlison writes to counter the multitudinous and less than biblical "manuals" on spiritual deliverance and exorcism that have flooded the Christian market. While he doesn't discount the possibility of power encounters--he makes the case that the most typical spiritual warfare modeled in the Scriptures is not the expulsion of demons--but plain vanilla confession, repentance and reception of forgiveness. Not very sexy--but dead on and far more helpful than the usual fare.

Recommended.......1999-11-09

Powlison gives a very strong argument for why modern "demon-deliverance" ministries miss the mark. If you are involved in such ministry, you need to read this book - it will at the very least challenge some of your beliefs and practices (it did for me).

OUTSTANDING.......1999-08-07

Despite the exotic and interesting topic, this is not an obviously exciting read. Powlison is not a particularly sharp or polished writer. Basically humorless, sometimes ponderous, nevertheless this is a truly exceptional book. Powlison (Ivy League Ph.D., ex-missionary, full-time counsellor) has thought deeply about his subject and he makes an unanswerable case. His critique is compassionate, balanced, and generous. Honestly, this is the most important book I have read all year.

Well-researched & challenging though not abrasive........1999-01-16

Dr. Powlison has written a book which is both timely and practical. While one may disagree with a few of his conclusions (this writer does), these will likely be doctrinal differences. His work is solidly biblical and essentially quite sound and trustworthy. He brings up important and occasionally challeging points, yet does so in a humble way which others should strive to emulate. It should also be readily comprehended by the average reader, so one without the benefit of a bible college or seminary education need not worry.

Fit Bodies Fat Minds: Why Evangelicals Don't Think and What to Do About It (Hourglass Books)

Average customer rating:

Misleading Title
Guinness pulls no punches with this one!
The sin of thoughtlessness
Not just for people with religious beliefs
Moss-backed fundamentalist

Fit Bodies Fat Minds: Why Evangelicals Don't Think and What to Do About It (Hourglass Books)
Os Guinness
Manufacturer: Baker Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0801038707

Customer Reviews:

Misleading Title.......2006-10-14

This book is not about what the title implies. The part of the title, "Why Evangelicals Don't Think", implies that the book will address why evangelicals are so against science and Biblical criticism (both of which bring a fuller understanding of how God and Jesus work and think). It is not an attempt to reconcile science and Christianity. This book is actually a critique of evangelicals by an evangelical for being too caught up in popular culture to the point where they either don't practice their faith or become ignorant of their own faith and holy books.

The author follows the history of how evangelicals became absorbed in popular culture and pleads for evangelicals to return to the roots of evangelical Christianity and studying the Bible.

I am giving it 2 stars because of the misleading title. I didn't give it 1 star because studying the roots of Christianity and the Bible is one way to address "Why Evangelicals Don't Think."

Guinness pulls no punches with this one!.......2006-06-13

Os Guinness is probably my favorite contemporary author and cultural critic with such outstanding works as The Call, The American Hour, The Great Experiment, Prophetic Untimeliness and The Long Journey Home just to name a few. But Fit Bodies, Fat Minds is an excellent beginning for the simple fact that today's youth are the primary audience for this book.

Guinness argues that Christians have a responsibility to use and develop their minds as part of their walk with the Lord. As he examines our current cultural chaos, Guinness points out eight hurdles to developing a "Christian mind" - all eight begin with the letter "p" obviously indicating that Guinness is attempting to relate to Baptist readers! Guinness presents the claim that the wave of anti-intellectualism that swept across this country following the Civil War has had damaging effects on the relevancy of the gospel to our culture and that efforts to reclaim the Christian mind are critically important to reclaiming our culture for Christ.

Of course, Guinness points out, that reclaiming our culture for Christ won't be easy - we must first reclaim the importance of the word taken captive by our image-obsessed society. It will take study - reading in particular - for the development of the Christian mind. Guinness quotes Oswald Chambers who wrote, "God will not make me think like Jesus, I have to do it myself; I have to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."

If you are interested in bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, or if you've ever wondered why reading and your studies as a student are important to your Christian walk, you need to read Fit Bodies, Fat Minds. Tipping the scales at only 152 pages, this book is perfect suited to begin exercising your brain and building your intellectual prowess to match your muscular physique.

The sin of thoughtlessness.......2005-08-13

This is an important book but we must realize that it is written for a popular audience. Thus, what we essentially have is 152 pages of Os Guinness' conclussions not 550 pages of his conclussions and a through discussion for the reasoning behind them. There are times when I was not fully convinced by some of his arguements and I believe a large part of that is due to the abbreviated format.

That said he in general makes excellent conclussions and gives and accessible outline for the current state of evangelical thought. I believe the greatest point of this book is the reminder that not thinking... not loving God with all of our mind is sin. This is hardly ever talked about by most Christians since most Christians are complacent in this sin. But, it is at the heart of our faith and an essential topic of discussion.

What keeps thisbook from receiving 5 stars is the last part of the title. "And What to Do About It". If the title had simply been "Fit Bodies Fat Minds: Why Evangelicals Don't Think" I would have given the book five stars. The proposed sollutions only took up 20 pages of this book and while what he wrote was true I finished it feeling convinced that the solutions were only part of the solution. That in and of themselves they would change nothing. But, that said I do not know the full solution or I would have written my own book.

Not just for people with religious beliefs.......2005-07-19

This book applies to all people, religious or not. It describes the historic causes of 250 years of declining intellectual capacity of members of the general public. One disappointing aspect of the book is that it does not give any cures to this process for the general public. His cures are for a subset of the people with certain religious beliefs who are presently more dumbed down than the general public.

Moss-backed fundamentalist.......2004-08-08

Good book that shows how temporal distractions can distract us from those eternal things that should be our focus. It is a quick read, broken down into short chapters. In perhaps one of the most convincing proofs for the necessity of the book, I actually found it in the "diet & exercise" section of my local Christian bookstore.

Dining With the Devil: The Megachurch Movement Flirts With Modernity (Hourglass Books)

Average customer rating:

Dining With the Devil
Prophetically Timely
A Prophetic View of Purpose Driven Mentality
Warning!
REQUIRED READING

Dining With the Devil: The Megachurch Movement Flirts With Modernity (Hourglass Books)
Os Guinness
Manufacturer: Baker Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0801038553
Release Date: 1993-08-01

Book Description

What shapes the message of the church? The Bible and Spirit? Or society and culture? Os Guinness points out perils of compromise in the church growth movement.

Customer Reviews:

Dining With the Devil.......2005-10-29

This book spoke to the truth of the Bible as it lookes at the state of our churches. Though it was written 14 years ago it may be more applicable to today then then.

Prophetically Timely.......2005-04-06

Dining With the Devil is an interesting read, especially in light of the fact that the author, Os Guinness, is describing the very difficulties the church is facing today, even though this book was written over twelve years ago. It is difficult to know if his voice was prophetic or if very little has changed since the early nineties. I suspect both are true.

The book is subtitled "The Megachurch Movement Flirts with Modernity." We hear much more about postmodernity today than modernity, but this does not seem to detract from the book. Guinness warns that the Megachurch movement, which gained prominence in the eighties and nineties and continues to gain steam today, may be borrowing as much from the devil as from the Lord. And as Peter Berger warns, "He who sups with the devil had better have a long spoon." Guinness assesses the movement and warns that much of the foundation for the Megachurch Movement, which can be understood to be synonymous with the Church Growth Movement, is incompatible with Scripture. Some examples he provides are the uncritical use of marketing tools and management theories to induce growth in attendance. "When all is said and done," the author states, "the church growth movement will stand or fall by one question. In implementing its vision of church growth, is the church of Christ primarily guided and shaped by its own character and calling - or by considerations and circumstances alien to itself" (page 35). The heart of this question is one of authority - what will the church submit to as the ultimate authority? Will it be Scripture or will it be the ever-changing, ever-fickle demands of the culture? Is the audience sovereign, or is the message?

This book is short on names and specifics of individuals or churches, but long on analysis and warnings. The names Bill Hybel and Rick Warren do not appear at all. And thankfully this book is better-referenced than many of Guinness' other books, in which I have found his lax committment to footnotes exceedingly frustrating.

My only disappointment with this book is that much of it was repeated in Guinness' more recent book, Prophetic Untimeliness, which I found more timely and ultimately more helpful. If I had to recommend purchasing only one, I would recommend Prophetic Untimeliness. However, Dining With the Devil still makes for an interesting and challenging read, and one that at only 109 pages, can be accomplished in a short while. I recommend it.

A Prophetic View of Purpose Driven Mentality.......2004-11-05

Purpose Driven Church, Purpose Driven Youth, Purpose Driven Life, Purpose Driven coffee mugs, Purpose Driven music CD, Purpose Driven Calanders, Purpose Driven screen savers, Purpose Driven Bible covers, Purpose Driven this and Purpose Driven that. Everywhere we look we see the popular themes of Rick Warren and Bill Hybels. The Church in America is running after every teaching that generates more people without questioning the teaching. Pragmatic, and sometimes unbiblical, doesn't seem to matter anymore.

Os Guinness takes direct aim at Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, C. Peter Wagner, and George Barna in this short book by addressing the seeker sensitive, megachurch mentality that exists and is being pushed in nearly every seminary in America. He writes that the Church is flirting with modernity and loosing sight of our original purpose. The Bible, discipleship, expository preaching, prayer, and living the Spirit-filled life is being ignored for numbers, results, prestiage, money.

May we repent before a holy God and return to faithfully preaching the Word of God and the hard demands of true repentance. May we not continue on this down-grade.

Warning!.......2001-11-25

In Dining With the Devil, Guinness critiques the church-growth movement. This book is not intended to be a scholarly theological review; rather, he shares his thoughts and warnings to the churches of America as they are confronted with the issue of modernity.

Should the primary guidance of the church be internal or external? Should the church be formed by the Word or by the World? At what point does change become compromise? Should churches incorporate the managerial techniques of the business world? What are the logical ends of the church-growth movement?

Guinness addresses each of these questions, and I believe he answers them fairly. He doesn't say all church-growth is bad and the church should condemn it, nor does he say that all church-growth is good and the church should assume it. Rather, he warns his reader and gets him to think about each of these questions. What stand should we take on these issues? Read this book and find out for yourself.

REQUIRED READING.......2001-03-17

Guinness paints a very grim picture of the meagchurch's accoumadtions to modernity. In the face of rising hostility from mainstream culture nobody wants to face the fact that some of our greatest church "successes" are actually just as dangerous. This reality is not one Guinness relishes or is eager to report, but the story must be told. Very concise, well-written, well-researched, thoughtful. I wish every Christian in America could read thsi book. One of the ten most importnat things I have ever read.

Fictions of Bruno Schulz: The Street of Crocodiles and Sanatorium under the Sign of the Hourglass

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Fictions of Bruno Schulz: The Street of Crocodiles and Sanatorium under the Sign of the Hourglass
Bruno Schulz
Manufacturer: Picador
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0330304119

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Happt Reader
Must have for Days fans!
Marvelous!
FIVE STARS + A LOT MORE
Like Sands Through The Hourglass

Like Sands Through The Hourglass
Bill Hayes , and Susan Seaforth Hayes
Manufacturer: NAL Hardcover
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0451216601

Book Description

They were the first "super couple" of daytime drama. Millions watched as actors Susan Seaforth and Bill Hayes, playing Julie and Doug on Days of Our Lives, fell in love on camera and off-igniting the hottest love story on daytime television in the 1970s and early '80s. Now, this witty, entertaining autobiography tells their fascinating story-from television's Golden Age to hit Broadway shows and soap opera stardom.

Customer Reviews:

Happt Reader.......2007-07-15

My mother in law is a huge DOOL fan and this is the perfect christmas present for her.

Must have for Days fans!.......2006-08-30

Great love story between Bill and Susan. Their personal story is as magical as Doug and Julie's, the characters who they portray. Great behind the scenes from the Days set. I could not put this book down!!

Marvelous!.......2006-06-11

A joyful read! A wonderful couple! I love every time Doug and Julie are on my screen and I loved reading this book. These are people you would love to know and have in your life! Their "life lessons learned" will touch your heart.

FIVE STARS + A LOT MORE.......2006-03-06

IF YOU ARE A FAN OF THE HAYES YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK. I READ IT TWICE, AND A COUPLE OF FRIEND "NOT DOUG AND JULIE FANS" READ THE BOOK AND THEY LOVED IT. THIS BOOK IS FOR ANY ONE WHO WANTS TO READ A GREAT BOOK.

Like Sands Through The Hourglass.......2006-02-24

This is the best book I've read in years.
'What a great story about a great couple.

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Knowing the damage to the human mind the holocaust generated
Provocative, but also rather soporific and distant
A pastiche of experimental writing
A strange treat
A strange treat

Hourglass
Danilo Kis
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0374172870

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Knowing the damage to the human mind the holocaust generated.......2006-01-31

Danilo Kis's Hourglass fulfills what the historian Hayden White described as the most proximate capture of the historical event of the Holocaust, the narrative art of literature. Kis recreates the life of a Hungarian Jew whose life is interrupted by his arrest and detention, but which has begun to unravel because of the limited trust that pervades what had been his normal milieu in a Hungary of assimilated Jews. The phenomenological rigor that opens and continues throughout the novel enables us to experience the disruption of reason that injures our own thought processes. Perhaps death is not the worst experience, rather a gradual loss of the normal imposed from without. At times, when a normal conversation with a friend is possible for an hour or so, it is as if one is given the richest gift of a lifetime, only to see it disappear as the day progresses. There is not in my experience a book or other account that so provides the 'lived experience' of Jews in this time.

Mark E. Blum, Professor of History, University of Louisville.

Provocative, but also rather soporific and distant.......2005-04-11

The "catechetic rhetoric" of the question & answer exchanges throughout the Criminal Investigation segments make for never less than fascinating reading. They evoke not only Kafka but Joyce in his Ithaca chapter of Ulysses; the omniscient and patiently probing inquisitor, here, finally gets "ES" to admit his weariness, but the rare entry of the interrogated into the set-up only enhances its blended horror and suspense.

This ambitious novel, in its other modes of transmission, "Diary of a Madman," and Travel Scenes, intersperse with the Criminal Investigation sections. These, to me, recall many other Central European fictional post-war attempts to plumb the heart of mid-20c darkness. It is not to fault Kis for doing well what he does here, but these portions lack the excitement of the interrogative modes, and by comparison languish on the page in their comparative introspection and wandering reveries.

As a whole, the novel works best in Bloomsian asides, such as ES thinking about how to see the world through glasses that imitate the curvature of a dog's eyes, the weariness of fecundity, or the closing pages in which the Garden of Eden, the stages of man's life, the battle against nothingness so characteristic of Jewish secularised mentality, and the link to Kis' own forebears becomes clearly visible behind the novelistic scaffolding of the previous 250 pages, which read quickly for a subject so dense.

A pastiche of experimental writing.......2004-08-24

This is a difficult read which I tended to race as I neared the end. Which is not to say it does not have an aggregate of power awaiting the more patient and attentive reader. It raised questions in me, such as Why Literature? which I answered myself in my head as I read
(in the manner of parts of the book itself) as follows: because literature reminds us that no matter how horrible our individual circumstances there is ALWAYs someone worse off and it puts one's own miserable and petty life in perspective( see p. 77) It also has a bitter humour: when notified that her husband had heroically laid down his life for the first Hungarian Regiment of Hussars, the wife immediately consulted a fashion magazine and chose a black dress in the latest style (winter 1941-42) see P.67). He also provides information on how we can dedtermine why the world is doomed to destruction - look into our own hearts, (see p.129). Call it post-modern. Call it difficult. But do not call it an easy read.

A strange treat.......2003-07-09

For those of you not yet acquainted with Danilo Kis's rare genius of bringing his reader into strange, undefinable dreamworlds, then The Hourglass is a great place to start.

Set in 1942 in the ethnically mixed Vajdaság region of Hungary, the story traces the gradual descent into madness of one E.S., railway clerk, who realizes that insanity is the only dignified refuge left in an ever-darkening world. The first part of the novel is a grotesque, rambling catalogue of E.S.'s acquaintances, friends and family who all meet horrid ends as the wheels of the Holocaust start to churn. E.S.'s world slowly slips into the abyss as the pogroms, persecutions and deprivations slowly evolve into a full scale death factory, serviced by the same railways that E.S. is convinced are the only refuge of sanity and international neutrality in a Europe turned upside down. The truly fiendish irony is that these mobile 'Switzerlands' as E.S. calls them are what made the Holocaust possible in the first place. Fast, accessible anywhere and keeping to time, they fed the hellish ovens with their human fuel.

In the rest of the novel, E.S. lucidly describes his 'work' duties in a slave labor battalion, where he and his group of comrades were forced to make bricks under bestial conditions. All the while, E.S. writes down his 'Diary of a Madman,' no doubt a reference to Gogol's masterpiece, where an unknown inquisitor (Kafka's Trial?) mercilessly interrogates E.S. about the minutiae of his simple existence. Struggling to give some sort of rational explanation to the whole chaos surrounding him, he falls deeper into the black hole of madness. As does anyone who tries to rationally understand the inane senseless of the Holocaust.

A strange treat.......2003-07-09

For those of you not yet acquainted with Danilo Kis's rare genius of bringing his reader into strange, undefinable dreamworlds, then The Hourglass is a great place to start.

Yet, despite his impending destruction, E.S. maintains his humanity. How? By writing it all down. Making that 'bourgeois horror novel.' By creating something out of the void and thus giving us hope that we shall all earn some measure of eternity by what we leave behind.

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"Everybody is Talking About it: Dee-Da"

Beautiful prose

Impt.: Hourglass alludes to Obitutuary in Polish.

When They Died

The Sanatorium under the Sign of the Hourglass (Writers from the Other Europe)
Bruno Schulz
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Street of Crocodiles (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)

Letters and Drawings of Bruno Schulz: With Selected Prose

Cosmos and Pornografia: Two Novels

Regions of the Great Heresy: Bruno Schulz, A Biographical Portrait

Letters and Drawings of Bruno Schulz

ASIN: 0140052720

Customer Reviews:

"Everybody is Talking About it: Dee-Da".......2006-08-02

To anyone who has lost their appreciation for pure, mellifluous prose, I refer you to Bruno Schulz. These are our own personal memories as we experience them in dreams. His grasp of the human psyche is dazzling. Every paragraph surges with vitality and wonder.

The setting is 1930's Poland, but that doesn't stop Schulz from climbing inside your soul and reconstructing your entire childhood... as he describes phenomena such as a summer night or an excursion through town!

My edition is published by Penguin Books and includes the author's own illustrations. These unforgettable drawings are of the characters going about their business, riding horses, and occasionally defying gravity. This is the Mariner edition. Make sure you get an editon with the pictures.

Bruno Schulz has one other book, "Street Of Crocodiles." Also recommended!

Beautiful prose.......2004-06-16

Schulz has an ability to make even the most ordinary event revolutionary and poetic. A book transforms into a magical, almost living entity in the young narrator's mind. A look into a friend's stamp collection draws allusions to Alexander the Great's quest for world domination. His descriptions bring life to every minute detail. I only wish I knew Polish to read the original words.

Impt.: Hourglass alludes to Obitutuary in Polish........2003-08-18

This fiction is like looking out a window at a Las Vegas water show under colored lights: riotious, gorgeous and original. Everything by this Galician Polish Jewish writer/artist is genius.
The title story "The Sanitorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass" deals with Schulz's fantastic visit to his deceased father in the afterworld.

In Polish the title literally reads "the Sanitorium beneath the hourglass." However, the term Hourglass (klepsydra) is also used for death notices that are posted on bulletin-boards in public squares. Hence the allusion to a death notice in the title.

When They Died.......2001-01-26

A collection of short stories by the acclaimed Polish author killed by the Nazis during World War II. Unrecognized still even after the war, Schulz is in some circles now considered the finest modern Polish-language prose stylist. His stories are dreamlike reflections on life in the modest Jewish quarter of Drohobycz, the town of his birth. Both his fiction and drawings are notable for their erotic tenor and their acute anticipation of the emptiness produced by modern civilization.

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