General Books - Page 6

Many Lives Many Masters

Brian L. Weiss

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 350 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Great reading, thought provoking! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Dr. Weiss has written an easy to read and fascinating book on the concept of reincarnation. It's made me think more about this belief and makes me want to read more about it and what spiritual journeys we're following. Very thought provoking.

Many lives, many masters 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

"Many Lives,Many Masters" has explained many experiences and stories that I could not understand before. The reincarnation and the wisdom passed on by the masters are very similar to the belief of Buddhism. I am not a religious person but born in a Buddhist family. I refuse to read religious books because I simply felt that they are written to sell their religious believes. This book certainly will help me understand the purpose of life & religions better.

It is highly recommended for all. The interesting experiences of Catherine and the messages from the Masters will makes you think and help answering many soul searching questions.

Editorial Review:

A practicing psychiatrist and past-life skeptic is amazed when one of his patients recounts past-life experiences and astounded when he personally undergoes regression and recalls detailed previous lives of his own.

The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus

Lee Strobel

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 640 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Failed to Address Any of My Questions 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

A good friend of mine, who is quite sincere in his belief, provided me with a copy of this book, believing it would quickly dispel my lifelong agnosticism. I read it in good faith, hoping that here at last might be a book that would address a lifetime's worth of questions. Unfortunately, I realized within the first few minutes of opening it that it would do no such thing. It glossed over the most fundamental objections I have within the first few pages and never looked back from there. Thus, to me, it was essentially worthless, though I labored on to finish the entire book out of respect for my friend. Thankfully, it was mercifully short, and the language made for an easy read. The content was of no value to me, but Strobel, at least, can write a coherent sentence and is a decent writer.

Christian believers should be aware of how weakly this book addresses genuine agnostic objections to the Jesus story, and how poorly it will prepare you to discuss and/or debate the matter with an informed unbeliever.

Quite simply, I have never believed the Jesus story, from the time I was a child. I don't believe in invisible things, be they ghosts, demons, leprechauns or the various and sundry gods of a thousand different religions. I have serious doubts that Jesus ever existed, though I can't rule out that the stories are not based on some bonafide rabbi who actually lived and breathed and preached for a time, even though he somehow missed the attention of Philo of Alexandria, a Jew who lived at exactly the same time and wrote extensively about the history of Palestine. I am puzzled by the existence of religion, which obviously has arisen in virtually every culture that has ever existed on this planet, but have accepted the reality that skeptics like myself are in the minority. Perhaps it is because I am a member of such a seemingly small minority that Strobel's book was not tailored to a mind like mine - but to me the fundamental flaw in his book is that he simply assumes from the very beginning that invisible and supernatural things do exist, that miracles happen, and that the stories told in the Gospels are true.

To me, it is obvious that all the biographical information we have about Jesus was first written by whoever developed the Gospel of Mark, and that little new or different regarding the actual life and biography of Jesus was added by the other three gospel writers. Thus we have what is essentially a point source regarding the life of Jesus, and I have yet to receive a compelling argument from anyone that counters my suspicion that maybe the entire story was a work of fiction invented by some literary genius now known to the world only as "Mark." Unfortunately, Strobel does not address this concern in the least. His only comment on this very serious objection is along the lines of: "these gospel writers seemed like good men, so why would they lie?"

Why indeed? The problem of course is that a devout Mormon will say the same thing about Joseph Smith, when to most outsiders it really does appear as if Smith made the entire Book of Mormon up virtually single handedly, and his motives for doing so: money, power, and even sex, are crystal clear to any outsider not caught up in the Mormon faith. The objection that no one person could have come up with the Jesus story is refuted not only by Joseph Smith, but by looking at the complex worlds created in fiction by people like Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, or J.K. Rowling. So of course one person could have come up with the Jesus story, especially since any simple course in comparative religion shows that most of the major premises of Christianity already were present in the Mediterranean basin at the time of St. Paul: whoever Mark was, living where he did, would have had access to the teachings and belief systems of Plato, Buddhism, Zoroaster/Mithras, Judaism, Heracles, and the ancient and well-developed Egyptian religion. From there, it would not be difficult to fuse and merge the best of each into a new amalgamation - the creation of such a hybrid religion would require creativity and ingenuity to be sure - but would not require the development of any new insights or philosophy - those were already there for the taking.

Strobel fails to address the fact that not a single contemporary Roman source mentions Jesus, and that references to Jesus from later writers like Tacitus and Josephus are not only scant but controversial. The oft repeated claim that the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus are "one of the most documented events in history" becomes ridiculous to anyone who has ever actually investigated the matter - but again - Strobel fails to address this.

Having thus blithely, and as I said earlier, in one sentence, dispensed with the most serious objection to Christianity - that the entire thing might have been invented, just like every other religion known to man, Strobel barrels along, treating each story in the gospel now as though it was actually witnessed by a sober and honest person.

I do not make these comments in an effort to stir up a debate, but in the event a Christian apologist happens to make a good faith effort to refute any of the concerns I've just expressed in the last few paragraphs in a "comment" to this review, I would observe that his or her efforts would be far superior and far more useful to me than anything in Strobel's book.

And THAT, more than anything else, drives home the point that Strobel's book is useless. If a stray Christian passerby can spend five minutes responding to me and come up with more compelling and direct arguments than Strobel did in the year or so he spent writing this book, that ought to tell you something about how useful Strobel's book really is as a refutation to agnosticism.

Editorial Review:

Using the dramatic scenario of an investigative journalist pursuing his story and leads, Lee Strobel uses his experience as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune to interview experts about the evidence for Christ from the fields of science, philosophy, and history. Winner of the Gold Medallion Book Award and twice nominated for the Christian Book of the Year Award.

Mere Christianity

C. S. Lewis

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 445 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Disappointing Defense 2 out of 5 stars.
3 of 5 people found this review helpful.

C.S. Lewis presents a disappointing defense of Christianity and Christian Ethics. The primary advantage of this work is that it is clearly written, and uses many analogies to help illustrate its points to the reader. The major disadvantage, however, is that these analogies and analysis are far too simplistic. By introducing an analogy Lewis merely assumes it as proof of the very thing he is trying to argue. Page after page is filled with analogy and reasoning which seems to rest on an undefended assumption. His argument that Christ was either "Divine or a Madman" for calling himself the Son of God, and that therefore we must believe the former is really ludicrous. Any number of persons have been false prophets and made false claims, but because the claims are outrageous doesn't mean we must accept them. If Christ is any different, he has not shown how Christ's ideas were different, which is where he should have gone. I write this from the perspective of one friendly to the Christian religion and its ethics, and simply don't think Lewis has done a very good job in arguing for the Christian religion. Too many of his arguments are really thinly veiled theological assumptions that are uncritically presented in two-dimensional depth.

Editorial Review:

A forceful and accessible discussion of Christian belief that has become one of the most popular introductions to Christianity and one of the most popular of Lewis's books. Uncovers common ground upon which all Christians can stand together.

The Richest Man in Babylon

George S. Clason

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 407 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Babylon sounds a lot like Bakersfield 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The Richest Man in Babylon was first published in 1929 by George S. Clayson, but written as if it had been translated from tablets taken from the ancient city of Babylon. Though the device is similar to something H.P. Lovecraft would use to establish credibility in a horror story, here it lends weight to his lessons and principles about how to create wealth. The basic principle boils down to save a dime from every dollar, but there are more nuggets of useful advice that would work wonders if you would but follow them faithfully.

It is a bit jarring to the modern ear when Clayson talks of slaves and slavery, but when you think of it, being in debt instead of saving and having your savings and investments working for you is a kind of financial slavery. Like the 'drinking gourd' in the sky, if you follow the principles set forth in 'The Richest Man in Babylon' it will free you from the shackles of debt.

I liked the last part where it described how Babylon was able to flourish despite not being a major port and not even having lots of natural resources such as forests or minerals. Through an ingenious system of irrigation and hard work, as well as systems of writing and record keeping, Babylon became a center of commerce. Kind of like Bakersfield, I'm thinking.

10 Books for Further Study on Wealth Building and Personal Success

How to Be Rich

The Millionaire Next Door

As A Man Thinketh

Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph

The Way to Wealth

The Art Of War

Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money--That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!

Gold Ahead by George S. Clason (the author of The Richest Man in Babylon)

Think and Grow Rich

The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America, Second Edition

Editorial Review:

OVER 2 MILION IN PRINT

The success secrets of the Ancients-the most inspiring book on wealth ever written

Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God

Francis Chan, Danae Yankoski

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 33 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Lukewarm Christians beware! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

If you don't like having your toes stepped on, you might want to wear steel toed boots while reading this book. In Crazy Love, Francis Chan calls the 21st Century church out of its lazy slumber and exhorts her to make a difference for the kingdom.

He begins by reminding us how small we are compared to the vastness of the Universe. He asks us to stop and think about the God who created the Universe, who loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for us in order to restore our relationship with Him. Yet what is the response to this Crazy Love by so many in today's Church?

Jesus calls it being lukewarm and warns that if we don't change, He will vomit us out of His mouth.

After grabbing us with that graphic and arresting image, Chan makes several practical, yet radical, suggestions about how we can be effective ministers for Christ in our culture and communities, turning Christ's Crazy Love for us into a Crazy Love for Him.

If you've been feeling like something is missing in your relationship with God, or need to be awakened out of a slumber, let this book shake you up. As Chris Tomlin says in the Foreword, "Crazy Love may just be the most challenging book outside of God's Word that you will read this year."

Editorial Review:

"Sometimes I feel like when I make decisions that are remotely biblical, people who call themselves Christians are the first to criticize and say I'm crazy, that I'm taking the Bible too literally, or that I'm not thinking about my family's well-being. . . When people gladly sacrifice their time or comfort or home, it is obvious that they trust in the promises of God. Why is it that the story of someone who has actually done what Jesus commands resonates deeply with us, but we then assume we could never do anything so radical or intense? Or why do we call it radical when, to Jesus, it is simply the way it is? The way it should be?"

Under the Banner of Heaven

Jon Krakauer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 730 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Absolutely brutal, but very informative. 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This book really struck home for me. The story of the Lafferty family is one that reminds me greatly of how religion can completely blind somebody from logic and reason. Living in the heart of Mormon Utah, I can see where fundamentalists such as Rulon and Warren Jeffs, developed the base of their beliefs. Krakauer makes an excellent point about how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints can take progressive steps towards worldwide acceptance if they just open up their archives and history and allow people to study them. Enough secrecy, enough cover ups, just be honest and tell us about the history of your religion. I agree with Krakauer that they can make a better name for themselves if they just open up a little. Overall, this book was one i'm glad I picked up. Although absolutely brutal at moments, it was very informative and deep. Great read!

Editorial Review:

This text provides an account of Taliban-like theocracies in the American heartland controlled by renegade Mormon prophets. At the core of the book is a double murder committed by a pair of brothers, Ron and Dan Lafferty, who insist they were commanded to kill by God. Beginning with an account of this "divinely inspired" crime, Krakauer constructs a multi-layered narrative of polygamy, savage violence and unyielding faith. Along the away he uncovers a shadowy offshoot of America's fastest growing religion and raises provocative questions about the nature of religious belief.

Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson

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Total reviews: 2118 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague.  Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it.

For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years ago.

Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded, and the world seemed colder.  Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you, receive wisdom for your busy life today the way you once did when you were younger?

Mitch Albom had that second chance.  He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life.  Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college.  Their rekindled relationship turned into one final "class": lessons in how to live.

Tuesdays with Morrie is a magical chronicle of their time together, through which Mitch shares Morrie's lasting gift with the world.


From the Hardcover edition.

The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 281 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

brilliant! a great guide book 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Julia Cameron's book was the reason I've been able to create plays, acting jobs! I can only say this: IT WORKS! I'm living proof! For anyone who is blocked, these tools used over years creates a strong powerful base upon which to create work!The Green Room

This book is the best friend you can ever have 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Just get it.

The first chapter as I remember was a little bit boring for me and when I start complaining to my friend, she told me :"Just read it."
And that was the best advice she ever gave me.
I gained a lot of self-confidence as an artist and person, came to conclusion in a lot of things that bothered me for a long time, it truly gave me a peace of mind.

So, for you, my friend:"Just ge-e-et it".

The Artist's Way 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is my second copy of this book. I've worn one out already. I cannot recommend this book strongly enough. It is life altering!

Editorial Review:

The audio companion to the best-selling guide presents a twelve-week program designed to help listeners recover their creativity, overcome blocks and inhibiting forces, and develop true artistic confidence and productivity. Book available.

God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

Christopher Hitchens

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 806 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

logical, but superficial to some extent 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I read "God is not great" relatively quickly, despite many thoughts rushing throung my head while I was reading. I am happy I read this book, which is one of many recently published in the never-ending polemics between believers and atheists. I feel that it is hard to review a book so popular, and I am aware that my review will probably drown in the sea of others, but I could not resist the temptation to share a few thoughts.

Christopher Hitchens tries to take an angle different from Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, and reviews the whole spectrum of atheist arguments, with a personal flavor, perhaps attempting to win a broader, more general audience. He did not need to win me, because I am a skeptical scientist, but I was curious what his arguments would be.

The book consists of 19 chapters with provocative titles like "Religion kills" or "Religion as an original sin". These are misleading, as is the title of the whole book. Hitchens makes an argument, that much is true, but it is not an argument against God or faith per se - it is an argument against organized, institutionalized religion. If we do not remember it, the meaning of the whole book can be lost. Hitchens himself admits it, somewhat nonchalantly, here and there, for example at the end of chapter six, "Arguments from Design" (which, in itself, is not the best, and serves only and a reference for those interested in biology and evolution): "...we no longer have any need of a god to explain what is no longer mysterious. What believers will do, now that their faith is optional and private and irrelevant, is a matter for them. We should not care, as long as they make no further attempt to inculcate religion by any for of coercion." The people in the hierarchies of various religious organizations, not faith, turn out to be the whole problem, and here Hitchens makes his case very well.

I was a little disappointed by the initial chapter, which I found very superficial and not very original - up to (and including) chapter six (although there was some anecdotal info, which was interesting or new to me - like the answer to the question "if you were in a strange city at night, and you saw a group of men approaching you, would you feel safer knowing that they had just come out of a place of religious worship". The middle chapters I found best, and towards the end I was a bit bored - I am not sure if this was the intention of the author...

I appreciated very much many references to specific works of philosophers, as well as the literary associations and the reference list at the end of the book. For those wishing to explore the subject it is an excellent source. Hitchens relies very much on his area of expertise, having done a lot of work and written books on Thomas Paine and Mother Theresa, and these fragments of the book felt for me the best and the strongest. The biological arguments were not the most impressive part (better left to Dawkins). Some of the language can be perceived as offensive by the religious people, too. I liked the logic and the comparisons of religious organizations to the infamy of Nazism and Communism (sad but true).

All in all, I think it is a book, which can be a useful voice in a discussion for beginners making first steps in the world of the battles between the religious and the non-believers, and trying to figure out what is good for them.

Editorial Review:

In the tradition of Bertrand Russell's Why I Am Not a Christian and Sam Harris's recent bestseller, The End of Faith, Christopher Hitchens makes the ultimate case
against religion. With a close and erudite reading of the major religious texts, he documents the ways in which religion is a man-made wish, a cause of dangerous sexual repression, and a distortion of our origins in the cosmos. With eloquent clarity, Hitchens frames the argument for a more secular life based on science and
reason, in which hell is replaced by the Hubble Telescope's awesome view of the universe, and Moses and the burning bush give way to the beauty and symmetry
of the double helix.

God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

Amazon Price: $13.59 List Price: $19.98 Not yet published By: Hachette Audio

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 806 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

logical, but superficial to some extent 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I read "God is not great" relatively quickly, despite many thoughts rushing throung my head while I was reading. I am happy I read this book, which is one of many recently published in the never-ending polemics between believers and atheists. I feel that it is hard to review a book so popular, and I am aware that my review will probably drown in the sea of others, but I could not resist the temptation to share a few thoughts.

Christopher Hitchens tries to take an angle different from Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, and reviews the whole spectrum of atheist arguments, with a personal flavor, perhaps attempting to win a broader, more general audience. He did not need to win me, because I am a skeptical scientist, but I was curious what his arguments would be.

The book consists of 19 chapters with provocative titles like "Religion kills" or "Religion as an original sin". These are misleading, as is the title of the whole book. Hitchens makes an argument, that much is true, but it is not an argument against God or faith per se - it is an argument against organized, institutionalized religion. If we do not remember it, the meaning of the whole book can be lost. Hitchens himself admits it, somewhat nonchalantly, here and there, for example at the end of chapter six, "Arguments from Design" (which, in itself, is not the best, and serves only and a reference for those interested in biology and evolution): "...we no longer have any need of a god to explain what is no longer mysterious. What believers will do, now that their faith is optional and private and irrelevant, is a matter for them. We should not care, as long as they make no further attempt to inculcate religion by any for of coercion." The people in the hierarchies of various religious organizations, not faith, turn out to be the whole problem, and here Hitchens makes his case very well.

I was a little disappointed by the initial chapter, which I found very superficial and not very original - up to (and including) chapter six (although there was some anecdotal info, which was interesting or new to me - like the answer to the question "if you were in a strange city at night, and you saw a group of men approaching you, would you feel safer knowing that they had just come out of a place of religious worship". The middle chapters I found best, and towards the end I was a bit bored - I am not sure if this was the intention of the author...

I appreciated very much many references to specific works of philosophers, as well as the literary associations and the reference list at the end of the book. For those wishing to explore the subject it is an excellent source. Hitchens relies very much on his area of expertise, having done a lot of work and written books on Thomas Paine and Mother Theresa, and these fragments of the book felt for me the best and the strongest. The biological arguments were not the most impressive part (better left to Dawkins). Some of the language can be perceived as offensive by the religious people, too. I liked the logic and the comparisons of religious organizations to the infamy of Nazism and Communism (sad but true).

All in all, I think it is a book, which can be a useful voice in a discussion for beginners making first steps in the world of the battles between the religious and the non-believers, and trying to figure out what is good for them.

Editorial Review:

Now available as a value-priced edition!


Christopher Hitchens, described in the London Observer as "one of the most prolific, as well as brilliant, journalists of our time "takes on his biggest subject yet--the increasingly dangerous role of religion in the world.
With his unique brand of erudition and wit, Hitchens describes the ways in which religion is man-made. "God did not make us," he says. "We made God." He explains the ways in which religion is immoral: We damage our children by indoctrinating them. It is a cause of sexual repression, violence, and ignorance. It is a distortion of our origins and the cosmos. In the place of religion, Hitchens offers the promise of a new enlightenment through science and reason, a realm in which hope and wonder can be found through a strand of DNA or a gaze through the Hubble Telescope. As Hitchens sees it, you needn't get the blues once you discover the heavens are empty.