The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism, by Timothy Keller
This book was excellent. It was broken up into two parts. In the first part, the author, a NYC pastor who has heard it all, took the most popular objections to Christianity and addressed them. I would not exactly say that he "refuted" them, because it sounds somewhat abrasive to speak that way. Instead, he discussed the implications of believing in each objection, and exposed each one as logically unsound. One particular thing that stands out is that unlike many religious people, the author did not use scripture to "prove" his point. When a person uses scripture as the foundation for an argument with someone who objects to Christianity, the other person can simply call the validity of scripture into question, thus causing the whole argument to fall apart. Scripture is useful for a lot of things- teaching, rebuking, correcting, training- but it does not make a sound foundation in an argument about the validity of the word of God. Mr. Keller uses philosophy and logical thinking to discuss scripture, and through logic explains that many of the objections to Christianity require a belief in some other unproven theory.
Take for example the objection, "There can't be just one true religion." In the United States, it is culturally important that we be sensitive to other people's beliefs. This allows multiple religions to have breathing room. But in the Middle East, almost everyone believes there is just one true religion. To state that "there can't be just one true religion" also asserts that your cultural beliefs are more important than others, and is a statement of belief which others do not hold and which you cannot empirically prove.
So, in the first part of the book, the author lays out reasons we shouldn't disbelieve, and in the second part of the book, the author explains by topic reasons to have faith in Christianity. Although this part is important, from a practical standpoint, I found the first part of the book more useful to me in answering not only questions I've heard, but questions I've asked myself. In particular, the question "How can a loving God send people to hell?" is one that I have wrestled with. One thing that stood out from that chapter was that it would be very unloving for God to allow people like Hitler into heaven. The question that follows is how can a loving God NOT send people to hell?" There would be no justice anywhere if that were the case. I honestly had never thought of it from that perspective before.
I think that this book is good for anyone who likes to think, who wants to view Christianity from a new perspective, who likes philosophical thought, or who has tough, unanswered questions about God, the Bible, or Christians. This book is NOT good for someone with a low reading level. I have done college-level reading in a short time and with no problem, but this book was a challenge for me (only in parts). In addition to reading (visual input), I had to supplement my absorption of this book by reading some chapters out loud (auditory input) and underlining key points (tactile input) in order to fully understand the concepts discussed. However, this was not for the entire book, only some of the deeper chapters. For the most part, if you can read at a high school or college level, you should be okay as long as you are interested in the subject matter. Lastly, from a Christian perspective, this book is helpful for grounding you in the beliefs you already have or may have been raised with.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Possum Living
Possum Living, How to Live Well Without a Job and With (Almost) No Money, by Dolly Freed
The author of this book is amazing. The foreword indicates that Dolly Freed is a pseudonym, but whoever the author, she has a very similar mindset to me. She dropped out of school in 7th grade, with her father's permission, and spent the rest of her time learning things she needed to know from the library. She and her father bought an old store, renovated, and converted it into a house. She learned plumbing, electric wiring installment, masonry, heating and insulation, and tax assessment (or re-assessment) from the library. In 1978 dollars, they spent $1163 on two people for the entire year. They raised rabbits for meat, hens for eggs, and converted their backyard to a garden. They lived with very little waste; everything had a use, even the scraps. If the harvest was too big, they canned, dried, pickled, smoked, or froze what they couldn't eat for the winter, when there would be less available food. They got good clothes at Goodwill, which I can attest is actually probable. They lived in a nice, suburban neighborhood, and gave homemade wine as gifts for their friends. At the age of 18, Dolly wrote this book as a How-to-Do-What-We're-Doing book. If she didn't know how to write or become published, she went to the library to find out. As she grew older, and the book became fairly popular, she decided she wanted to become a NASA aerospace engineer. Then, she got up and did it. If it seemed like she had hit a dead end, she created her own opportunities to get where she needed to go. After meeting her husband at NASA and deciding she needed a career change, she created opportunities and became an environmental educator.
Why am I telling you about the author instead of the book? Because I really connected with the author. She had the right amount of witty-sarcastic comments, paired with a very clear and concise account of how to practice the skills she had learned (such as how to skin a rabbit or set up a solar heating system). Most of all, I like her because she is self-educated. I can give myself credit for 87.5% of my high school education, which I accomplished on my own through a correspondence school. The ability to learn independent of a teacher other than "life" is a trait I value in a person. I might not live exactly the way that is laid out in the book (read: I probably will never raise rabbits in my basement for meat) but there are plenty of good tips found in the book which I intend to put to use. One in particular is the importance (and ease!) of canning the extra produce you have for use a few months down the road, when those canned goods might not be as readily available. I have already put the advice to good use by making wineberry preserves and dill pickles from items I picked in the backyard. Although this book will not be the "frugalists' bible" as some have suggested it might be, I will definitely refer to it often for things I need to know how to do.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a quick and easy read, likes my kind of humor, has an interest in moonshine, has no job, or likes the idea of sustainable living.
The author of this book is amazing. The foreword indicates that Dolly Freed is a pseudonym, but whoever the author, she has a very similar mindset to me. She dropped out of school in 7th grade, with her father's permission, and spent the rest of her time learning things she needed to know from the library. She and her father bought an old store, renovated, and converted it into a house. She learned plumbing, electric wiring installment, masonry, heating and insulation, and tax assessment (or re-assessment) from the library. In 1978 dollars, they spent $1163 on two people for the entire year. They raised rabbits for meat, hens for eggs, and converted their backyard to a garden. They lived with very little waste; everything had a use, even the scraps. If the harvest was too big, they canned, dried, pickled, smoked, or froze what they couldn't eat for the winter, when there would be less available food. They got good clothes at Goodwill, which I can attest is actually probable. They lived in a nice, suburban neighborhood, and gave homemade wine as gifts for their friends. At the age of 18, Dolly wrote this book as a How-to-Do-What-We're-Doing book. If she didn't know how to write or become published, she went to the library to find out. As she grew older, and the book became fairly popular, she decided she wanted to become a NASA aerospace engineer. Then, she got up and did it. If it seemed like she had hit a dead end, she created her own opportunities to get where she needed to go. After meeting her husband at NASA and deciding she needed a career change, she created opportunities and became an environmental educator.
Why am I telling you about the author instead of the book? Because I really connected with the author. She had the right amount of witty-sarcastic comments, paired with a very clear and concise account of how to practice the skills she had learned (such as how to skin a rabbit or set up a solar heating system). Most of all, I like her because she is self-educated. I can give myself credit for 87.5% of my high school education, which I accomplished on my own through a correspondence school. The ability to learn independent of a teacher other than "life" is a trait I value in a person. I might not live exactly the way that is laid out in the book (read: I probably will never raise rabbits in my basement for meat) but there are plenty of good tips found in the book which I intend to put to use. One in particular is the importance (and ease!) of canning the extra produce you have for use a few months down the road, when those canned goods might not be as readily available. I have already put the advice to good use by making wineberry preserves and dill pickles from items I picked in the backyard. Although this book will not be the "frugalists' bible" as some have suggested it might be, I will definitely refer to it often for things I need to know how to do.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a quick and easy read, likes my kind of humor, has an interest in moonshine, has no job, or likes the idea of sustainable living.
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