Pages

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Book Review - God is a Symbol of Something True

About The Book
From the type of stories prevalent in the news today, one can’t help but wonder if the belief that there is a true religion is both naïve and dangerous.  Since wars are fought over the question of whether there really is a true religion, God is a Symbol of Something True by Jack Call (O-Books) is a fresh and much-needed look at religion for both true believers of Christianity and those raised as Christians who are now skeptics.  One of the most important controversial claims Call makes is that while we are in control of whether or not we act morally, we are not in control of our own salvation, with salvation being considered the realization that basically everything really is all right.

Jack Call offers a way of understanding religion that gets to the heart of dilemmas facing modern man, both in mind and spirit, by rejecting the false predicament of choosing between believing in a lite eternal creator God or a blind, indifferent universe.  This warm and sincere book helps readers deal with existential problems by thinking through controversial claims, such as, that the Bible’s account of God’s personality is a symbol of the personal significance of how we each feel the ways in which we are helpless yet safe.  Call also argues that we have good reasons to hope that life is as astounding at the end as it is at the beginning and, with the help of this inspiring book, we learn how the meaningfulness of life depends on how we control some important issues and accept that we have no control of others.

Jack Call has been recognized as an outstanding educator in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, and his essays have been published numerous times.  He has been teaching introductory philosophy to students in southern California for many years.  A clergyman in a psychedelic church in his earlier years, he has personally ‘walked the talk,’ making him a captivating guest speaker - people want to hear what Jack Call has to say.  Visit Jack at his website at: http://www.godisasymbol.com/




About The Author
Jack Call teaches introductory philosophy to approximately 500 students a year at Citrus College in southern California. He has been recognized as an outstanding educator in Who's Who Among America's Teachers, and has published essays on the relations between philosophy, religion and social science in The National Social Science Journal. He also authored the entry, "Cloning Human Beings," in The Encyclopedia of Civil Liberties. Earlier in his life he was a clergyman in a psychedelic church for six years, a period he wrote about in two previous books, The Latest Roundup and The Long Watch. He has a PhD in Philosophy from Claremont Graduate University.

My Take On The Book
I can tell that the students in this authors' classes are challenged within his class if this book is any indication. This book, while it could be construed as holding an underlying religious tone, actually is much deeper than that and instead looks at how religion has a role in human existence as well as the key moral and ethical questions in the world.

This book examines so many issues (even though it is small), it is amazing! The book ties into everything from the role of humans in the universe to abortion to even other divergent issues. The author does not hit the reader over their head with religious fervor, nor is he anti-religious, instead he takes a true philosophers approach from a neutral point of view. He uses logic to examines both sides and tries to help his readers to do the same.

Overall, this book was small but powerful and is one that would be easy to read over and over. I noticed as I read and re-read sections I found more and more about each of the passages. This was a great read and one that will definitely make you think more about your own beliefs and why you believe the way that you do.

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Terms of Use  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New to the Divadom?
Please Subscribe to my RSS Feed! Subscribe in a reader
Questions?Drop me a line at dadofdivas@gmail.com

No comments:

Post a Comment