( 5 reviews )
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( 11 of 13 found this review helpful ) Posted: Apr 10 2005
Mr. Allen did something few of us have done. To understand Christianity, he went to the source -- the Bible. He read it carefully and applied the same level of critical inquiry that one should apply when reading any book. The results were illuminating. Among the reviews I've read, I found Mr. James O. Ditt's review revealing. His unhappiness with Mr. Allen's book reminded me of Mark Twain's words: "When you know a man's religious complexion, you know what sort of books he reads when he wants some more light, and what sort of books he avoids, lest by accident he get more light than he wants." (Ira D. Cardiff, "What Great Men Think of Religion")
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( 19 of 22 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jul 28 2002
I don't think anyone could read this book and not come to the conclusion that Steve Allen was one of the most all-around intelligent and talented public figures of the 20th century. He was truly a worldly scholar. What's more amazing to me is Allen's methodology, relying largely on his own readings and observations from Gideon's Bibles in hotel rooms while on the road.Allen has long been a man of clear social, moral, and political conscience. He goes to great lengths in this book to keep from confusing the separate aspects of his thought except where it is applicable, and does so to a wonderful effect. His explanations of Biblical persons, places and passages, their history and deeper meanings are written in the truest glory of a rational spirituality the world has yet to realize. Furthermore, his analysis of social issues supposedly stemming from the Bible shows his ability to handle controversial topics carefully while not pulling punches with adversarial positions.Never once did I feel like I was not dealing with a scholar on these subjects. The decades of work Allen has put into clarifying his own thoughts in these matters shines like a light tower over a dark, foggy sea. This, to my eyes, is the greatest book of its type since Thomas Paine's "The Age of Reason," and in many ways it's better. It not only illuminates what a genius he really was, but also how simple and necessary critical thought is to every one of us.And to the reviewer who gave this book one star, it is sadly obvious that you did *not* read this book at all. The foreword and introduction alone state that Allen was raised in a strict Irish-Catholic household, was a Catholic until his early 30s when he was excommunicated for his second marriage, and thereafter attended Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles with his wife Jayne and their son. He even makes quite clear in the book that non-belief, to him, is more irrational than belief. But then again, 'twill always be the scholars first who are rooted out as heretics.If you've ever had questions about the teachings and record of Christianity but still maintain your faith, this book comes to you as highly recommended as possible. It tears down walls and builds spirits.
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( 13 of 17 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jan 19 2002
Steve Allen and Martin Gardner have done a marvleous job pointing out some of the more obvious and egregious examples of problems in the bible, the religious tome embraced by practitioners of the christian religion and viewed as unerring word of god by some particularly fundamentalist practitioners. It is strongly encouraged reading for anyone gullible enough to believe the word of Jerry Falwell and his ilk. One reviewer asked "why bother" writing such a book so critical of the bible? The answer is clear: one need only see the cost in human and environmental harm done by fundamentalists in the name of their religions. They harm not only themselves, their families, and their children. They harm us all, therefore it is critical that their unquestioning faith be doused with cold water such as this book from time to time. Bravo!
