book reviews
I finally finished Man Walks Into A Pub and The Age of Reason. Both worth the read. Man Walks Into A Pub is classic British conversational prose and a joy to read, although I admit it got a little slow towards the end. Probably b/c he wasn't talking nearly as often about getting completely tanked as he was in the beginning of the book.
The Age of Reason was dry, but not as dry on the second attempt. I clearly was not in the right frame of mind to attack it before. The book accomplishes two main things--to list the mathematical and logical errors in the bible, proving it fallible, and to ruthlessly deconstruct and mock the myths surrounding the need for religion in society and the superiority of western christianity as a source of morality. I already knew the bible was full of wierd stuff, so while that former part was edifying, it wasn't really surprising or new. The latter part, however, was a bit shocking. Not even Mencken christianity-bashed like Paine does. The depth of hate was astonishing at points, and I would give you some quotes, but I'm too lazy to go and find the book right now. Unless you're gearing up for a debate with fundies, I'd skip the first part and just read the second. The final thing about the book was that it presented a very simple argument for environmental stewardship as the only tenet of Deism, avoiding both the strange "earth energy" vibes and organization I have seen with neopaganism (and this includes the strange women who celebrate their periods), and the self-righteous moralizing of the we-are-all-one neohippies. The argument Paine gives is, "God gave it to us, and we ought to celebrate it and not destroy it." Something like that is actually in most christian sects, but is rather overshadowed by all the "fallen world" and "do you know Jesus?" bits.
The Age of Reason was dry, but not as dry on the second attempt. I clearly was not in the right frame of mind to attack it before. The book accomplishes two main things--to list the mathematical and logical errors in the bible, proving it fallible, and to ruthlessly deconstruct and mock the myths surrounding the need for religion in society and the superiority of western christianity as a source of morality. I already knew the bible was full of wierd stuff, so while that former part was edifying, it wasn't really surprising or new. The latter part, however, was a bit shocking. Not even Mencken christianity-bashed like Paine does. The depth of hate was astonishing at points, and I would give you some quotes, but I'm too lazy to go and find the book right now. Unless you're gearing up for a debate with fundies, I'd skip the first part and just read the second. The final thing about the book was that it presented a very simple argument for environmental stewardship as the only tenet of Deism, avoiding both the strange "earth energy" vibes and organization I have seen with neopaganism (and this includes the strange women who celebrate their periods), and the self-righteous moralizing of the we-are-all-one neohippies. The argument Paine gives is, "God gave it to us, and we ought to celebrate it and not destroy it." Something like that is actually in most christian sects, but is rather overshadowed by all the "fallen world" and "do you know Jesus?" bits.