A brilliant exposition of the possibility of science and religion, each in its own way, contributing to a better world.
A leading Jewish theologian argues that both religious fundamentalists and neo-Darwinian atheists such as Richard Dawkins have it wrong when they contend that science and religious faith are incompatible.
Instead, Sacks (Covenant & Conversation: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible Exodus, 2010, etc.), chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, believes that both are necessary, complementary ways of looking at the world. “Science takes things apart to see how they work,” he writes. “Religion puts things together to see what they mean…neither is dispensable.” As a metaphor for this duality, the author uses the distinction between right-brain intuitive processing and left-brain analytic functioning. Religious faith is interpretative (“the search for meaning constitutes our humanity”), while scientific knowledge increases our well-being. Sacks dismisses rage-filled, self-righteous biblical fundamentalism but also deplores the equally intolerant stance of scientists like Dawkins, who has compared religious belief to a virus. Sacks refers to traditional Jewish interpretations of the Bible to explain his own search for God in the bonds of family, the small compassionate acts of people toward strangers and the necessity of challenging injustice. He views the Creation as a work in progress begun billions of years ago by a God who “delights in diversity,” and he interprets Darwin's “wondrous discovery” as showing that “the Creator made creation creative.” The author compares his own Jewish view of God—consistent with the notion of emergence and evolution—to a literal interpretation of Genesis and suggests that God has called upon us “to become his partners in the work of redemption.” To accomplish this, he writes, we require “people capable of understanding cognitive pluralism."
A brilliant exposition of the possibility of science and religion, each in its own way, contributing to a better world.Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8052-4301-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Schocken
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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