An intriguing—if overreaching—attempt to align Christianity with subatomic particles.
A debut spiritual guidebook attempts to enlist the laws of physics in the cause of faith.
“God has made it easy for us to know what path to take, because He has put a hedge of thorns to mark our way,” Kostenuk writes in her manual. “We know we are on the right path when we are in harmony and flow.” By contrast, she continues, we know we’ve strayed from the path if we hit the hedge of thorns. This invites the usual problems with Christian claims of divine intervention (some skeptical readers may believe that if God wanted to make it easy, he would announce the path and remove the thorns). But the author’s emphasis here is on the nature of that harmony and flow. Toward this goal, she invokes, among other seemingly unlikely allies, the famed Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum physics—or at least, her elucidation of it, which starts with the assumption that “to know and understand the energy laws of the universe is to know and understand a little more of the mind of our Creator.” This, too, raises questions (humans have had thousands of religions, many with a different Creator/God), but Kostenuk is writing for her fellow devout and sign-seeking Christians. For those readers, she deftly provides anecdote after anecdote intended to illustrate her core contention that concerted belief can affect physical reality, that faithful Christians can gain access to power over the external realm by tapping into their inner worlds. This comes about, she claims, through the “law of faith,” which can transform strong belief, what she calls knowing, into reality. “If you make a thought as real as the experience in the external environment,” she writes, “then sooner or later you should find evidence in your body and brain.” Her prose is clear and accessible, and the many family stories she puts forward as examples of mentally directed energy should be captivating for readers who already believe their faith can move mountains.
An intriguing—if overreaching—attempt to align Christianity with subatomic particles.Pub Date: May 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5043-5612-1
Page Count: 172
Publisher: BalboaPress
Review Posted Online: Oct. 20, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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