3 out of 4 stars
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We agree on nothing in this world, especially on religious matters. The writer, through first-person narration, directs us to hold the position of agnostics (people who believe that nothing is known or can be known of the existence/nature of God or of anything beyond physical phenomena) i.e., put aside all inclinations we might be harboring for a spell as we delve into this book. He warns that due to the expanding and accumulating knowledge,
and the Church needs to pause and think about what it is preaching today.Science has begun to cast doubt on biblical ‘truths’,
God Versus the Idea of God: Divinity is what we think, Faith is what we Experience by Thomas Richard Harry is a religious non-fiction book published by Balboa press on September 2017. It is just 200 Standard Pages long and talks about issues such as the Jesus phenomenon, the purpose of God, the church’s continuing role for man’s non-material needs, and,
Through the aforementioned issues, Thomas tackles the central question and conundrum in the book, God versus the idea of God. He says that the idea of God is to cater for the yearning of mankind. The objective abstract notion of God is subjective to humans. He clarifies this by asking,Does Jesus equal God?
He is careful not to lean so much on one side of the argument. He uses the saying,How can the imperfect comprehend the perfect?
to declare that he does not have the faith to blindly believe the,I believe so as to understand,
God, to Thomas,Prepositions underlying the Western Christian God argument (virgin birth, incarnation, transfiguration, transubstantiation, bodily resurrection, the efficacy [efficiency] of prayer, the…basic pillars of the faith…
something man is unable to imagine. He does not mean a deified object or person.Is a divinity considered the Supreme Being, the Creator, and Ruler of the universe;
What does that mean for the cultures that hold Jesus as God? The plot thickens and it would take a lot of space to expound on that. You would have to get the book for that and more.Such Supreme Beings have historically assumed various forms, expressions, or characteristics for various people in various cultures…every culture develops its own God.
He asks hard and very interesting questions that many of us have asked ourselves from within,
He presents interesting notions I personally and increasingly see developing with the boom of knowledge.If we were made in God’s image, how could we be bad? I know, yes, “evil” entered the world… From where? How?
The writer, like me, mostly employs the use of compound sentences which holds more poignancy in the book. He made interesting and strong suggestions that ought to be seriously considered. He says that people have begun and will continue to lose credulity (willingness to believe in someone or something in the absence of real proof) under the current and future expectations.
He says some controversial things that many would strongly argue against. Many would even say he is misrepresenting and misinterpreting the Word of God and conclude that he lacks in-depth knowledge of the Bible.I personally have doubts about what is being preached out there but I also found myself having some doubts about what Thomas was presenting, but as he alludes, maybe tomorrow we might think differently. The book was well edited apart from some minor issues. I gave the book a rating of 3 out of 4 stars and would strongly recommend it to both religious and non-religious people.
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God Versus The Idea of God
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