Review by Vivian Paschal -- What is priest Nation, The S...
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Vivian Paschal
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- Latest Review: What is priest Nation, The Seed, and the H5G by Herbert Scholes
Review by Vivian Paschal -- What is priest Nation, The S...
[Following is a volunteer review of "What is priest Nation, The Seed, and the H5G" by Herbert Scholes.]
What is Priest Nation, the Seed, and the H5G? by Herbert G. Scholes, the founder of Priest Nation Ministries, is a faith-based book through which the author shares with the world the history, meaning and significance of Priest Nation, its emblem which is called the seed, and the High Five Gospel or H5G (an evangelical tool for understanding the Gospel and how to teach it to others). The book discusses and advocates for the unification of the body of Christ, distinguishes between salvation and sanctification, justifies and defends the Priest Nation doctrine and activities, and breaks down scripture as it relates to the Priest Nation message.
What stands out to me about the book is the author’s honesty and dedication to the message. His dedication is evident throughout the book, and one cannot deny that the author discusses his station in life, his beliefs and his opinions with utmost honesty.
The most discouraging thing about the book is its editing. Not only was the book not professionally edited, it does not seem like any editing was done at all. The author stated clearly and severally that he is not a very educated man. This explains the very poor editing, but it also shows that professional editing should have been a priority. The poor use of punctuations, and total lack of punctuations in several cases, made the book very difficult for me to read. For example, the very first paragraph is full of misplaced commas, absent commas and commas wrongly used instead of full stops (page 2). Capitalisations are poorly done as in the same first paragraph where the first letter of the word “in” is capitalised mid-sentence (page 2). Although there are actual typographical errors, some words are so wrongly spelt that they do not seem like typographical errors. For instance, the use of “latter” instead of “later” (page 12) does not seem like a mere error, but the spelling of “Abel” as “Able” twice (page 2) is likely a typo. Singular and plural words are mixed up, especially with respect to the word “fundamentalist(s)” as used severally in the first chapter (pages 21 to 32). Grammatically incomplete and incorrect sentences abound (for example, page 43 reads: “And Jesus spoke about being glorified, directly connects to Himself being lifted up; in verse 32”). Also, many times, I could not quite tell which Bible verse was a direct quote or which was paraphrased.
Apart from grammatical and language issues, the book also presents some problems in terms of its content. The author considers the method which the book teaches to be the only method as if the God which the same book professes cannot reveal a different method to another person. The book leaves little to no space for any other method that might work, and the author takes his understanding as the only and final interpretation, as is the case with most preachers interpreting the Bible.
In addition, the author accuses others of indoctrination and accuses the world of threatening religious freedom while quarrelling with others for their different religious beliefs or lack thereof. It almost feels like a case of the log in the eyes of the person who sees the speck in the eyes of another person.
Finally, the message the author seeks to deliver is pretty simple and straightforward. But due to a lack of organisation, his ideas are scattered across the book with many of them being unnecessarily repeated severally. While repetition may be employed to serve the purpose of emphasis, excessive repetition may bore a reader.
I rate What is Priest Nation, the Seed, and the H5G? 2 out of 4 stars. Although the message is important and interesting enough, the book was a very difficult read. People with interest in faith-based books may find it interesting, but I would not recommend it to liberal thinkers or religious skeptics.
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What is priest Nation, The Seed, and the H5G
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
What is Priest Nation, the Seed, and the H5G? by Herbert G. Scholes, the founder of Priest Nation Ministries, is a faith-based book through which the author shares with the world the history, meaning and significance of Priest Nation, its emblem which is called the seed, and the High Five Gospel or H5G (an evangelical tool for understanding the Gospel and how to teach it to others). The book discusses and advocates for the unification of the body of Christ, distinguishes between salvation and sanctification, justifies and defends the Priest Nation doctrine and activities, and breaks down scripture as it relates to the Priest Nation message.
What stands out to me about the book is the author’s honesty and dedication to the message. His dedication is evident throughout the book, and one cannot deny that the author discusses his station in life, his beliefs and his opinions with utmost honesty.
The most discouraging thing about the book is its editing. Not only was the book not professionally edited, it does not seem like any editing was done at all. The author stated clearly and severally that he is not a very educated man. This explains the very poor editing, but it also shows that professional editing should have been a priority. The poor use of punctuations, and total lack of punctuations in several cases, made the book very difficult for me to read. For example, the very first paragraph is full of misplaced commas, absent commas and commas wrongly used instead of full stops (page 2). Capitalisations are poorly done as in the same first paragraph where the first letter of the word “in” is capitalised mid-sentence (page 2). Although there are actual typographical errors, some words are so wrongly spelt that they do not seem like typographical errors. For instance, the use of “latter” instead of “later” (page 12) does not seem like a mere error, but the spelling of “Abel” as “Able” twice (page 2) is likely a typo. Singular and plural words are mixed up, especially with respect to the word “fundamentalist(s)” as used severally in the first chapter (pages 21 to 32). Grammatically incomplete and incorrect sentences abound (for example, page 43 reads: “And Jesus spoke about being glorified, directly connects to Himself being lifted up; in verse 32”). Also, many times, I could not quite tell which Bible verse was a direct quote or which was paraphrased.
Apart from grammatical and language issues, the book also presents some problems in terms of its content. The author considers the method which the book teaches to be the only method as if the God which the same book professes cannot reveal a different method to another person. The book leaves little to no space for any other method that might work, and the author takes his understanding as the only and final interpretation, as is the case with most preachers interpreting the Bible.
In addition, the author accuses others of indoctrination and accuses the world of threatening religious freedom while quarrelling with others for their different religious beliefs or lack thereof. It almost feels like a case of the log in the eyes of the person who sees the speck in the eyes of another person.
Finally, the message the author seeks to deliver is pretty simple and straightforward. But due to a lack of organisation, his ideas are scattered across the book with many of them being unnecessarily repeated severally. While repetition may be employed to serve the purpose of emphasis, excessive repetition may bore a reader.
I rate What is Priest Nation, the Seed, and the H5G? 2 out of 4 stars. Although the message is important and interesting enough, the book was a very difficult read. People with interest in faith-based books may find it interesting, but I would not recommend it to liberal thinkers or religious skeptics.
******
What is priest Nation, The Seed, and the H5G
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
