Review by verna smalling -- Wilderness Cry
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verna smalling
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- Latest Review: Wilderness Cry by Hilary L Hunt M.D.
Review by verna smalling -- Wilderness Cry
[Following is a volunteer review of "Wilderness Cry" by Hilary L Hunt M.D..]
Wilderness Cry, A Scientific and Philosophical Approach to Understanding God and the Universe, by Hilary L. Hunt, first published in 2016 by Create Space, is an engaging and thought-provoking piece of work that details one medical doctor’s personal solutions to the questions and concerns that burned in his soul ever since he was a mere twelve-year-old boy growing up in the Catholic church. As the title suggests, he was in what he calls a 'wilderness', trying to find answers, but was not being successful. This book of 31 chapters details how he eventually uses his knowledge of science and his observations of the operations of the universe to help him gain a better understanding of the concept of God as well as many of the teachings of the Bible; an understanding that was not forthcoming from his church and the Christian religion in general.
Hunt explains how stirrings of doubt developed in his mind regarding the church’s teachings and practices, from his early years; beginning with his first experience of Holy Communion. From then on, he began to realize that there were many differences between what his church taught and what he read in the bible. He discovered that, how God was portrayed in the Old Testament was different from how He was portrayed in the New Testament. He also found many instances where the various writers of the different books of the bible contradicted each other. As a result, he set out on a quest to come up with his own solutions. Throughout this book, we get a picture of how Hunt used his understanding of scientific theory to provide answers to some of his questions regarding concepts such as: the nature of God, Jesus and the Trinity; the Holy Spirit and God’s Will; Creation, Evolution and the Universe; the origin of Sin and Evil; as well as heaven and eternity. One major thing he concluded was that; God is unchanging and His will is also unchanging, therefore we have to know how to pray appropriately. Hunt also lamented that that there was much evil in the world and that some of that evil was perpetrated by the church, using the Bible to justify its actions. He concluded by expressing the hope that people will eventually come to embrace the teachings of Jesus about love, so that these evils would diminish.
There are a number of things that I admire about this book. It is a very short book, hence it may be read in a short time. The print is easy on the eyes and the language fairly simple, making it easy to read. The writer used a number of references from other publications, different versions of the Bible, anecdotes, documents from the Catholic Church as well as scientific explanations to strengthen his discourse. I particularly liked his reasoning for not becoming an atheist like others did, because they could not find answers in the church. This gives hopes to others who are in a similar situation that they will find answers to strengthen their faith, if they search diligently.
However, I found a few weaknesses in this book. After reading some of the chapters, to me, the content did not line up with what the topic suggested. I also thought that there was some amount of repetition and overlap of ideas throughout the discourse.
I would rate this book 3 out of 4 stars because it was fairly well edited. However, I did not give it a four because there were a few typographical errors, also because of the problems I encountered as set out in the preceding paragraph.
People who are disillusioned with organized religion, who are searching for answers but not able to find them in the church nor the bible would find this book helpful. It could also be useful to bible scholars who want to find alternative explanations to many of the questions they might have about the Bible and the concept of God. People who by ‘faith', accept the Bible as it is without question would not find this book appealing.
******
Wilderness Cry
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Wilderness Cry, A Scientific and Philosophical Approach to Understanding God and the Universe, by Hilary L. Hunt, first published in 2016 by Create Space, is an engaging and thought-provoking piece of work that details one medical doctor’s personal solutions to the questions and concerns that burned in his soul ever since he was a mere twelve-year-old boy growing up in the Catholic church. As the title suggests, he was in what he calls a 'wilderness', trying to find answers, but was not being successful. This book of 31 chapters details how he eventually uses his knowledge of science and his observations of the operations of the universe to help him gain a better understanding of the concept of God as well as many of the teachings of the Bible; an understanding that was not forthcoming from his church and the Christian religion in general.
Hunt explains how stirrings of doubt developed in his mind regarding the church’s teachings and practices, from his early years; beginning with his first experience of Holy Communion. From then on, he began to realize that there were many differences between what his church taught and what he read in the bible. He discovered that, how God was portrayed in the Old Testament was different from how He was portrayed in the New Testament. He also found many instances where the various writers of the different books of the bible contradicted each other. As a result, he set out on a quest to come up with his own solutions. Throughout this book, we get a picture of how Hunt used his understanding of scientific theory to provide answers to some of his questions regarding concepts such as: the nature of God, Jesus and the Trinity; the Holy Spirit and God’s Will; Creation, Evolution and the Universe; the origin of Sin and Evil; as well as heaven and eternity. One major thing he concluded was that; God is unchanging and His will is also unchanging, therefore we have to know how to pray appropriately. Hunt also lamented that that there was much evil in the world and that some of that evil was perpetrated by the church, using the Bible to justify its actions. He concluded by expressing the hope that people will eventually come to embrace the teachings of Jesus about love, so that these evils would diminish.
There are a number of things that I admire about this book. It is a very short book, hence it may be read in a short time. The print is easy on the eyes and the language fairly simple, making it easy to read. The writer used a number of references from other publications, different versions of the Bible, anecdotes, documents from the Catholic Church as well as scientific explanations to strengthen his discourse. I particularly liked his reasoning for not becoming an atheist like others did, because they could not find answers in the church. This gives hopes to others who are in a similar situation that they will find answers to strengthen their faith, if they search diligently.
However, I found a few weaknesses in this book. After reading some of the chapters, to me, the content did not line up with what the topic suggested. I also thought that there was some amount of repetition and overlap of ideas throughout the discourse.
I would rate this book 3 out of 4 stars because it was fairly well edited. However, I did not give it a four because there were a few typographical errors, also because of the problems I encountered as set out in the preceding paragraph.
People who are disillusioned with organized religion, who are searching for answers but not able to find them in the church nor the bible would find this book helpful. It could also be useful to bible scholars who want to find alternative explanations to many of the questions they might have about the Bible and the concept of God. People who by ‘faith', accept the Bible as it is without question would not find this book appealing.
******
Wilderness Cry
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Wilderness Cry by Hilary L Hunt M.D.
